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Raise carefully from the bones the flesh of a cold turbot, and clear
it from the dark skin; cut it into small squares, and put it into an
exceedingly clean stewpan or saucepan; then make and pour upon it
the cream sauce of Chapter V., or make as much as may be
required for the fish by the same receipt, with equal proportions of
milk and cream and a little additional flour. Heat the turbot slowly in
the sauce, but do not allow it to boil, and send it very hot to table.
The white skin of the fish is not usually added to this dish, and it is of
better appearance without it; but for a family dinner, it may be left on
the flesh, when it is much liked. No acid must be stirred to the sauce
until the whole is ready for table.
TURBOT AU BÉCHAMEL, OR, IN BÉCHAMEL SAUCE.
Prepare the cold turbot as for the preceding receipt, but leave no
portion of the skin with it. Heat it in a rich bechamel sauce, and serve
it in a vol-au-vent, or in a deep dish with a border of fried bread cut in
an elegant form, and made with one dark and one light sippet,
placed alternately. The surface may be covered with a half-inch layer
of delicately fried bread-crumbs, perfectly well drained and dried; or
they may be spread over the fish without being fried, then moistened
with clarified butter, and browned with a salamander.
For Mould of Cold Turbot with Shrimp Chatney, see
Chapter VI.
TO BOIL A JOHN DORY.
[In best season from Michaelmas to Christmas, but good all the
year.]
The John Dory, though of uninviting
appearance, is considered by some
persons as the most delicious fish that
appears at table; in the general estimation,
however, it ranks next to the turbot, but it is
far less abundant in our markets, and is not
commonly to be procured of sufficient size
for a handsome dish, except in some few
parts of our coast which are celebrated for
John Dory. it. It may easily be known by its yellow gray
colour, its one large dark spot on either
side, the long filaments on the back, a
general thickness of form, and its very ugly head. It is dressed in the
same manner, and served usually with the same sauces as a turbot,
but requires less time to boil it. The fins should be cut off before it is
cooked.
SMALL JOHN DORIES BAKED.
(Author’s Receipt—good.)
We have found these fish when they were too small to be worth
cooking in the usual way, excellent when quite simply baked in the
following manner, the flesh being remarkably sweet and tender,
much more so than it becomes by frying or broiling. After they have
been cleaned, dry them in a cloth, season the insides slightly with
fine salt, dredge a little flour on the fish, and stick a few very small
bits of butter on them, but only just sufficient to prevent their
becoming dry in the oven; lay them singly on a flat dish, and bake
them very gently from fourteen to sixteen minutes. Serve them with
the same sauce as baked soles.
When extremely fresh, as it usually is in the markets of the coast,
fish thus simply dressed au four is preferable to that more
elaborately prepared by adding various condiments to it after it is
placed in a deep dish, and covering it with a thick layer of bread-
crumbs, moistened with clarified butter.
The appearance of the John Dories is improved by taking off the
heads, and cutting away not only the fins but the filaments of the
back.
TO BOIL A BRILL.
A fresh and full-sized brill always ranks high in the list of fish, as it
is of good appearance, and the flesh is sweet and delicate. It
requires less cooking than the turbot, even when it is of equal size;
but otherwise may be dressed and served in a similar manner. It has
not the same rich glutinous skin as that fish, nor are the fins
esteemed. They must be cut off when the brill is cleaned; and it may
be put into nearly boiling water, unless it be very large. Simmer it
gently, and drain it well upon the fish-plate when it is lifted out; dish it
on a napkin, and send lobster, anchovy, crab, or shrimp sauce to
table with it. Lobster coral, rubbed through a sieve, is commonly
sprinkled over it for a formal dinner. The most usual garnish for
boiled flat fish is curled parsley placed round it in light tufts; how far it
is appropriate, individual taste must decide.
Brill, moderate-sized, about 20 minutes; large, 30 minutes.
Obs.—The precise time which a fish will require to be boiled
cannot be given: it must be watched, and not allowed to remain in
the water after it begins to crack.
TO BOIL SALMON.
[In full season from May to August: may be had much earlier, but is
scarce and dear.]
To preserve the fine colour of this fish, and to set the curd when it
is quite freshly caught, it is usual to put it into boiling, instead of into
cold water. Scale, empty, and wash it with the greatest nicety, and be
especially careful to cleanse all the blood from the inside. Stir into
the fish-kettle eight ounces of common salt to the gallon of water, let
it boil quickly for a minute or two, take off all the scum, put in the
salmon and boil it moderately fast, if it be small, but more gently
should it be very thick; and assure yourself that it is quite sufficiently
done before it is sent to table, for nothing can be more distasteful,
even to the eye, than fish which is under dressed.
From two to three pounds of the thick part of a fine salmon will
require half an hour to boil it, but eight or ten pounds will be done
enough in little more than double that time; less in proportion to its
weight should be allowed for a small fish, or for the thin end of a
large one. Do not allow the salmon to remain in the water after it is
ready to serve, or both its flavour and appearance will be injured.
Dish it on a hot napkin, and send dressed cucumber, and anchovy,
shrimp, or lobster sauce, and a tureen of plain melted butter to table
with it.
To each gallon water, 8 oz. salt. Salmon, 2 to 3 lbs. (thick), 1/2
hour; 8 to 10 lbs., 1-1/4 hour; small, or thin fish, less time.
SALMON À LA GENEVESE.
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.
(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.
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.