Potted Char

Ingredients

• a dozen large fish
• 1 table-spoonful of pepper
• 1 table-spoonful of saltpeter
• 1 table-spoonful of salt
• 1 teaspoonful of cloves
• same quantity of mace
• 2 grated nutmegs
• 1 dessert-spoonful of pepper
• a little butter
• about lin. in thickness

Method

1. 1

   Clean and scale the fish, wash them in cold water, and dry.

2. 2

   Rub in pepper, saltpeter, and salt, and let them drain for 12 hours.

3. 3

   Remove the pickle, place fish in a stewpan with cloves, mace, nutmegs, pepper, and salt.

4. 4

   Add butter, cover with paper, and bake in a moderate oven for 4-5 hours.

5. 5

   Strain the liquor, place fish belly down in a dish, spread warmed butter on top, and smooth as it cools.

As published

This recipe was extracted from The encyclopædia of practical cookery (1890) by Theodore Francis Garrett, page 228. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

Potted Char. — Clean and scale a dozen large fish, washing them twice in cold water, and each time wiping them dry with a cloth. Then well rub in 1 table-spoonful each of pepper, saltpeter, and very finely - powdered salt. Leave them for about twelve hours raised on a slab or dish a little on one side to drain, then remove the first pickle and put the fish into a large stewpan with 1 teaspoonful of cloves, same quantity of mace, 2 grated nutmegs, 1 dessert-spoonful of pepper, and 1 table-spoonful of salt ; all of these being very finely pounded. Put a little butter over the fish, and then several layers of thick paper. Cover over with the lid, and put a weight on top to keep it close ; put the pan in a moderate oven, and bake for from four to five hours. Take out the pan, and when it has cooled a little strain away the liquor, and place the fish belly downwards into a suitable pan or dish. They should be put quite close together, so that they will not break. Then spread butter, a little warmed, over the top to about lin. in thickness

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