Fried Fish

Ingredients

• as much melted lard in a frying pan as will suffice to keep a fish from burning
• more than half full of good dripping
• a sole is a typical fish for frying
• roll the fish in flour
• fold it in a clean soft cloth to absorb the moisture
• use them for frying fish

Method

1. 1

   Clean and trim the fish.

2. 2

   Dry it thoroughly with a cloth, then rub it with flour.

3. 3

   Heat the fat until it is hot enough to brown a small piece of bread quickly.

4. 4

   Roll the fish in flour, shake off the excess, and fry until brightly colored.

5. 5

   Drain on kitchen paper before serving.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The girl's own cookery book (1882) by Phillis Browne, page 58. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

as much melted lard in a frying pan as will suffice to keep a fish from burning. The fat in which the fishmonger fried his fish was in what looked like a copper wiih a fire underneath it, just as there is a fire under the copper in which clothes are boiled on washing day. The pan itself was about two feet square and six or eight inches deep. It was more than half full, not of oil nor of lard, but of good dripping. This fat was never thrown away. It was not sold for kitchen grease, as so much valuable fat is sold nowadays, to be replaced by expensive and very much inferior lard. As it gradually boiled away fresh fat was added to it, and it was used again and again and again. 1 did not wonder that so large a trade in fried fish was carried on in the neighbourhood when I saw what facilities the fishmonger enjoyed for frying his fish. I have already in another place ^ spoken of the method to be adopted in frying of all kinds, and of the fat which is best suited to the purpose. The girls who have at- tended our class from the commencement will remember that I said then, that in true frying the article to be cooked must be entirely covered with fat, just as an article to be boiled is entirely covered with water. Fish is no exception to this rule. It should be plunged into plenty of hot fat (so hot that it is still, that a thin blue vapour ^ See the “ Frying Pan,” p. 2S et seq. IIoiu to Cook Fish. 91 rises from it, and that it will brown very quickly a small piece of crumb of bread thrown into it), and there left until it is brightly coloured. It may then be taken up, drained, laid on kitchen paper to free it from the outside grease, and it is ready. Before, however, fish can be fried successfully it must be prepared. The first process of preparation consists in cleaning and trimming the fish. This is not peculiar to frying ; it belongs to all other methods of cookery. The same cannot be said of the ne.\t preparatory' detail, which is drying the fish thoroughly ; unless the fish is perfectly dry it will not brown as it should do. Many cooks, in order to secure thorough drymess, cleanse the fish some time before it is wanted, and fold it in a clean soft cloth to absorb the moisture ; others wash it, dry in a cloth, then rub flour over it, and shake the super- fluous flour from it. I should advise you to do both ; dry it as thoroughly as you can in a cloth, and afterwards rub it with flour ; you may then be satisfied that no mois- ture adheres to it. The next step is to encase the fish in an outer cover- ing, in order to preserve the juices. This may consist of flour only (very excellent results may be produced with flour). It may be formed also of a thick batter of flour and water, of fry'ing batter, and of beaten egg and bread or water biscuit cnimbs. I believe that fishmongers almost always use the thick batter, made of flour and water. The fishmonger whom 1 visited told me he did, and I know that at his establishment fish is superlatively fried, as, indeed, it is at the majority of London fried fisli shops. When egg and crumbs are used for this purpose, the yolk and white of egg should be lightly beaten together, and the cnimbs should be stale, dry, and well sifted, to make them even. Unless this is done, the coarser crumbs will fall off, imparting to the fish that dappled appearance which is so frequent and so unde- sirable. Before going further, I must say a word or two about the bread-crumbs used in frying fish. In a great many households stale bread is one of the burdens which press on the mind and conscience of the housekeeper. If the members of her family like crust, the crumb cannot be 92 The GirFs Own Cookery Book. disposed of ; if they like crumb, the crusts increase and multiply. “Oh,” she thinks, “how can I allow all this nourishing food to be wasted, when there are so many poor creatures starving ! ” So, in order to ease her mind, she makes a handsome present of the stale bread to the first beggar who knocks at her door. He receives it with effusion or growls, according to his disposition, yet in either case it is most likely that if the donor walk out a few minutes afterwards, she will find the broken bread thrown into the road. The professional beggar has not yet been brought so low that he has to eat broken crusts ; he throws them from him with scorn. Doubtless there are honest poor folks who would be thankful for the pieces, but they do not go begging in dirt and rags from door to door. They hide their heads in miserable homes, and struggle bravely with poverty and want. If we want to help them we must seek them out, give them work, and help them to support themselves. It is not probable that we can afford to do this so long as we permit good food to be wasted. Therefore, our first duty is to look well to our own ways, and tr>', even in this small difficulty, to follow the example of One who, while He devoted His life to healing the sick and com- forting the sorrowful, did not forget to tell His fol- lowers to “ gather up the fragments, that nothing should be lost.” It comes, then, to this : if we wish to prevent waste, we must take the first step towards it in our own homes, and make the most of the materials at our command. Crusts and broken pieces of bread are really very valuable, and one very excellent way of employing them is to use them for frying fish. We shall find it to our advantage, there- fore, to preserve them for this purpose. It is not unlikely that if a cook has to prepare crumbs for a special dish, at the moment, she will be in a hurry, and not have time to dry and sift the crumbs properly, and so her fish may be spoiled. But if she has a supply of crumbs on hand she will have no difficulty in this direction. Let her, therefore, when she has crusts or stale bread which she has no other use for, sift them through a fine wire sieve, dry them thoroughly in a cool oven (not allowing them to brown), and keep them in a bottle tightly corked and Hcnv to Cook Fish. 93 ready for use when wanted. Thus prepared, they will keep for a while. A sole is a typical fish for frying, and therefore we will suppose that we are about to fry a sole, and that it is skinned, trimmed, and perfectly dry. We put the fat (sufiiciently deep to cover the fish) on the fire to heat gradually. We may then adopt one of five methods : — 1st. Roll the fish in flour

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