Take either a cod or haddock; skin it, loosen the skin about the head, and draw it down towards the tail, when it will peel off easily. Then run your knife down the back close to the bone, which you take out. Cut your fish in small pieces, and wash in cold water. Put the head on to boil in about two quarts of water, and boil twenty minutes. For a fish weighing six pounds, pare and slice thin five good-sized potatoes, and one onion. Place a layer of potatoes and onion in the pot, then a layer of fish, dredge in a little salt, pepper, and flour. Keep putting in alternate layers of potatoes and fish until all is used. Use about one tablespoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of pepper, one teacup of flour in all.

Have ready half a pound of salt pork fried blown. Pour this over the mixture; add about two quarts of cold water, then strain on the water in which the head has been boiled. If this is not water enough to cover, add more cold. Cover tight, and boil gently thirty minutes. If not seasoned enough, add what you please. When it has boiled twenty minutes, put in six crackers which have been soaked three minutes in cold water. If you wish to add milk and butter, you can do so about five minutes before taking it up; but for my taste, it is much nicer and more natural without either.

Fish Chowder, No. 2.

Four pounds of fish, half cod and half haddock, if you can get the two kinds, two onions, six potatoes, eight white browns, one quarter of a pound of salt pork, salt, pepper. Prepare the chowder as directed in the preceding rule; split the crackers and lay on top, pour over the whole hot water enough to cover, and boil fifteen minutes; then wet two tablespoonfuls of flour with one third of a cup of cream. Stir this into the boiling chowder, let it boil up once, and serve. When you cannot get the white browns, pilot bread will answer. When a very strong flavor of onion is desired, use four onions.—Mrs. T. Leighton.

Fried Cod.

Cut the fish into squares, wash and wipe dry. Take half a cup of flour, half a cup of sifted Indian meal, and a tablespoonful of salt. Mix all these thoroughly. Dip the fish into the mixture. Have ready a frying-pan with boiling fat, half lard and half pork fat; drop in your fish. Fry a dark-brown on one side, then turn and fry the same on the other side, but be very careful not to let the fish or fat burn. Have your dish hot, and lay your fish on it. Garnish the sides with the fried pork.

Broiled Cod, or Scrod.

Split, wash, and wipe dry a small cod. Rub the gridiron with a piece of fat pork, and lay the fish upon it, being careful to have the inside downward. If the fish is very thick, cook thirty minutes; but for an ordinary one, twenty minutes will be sufficient. Have the dish, in which you intend serving it, warm; place it upon the fish, and turn the dish and gridiron over simultaneously. If the fish sticks to the gridiron, loosen it gently with a knife. Have some butter warm, but not melted, with which to season it. Shake on a little pepper and salt, and send to the table.

Baked Cod.

Scrape and wash clean a cod weighing four or five pounds. Rub into it a heaping spoonful of salt. Make a dressing of three pounded crackers, a little chopped salt-pork about one teaspoonful of parsley, a little salt and pepper, and two tablespoonfuls of cold water. Stuff the belly with this, and fasten together with a skewer. Lay thin slices of pork on the fish, which should be placed on a tin sheet that will fit loosely into the baking-pan; dredge with flour. Pour into the pan about half a pint of cold water. Baste the fish often while cooking, with the water which is in the pan. If the water cooks away, add more, but do not have too much to begin with, or the fish will be boiled instead of being baked. Bake one hour. When the fish is cooked, turn the gravy into a bowl, then lift out the fish upon the tin sheet (from which you can easily slide it into the dish upon which you serve it); now turn your gravy into your baking-pan again, and place it on the fire; when it comes to a boil, thicken with a tablespoonful of flour, season with pepper and salt.

N. B. Always use a tin sheet in the baking-pan when cooking fish, as you then can preserve the shape.

Broiled Salt Fish.

Cut a square the size you desire, from the thickest part of the fish. Take off the skin, and wash clean; broil over clear coals ten minutes, then dip in boiling water, butter, and serve. This is a nice relish for breakfast or tea, and with boiled potatoes makes an excellent dinner.

Broiled Mackerel.

Split down the back, and clean. Be careful to scrape all the thin black skin from the inside. Wipe dry, and lay on the gridiron; broil on one side a nice brown, then turn, and brown the other side; it will not take so long to brown the side on which the skin is. (All fish should have the side on which the skin is, turned to the fire last, as the skin burns easily, and coals are not so hot after you have used them ten minutes.) Season with butter, pepper, and salt.

Fried Mackerel.

Fry brown six good-sized slices of pork. Prepare your mackerel as for broiling. Take out your pork, sprinkle a little salt over the mackerel, then fry a nice brown. Serve the fried pork with it.

Baked Mackerel.

Prepare as for boiling. Make a dressing as for baked cod. Stuff with this; dredge with salt and flour. Bake thirty minutes, basting often with water, butter, and flour. Make a gravy with the water in the pan in which the fish is baked. Always make the gravy quite salt. The best way to cook mackerel is to broil it.

Smelts.

The only true way to cook smelts is to fry them, although they are sometimes baked. Open them at the gills. Draw each smelt separately between your finger and thumb, beginning at tail; this will press the insides out. (Some persons never take out the insides, but it should be done as much as to any other fish.) Wash them clean, and let them drain in a cullender; then salt, and roll in a mixture of half flour and half Indian meal. Have about two inches deep of boiling fat in the frying-pan (drippings, if you have them; if not, lard); into this drop the smelts, and fry brown. Do not put so many in that they will be crowded; if you do, they will not be crisp and brown.

Brook Trout.

Brook trout are cooked the same as smelts; or you can cook them as the angler does. They must be split nearly to the tail to clean. Wash and drain. For a dozen good sized trout, fry six slices of salt pork; when brown, take out the pork, and put in the trout. Fry a nice brown on all sides. Serve the pork with them.

Eels Fried.

Skin them; then turn on boiling water, and let them stand in it a few moments; then cut them into pieces about three inches long. Fry a nice brown, and serve.

Baked Eels.

Prepare as for frying; then put into a baking-pan, with a little water, flour, pepper, and salt. Bake twenty minutes. Make a gravy of the liquor in which they were baked, adding a little butter.

Boiled Halibut.

Pour into a pan about half an inch deep of boiling water; into this lay the side of the halibut on which is the black skin; let this stand a few minutes; then scrape with a knife, when the black will be found to peel off readily. Wash clean in cold water, then pin it in your fish cloth, and drop it into boiling water. For a piece weighing four pounds allow twenty-five minutes to boil. Serve with drawn butter.

Fried Halibut.

Take a slice of halibut, sprinkle with salt, and dredge with flour. Fry four slices of salt pork, add to the pork fat one spoonful of lard. When boiling hot put in the halibut. Fry a light brown on one side, then turn and fry the same on the other. Serve the pork with it.

Broiled Halibut.

Grease the gridiron with a little butter, place the halibut upon it, sprinkle a little salt over it, and place over clear coals. Cook one side ten minutes, then turn and cook upon the other side ten more. Have the dish warm; put the fish upon it, season with pepper and butter, and send to the table.

Smoked Halibut.

Broiled the same as the fresh, omitting the pepper and salt. Smoked salmon cooked in the same way.

Fried Salmon.

The same as halibut.

Broiled Salmon.

The same as halibut.

Salmon Trout.

When large enough, split down the back, clean and broil. Season with butter and salt. When small, open far enough to take out the insides; wash clean, and wipe dry. Fry the same as codfish.

Shad and Haddock.

Shad and haddock can be cooked the same as cod.

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