Chapter V.) It appears to us that the skin should be stripped from any

fish over which the sauce is poured, but in this case it is not customary. CRIMPED SALMON. Cut into slices an inch and a half, or two inches thick, the body of a salmon _quite newly caught_; throw them into strong salt and water as they are done, but do not let them soak in it; wash them well, lay them on a fish-plate, and put them into fast boiling water, salted and well skimmed. In from ten to fifteen minutes they will be done. Dish them on a napkin, and send them very hot to table with lobster sauce, and plain melted butter; or with the caper fish-sauce of Chapter V. The water should be salted as for salmon boiled in the ordinary way, and the scum should be cleared off with great care after the fish is in. In boiling water, 10 to 15 minutes. SALMON À LA ST. MARCEL. Separate some cold boiled salmon into flakes, and free them entirely from the skin; break the bones, and boil them in a pint of water for half an hour. Strain off the liquor, put it into a clean saucepan and stir into it by degrees when it begins to boil quickly, two ounces of butter mixed with a large teaspoonful of flour, and when the whole has boiled for two or three minutes add a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies, one of good mushroom catsup, half as much lemon-juice or chili vinegar, a half saltspoonful of pounded mace, some cayenne, and a very little salt. Shell from half to a whole pint of shrimps, add them to the salmon, and heat the fish very slowly in the sauce by the side of the fire, but do not allow it boil. When it is very hot, dish and send it quickly to table. French cooks, when they re-dress fish or meat of any kind, prepare the flesh with great nicety, and then put it into a stewpan, and pour the sauce upon it, which is, we think, better than the more usual English mode of laying it into the boiling sauce. The cold salmon may also be re-heated in the cream sauce of V., or in the _Mâitre d’Hôtel_ sauce which follows it; and will be found excellent with either. This receipt is for a moderate sized dish. SALMON BAKED OVER MASHED POTATOES. We are informed by a person who has been a resident in Ireland, that the middle of a salmon is there often baked over mashed potatoes, from which it is raised by means of a wire stand, as meat is in England. We have not been able to have it tried, but an ingenious cook will be at no loss for the proper method of preparing, and the time of cooking it. The potatoes are sometimes merely pared and halved; the fish is then laid upon them. SALMON PUDDING, TO BE SERVED HOT OR COLD. (_A Scotch Receipt—Good._) Pound or chop small, or rub through a sieve one pound of cold boiled salmon freed entirely from bone and skin; and blend it lightly but thoroughly with half a pound of fine bread-crumbs a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies, a quarter of a pint of cream, a seasoning of fine salt and cayenne, and four well whisked eggs. Press the mixture closely and evenly into a deep dish or mould, buttered in every part, and bake it for one hour in a moderate oven. Salmon, 1 lb.; bread-crumbs, 1/2 lb.; essence of anchovies, 1 teaspoonful; cream, 1/4 pint; eggs, 4; salt and cayenne; baked 1 hour. TO BOIL COD FISH. [In highest season from October to the beginning of February; in perfection about Christmas.] When this fish is large the head and shoulders are sufficient for a handsome dish, and they contain all the choicer portion of it, though not so much substantial eating as the middle of the body, which, in consequence, is generally preferred to them by the frugal housekeeper. Wash the fish, and cleanse the inside, and the back-bone in particular, with the most scrupulous care; lay it into the fish-kettle and cover it well with cold water mixed with five ounces of salt to the gallon, and about a quarter of an ounce of saltpetre to the whole. Place it over a moderate fire, clear off the scum perfectly, and let the fish boil gently until it is done. Drain it well[46] and dish it carefully upon a very hot napkin with the liver and the roe as a garnish. To these are usually added tufts of lightly scraped horseradish round the edge. Serve well-made oyster sauce and plain melted butter with it; or anchovy sauce, when oysters cannot be procured. The cream sauce of Chapter V., is also an appropriate one for this fish. Footnote 46: This should be done by setting the fish plate across the kettle for a minute or two. Moderate size, 20 to 30 minutes. Large, 1/2 to 3/4 hour. SLICES OF COD FISH FRIED. Cut the middle or tail of the fish into slices nearly an inch thick, season them with salt and white pepper or cayenne, flour them well, and fry them of a clear equal brown on both sides; drain them on a sieve before the fire, and serve them on a well-heated napkin, with plenty of crisped parsley round them. Or, dip them into beaten egg, and then into fine crumbs mixed with a seasoning of salt and pepper (some cooks add one of minced herbs also), before they are fried. Send melted butter and anchovy sauce to table with them. 8 to 12 minutes. _Obs._—This is a much better way of dressing the thin part of the fish than boiling it, and as it is generally cheap, it makes thus an economical, as well as a very good dish: if the slices are lifted from the frying-pan into a good curried gravy, and left in it by the side of the fire for a few minutes before they are sent to table, they will be found excellent. STEWED COD. Put into boiling water, salted as usual, about three pounds of fresh cod fish cut into slices an inch and a half thick, and boil them gently for five minutes; lift them out, and let them drain. Have ready heated in a wide stewpan nearly a pint of veal gravy or of very good broth, lay in the fish, and stew it for five minutes, then add four tablespoonsful of extremely fine bread-crumbs, and simmer it for three minutes longer. Stir well into the sauce a large teaspoonful of arrow-root quite free from lumps, a fourth part as much of mace, something less of cayenne, and a tablespoonful of essence of anchovies, mixed with a glass of white wine and a dessertspoonful of lemon juice. Boil the whole for a couple of minutes, lift out the fish carefully with a slice, pour the sauce over, and serve it quickly. Cod fish, 3 lbs.: boiled 5 minutes. Gravy, or strong broth, nearly 1 pint: 5 minutes. Bread-crumbs, 4 tablespoonsful: 3 minutes. Arrow-root, 1 large teaspoonful; mace, 1/4 teaspoonful; less of cayenne; essence of anchovies, 1 tablespoonful; lemon-juice, 1 dessertspoonful; sherry or Maidera, 1 wineglassful: 2 minutes. _Obs._—A dozen or two of oysters, bearded, and added with their strained liquor to this dish two or three minutes before it is served, will to many tastes vary it very agreeably. STEWED COD FISH, IN BROWN SAUCE. Slice the fish, take off the skin, flour it well, and fry it quickly a fine brown; lift it out and drain it on the back of a sieve, arrange it in a clean stewpan, and pour in as much good boiling brown gravy as will nearly cover it; add from one to two glasses of port wine, or rather more of claret, a dessertspoonful of Chili vinegar, or the juice of half a lemon, and some cayenne, with as much salt as may be needed. Stew the fish very softly until it just begins to break, lift it carefully with a slice into a very hot dish, stir into the gravy an ounce and a half of butter smoothly kneaded with a large teaspoonful of flour, and a little pounded mace, give the sauce a minute’s boil, pour it over the fish, and serve it immediately. The wine may be omitted, good shin of beef stock substituted for the gravy, and a teaspoonful of soy, one of essence of anchovies, and two tablespoonsful of Harvey’s sauce added to flavour it. TO BOIL SALT FISH. When very salt and dry, this must be long soaked before it is boiled, but it is generally supplied by the fishmongers nearly or quite ready to dress. When it is not so, lay it for a night into a large quantity of cold water, then let it lie exposed to the air for some time, then again put it into water, and continue thus until it is well softened. Brush it very clean, wash it thoroughly, and put it with abundance of cold water into the fish kettle, place it near the fire and let it heat very slowly indeed. Keep it just on the point of simmering, without allowing it ever to _boil_ (which would render it hard), from three quarters of an hour to a full hour, according to its weight; should it be quite small and thin, less time will be sufficient for it; but by following these directions, the fish will be almost as good as if it were fresh. The scum should be cleared off with great care from the beginning. Egg sauce and boiled parsneps are the usual accompaniment to salt fish, which should be dished upon a hot napkin, and which is sometimes also thickly strewed with chopped eggs. SALT FISH, À LA MÂITRE D’HÔTEL. Boil the fish by the foregoing receipt, or take the remains of that which has been served at table, flake it off clear from the bones, and strip away every morsel of the skin; then lay it into a very clean saucepan or stewpan, and pour upon it the sharp _Mâitre d’Hôtel_ sauce of Chapter IV.; or dissolve gently two or three ounces of butter with four or five spoonsful of water, and a half-teaspoonful of flour; add some pepper or cayenne, very little salt, and a dessertspoonful or more of minced parsley. Heat the fish slowly quite through in either of these sauces, and toss or stir it until the whole is well mixed; if the second be used, add the juice of half a lemon, or a small quantity of Chili vinegar just before it is taken from the fire. The fish thus prepared may be served in a deep dish, with a border of mashed parsneps or potatoes. TO BOIL CODS’ SOUNDS. Should they be highly salted, soak them for a night, and on the following day rub off entirely the discoloured skin; wash them well, lay them into plenty of cold milk and water, and boil them gently from thirty to forty minutes, or longer should they not be quite tender. Clear off the scum as it rises with great care, or it will sink and adhere to the sounds, of which the appearance will then be spoiled. Drain them well, dish them on a napkin, and send egg sauce and plain melted butter to table with them. TO FRY CODS’ SOUNDS IN BATTER. Boil them as directed above until they are nearly done, then lift them out, lay them on to a drainer, and let them remain till they are cold; cut them across in strips of an inch deep, curl them round, dip them into a good French or English batter, fry them of a fine pale brown, drain and dry them well, dish them on a hot napkin, and garnish them with crisped parsley. TO FRY SOLES. [In season all the year.] All fish to fry well must be not only fresh but perfectly free from moisture, particularly when they are to be dressed with egg and bread-crumbs, as these will not otherwise adhere to them. Empty, skin, and wash the soles with extreme nicety, from one to two hours before they are wanted for table; and after having cleansed and wiped them very dry both inside and out, replace the roes, fold and press them gently in a soft clean cloth, and leave them wrapped in it until it is time to fry them; or suspend them singly upon hooks in a current of cool air, which is, perhaps, the better method of proceeding when it can be done conveniently. Cover them equally in every part, first with some beaten egg, and then with fine dry crumbs of bread, mixed with a _very little_ flour to make them adhere with more certainty: a small teaspoonful will be sufficient for two large soles. Melt in a large and exceedingly clean frying pan over a brisk and clear fire, as much very pure-flavoured lard as will float the fish, and let it be sufficiently hot before they are laid in to brown them quickly; for if this be neglected it will be impossible to render them crisp or dry. When the fat ceases to bubble, throw in a small bit of bread, and if it takes a good colour immediately the soles may be put in without delay. An experienced cook will know, without this test, when it is at the proper point; but the learner will do better to avail herself of it until practice and observation shall have rendered it unnecessary to her. Before the fish are laid into the pan, take them by the head and shake the loose crumbs from them. When they are firm, and of a fine amber-colour on one side, turn them with care, passing a slice under them and a fork through the heads, and brown them on the other. Lift them out, and either dry them well on a soft cloth laid upon a sieve reversed, before the fire, turning them often, or press them lightly in hot white blotting paper. Dish them on a drainer covered with a hot napkin and send them to table without delay with shrimp or anchovy sauce, and plain melted butter. Very small soles will be done in six minutes, and large ones in about ten. They may be floured and fried, without being egged and crumbed, but this is not a very usual mode of serving them. Small soles, 6 minutes; large, about 10 minutes. TO BOIL SOLES. The flesh of a fine fresh sole, when boiled with care, is remarkably sweet and delicate: if very large it may be dressed and served as turbot, to which it will be found little inferior in flavour. Empty it, take out the gills, cut off the fins, and cleanse and wash it with great nicety, but do not skin it; then either lay it into cold water in which the usual proportion of salt has been dissolved, and heat it rather slowly, and then simmer it from five to ten minutes, according to its size; or boil it in the manner directed in the first pages of this chapter. Drain it well on the fish-plate as it is lifted out, and dish it on a napkin, the white side upwards, and serve it quickly with anchovy, shrimp, or lobster sauce. It may also be sent to table thickly covered with the Cream Fish Sauce, Caper Fish Sauce, or Lady’s Sauce, of