Salmon-trout may be baked in this manner.
SEA Ba.s.s WITH TOMATOS.--Take three large fine sea-ba.s.s, or black-fish.
Cut off their heads and tails, and fry the fish in plenty of lard till about half done. Have ready a pint of tomatos, that have been pickled cold in vinegar flavored with a muslin bag of mixed spices. Drain the tomatos well from the vinegar; skin them, and mash them in a pan; dredging them with about as much flour as would fill a large table-spoon heaped up. Pour the mixture over the fish while in the frying pan; and continue frying till they are thoroughly done.
Cutlets of halibut may be fried in this manner with tomatos: also, any other pan-fish.
Beef-steaks or lamb-chops are excellent fried thus with tomatos.
BAKED SALMON-TROUT.--Having cleaned the fish, and laid it two hours in weak salt and water, dry it in a cloth, and then rub both the inside and outside with a seasoning of cayenne pepper, powdered mace, nutmeg, and a little salt, mixed well together. Then lay it in a deep baking-pan, turn the tail round into the mouth, and stick bits of fresh b.u.t.ter thickly over the fish. Put it into an oven, and bake it well; basting it frequently with the liquid that will soon surround it. When you suppose it to be nearly done, try it by sticking down to the backbone a thin-bladed knife. When you find that the flesh separates immediately from the bone, it is done sufficiently. Serve it up with lobster-sauce.
Any large fresh fish may be baked in this way.
CREAM TROUT.--Having prepared the trout very nicely, and cut off the heads and tails, put the fish into boiling water that has been slightly salted, and simmer them for five minutes. Then take them out, and lay them to drain. Put them into a stew-pan, and season them well with powdered mace, nutmeg, and a little cayenne, all mixed together. Put in as much rich cream as will cover the fish, adding the fresh yellow rind of a small lemon, grated. Keep the pan covered, and let the fish stew for about ten minutes after it has begun to simmer. Then dish the fish, and keep them hot till you have finished the sauce. Mix, very smoothly, a small table-spoonful of arrow-root, the juice of the lemon, and two table-spoonfuls of sugar, and stir it into the cream. Pour the sauce over the fish, and then send them to table.
Turbot or sheep"s-head fish may be dressed as above; of course it will require a larger proportion of seasoning, &c., and longer time to cook.
Carp is very nice stewed in this manner.
STEWED CODFISH.--Take fine _fresh_ cod, and cut it into slices an inch thick, separated from the bones. Lay the pieces of fish in the bottom of a stew-pan: season them with grated nutmeg; half a dozen blades of mace; a salt-spoonful of cayenne pepper; and a small saucer full of chopped celery; or a bunch of sweet herbs tied together. Add a pint of oyster liquor, and the juice of a lemon. Cover it close, and let it stew gently till the fish is almost done, shaking the pan frequently. Then take a piece of fresh b.u.t.ter the size of an egg; roll it in flour, and add it to the stew. Also, put in two dozen large fine oysters, with what liquor there is about them. Cover it again; quicken the fire a little, and let the whole continue to stew five minutes longer. Before you send it to table, remove the bunch of sweet herbs.
Rock-fish may be stewed in this manner. Fresh salmon also.
FRIED CODFISH.--Take the middle or tail part of a fresh codfish, and cut it into slices not quite an inch thick, first removing the skin. Season them with a little salt and cayenne pepper. Have ready in one dish some beaten yolk of egg, and in another some grated bread-crumbs. Dip each slice of fish twice into the egg, and then twice into the crumbs. Fry them in fresh b.u.t.ter, and serve them up with the gravy about them.
Halibut may be fried as above.
STEWED HALIBUT.--Cut the fish into pieces about four inches square, of course omitting the bone. Season it very slightly with salt, and let it rest for half an hour. Then take it out of the salt, put it into a large deep dish, and strew over it a mixture of cayenne pepper, ground white ginger, and grated nutmeg. Lay among it some small bits of fresh b.u.t.ter rolled in grated bread. Add half a pint of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar if you have it.) Place the dish in a slow oven, and let the halibut cook till thoroughly done, basting it very _frequently_ with the liquid. When nearly done, add a large table-spoonful or more of capers, or pickled nasturtions.
Halibut is a very insipid fish; but this mode of cooking will give it taste.
STEWED ROCK-FISH.--Take a large rock-fish, and cut it in slices near an inch thick. Sprinkle it _very slightly_ with salt, and let it remain for half an hour. Slice very thin half a dozen large onions. Put them into a stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter, cut into bits. Set them over a slow fire, and stir them continually till they are quite soft, taking care not to let them become brown. Then put in the sliced fish in layers; seasoning each layer with a mixture of white ground ginger, cayenne pepper, and grated nutmeg; add some chopped parsley, and some bits of b.u.t.ter rolled in flour. Pour in a pint of water, and, if you choose, a wine-gla.s.s of vinegar, (tarragon vinegar will be best.[B]) Set it over a good fire and let it cook about an hour. When done, take out the fish carefully, to avoid breaking the slices. Lay it in a deep dish that has been made hot, and cover it immediately. Have ready the beaten yolks of two eggs. Stir them into the gravy. Give it one boil up; and then either pour it over the fish, or serve it up in a sauce-boat.
[B] To make this vinegar--half fill a bottle with tarragon leaves, and fill it quite up with the best cider vinegar. Cork it tightly, and do not remove the tarragon, but let it remain always at the bottom. The flavor is very fine.
Halibut, fresh cod, or any other large fish may be stewed in this manner.
TO KEEP A SHAD FRESH.--By the following process, (which we can highly recommend from experience,) a shad may be kept twenty-four hours, or indeed longer, so as to be perfectly fresh in taste and appearance. For instance, if brought _fresh_ from market on Sat.u.r.day morning, it may be broiled for breakfast on Sunday, and will seem like a fresh shad just from the water. Immediately on bringing it in, let it be scaled, cleaned, washed, split, and wiped dry; cutting off the head and tail.
Spread the shad open on a large flat dish. Mix well together in a cup, a heaped table-spoonful of brown sugar; a heaped tea-spoonful of cayenne pepper, and a tea-spoonful of fine salt; and then rub the mixture, thoroughly and evenly, all over the inside of the fish; which, of course, must be spread with the skin or outside downward. Cover it closely with a large tin cover or with another dish, and set it immediately on ice or in a very cold place, and let it rest till next morning, or till it is wanted for cooking. Immediately before you put it on the gridiron, take a clean towel and carefully wipe off the _whole of the seasoning_, not letting a particle of it remain round the edges, or anywhere else. Then put the shad on a previously heated gridiron, over hot coals, and broil it well. b.u.t.ter it, and send it hot to table, where every one can season it again, according to their taste.
PLANKED SHAD.--This is the best way of cooking shad when in perfection, just out of the river; and it is much in use at fishing party dinners. A board or plank, about three inches thick and two feet square, must be provided for the purpose. This plank should be of well-seasoned oak or hickory, and very clean. A pine board will very soon catch fire and burn; besides communicating to the fish a taste of turpentine or rosin.
Take a very fine shad, and (having cut off the head and tail,) split it down the back, clean it, wash it well, and wipe it dry. Sprinkle it with salt, and cayenne. Stand up the board before the fire till it becomes very hot, and almost begins to char. Then nail to the hot board the spread-open shad, with the back or skin-side next to the plank, securing it with a few nails, not driven in so hard that they cannot easily be drawn out. Begin to roast it with the head downward. After a while turn the other end of the plank, so as to place the tail downward.
Turn it frequently up or down, that the juices of the fish may be equally dispersed throughout. When done, b.u.t.ter it with fresh b.u.t.ter, and send it to table on the board; under which, place a large dish or tray. Help it to the company off the plank. This mode of cooking a shad will be found superior to all others; and is so generally liked, that two at least will be required, one at each end of the table. It is much enjoyed by parties who have dinners on the banks of the river, and bespeak of the fishermen shad just out of the water.
Lake salmon may be cooked in this manner on a plank. Also, blue fish, and the lake white fish.
At the princ.i.p.al household stores, shad-boards of oak are now to be purchased ready made. The cost is from a dollar to seventy-five cents.
They are very strong and smooth, and furnished with thick wires crossing the board diagonally. Behind these the fish is to slip in without nailing. They are much used, and we advise every house-keeper to get one. We see very nice ones at Carryl"s Furnishing Store, Chestnut street, Philadelphia.
Sh.e.l.l FISH.
TO CHOOSE OYSTERS.--Insert a knife, and if the sh.e.l.l instantly closes firmly on the knife, the oysters are fresh. If it shuts slowly and faintly, or not at all, they are dying, or dead. When the sh.e.l.ls of raw oysters are found gaping open they are fit for nothing but to throw away, and should not have been seen in the market, as they are quite dead and decomposition has commenced. Clams the same.
TO FEED OYSTERS.--When it is necessary to keep oysters a day or two before they are cooked, they must be kept clean and fed, otherwise they will die and spoil. Put them into a large tub of clean water; wash from them the mud and sand, and scrub them with a birch broom. Then pour off _that_ water, and give them a clean tubful, placing the oysters with the deep or large side downward, and sprinkling them well, with salt mixed with it, allowing about a pint of salt to every two gallons of water.
But if you have a very large quant.i.ty of oysters, add to the salt and water several handfuls of indian meal. Repeat this every twelve hours, with fresh water and meal. Always at the time of high water, oysters may be seen to open their sh.e.l.ls, as if in expectation of their accustomed food. If this is carefully continued, they will remain plump and healthy for two days.
Terrapins also, and other sh.e.l.l fish, should have the salt and water changed every twelve hours, and be fed with corn meal.
Turtle must also be well fed, and allowed salted water to swim in.
STEWED OYSTERS.--Get two hundred or more fine large fresh oysters. Drain them from their liquor, (saving it in a pitcher,) and put them into a stew-pan with a quarter of a pound of fresh b.u.t.ter, and set them over the fire. When they have simmered, and have almost come to a boil, remove them from the fire; and have ready a pan of very cold water. Take out the oysters, (one at a time, on a fork,) and put them into the cold water. This will plump them, and render them firm. Having saved about half their liquor, put it into the stew-pan, seasoned well with blades of mace, grated nutmeg, whole pepper-corns, and a little cayenne. Stir in half a pint or more of thick rich cream; and if you cannot procure cream, an equal quant.i.ty of nice fresh b.u.t.ter divided into bits, slightly dredged with a very little flour. Boil the liquor by itself, and when it comes to a boil, take the oysters out of the cold water, and put them into the boiling liquor. In five minutes remove the pan from the fire, (the oysters having simmered,) and transfer them to a tureen or deep dish, in the bottom of which has been laid a b.u.t.tered toast, that has previously been dipped a minute in hot water or milk.
FRENCH STEWED OYSTERS.--Wash fifty fine large oysters in their own liquor, then strain it into a stew-pan, putting the oysters in a pan of cold water. Season the liquor with a large gla.s.s or half a pint of white wine, (sherry or Madeira,) the juice of two lemons, six or seven blades of mace, and a small grated nutmeg. Boil the seasoned liquor; and skim, and stir it well. When it comes to a boil, put in the oysters. Give them one good stir, and then immediately take them from the fire, transfer them to a deep dish, and send them to table. They are not to boil.
Many persons consider this the finest way of cooking oysters for company. Try it. The oysters must be of the very best.
FRIED OYSTERS.--For frying, take only the largest and finest oysters.
They should be as fresh as you can get them. Salt oysters are not good for frying. Take them out of their liquor, carefully, with a fork, picking off whatever bits of sh.e.l.l may be about them. Dry them in a clean napkin. Prepare some grated bread-crumbs, or pounded cracker, or soda biscuit, seasoned with cayenne pepper. Have ready plenty of yolk of egg beaten till very light; and to each egg allow a large tea-spoonful of rich cream, or of the best fresh b.u.t.ter. Beat the egg and cream together. Dip each oyster first into the egg, &c., and then into the crumbs. Repeat this twice till the oysters are well-coated all over.
Have ready boiling, in a frying-pan, an equal mixture of fresh b.u.t.ter and lard. It must come nearly to the edge or top of the frying-pan, and be boiling fast when the oysters go in; otherwise they will be heavy and greasy, and sink to the bottom. Fry them of a yellow brown on both sides. Send them to table very hot.
Oysters will be found much the best when fried in grated bread-crumbs.
Cracker-crumbs form a hard, tough coating that is very indigestible, and also impairs the flavor. Use no salt in making the batter. Omit it entirely. It overpowers the taste of the oysters.
OYSTER FRITTERS.--Allow to each egg a heaped table-spoonful of flour, and a jill or small tea-cupful of milk. Beat the eggs till very light and thick; then stir them, gradually, into the pan of milk, in turn with the flour, a little at a time. Beat the whole very hard. Have ready the oysters, that you may proceed immediately to baking the fritters. The oysters should be fresh, and of the largest size. Having drained them from their liquor, and dried them separately in a cloth, and dredged them with flour, set over the fire a frying-pan nearly full of lard.
When it boils fast, put in a large spoonful of the batter. Then lay an oyster upon it, and cover the oyster with another spoonful of batter.
Fry the fritters of a nice yellow. As they are done, take them up, drain off the lard from the oysters, and keep them hot till they go to table.
This will be found a very fine receipt if _exactly_ followed.
CLAM FRITTERS.--Put a sufficient quant.i.ty of clams into a pot of boiling water. The small sand-clam will be best. When the sh.e.l.ls open wide, take them out, extract the clams from the sh.e.l.ls, and put them into a stew-pan. Strain their liquor, and pour about half of it over the clams; adding a little black pepper. They will require no salt. Let them stew, slowly, for half an hour; then take them out; drain off all the liquor; and mince the clams as fine as possible, omitting the hardest parts. You should have as many clams as will make a large pint when minced. Make a batter of seven eggs, beaten till very thick and light, and then mixed gradually with a quart of milk, and a pint of sifted flour, stirred in by degrees, and made perfectly smooth and free from lumps. Then, gradually, mix the minced clams with the batter, and stir the whole very hard. Have ready in a frying-pan over the fire, a sufficiency of boiling lard. Put in, with a spoon, the batter so as to form fritters, and fry them light brown. Drain them well when done and serve them up hot.
Oyster fritters may be made as above: except that the oysters must be minced raw, and mixed into the batter without having been stewed.