Pike, Baked

Ingredients

• a fresh pike weighing not less than four, nor more than eight pounds
• half a pound of butter
• a pint of broth or water
• a minced shallot
• a little chopped parsley
• two ounces of butter
• two ounces of flour
• a table-spoonful of mushroom ketchup
• a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovy
• a glass of sherry
• two or three chopped gherkins

Method

1. 1

   Wash and scale the pike.

2. 2

   Fill with veal or oyster stuffing, truss, and place in a dish with butter, broth, shallot, and parsley.

3. 3

   Bake in a moderate oven, basting frequently.

4. 4

   Strain and thicken the gravy with butter and flour, add mushroom ketchup, essence of anchovy, salt, cayenne, sherry, and gherkins.

5. 5

   Serve with sauce over the pike.

As published

This recipe was extracted from Cassell's dictionary of cookery (1892) by Cassell & Company, page 1208. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Pike, Baked. — Take a fresh pike weigh- ing not less than four, nor more than eight, pounds. Wash it thoroughly, and scale it. The best way to do this is to pour boiling water over it until the scales look dull, then plunge it at once in cold water, and immediately remove the scales with the back of a knife. Wipe the fish dry in every part, fill it with a good veal stufiing, or oyster stufiing, or with forcemeat {see Pike, Stufiing for). Truss it in a circle by tying the head and tail together, passing the taU between the jaws. Put it into a shallow circular dish, lay haK a pound of butter broken into small pieces here and there upon it, and put with it a pint of broth or water, or flour and water, a minced shallot, and a little chopped parsley. Put it into a moderate oven, and bake untQ done enough. Baste frequently with the gra\y, and be care- ful that the pike is gently cooked, or it wiU be dry and unpalatable. When it is done, lift the fish out very carefully, and put it on a hot dish ; then strain the gravy, thicken it with two ounces of butter mixed with two ounces of flour, add a table-spoonful of mushroom ket- chup, or a tea-spoonful of essence of anchovy, a little salt and cayenne, a glass of sherry, and two or three chopped gherkins

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