Fresh fish may be known by its stiffness, firmness, bright eyes, and bright red gills.

The cheaper kinds of fish, such as herrings, mackerel, haddocks, and plaice, contain more nourishment than most of the more expensive kinds. All fish must be thoroughly cleansed in salt and water, two waters at least being allowed. It must then be very carefully dried in a coarse cloth kept specially for this purpose.

To Bake Fish.

Clean and dry the fish very thoroughly, put it on a baking tin, greased with a little oil or butter, sprinkling pepper and salt over it. Cover with a well-greased sheet of paper, bake from 10 minutes to ½ an hour, according to the size of the fish. Remove the paper, and serve the fish with chopped parsley and the strained liquor from the tin.

To Boil Fish.

When the fish is thoroughly cleaned, put it on a strainer or dish, place it in a saucepan with boiling water sufficient to cover it, some salt and a tablespoonful of vinegar. Simmer gently till the skin begins to crack.

Some of the liquor in which the fish was boiled can be used for making a sauce.

Clean and dry the fish thoroughly, split it open, flour it, sprinkle with chopped parsley, pepper, and salt. Grease a gridiron with oil or butter, and broil the fish over or in front of a very clear fire from 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with small pieces of butter before serving. Before broiling mackerel or herrings lay them in a mixture of salad oil and tarragon vinegar for an hour.

Hints on Frying.

This method of cooking fish requires the utmost care. It is most important that the fish should be very carefully dried, and that the oil should be at the right temperature. To test this throw in a small piece of bread, and if it brown in less than a minute the oil has reached the correct heat. When the oil is perfectly still, and a blue smoke rises, the temperature may also be considered right. The fish must be well covered in oil, and the pieces must not come in contact with one another.

To Fry Fish.

Clean the fish, then cut it as required, and dry it very thoroughly. Beat up an egg, mix some flour, pepper and salt on a plate, dip the fish first into this seasoning, then into the egg, and when the oil has reached the right temperature, fry the fish a golden brown. Place it on soft paper on a basket lid to drain. When the oil has cooled, strain it, pour it into a jar, cover it and it will be ready for use another time. It can be used again for fish only.

To economise the eggs mix a little water with them.

To utilise any scraps of fried fish, heat them in melted butter (page 40), flavoured to taste.

To Steam Fish.

Fish should rather be steamed than boiled, for though more time is required the result is more satisfactory. If a fish-kettle is not to hand, place a pie-dish upside down in a large saucepan, and put the fish on it. Let boiling water always reach half way up the dish, so that the fish cooks in the steam. Add more boiling water when required.

6 large anchovies, 1 hard boiled egg, 2 oz. butter, a little pepper.

Pound all together and pass through a sieve.

Savoury Cod. Time—½ hour.

1 or more lbs. of fresh cod, 1 tablespoonful vinegar, 1 dessertspoonful flour, 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley, ½ teaspoonful salt, ¼ teaspoonful pepper, 1 oz. butter, 1 egg.

Clean the fish and dry it, then cut it into nice sized pieces. Boil as directed (page 10), then cover and keep hot. Put the flour into a basin, and add pepper, salt, and butter (melted); mix well, and make into a paste with the vinegar. Stir this into ½ pint of the liquor in which the fish has been boiled, and cook 3 minutes, stirring continually. While this sauce cools beat up an egg; then stir it carefully into the sauce, add the chopped parsley, and pour it over the fish. If preferred the egg may be boiled hard and chopped.

Baked Haddock. Time—¾ hour.

1 haddock, 2 tablespoonfuls bread crumbs, 1 dessertspoonful chopped parsley, 1 teaspoonful chopped herbs, 1 egg (well beaten); 2 oz. butter or 1 tablespoonful oil; pepper and salt to taste.

Wash and dry the fish well. Mix nearly all the bread crumbs with the herbs, parsley, pepper, salt, half the egg, and ½ oz. of butter. Stuff the stomach of the fish with this mixture, and sew or skewer it up. Egg and bread-crumb the fish, place it on a greased tin in the shape of an S, with the oil and pieces of butter; bake for half-an-hour, basting it frequently. Take out the cotton with which the fish was sewn before serving.

Dried Haddock. Time—20 minutes.

Place the dried haddock in a frying-pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then take out the haddock, place it on a dish in the oven, with bits of butter over it, for 5 minutes, and then serve.

1 plaice, 1 onion, 4 tomatoes, 2 tablespoonfuls oil, 1 lb. potatoes, pepper and salt to taste, the juice of a lemon, chopped parsley.

Slice the onion and tomatoes, heat them in a tin with the oil, salt and pepper. Wash the plaice and dry it well, put it in the tin, season it, dredge it with flour, and baste it with the oil. Parboil the potatoes and put them round the plaice to get brown. When dishing up, squeeze the lemon-juice over the plaice and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

Haddocks may also be cooked in this way.

Soused Herrings. Time—½ hour.

3 herrings, ½ pint vinegar, 2 bay-leaves, whole peppers, salt, and cloves to taste.

Split and halve the herrings, roll and tie them up. Place them in a pie-dish, half cover with vinegar, add whole peppers, salt, cloves, and bay-leaves, and bake in a slow oven until they feel soft (about 20 minutes).

Sole À la MaÎtre d’HÔtel. Time—½ hour.

1 sole filleted, 1 oz. butter, ¾ oz. flour, juice of 1 lemon, salt and pepper to taste, 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley, ½ pint water, ½ gill cream.

Put the bones and fins of the sole into a saucepan with the water, and put it on to boil. Place the fillets folded loosely on a greased tin, and sprinkle them with lemon-juice, pepper and salt. Cover with a greased paper, and cook in a moderate oven, about 6 minutes. Melt the butter in a clean saucepan, drop the flour in gradually, and mix well. Add the fish liquor and boil 10 minutes. Then add salt, pepper, cream, lemon-juice, and parsley. Arrange the fillets on a dish with the sauce poured over them.

Sole au Gratin. Time—½ hour.

1 sole, ½ shalot, 4 mushrooms, 1 teaspoonful chopped parsley, juice of a lemon, 1 oz. butter, raspings (see page x.); salt and pepper to taste.

Skin the sole, cut off the fins and nick it on both sides with a knife, dry it well. Chop the shalot, mushrooms and parsley, mix them together, and sprinkle half of them on to a dish. Lay the sole on this seasoning, and sprinkle the rest of it over the sole. Squeeze lemon-juice over, sprinkle with salt, pepper and raspings. Put little bits of butter on the fish, bake in a moderate oven for 10 minutes.

Soles Stewed with Tomatoes. Time—¾ hour.

A pair of soles, 1 small onion, 2 tablespoonfuls oil, or 2 oz. butter, 4 tomatoes, the juice of 1 lemon, pepper, salt, a little cayenne and nutmeg.

Heat the oil or butter in a stew-pan, add chopped onion, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. When the onion is tender, put in the soles, slice the tomatoes on to them, cook for 20 minutes, or ½ hour if the soles are large. Take out the soles carefully, put them on a hot dish, rub the liquor through a sieve, add the lemon-juice, and a very little cayenne and nutmeg, return to the saucepan to get hot, and pour over the soles.

Gurnets and shad may also be cooked in this way, and can be eaten hot or cold.

Brown Stewed Fish.
(Salmon and other rich fish.) Time—1 hour.

For 4 Mackerel or Herrings.

¾ pint porter, 2 Spanish onions, ground ginger, nutmeg, allspice, ground cloves, pepper and salt to taste, juice of three lemons, 1 dessertspoonful vinegar, ½ lb. real black treacle.

Stew a crust of bread and the onions in the porter. When tender, take out the crust, and put in the fish with the spice, lemon-juice, vinegar, pepper and salt. When the fish is nearly cooked, add the treacle gradually, cook 3 minutes, and serve cold with slices of lemon between bunches of scraped horse-radish.

Brown Stewed Fish.
(Fresh Water Fish, etc.) Time—40 minutes.

2 to 3 lbs. fish, ½ pint water, 1 onion, 1 tablespoonful oil, 1 tablespoonful vinegar, two-pennyworth ginger-bread, one-pennyworth golden syrup, 1 lemon; pepper and salt to taste.

Peel and cut up the onion, brown it in the oil, put it in the stew-pan with the fish and water, and cook for half an hour. Soak the ginger-bread in the golden syrup and vinegar; when soft, beat it up and add the lemon-juice, pepper and salt. Ten minutes before the fish is ready, pour this sauce on to it, and tilt the stew-pan well backwards and forwards. Serve cold.

White Stewed Fish with Balls. Time—1½ hour.

3 lbs. fish, 2 small onions, 2 tablespoonfuls sweet oil, 1 pint cold water, nutmeg and ginger, pepper and salt to taste, a pinch of powdered saffron, juice of 3 lemons, 1 tablespoonful flour, 2 eggs; (for the balls) a piece of cod’s-liver, chopped parsley, bread-crumbs.

Chop the onions, stew till tender in the oil in a stew-pan, take out one-third for balls, add the fish and water, season with salt, pepper, ginger and nutmeg. When the liquor boils, place the balls (see below) on the top of the fish and cook ¼ hour, then draw the stew-pan to the side of the fire. Mix the flour to a smooth paste with a little cold water in a separate basin, add the lemon-juice, 1 whole egg and 1 yolk beaten, the saffron, and mix all well together. Take a pint of the fish-liquor from the stew-pan, add this gradually to the contents of the basin, stirring all the time. When thoroughly mixed, pour it back into the stew pan, from which must previously be taken some of the fish-liquor, if there seem too much. Tilt the stew-pan backwards and forwards till the sauce has thickened sufficiently. Serve hot or cold, with the sauce poured over the fish and balls, and garnish with parsley and slices of lemon.

To make the balls: Chop the cod’s-liver very fine; add the remainder of the onion chopped fine, parsley, white of egg beaten, pepper, salt, nutmeg, ginger, and sufficient bread-crumbs to make them the right stiffness.