Baked Sprats

Ingredients

• Clean the sprats
• cover with equal quantities of vinegar and water
• cover with equal quantities of vinegar and water
• a bay leaf
• a small onion
• two or three allspice
• a little salt
• a quarter of an ounce of whole pepper

Method

1. 1

   Clean the sprats, cut off the heads, and dry with a soft cloth.

2. 2

   Put them into a dish and cover with equal quantities of vinegar and water.

3. 3

   Add seasoning and bake in a slow oven until done.

4. 4

   When cold, remove the cover and serve.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The household gas cookery book (1900) by Helen Edden, page 33. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

a little salt and a tablespoonful of vinegar (salt, about 1 table- spoonful to a quart of water). It will be found to be done in about 10 minutes. Take it out of the water, drain it, and place it on a hot dish. Dissolve 3 ozs. of fresh butter in a saucepan, and sur it over the gas till it is quite brown, without cmTn !?Ur jr' , Tbrow !nt0 the butter whilst cooking a small handful of parsley, without stalks, and when these are quite crisp pour the butter over the fish • in o the same saucepan put half a wineglassful of vinegarwitha half teaspoonful of pepper and a little very hof U b°‘ ’ and P°Ur °Ve,r the fish and serve Smelts. — These are delicate little fish, and must be very fresh when bought, and care must be taken to properly prepare them. The gills must be pulled out, and in doing so the insides will come with them Wipe and dry them carefully. Take 12 smelts, dry them in a cloth, and dredge a little flour over them • egg and breadcrumb, and plunge them into a frying- 04 THE HOUSEHOLD 1 pan of boiling fat; let them fry gently, until of a light golden yellow. Drain on some blotting paper, and dish them on a napkin garnished with fried parsley. Serve with anchovy sauce. Scallops, when in season, are fairly cheap, about gd. to is. per dozen. The best way to serve is to fry them. Dry and dredge with flour, season with salt and pepper. Brush over with the yolk of an egg and cover them in breadcrumbs. Have the fat (dripping or lard) well boiling, and plunge the scallops into it, and let them cook for two minutes. Remove with a fish slice, allow them to thoroughly drain, sprinkle with a little salt, and some cayenne. Serve on a hot dish with ornamented fish papers, cut lemon, and fried green parsley. Salmon. — Particular care should be taken that, no matter in what form salmon is cooked, it must always be well done, as if this fish is sent to table insufficiently cooked, it is both unwholesome and uneatable. Sprats. — Sprats are in season, usually on Lord Mayor’s day, about 9th November. They are whole¬ some and of a good flavour, and may be smoke-dried, potted or fried, but they are best when broiled, as they are of a very oily nature. They should be chosen as fresh as possible. 1 his may be known by the brightness of their eyes and their silvery appearance. 1 heir flavour is improved by the addition of a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne. - Sprats, Fried. — Clean the sprats, dry them well, draw them at the gills, dredge them with flour, and run a skewer through the heads of about a dozen. Fry them on the skewer in plenty of hot fat, and when they are nicely browned lift them on to a hot dish covered with blotting paper, for the fat to drain. Fold a hot plate in a warm napkin, GAS COOKERY BOOK. 65 lay this on a hot dish, draw the skewer from the sprats place them upon it, and garnish the fish with parsley and lemon. Time to fry, two or three minutes. 7 Sprats, Baked. Clean the sprats, cut off the heads, and dry with a soft cloth. Put them into a dish and cover with equal quantities of vinegar and water. Add seasoning in the proportion of a bay leaf, a small onion, two or three allspice, a little salt, and a quarter o an ounce of whole pepper

Cook this with the app: pantry check, scaling, and the assistant.