The middling-sized ones are preferable to the very large ones; the meat is more delicate; plain boiling in salt and water is all they require, or sea water if it can be obtained; though the dressing of this fish is so very simple you very seldom meet with them boiled to perfection; often they are over done, then they have lost their succulence, and eat tough and thready; but if, on the contrary, they are under done, they are very unwholesome and unpalateable; to avoid this mistake I will here give the proper time to boil them; put a lobster weighing one pound into boiling water and let it boil a quarter of an hour; if the lobster weighs two pounds it will require half an hour, and so on in proportion; this is one of the most useful shell fish employed in cooking, as may be seen by the different receipts for fish.

No. 340. Crabs.

This is also a very delicate fish; it is boiled in the same manner as a lobster, only allowing five minutes longer to each pound, but small ones are useless; they are usually eaten cold with oil and vinegar; to send them to table, dress the meat in the back shell by mixing the soft part with a few bread-crumbs, seasoning it with a little pepper and salt, and putting it in the centre of the shell; then pick the flesh from the large claw with a fork, and filling up the two ends, separating it from the other with some red spawn, place it upon a dish, surround it with the small claws in a circle, and garnish with parsley.

No. 341. Muscles.

Though very little in use, the flavour of this fish is very delicious in many sauces; many people are afraid to eat them, but with care there is not the slightest danger if prepared in the following manner: wash them well in several waters, and be particular in taking off all the threads that hang to the joints of the shell, put them in a stewpan with two onions (sliced), four cloves, two bay-leaves, and a handful of parsley; set them on a brisk fire and cover them over, toss them over now and then, and when they open of themselves they are done; turn them out of the stewpan, lift off the top shells and take out the fish, beard them and be particular that no small crabs remain in them (as they are supposed to be the unwholesome part), put them in a basin, strain their own liquor over them, and put them by for use. In July and August these fish may be omitted.

No. 342. Oysters.

The English green oysters are the best that are known; the latter end of August is about the time an epicure would begin to eat them; the small ones are the best for table, and the large ones for culinary purposes; to blanch them open them with care, and put them in a stewpan with their own liquor; let them set, but they must not boil; beard them, strain their own liquor over them in a basin, put them by and use where described.

No. 343. Pike roasted.

This fish in France is found daily upon the tables of the first epicures, but the quality of this fish there appears much more delicate than here. But perhaps the reason of its being more in vogue there is, that other fish are more scarce; not being so much in use here, (that is, in London,) but in the country, where gentlemen have sport in catching them, they are much more thought of, and to them, perhaps, the following receipts may be the most valuable. To dress it plain it is usually baked, as follows: having well cleaned the fish stuff it with the stuffing for fish (No. 127), and sew the belly up with packthread; butter a sautÉ-pan, put the fish into it and place it in the oven for an hour or more, according to the size of it; when done dish it without a napkin and pour anchovy sauce round it; this fish, previous to its being baked, must be trussed with its tail in its mouth, four incisions cut on each side, and well buttered over.

No. 344. Pike À la Chambord.

The large fish are the only ones fit for this dish (which is much thought of in France). Have the fish well cleaned, and lard it in a square on one side with bacon, put it in a fish-kettle, the larded side upwards, and prepare the following marinade: slice four onions, one carrot, and one turnip, and put them in a stewpan with six bay-leaves, six cloves, two blades of mace, a little thyme, basil, a bunch of parsley, half a pound of lean ham, and half a pound of butter; pass it over a slow fire twenty minutes, keeping it stirred; then add half a bottle of Madeira wine, a wineglassful of vinegar, and six quarts of broth; boil altogether an hour, then pass it through a sieve and pour the liquor into the kettle over the fish; set the fish on the fire to stew for an hour or more, according to the size, but take care the marinade does not cover the fish, moisten the larded part now and then with the stock, and put some burning charcoal on the lid of the kettle; when done glaze it lightly, dish it without a napkin, and have ready the following sauce: put a pint of the stock your fish was stewed in (having previously taken off all the fat) into a stewpan, with two glasses of Madeira wine, reduce it to half, then add two quarts of brown sauce (No. 1), keep it stirred over the fire till the sauce adheres to the back of the wooden spoon, then add the roes of four carp or mackarel (cut in large pieces, but be careful not to break them), twenty heads of very white mushrooms, twenty cockscombs, twelve large quenelles of whiting (No. 124), and finish with a tablespoonful of essence of anchovies and half a one of sugar, pour the sauce round the fish, arranging the garniture with taste, add twelve crawfish to the garniture, having previously taken off all the small claws; serve very hot.

This dish I dare say will be but seldom made in this country, on account of its complication, but I thought proper to give it on account of the high estimation in which it is held in France; I must however observe that I have omitted some of the garniture which would make it still more expensive, and if there should be any difficulty in getting what remains, the sauce is very good without.

No. 345. Pike en matelote.

Stuff and bake the fish as before; when done, dress it without a napkin, and pour a sauce matelote (see Saumon en matelote mariniÈre, No. 239) in the middle and round the fish, and serve very hot. Or the fish may be stewed as in the last.

No. 346. Pike À la Hollandaise.

Boil the fish in salt and water, in the same manner as cod-fish; drain it well, dish it without a napkin, pour a sauce Hollandaise over it. (For sauce, see Turbot À la Hollandaise, No. 206.)

No. 347. Small Pike À la MeuniÈre.

Crimp a small pike, it must not weigh more than two pounds, but smaller if you can get it, and proceed exactly as for Sole À la meuniÈre (No. 260), but allow it more time.

No. 348. Pike with caper sauce.

Boil the fish as before, and have ready caper sauce made as follows: put fifteen tablespoonfuls of melted butter in a stewpan, and when it boils add a quarter of a pound of fresh butter; when it melts, add two tablespoonfuls of liaison (No. 119); let it remain on the fire to thicken, but do not let it boil; moisten with a little milk if required, then add two tablespoonfuls of capers, and pour over the fish.

No. 349. Pike À la MaÎtre d’HÔtel.

Boil the fish as usual, and dish it without a napkin; then put twelve tablespoonfuls of melted butter in a stewpan; and when it is upon the point of boiling, add a quarter of a pound of maÎtre d’hÔtel butter, and when it melts pour over and round the fish; serve very hot.

No. 350. Pike À l’Egyptienne.

Cut two onions, two turnips, one carrot, one head of celery, and one leek into slices; put them into a large stewpan with some parsley, thyme, bay-leaves, and a pint of port wine; then have your fish ready trussed, with its tail in its mouth; put it into the stewpan, with the vegetables; add three pints of broth, and set it on a slow fire to stew, with some live charcoal upon the lid; try, when done, by running the knife close in to the back bone; if the meat detaches easily, it is done; take it out, and place on a baking sheet; dry it with a cloth, then egg and bread-crumb it; put it in the oven, and salamander it a light brown; then put twenty tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, with eight of milk, and reduce it five minutes; then add four gherkins, the whites of four hard-boiled eggs, and two truffles, cut in very small dice; finish with two tablespoonfuls of essence of anchovies, the juice of half a lemon, and four pats of butter; dress the fish without a napkin, and sauce over.

No. 351. Fillets of Pike À la MaÎtre d’HÔtel.

Fillet three small pike and dress them in the manner described in Fillets of mackerel À la VÉnitienne (No. 307); dress them round on a dish without a napkin, and sauce over with the same sauce as Pike À la maÎtre d’hÔtel.

No. 352. Fillets of Pike en matelote.

If for a dinner for twelve, fillet four small pike; egg and bread-crumb, and fry in oil; dish them round on a border of mashed potatoes (previously cutting each fillet in halves) and serve sauce matelote (No. 62) in the centre.

No. 353. Fillets of Pike À la MeuniÈre.

Fillet four pike as above, cut each fillet in halves, rub some chopped eschalot into them, dip them in flour, broil them; when done, sauce as for Sole À la meuniÈre (No. 260). Observe, if you happen to live in the country where pike is plentiful, you may dish the fillets in as many ways as soles or any other fish; but I have omitted giving them here, thinking it useless to fill a useful book with so many repetitions; we have several ways of dressing pike to be eaten cold in France, which I have also omitted, as they would be quite useless in this country.

No. 354. Carp en matelote.

Have your fish ready cleaned, and make four or five incisions on each side; then put two sliced onions, three sprigs of thyme and parsley, and half a pint of port wine in a stewpan, or small fish-kettle; season the fish with pepper and salt, lay it in the stewpan, add four pints of broth, and place it on a slow fire to stew for an hour (which will be sufficient for a fish of five pounds weight), or more in proportion to the size; when done, dress it on a dish, without a napkin; drain it well, and serve a matelote sauce (No. 62) over it, only use some of the stock from the fish (having previously taken off all the fat) instead of plain broth, as directed in that article.

No. 355. Carp À la Genoise.

Prepare your fish as above, and lay it in your fish-kettle, with two ounces of salt, half a bottle of port wine, two onions, two turnips, one leek, one carrot (cut in slices), three bay-leaves, six cloves, two blades of mace, and a sprig of parsley, cover the fish with white broth; stew it as before, dress it without a napkin, prepare a sauce Genoise (No. 63), and pour over it.

No. 356. Stewed Carp À la Marquise.

Cook the fish as above, and when done, dress it on a dish without a napkin, and have ready the following sauce: put twenty tablespoonfuls of white sauce (No. 7) in a stewpan, reduce it over a fire until rather thick, then add a gill of whipt cream, two tablespoonfuls of capers, and two of chopped gherkins; pour over the fish, then sprinkle two tablespoonfuls of chopped beet-root over it, and serve.

No. 357. Carp with caper sauce.

Cook the fish as above, and dress it without a napkin; then put twenty-five tablespoonfuls of melted butter into a stewpan, and when nearly boiling add a quarter of a pound of fresh butter; stir it till the butter melts, then add four tablespoonfuls of capers, and pour over. This sauce must be rather thick.

No. 358. Carp fried.

Open the fish down the back with a sharp knife from the head to the tail, cutting off half the head, so that the fish is quite flat; break the backbone in three places, but allow the roe to remain; then dip the fish in flour, and fry it in hot lard; dress it on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve plain melted butter, well seasoned, in a boat.

No. 359. Tench en matelote.

This fish, though not much thought of by our first-rate epicures, is, according to my opinion, superior to carp; in a matelote it is excellent.

Have your fish prepared for cooking, and put them into a small fish-kettle (with a drainer); and if two middle-sized fish, put two onions, half a carrot, one turnip, three bay-leaves, a bunch of parsley, four cloves, a blade of mace, ten allspice, half a pint of port wine, and half a pint of broth in the kettle with them; place them over a moderate fire, stew them half an hour, or more if required; when done drain them well; dress without a napkin, and pour a matelote sauce (No. 62) over them.

Stew the fish exactly as above, dress them without a napkin, and pour a sauce Beyrout (No. 64) over them.

No. 361. Tench À la Poulette.

Stew the fish as before, only use bucellas instead of port wine; then peel thirty button onions, pass them in a stewpan (over a fire) with a little powdered sugar and butter till they are covered with a white glaze; then add two glasses of bucellas wine, boil it three minutes; then put twenty tablespoonfuls of white sauce, and ten of the stock from the fish in with it, and let it simmer on the corner of the fire till the onions are quite done, keeping it well skimmed; then season with a little pepper, salt, and sugar, and add twenty muscles (blanched), a little chopped parsley, and a tablespoonful of lemon-juice; take it off the fire, stir in four tablespoonfuls of liaison, and pour over the fish; serve very hot. The sauce requires to be thick enough to well cover the fish.

No. 362. Tench sauce aux Moules.

Stew the fish as before, dish it up without a napkin, have ready a muscle sauce (No. 70) pour it over the fish, and serve very hot.

No. 363. Tench fried or broiled.

Is very good served with anchovy or shrimp sauce in a boat.

No 364. Perch À la Hollandaise.

Have three middling-sized fishes ready prepared for cooking; then put two ounces of butter, two onions (in slices), one carrot (cut small), some parsley, two bay-leaves, six cloves, and two blades of mace in a stewpan; pass it five minutes over a brisk fire, then add a quart of water, two glasses of vinegar, one ounce of salt, and a little pepper; boil altogether a quarter of an hour, and pass it through a sieve into a small fish-kettle; then lay the fishes into it, and let them stew twenty or thirty minutes over a moderate fire; dress them on a dish without a napkin, and pour a sauce Hollandaise (No. 66) over them.

No. 365. Perch À la MaÎtre d’HÔtel

Prepare and cook your fish as above; then put twenty tablespoonfuls of melted butter in a stewpan, and when it is upon the point of boiling, add a quarter of a pound of MaÎtre d’HÔtel butter (No. 79) and pour the sauce over the fish, which dress on a dish without a napkin.

No. 366. Small Perches en water souchet.

Cut four small fishes in halves, having previously taken off all the scales, and proceed precisely as for Flounders en water souchet (No. 331).

No. 367. Small Perches frits au beurre.

Scale and well dry six perches, and make incisions here and there on each side of them; then put a quarter of a pound of butter into a sautÉ-pan, season your fishes with pepper and salt, put them in the sautÉ-pan and fry them gently, turning them carefully; when done, dress them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve without sauce.

In my opinion, they are much better cooked this way than boiled or stewed; large fish may also be done this way, but they require more butter, and must cook very slowly.

No. 368. Trout plain boiled.

Trout that is caught in a river or running stream is preferable to that caught in a lake or pond; although I have had very fine ones from ponds, they have invariably tasted muddy; in fact a running stream is better for all fish in this respect; but still water most affects the flavour of the trout.

Prepare the fish for cooking, and boil it in salt and water; if it weighs two pounds, allow it half an hour, and more in proportion; dress it on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve shrimp-sauce in a boat.

No. 369. Trout À la MaÎtre d’HÔtel.

Stew the fish like perch, allowing more time in proportion to the size; dress them on a dish without a napkin, and sauce the same as Perche À la MaÎtre d’HÔtel (No. 365).

No. 370. Trout À la Genoise.

Stew the fish as above, dress it on a dish without a napkin, and pour a sauce Genoise (No. 63) over it.

No. 371. Baked Trout.

Proceed exactly the same as for baked pike (No. 343.)

No. 372. Trout À la Beyrout.

Dry your fish with a cloth, flour it, and lay it on the gridiron; broil it nicely over a moderate fire; when done, peel off all the skin; dish it without a napkin, and pour a sauce Beyrout (No. 64) over it.

No. 373. Fillets of Trout À la Mazarine.

Fillet a fish, and cut each fillet in halves; fry it in butter, like perch, dress it round on a dish, and pour a sauce Mazarine over them. For sauce, see Turbot À la Mazarine, No. 207, or they may be served with a matelote sauce in change.

No. 374. Eels fried.

Cut the eels in pieces about three inches long, dip them in flour, egg and bread-crumb, and fry them in very hot lard, dress them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve shrimp-sauce in a boat.

No. 375. Eels À la Tartare.

Cut the eels and fry as above, have ready some Tartare sauce (No. 38) upon a cold dish, lay the eels upon it and serve immediately; should the eels be large they must be three parts stewed before they are fried; dry them upon a cloth previous to bread-crumbing them.

No. 376. Spitchcocked Eels.

Take the bones out of the eels by opening them from head to tail, and cut them in pieces about four inches long, throw them into some flour, then have ready upon a dish about a couple of handfuls of bread-crumbs, a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, a little dried thyme, and a little cayenne pepper, then egg each piece of eel and bread-crumb them with it, fry them in very hot lard, dish them on a napkin, and serve shrimp-sauce in a boat.

No. 377. Stewed Eels.

Cut the eels in pieces as before, and tie each piece round with packthread, then put them into a stewpan with an onion, a tablespoonful of white wine, three cloves, three whole allspice, a bunch of parsley, thyme, and bay-leaf, and a little white broth, sufficient to cover them; place them over a moderate fire, and let them stew gently for half an hour or more, if required, (according to the size of the eel,) take them out, drain them on a napkin, dish them without a napkin, and have ready the following sauce: put a teaspoonful of chopped onions into a stewpan with four tablespoonfuls of white wine, and eight ditto of brown sauce (No. 1), let it boil gently for a quarter of an hour, keeping it stirred, then add a teaspoonful of essence of anchovies and a little sugar, and pour over your eels.

No. 378. Eels en matelote.

Stew the eels as above, dress them without a napkin, and pour a sauce matelote (No. 62) over them. They may also be served with a sauce À la Beyrout (No. 64).

No. 379. Lampreys.

Are fish not so often used as eels, though they are remarkably good eating; but I think they have got out of repute by being so often served underdone; they may be stewed in the same manner as eels, (only a lamprey requires double the time stewing that an eel of the same size would require), and serve with the same sauces, with matelote sauce especially; if you fry or broil them they must be three parts boiled beforehand; to try when done run a trussing needle into them, if it goes in easy they are done.

No. 380. Crawfish.

These are very favourite little shell-fish, and much used in France, but seldom served as a dish in this country (they are not good when in spawn); for a dish have two dozen of them and wash in several waters (choose them as near as possible of equal sizes), then put them in a stewpan, with two onions, one carrot, one turnip, one head of celery, six bay-leaves, a bunch of parsley, six cloves, twelve peppercorns, half an ounce of salt, half a teaspoonful of pepper, a quarter ditto of cayenne, two glasses of vinegar, four of sherry, and half a pint of broth; place them over a very brisk fire for twenty-five minutes, stirring them occasionally, take them off the fire and let them cool in their stock, put them in a basin, cover them with the stock, but strain the vegetables away from them, and use for garnishing where directed; to make a dish dress them on butter in the form of a bush, mingling very green double parsley with them.

There are some few other sorts of fresh-water fish not very frequently used, which may be fried, boiled, or stewed, in some of the ways as described in the foregoing list.