Mackerel a la Maitre d'Hotel

Ingredients

• two fresh mackerel
• six ounces of fresh butter
• three tablespoonfuls of common vinegar
• fifty leaves of chopped parsley

Method

1. 1

   Split mackerel, season, and grill for about 15 minutes.

2. 2

   Prepare a sauce with butter, parsley, and vinegar, pour over the fish, and bake for 5 minutes.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Soyer's standard cookery (1912) by Nicolas Soyer, page 53. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Mackerel a la Maitre d'Hotel. Split the mackerel open at the back, making it quite flat, season with a little pepper and salt, and butter it all over, lay it upon a gridiron over a moderate fire, turning it when half done, for about a quarter of an hour, when place it upon a dish without a napkin; then put six ounces of fresh butter in a stewpan, which place over a sharp fire until the butter be- comes black, but not burnt, when throw in about fifty leaves of chopped parsley, which fry crisp, and pour over the fish; put three tablespoonfuls of common vinegar into the stewpan. which boil half a minute, season with pepper and salt, pour this also over the fish, which put into the oven five minutes, and serve very hot. To Stew Mackerel. Take off the heads, the fins, and tails, and, having opened the fish, and taken out all the hard roes, dry them with a cloth, and dredge them lightly with flour; place three or four of them in a stewpan with a lump of butter the size of a walnut, to each fish; put into a small bowl a teacupful of STANDARD COOKERY. 75 water, a tablespoonful of finely-chopped onions, the same of chopped parsley, a blade or two of mace, a little pepper and salt, a tablespoonful of anchovy essence, and a small teacup- ful of ale or porter (if not bitter). Add a tablespoonful of grated bread-crust, not burnt, but a light brown; pour all these ingredients over the fish, and let them stew gently for twenty minutes; have ready the yolks of three eggs, well beaten, and when the fish is sufficiently done, take some of the gravy and mix gradually with the eggs, and pouring them on the fish, shake the stewpan a little over the fire to thicken the whole, but not to curdle the eggs; the soft roes added are an improvement; have ready more grated crust, and having placed the fish whole in the dish, shake a little of the grated crust over the whole, so as to make it of a handsome brown. The receipt requires to be carefully followed. If the gravy is too thick, more water may be added; also a glass of sherry, if liked. Baked Mackerel. Place two fresh mackerel

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