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Salt pork is sometimes put into the pan with the fish, or fried first, and yields sufficient fat for frying the fish, and the slices of pork may be served as a garnish for the fish. Fish is perhaps more often fried or sauted thus in a pan than by immersing in hot fat, but the latter is much the nicer method, as the fish is cooked more evenly and its shape is better preserved, though some think them more savory when sauted. Eels for frying should be skewered to form a circle. Large fish may be first slightly fried and afterwards stewed in a gravy or marinade. All the best known varieties of fish are excellent fried. Serve with tomato or any highly flavored sauce or slices of lemon. Pickled Fish. — Fish of a rich oily nature is principally used for pickling, as the dry-fleshed kinds do not answer so well. Smelts, well rubbed with salt and powdered spice, may be packed in a jar, and boiUng hot vinegar poured over them. The ordinary method practised in pickling salmon, shad, herrings, mackerel, etc., is to boil them nicely in a small quantity of salted water, to which some add onions ; take them up, properly spiced, add spice enough vinegar, add to it the liquor (strained) in which the fish were boiled, and some bruised bay leaves, which are an indispensable addition, give it a boil up, and when this and the fish are cold pour it over the latter. If the fish are intended to be kept for any length of time, vinegar and spices alone may be used. In Europe, fish of any kind is tossed in oil, and when cold, covered with strong vinegar, highly spiced; sometimes this method is reversed by boiling the fish in vinegar, and when drained and cold adding spices and pouring olive oil upon it; red and green pepper should be added to the fish, as they give flavor to the pickle. Mackerel may be split open and boned, or cut into small shces ; salmon and shad should be pickled in handsomesized pieces. Scraped horseradish, oil, and pounded loaf sugar are to be served with pickled fish. For an Italian pickle, slice any kind of fish ; dip it in yolk of egg, fry it — or rather boil it — in oil ; when cold, rub it over with pounded spices ; put it into jars and pour over it cold vinegar seasoned with shallot, garlic and saffron. This pickle keeps good a year at least. Potted Fish — Fish may be potted whole, in slices, or pounded to a paste. Smelts may be done whole. Cut off the heads, tails and fins of trout for potting, wipe, but not wash, split open and bone them. Remove only the heads from shad, herring, and mackerel, and when very large cut each fish into three or four pieces. Salmon may be potted in any sized slices. Having prepared the fish, season well with salt, pepper, powdered bay leaves, and a little nutmeg, mace and cloves ; then pack it in pots with or without butter, ana bake as long as the size requires ; when done drain off the grease or gravy and when the fish is cold pound in a mortar to a paste and pour clarified butter over, or the butter may be poured on without pounding the fish ; oil or vinegar may be added to the fish before it is baked, afterwards poured off and fresh used to put over the fish for keeping it. After putting in the pots cover closely to exclude the air, or the butter will become rancid and the fish spoil.