To Fry Perch

Ingredients

• Choose middle-sized perch
• dredge them with flour
• fry them in oiled butter
• garnished with fried parsley
• send up with them plain melted butter

Method

1. 1

   Choose middle-sized perch; clean them, scale and wash them; then with a very sharp penknife score them on the sides, dredge them with flour, then fry them in oiled butter.

2. 2

   When they are well done and brown, serve them up garnished with fried parsley.

Nutrition per serving

As published

This recipe was extracted from Virginia Cookery-book (1884) by Mary Stuart Smith, page 34. The excerpt below is the record exactly as published.

garnished with fried parsley. 64 VmOINIA COOKERY-BOOK. Fresh Herrings. There is a season when herrings are in a particular perfection, and few know anything of the matter. This is the time of serving them up boiled, and we shall prop- erly explain it. We have herrings in vast quantities early in the summer ; they are then in the breeding sea- son. At their first coming they have small roes, and are less esteemed ; but in reality, though the roe is in less quantity, the flesh is more and better. From time to time new quantities come up, and the roes in these are larger, till at length they fill the whole body of the fish ; then it is by the ignorant supposed to be in perfection, but in fact the roe is all that is good then, and the flesh is never poorer. Soon after this the herrings deposit their roe for the production of their young, and they are then not worth catching. These are what we call "shotten her- rings ;" the roe, which was valuable, is gone, and the flesh is in the poorest condition. All this time we have valued the herring only according to the quantity of the roe, as if the fish itself were of no use, and, indeed, so we seem to think. But there is after this a season when they are truly in their perfection. Soon after the casting of the roe they feed fast, and in a month or more have recovered all their wasting, when no more are caught now in the fish- ery. But the mackerel season comes in, and by chance sev- eral herrings are taken with them ; these are large, juicy, and in fine order ; and these are the herrings for boiling, and now we shall boil them. To Boil Herrings Plain. Set a pan of clear cold water on the dresser, clean half a dozen herrings, throw them into the cold water, stir them about, and change the water once, pouring it off and VIRGINIA COOKERT-BOOK. 65 pumping on some fresh. Set on a stewpan and put in a sufficient quantity of water ; boil the herrings, and while they are doing melt some butter, put into it some boiled fennel, chopped fine, and when the herrings are done pour it over them in a dish ; garnish them with boiled fennel, and send up a quantity of the same in a sauce-boat. BoiLBD Herrings, with Mustard Saucb. Choose half a dozen large, fine herrings ; clean them ; throw them into a pan of cold water just pumped ; put into another pan a handful of pure salt; pump some fresh water upon it; drain the herrings from the first water and throw them into this ; set on a stewpan with two quarts of water, a pint of vinegar, two ounces of salt ; boil the herrings in this; skim it from time to time, not letting it boil too fast, or it is apt to break them to pieces. Wash, bone, and mince a fine anchovy; melt a quarter of a pound of butter, with a little vinegar, in the water you put to it, and a small dust of flour; put in the anchovy and stir it about; then put in the eg^ and shake it, so as to be well mixed; then take up the herrings; boil some fennel with them, by way of garnish ; lay some of this upon the her- rings, and on the sides of the dish; finish the sauce by adding some mustard and squeezing in a lemon. Send this up in a sauce-boat, hot. To Fry Perch. Choose middle-sized perch; clean them, scale and wash them; then with a very sharp penknife score them on the sides, but not very deep nor very close; dredge them with flour; then fry them in oiled butter. When they are well done and brown serve them up garnished with fried pars- ley, and send up with them plain melted butter

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