The Book of Household Management
Chapter 25 : 221. FISH SHOULD BE PUT INTO COLD WATER, and set on the fire to do very gently, or the

221. FISH SHOULD BE PUT INTO COLD WATER, and set on the fire to do very gently, or the outside will break before the inner part is done. Unless the fishes are small, they should never be put into warm water; nor should water, either hot or cold, be poured _on_ to the fish, as it is liable to break the skin: if it should be necessary to add a little water whilst the fish is cooking, it ought to be poured in gently at the side of the vessel. The fish-plate may be drawn up, to see if the fish be ready, which may be known by its easily separating from the bone. It should then be immediately taken out of the water, or it will become woolly. The fish-plate should be set crossways over the kettle, to keep hot for serving, and a clean cloth over the fish, to prevent its losing its colour.

222. IN GARNIs.h.i.+NG FISH, great attention is required, and plenty of parsley, horseradish, and lemon should be used. If fried parsley be used, it must be washed and picked, and thrown into fresh water. When the lard or dripping boils, throw the parsley into it immediately from the water, and instantly it will be green and crisp, and must be taken up with a slice. When well done, and with very good sauce, fish is more appreciated than almost any other dish. The liver and roe, in some instances, should be placed on the dish, in order that they may be distributed in the course of serving; but to each recipe will be appended the proper mode of serving and garnis.h.i.+ng.

223. IF FISH IS TO BE FRIED OR BROILED, it must be dried in a nice soft cloth, after it is well cleaned and washed. If for frying, brush it over with egg, and sprinkle it with some fine crumbs of bread. If done a second time with the egg and bread, the fish will look so much the better. If required to be very nice, a sheet of white blotting-paper must be placed to receive it, that it may be free from all grease. It must also be of a beautiful colour, and all the crumbs appear distinct.

b.u.t.ter gives a bad colour; lard and clarified dripping are most frequently used; but oil is the best, if the expense be no objection.

The fish should be put into the lard when boiling, and there should be a sufficiency of this to cover it.

224. WHEN FISH IS BROILED, it must be seasoned, floured, and laid on a very clean gridiron, which, when hot, should be rubbed with a bit of suet, to prevent the fish from sticking. It must be broiled over a very clear fire, that it may not taste smoky; and not too near, that it may not be scorched.

225. IN CHOOSING FISH, it is well to remember that it is possible it may be _fresh_, and yet not _good_. Under the head of each particular fish in this work, are appended rules for its choice and the months when it is in season. Nothing can be of greater consequence to a cook than to have the fish good; as if this important course in a dinner does not give satisfaction, it is rarely that the repast goes off well.

RECIPES.

CHAPTER VIII.

FISH.

[_Nothing is more difficult than to give the average prices of Fish, inasmuch as a few hours of bad weather at sea will, in the s.p.a.ce of one day, cause such a difference in its supply, that the same fish--a turbot for instance--which may be bought to-day for six or seven s.h.i.+llings, will, to-morrow, be, in the London markets, worth, perhaps, almost as many pounds. The average costs, therefore, which will be found appended to each recipe, must be understood as about the average price for the different kinds of fish, when the market is supplied upon an average, and when the various sorts are of an average size and quality._

GENERAL RULE IN CHOOSING FISH.--_A proof of freshness and goodness in most fishes, is their being covered with scales; for, if deficient in this respect, it is a sign of their being stale, or having been ill-used._]

FRIED ANCHOVIES.

226. INGREDIENTS.--1 tablespoonful of oil, 1/2 a gla.s.s of white wine, sufficient flour to thicken; 12 anchovies.

_Mode_.--Mix the oil and wine together, with sufficient flour to make them into a thickish paste; cleanse the anchovies, wipe them, dip them in the paste, and fry of a nice brown colour.

_Time_.--1/2 hour. _Average cost_ for this quant.i.ty, 9d.

_Seasonable_ all the year.

_Sufficient_ for 2 persons.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE ANCHOVY.]

THE ANCHOVY.--In his book of "British Fishes," Mr. Yarrell states that "the anchovy is a common fish in the Mediterranean, from Greece to Gibraltar, and was well known to the Greeks and Romans, by whom the liquor prepared from it, called _garum_, was in great estimation. Its extreme range is extended into the Black Sea. The fis.h.i.+ng for them is carried on during the night, and lights are used with the nets. The anchovy is common on the coasts of Portugal, Spain, and France. It occurs, I have no doubt, at the Channel Islands, and has been taken on the Hamps.h.i.+re coast, and in the Bristol Channel." Other fish, of inferior quality, but resembling the real Gorgona anchovy, are frequently sold for it, and pa.s.sed off as genuine.

ANCHOVY b.u.t.tER OR PASTE.

227. INGREDIENTS.--2 dozen anchovies, 1/2 lb. of fresh b.u.t.ter.

_Mode_.--Wash the anchovies thoroughly; bone and dry them, and pound them in a mortar to a paste. Mix the b.u.t.ter gradually with them, and rub the whole through a sieve. Put it by in small pots for use, and carefully exclude the air with a bladder, as it soon changes the colour of anchovies, besides spoiling them.

_Average cost_ for this quant.i.ty, 2s.

POTTED ANCHOVIES.

POTTED ANCHOVIES are made in the same way, by adding pounded mace, cayenne, and nutmeg to taste.

ANCHOVY TOAST.

228. INGREDIENTS.--Toast 2 or 3 slices of bread, or, if wanted very savoury, fry them in clarified b.u.t.ter, and spread on them the paste, No.

227. Made mustard, or a few grains of cayenne, may be added to the paste before laying it on the toast.

ANCHOVY PASTE.--"When some delicate zest," says a work just issued on the adulterations of trade, "is required to make the plain English breakfast more palatable, many people are in the habit of indulging in what they imagine to be anchovies. These fish are preserved in a kind of pickling-bottle, carefully corked down, and surrounded by a red-looking liquor, resembling in appearance diluted clay. The price is moderate, one s.h.i.+lling only being demanded for the luxury. When these anchovies are what is termed potted, it implies that the fish have been pounded into the consistency of a paste, and then placed in flat pots, somewhat similar in shape to those used for pomatum. This paste is usually eaten spread upon toast, and is said to form an excellent _bonne bouche_, which enables gentlemen at wine-parties to enjoy their port with redoubled gusto.

Unfortunately, in six cases out of ten, the only portion of these preserved delicacies, that contains anything indicative of anchovies, is the paper label pasted on the bottle or pot, on which the word itself is printed.... All the samples of anchovy paste, a.n.a.lyzed by different medical men, have been found to be highly and vividly coloured with very large quant.i.ties of bole Armenian." The anchovy itself, when imported, is of a dark dead colour, and it is to make it a bright "handsome-looking sauce"

that this red earth is used.

BARBEL.

229. INGREDIENTS.--1/2 pint of port wine, a saltspoonful of salt, 2 tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 2 sliced onions, a f.a.ggot of sweet herbs, nutmeg and mace to taste, the juice of a lemon, 2 anchovies; 1 or 2 barbels, according to size.

_Mode_--Boil the barbels in salt and water till done; pour off some of the water, and, to the remainder, put the ingredients mentioned above.

Simmer gently for 1/2 hour, or rather more, and strain. Put in the fish; heat it gradually; but do not let it boil, or it will be broken.

_Time_.--Altogether 1 hour. _Sufficient_ for 4 persons.

_Seasonable_ from September to November.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BARBEL.]

THE BARBEL,--This fish takes its name from the barbs or wattels at its mouth; and, in England, is esteemed as one of the worst of the fresh-water fish. It was, however, formerly, if not now, a favourite with the Jews, excellent cookers of fish. Others would boil with it a piece of bacon, that it might have a relish. It is to be met with from two to three or four feet long, and is said to live to a great age. From Putney upwards, in the Thames, some are found of large size; but they are valued only as affording sport to the brethren of the angle.

BRILL.

230. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of salt to each gallon of water; a little vinegar.

_Mode_.--Clean the brill, cut off the fins, and rub it over with a little lemon-juice, to preserve its whiteness. Set the fish in sufficient cold water to cover it; throw in salt, in the above proportions, and a little vinegar, and bring it gradually to boil; simmer very gently till the fish is done, which will be in about 10 minutes; but the time for boiling, of course, depends entirely on the size of the fish. Serve it on a hot napkin, and garnish with cut lemon, parsley, horseradish, and a little lobster coral sprinkled over the fish. Send lobster or shrimp sauce and plain melted b.u.t.ter to table with it.

_Time_.--After the water boils, a small brill, 10 minutes; a large brill, 15 to 20 minutes.

_Average cost_, from 4s. to 8s.

_Seasonable_ from August to April.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE BRILL.]

THE BRILL.--This fish resembles the sole, but is broader, and when large, is esteemed by many in a scarcely less degree than the turbot, whilst it is much cheaper. It is a fine fish, and is abundant in the London market.

TO CHOOSE BRILL.--The flesh of this fish, like that of turbot, should be of a yellowish tint, and should be chosen on account of its thickness.

If the flesh has a bluish tint, it is not good.