Fish should always be perfectly fresh when cooked. To select fresh ones observe the eyes; if they have a bright life-like appearance the fish is fresh; if, on the contrary, the eyes are sunken and dark colored, and have lost their brilliancy, they are certainly stale. Some judge by the redness of the gills, but they are sometimes colored to deceive customers.

Crabs should be of a dark green color, and when fresh from the water are always very lively, the same remarks hold good with regard to lobsters. If the tail of the lobster will return to its former position when pulled out, the lobster is fresh.

Never buy a clam or oyster if the shells are parted. If the valves are tightly closed the oyster is fresh.

BOILED ROCK.

12. Scale a rock, take out the eyes and gills, draw it and wash it well. Flour a cloth, wrap the fish in it, and boil it in plenty of water strongly salted. A common sized fish requires about half a large tea cupful of salt. Place your fish kettle over a strong fire, and when the water boils put in the fish. Let it boil hard twenty minutes. Take it out of the cloth carefully, place it on your fish dish and send it to the table. Have egg sauce in a sauce boat. Mashed potatoes are an accompaniment to boiled fish. Garnish the dish with green parsley.

If any of the boiled fish should be left from dinner it may be spiced as shad, and makes an excellent relish for breakfast or tea.

FRIED ROCK.

13. Clean and score your fish; wash and wipe them dry; season well with cayenne pepper and salt. Let them stand at least one hour before they are cooked, that the seasoning may have time to penetrate them. Have ready a pan of hot lard, dredge flour over your fish, put them in the pan and fry them slowly, that they may be done through. They should be of a handsome brown on both sides.

All pan fish are fried in the same way.

BOILED COD.

14. Soak a dried cod for three hours in cold water; scrape and wash it very clean; then put it on to boil in as much cold water as will cover it. Let it boil half an hour. Drain it on your fish dish, and serve it with mashed potatoes, drawn butter, or egg sauce, and eggs boiled hard.

The castor should contain cayenne pepper, mustard, sweet oil, pepper, vinegar, and catsup.

COD FISH CAKES.

15. Boil a piece of salt cod; take out all the bones, and mash with it equal quantities of mashed potatoes. Season it with pepper and salt to your taste; then add as much beaten egg as will form it into a paste. Make it out into thin cakes, flour them, and fry them of a light brown.

SPICED SHAD.

16. One large shad,
Two table spoonsful of salt,
Three tea spoonsful of cayenne pepper,
Two table spoonsful of whole allspice,
As much vinegar as will cover it.

Split the shad open, rub over it two table spoonsful of salt, and let it stand several hours. Have ready a pot with boiling water in it sufficient to cover the shad, allowing a tea spoonful of salt to every quart of water. Boil it twenty minutes. Take it out of the water, drain it, bruise your allspice just so as to crack the grains. Sprinkle over your shad the allspice and pepper, and cover it with cold vinegar.

BOILED SHAD.

17. Clean your shad, wash it and wipe it, flour it well, wrap it in a cloth, and put it into a large vessel of boiling water with a great deal of salt. It will require about twenty minutes to cook it. Serve it with egg sauce, or rich drawn butter.

FRIED SHAD.

18. Cut your shad in half, wash it and wipe it dry, score it and season with cayenne pepper and salt, dredge flour over it, and fry it in hot lard. When done, put the two halves together, that it may assume the appearance of a whole fish.

BROILED SHAD.

19. Split your shad down the back, wash it and season it well with salt. Have your gridiron heated, grease the bars, put on the shad and broil it slowly till quite done. It should be of a fine brown on both sides. If designed for the dinner table, after having basted it well with butter on both sides, fold it over, that it may assume its original form, and serve it.

BAKED SHAD.

20. Open your shad by cutting it down the back, wash it well and wipe it dry, score it and season it with cayenne pepper and salt; put it in a pan with two ounces of butter cut in small pieces, put a few pieces of butter in the bottom of the pan and the remainder on the shad, add two table spoonsful of water. Place it in a very moderate oven and let it stand three or four hours.

SHAD ROASTED ON A BOARD.

21. Take a piece of clean oak board about three inches thick, and two feet square, stand it before the fire till the board is very hot, indeed almost charred. Have your shad split down the back, cleaned, washed, wiped dry, and seasoned with salt; fasten it to the hot board with a few small nails; the skin side should be next the board, place the board before the fire with the head part down; as soon as the juices begin to run, turn it with the tail down; it should be turned frequently in order to retain the juices. When done butter it and serve it hot. Send it to the table on the board.

This is the receipt for baking shad at the Philadelphia "fish house."

POTTED SHAD, No. 1.

22. Cut a shad in six or eight pieces, wash and wipe it dry. Mix one dessert spoonful of ground allspice, half a table spoonful of black pepper, and half a table spoonful of salt—sprinkle a portion of this seasoning over each piece of shad. Put them into a stone jar with enough good cider vinegar to cover them; cover the jar with a clean cloth, and over this tie closely several thicknesses of brown paper to keep in the steam; set it in a moderate oven and let it remain twelve hours.

This is very good, but the fish is dark colored. When potted according to No. 2, it retains its whiteness.

POTTED SHAD, No. 2.

23. Cut a shad in about half a dozen pieces, wash it and wipe it dry. Mix together two table spoonsful of whole allspice and one table spoonful of whole black pepper; put one table spoonful and a half of salt over the shad the evening before it is to be potted, the next morning sprinkle over it a half a tea spoonful of cayenne pepper. Place the shad in a stone jar, and over each layer throw a portion of the grains of pepper and allspice, cover it with vinegar and set it in a moderate oven for twelve hours.

HALIBUT.

24. Cut it in slices about a quarter of an inch thick; wash and dry them, season with cayenne pepper and salt; have ready a pan of hot lard and fry your fish in it till of a delicate brown on both sides.

Some dip the cutlets in beaten egg and then in bread crumbs and fry it. When done in this manner it should be cut rather thinner than according to the first method.

Or, heat your gridiron, grease the bars, season your fish with cayenne pepper and salt, and broil it till of a fine brown color. Lay it on a dish and butter it.

CAT FISH.

25. Cut each fish in two parts, down the back and stomach; take out the upper part of the back bone next the head; wash and wipe them dry, season with cayenne pepper and salt, and dredge flour over them; fry them in hot lard of a nice light brown.

Some dress them like oysters; they are then dipped in beaten egg and bread crumbs and fried in hot lard. They are very nice dipped in beaten egg, without the crumbs, and fried.

POTTED HERRING.

26. Clean your herring, wash them well and wipe them dry; then rub each one with salt and cayenne pepper; place in your jar a layer of herring, then some grains of allspice, half a dozen cloves, and two or three blades of mace; then put in another layer of herring, and so on till all are in; cover the herring with cold vinegar, tie up the jar closely with several thicknesses of paper, and set it in the oven after the bread has been drawn out; let it remain there all night. As soon as they become cold they will be fit for use.

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