Bloaters

Ingredients

• bloaters
• a lump of butter
• a piece of mutton fat

Method

1. 1

   Cut off the heads of the fish, split them open, and grill them upon a gridiron.

2. 2

   Rub the gridiron with mutton fat, place the bloaters on it, and broil them over a gentle fire for four or five minutes.

3. 3

   Place them on a hot dish, skin downwards, rub them over with butter, and they are ready to serve.

As published

This recipe was extracted from A year's cookery (1880) by Phillis Browne, page 5. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Bloaters. Collared Tongue. Vienna Bread. Marmalade. Bread and Butter. Bread and Milk. Mutton Pies. Bice Pudding. Milk Soup. Fillet of Beef. V egetables — B akedPotatoes and Mashed Parsnips. Boiled Batter Pudding. Cheese and Celery. Marketing. For tine Day. ^Potatoes, Parsnips, Celery. For To-morrow.— Half a pound of Streaky Bacon cut into thin rashers; , one bottle of Gorgona Anchovies ; one large dried Haddock ; one pair of moderate-sized but .thick Soles ; the best end of a Loin of Mutton, as fi'ee from fat as may be ; a quarter of a pound of Kidney Suet ; a quarter of a pound of German Sausage (March 28tli) ; Celery ; Apples ; one stick of Horse-radish ; Jerusalem Artichokes; Potatoes; two Batavian Endive ; one t 6 A YEARS COOKERY. Beet-root ; one-pennyworth of Parsley. Parsley is wanted so continually in cookery and for garnishing dishes, that when it cannot be grown (and this can be done easily with ever such a small piece of ground) a point should be made of buying a pennyworth twice a week, say on Wednesdays and Satur¬ days. If the stalks are put in water, the parsley will keep fresh for two or three days. Some people dry parsley, and this is wise, but for garnishing dishes it is better to be fresh, and it can be obtained in most places without much difficulty all the year round. When bacon is to be used, the quantity required is given in the marketing column for the day. It is not, however, recom¬ mended that bacon should be bought a few ounces at a time. It is a good plan to keep it in the house, so that when a little is wanted it can be cut off as required. Bacon should have fine skin, and should possess an agreeable odour. The lean should be of a bright red colour, and intermixed with fibres of fat ; whilst raw, it should adhere strongly to the bone. The fat should be firm and white, with a slightly reddish tinge. In deciding upon the kind of fish to be procured, the state of the market should always be considered. The supply of fish is so uncertain, and its price so variable, that the housekeeper will find it to be the wisest plan to pay a visit to the fishmonger and see what lies upon his slab before deciding upon the kind of fish to be bought. In drawing up these menus, fish has been fixed upon that is in full season, and therefore likely to be in good condition and reasonable in price at the date given. If, however, it is found that, owing to unforeseen circumstances, the particular variety named is scarce on a certain day, it will be better and more economical to choose a kind that is plenti¬ ful, and leave the other for another time. The whereabouts of the recipes for cooking different varieties of fish may be discovered by looking in t he Index. It should be remembered that whiting, mackerel, and fresh herrings must be cooked when fresh, as they very quickly decompose. Nearly all fish is best when fresh ; but there are some kinds, and soles are amongst them, which in cold weather can be kept until the second day without much harm being done ; and, therefore, when soles can be obtained quite fresh on the Saturday (as in towns they usually can be), they may be kept for Sunday. Soles should be firm as well as thick. It is one sign of freshness when the skin is difficult to draw off. Fish is fresh when it feels firm and stiff, when the gills are bright red and the eyes bright. If the eyes are dull and the flesh flabby the fish is good for nothing. A loin of mutton, like a saddle of mutton, is generally considered an expensive dish, and so it is if very fat. The butcher should be asked to supply well- hung mutton, to bone the joint, to trim away as much fat as he can, and to detach the fillet from the under-side. If when it is brought home there is still more fat on it than is likely to be eaten, let it be cut away and rendered for frying purposes. Suet should be firm, hard, and close. Beef kidney suet is the best. Breakfast. — Bloaters. — Cut off the heads of the fish, split them open, and grill them upon a gridiron. It is usual to broil bloaters whole j and if perfect cleanliness could be secured that would be the best way. It is not every cook, however, who possesses the knack of cleansing the fish whole, and therefore it is safest to have them opened. Hub the gridiron with a piece of mutton fat, place the bloaters on it, and broil them over a gentle fire for four or, at most, five minutes. Place them on a hot dish, skin downwards, rub them over with a lump of butter

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