How to Cook Fish

Ingredients

• a good handful of salt
• a little vinegar

Method

1. 1

   Put fresh fish into boiling water carefully to keep the goodness in.

2. 2

   Add salt or vinegar to the water.

3. 3

   For mackerel, use tepid water instead.

4. 4

   Boil for 6 to 15 minutes per pound, checking doneness by pushing a skewer through the thickest part.

5. 5

   If it goes through easily, it's done.

6. 6

   Drain and serve on a hot dish, garnished neatly.

Nutrition per serving

As published

This recipe was extracted from The girl's own cookery book (1882) by Phillis Browne, page 54. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

How to Cook Fish. 8S valuable from the point of view of nourishment. Fish which are of an oily nature, for e.xample, such as salmon, herrings, and eels, are more nourishing than white fish, such as sole, turbot, plaice, etc. The latter, however, possess the advantage of being more digestible and less perishable than the oily kinds. Turbot or sole would not spoil so quickly as would herring, mackerel, or salmon. One of the disadvantages connected with the use of fish is that it spoils so quickly, and it must be fresh and in good condition or it is worthless. It is very neces- sary, therefore, that the cook should know how to choose what is good in this direction. Here, as in so many other cases, a little experience is worth any amount of theory. The very best course which a girl could pursue to gain what was required would be to go every day to the fishmonger’s, and select for herself the fish which was needed. We may tell her that fish should be plump for its size, that it should be in season, that its eyes should be bright, its gills bright red, its flesh firm ; but if she once came to understand what fresh fish looked and smelt like, she would need none of these hints, and could no more be induced to purchase a stale specimen of the finny tribe than she would buy a feather to trim her new bonnet which had been out in a shower of rain. The fact is, that it is very easy to deceive a novice in marketing, and if a fishmonger choose he can generally do so with impunity. The gills should be bright red, not brown, we are told ; but that is delusive, for it is said that a bright colour is often imparted artificially. The eyes should be full and bright ; but what is a bright eye when there are scores of fish to choose from ? A girl becomes confused and is scarcely able to distinguish between slight degrees of variation. True, the smell of fish is an unmistakeable test of its quality, but to try even this requires experience. Yet one sign of freshness may be given which even a novice may discern — that is, the stiffness of the fish. If ever you see a fish lying on the slab which looks as if it were cut out in marble, and in which the tail stands out firmly, instead of hanging down, you will be sure to find the fishmonger in a jubilant state of mind, and when you speak to him he will tell vnii his 86 The Girl’s Oivn Cookery Book. fish is not fresh only, it is all but alive. Flabbiness is a sure sign of staleness or of the fish being out of season, and fish in this condition is not only worthless, but may be injurious. The most popular way of cooking large fish is to boil it. It is so usual to put fish into cold water and bring it gently to the boil, that I daresay you will be astonished when I say that in my opinion, and that of a great many people who know very much more about cookery than I do, the same rule should be followed in boiling fish that is observed in boiling meat, and for the same reason. I hope you remember that when we were talking of boiling meat we said that meat was first put into boiling water to harden the surface, and so keep in the goodness ; afterwards it was to be drawn back and simmered gently till tender. Salt meat, on the other hand, was to be put into tepid water, or, if very salt, into cold water, in order to draw out a little of the salt, which might harden the meat. Now, we wish to keep the goodness in fish as in meat, and therefore we put it into boiling water. But as fish is more delicate than meat, we must be careful to put it into the boiling water very carefully, and then to draw it back immediately and keep it below boiling point until it is cooked. We ought to put a good handful of salt or a little vinegar

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