BOILING IN GENERAL.
SECT. I.
BUTCHER’S MEAT.
AS a necessary prelude to the directions given under this head, we shall make a few necessary and general observations. All meat should be boiled as slow as possible, but in plenty of water, which will make it rise and look plump. Be careful to keep it clear from scum, and let your pot be close covered. If you boil it fast, the outside will be hardened before the inside is warm, and the meat will be disagreeably discoloured. A leg of veal of twelve pounds weight, will take three hours and a half boiling; and the slower it boils the whiter and plumper it will be.
With respect to mutton and beef, if they are rather under done, they may be ate without being either disagreeable or unwholesome; but lamb, pork, and veal, should be thoroughly done, otherwise, they will be obnoxious to the sight, and consequently ungrateful to the palate. A leg of pork will take half an hour’s more boiling than a leg of veal of the same weight; but in general, when you boil beef and mutton, you may allow as many quarters of an hour as the meat weighs pounds. To put in the meat when the water is cold must be allowed to be the best method, as thereby the middle gets warm before the outside becomes hardened. Three quarters of an hour will boil a leg of lamb four pounds and a half weight. From these general directions, it would be unnecessary to describe the usual mode of boiling the common joints of either mutton or beef. We shall therefore proceed to those articles which require more particular notice.
To dress a Calf’s Head, one half boiled, the other baked.
AFTER having well cleansed the head, parboil one half, beat up the yolk of an egg, and rub it over the head with a feather; then strew over it a seasoning of pepper, salt, thyme, parsley chopped small, shred lemon-peel, grated bread, and a little nutmeg; stick bits of butter over it, and send it to the oven. Boil the other half white in a cloth, and put them both into a dish. Boil the brains in a piece of clean cloth, with a very little parsley, and a leaf or two of sage. When they are boiled chop them small, and warm them up in a saucepan, with a bit of butter, and a little pepper and salt. Lay the tongue, boiled and peeled, in the middle of a small dish, and the brains round it; have in another dish, bacon or pickled pork; and in a third, greens and carrots.
Grass Lamb.
WHATEVER the number of pounds is that the joint weighs, so many quarters of an hour must it boil. When done, serve it up with spinach, carrots, cabbage, or brocoli.
A Ham.
PUT your ham into a copper of cold water, and when it boils take care that it boils slowly. A ham of twenty pounds weight will take four hours and a half boiling; and so in proportion for one of a larger or smaller size. An old and large ham will require sixteen hours soaking in a large tub of soft water; but a green one does not require any soaking. Be sure, while your ham is boiling, to keep the water clear from scum. When you take it up, pull off the skin, and rub it all over with an egg, strew on crumbs of bread, baste it with a little butter, and set it to the fire till it is of a light brown.
Another Way of boiling a Ham.
WITH respect to its being an old ham, or a green one, observe the before-mentioned directions. Pare it round and underneath, taking care no rusty part is left. Put it into a pan or pot that will properly contain it, cover it with water, and put in a few cloves, thyme, and laurel leaves. Let it boil on a slow fire about five hours, and then add a glass of brandy, and a pint of red wine: finish boiling in the same manner. If it is to be served up hot, take off the skin, and throw it over with crumbs of bread, a little parsley finely chopped, and a few bits of butter, and give it a good colour either in the oven, or with a salamander. If it is to be kept cold, it will be better to let the skin remain, as it will be a means of preserving its juices.
Ham a-la-Braise.
PARE your ham round and underneath, taking care no rusty part is left; cover it well with meat under and over, with roots and spices, filling it up with water. The gravy that comes from the ham being excellent for all kinds of brown sauces.
Tongues.
IF it be a dried tongue, steep it all night in water; but if it be a pickled one, only wash it well from the brine. Let it boil moderately three hours. If it is to be eat hot, stick it with cloves, rub it over with the yolk of an egg, strew crumbled bread over it, and, when done, baste it with butter, and set it before the fire till it becomes of a light brown. Dish it up with a little brown gravy, or red wine sauce, and lay slices of currant jelly round the dish.
Neat’s Tongue, with Parsley.
BOIL it a quarter of an hour, then take it out, and lard it; put it in again to boil with any meat you have going on; when it is done, take the skin off, cut almost half through the middle lengthwise, that it may open in two parts, without the pieces coming apart, and serve it up with some gravy, pepper, and parsley shred fine. If you wish you may add a dash of lemon-juice.
Leg of Mutton, with Cauliflowers and Spinach.
TAKE a leg of mutton, cut venison fashion, and boil it in a cloth. Boil two fine cauliflowers in milk and water, pull them into sprigs, and stew them with butter, pepper, salt, and a little milk: stew some spinach in a saucepan, and put to it a quarter of a pint of gravy, with a piece of butter, and a little flour. When all is done, put the mutton in the middle of the dish, the spinach round it, and the cauliflower over all. The butter the cauliflower was stewed in must be poured over it, and it must be made to appear like smooth cream.
Lamb’s Head.
WASH the head very clean, take the black part from the eyes, and the gall from the liver. Lay the head in warm water; boil the lights, heart, and part of the liver. Chop and flour them, and toss them up in a saucepan with some gravy, catchup, and a little pepper, salt, lemon-juice, and a spoonful of cream. Boil the head very white, lay it in the middle of the dish, and the mince-meat round it. Place the other parts of the liver fried, with some very small bits of bacon on the mince-meat, and the brains fried in little cakes and laid on the rim of the dish, with some crisped parsley put between. Pour a little melted butter over the head, and garnish with lemon.
Or you may dress it thus:
BOIL the head and pluck tender, but do not let the liver be too much done. Take the head up, hack it cross and cross with a knife, grate some nutmeg over it, and lay it in a dish before a good fire. Then grate some crumbs of bread, some sweet herbs rubbed, a little lemon-peel chopped fine, a very little pepper and salt, and baste it with a little butter; then throw a little flour over it, and just as it is done do the same, baste and dredge it. Take half the liver, the heart, the lights, and tongue, chop them very small, with about a gill of gravy or water. First shake some flour over the meat, and stir it together, then put in the gravy or water a good piece of butter rolled in a little flour, a little pepper and salt, and what runs from the head in the dish. Simmer all together a few minutes, and add half a spoonful of vinegar; pour it into your dish, lay the head in the middle of the mince-meat, have ready the other half of the liver cut thin with some slices of bacon broiled, and lay round the head. Garnish with lemon.
Leg of Lamb boiled, and Loin fried.
CUT your leg from the loin, and boil it three quarters of an hour. Cut the loin in handsome steaks, beat them with a cleaver, and fry them a good brown. Then stew them a little in strong gravy. Put your leg on the dish, and lay your steaks round it. Pour on your gravy, lay round lumps of staved spinach and crisped parsley on every steak. Send it to table with gooseberry sauce in a boat, and garnish with lemon.
A Haunch or Neck of Venison.
AS a necessary preparation for either of these joints, let it lie in salt for a week; then boil it in a cloth well floured, and allow a quarter of an hour’s boiling for every pound it weighs. For sauce, boil some cauliflowers, pulled into little sprigs, in some milk and water, with some fine white cabbage, and turnips cut in dice; add some beet-root cut into narrow pieces about an inch and a half long, and half an inch thick. After your cabbage is boiled, beat it up in a saucepan with a piece of butter and salt. When your meat is done, and laid in the dish, put the cabbage next the cauliflower, and then the turnips. Place the beet-root here and there, according to your fancy: and have a little melted butter in a cup, in case it should be wanted. This dish is not only excellent in its quality, but particularly pleasing in its appearance. If any is left, it will eat well the next day, hashed with gravy and sweet sauce.
Pickled Pork.
AFTER washing and scraping it perfectly clean, put it into the pot with the water cold, and when the rind feels tender, it is enough. The general sauce is greens, among the variety of which you are to make choice to your own direction.
BOIL the feet till they are quite tender, but take up the heart, liver, and lights, when they have boiled ten minutes, and shred them small. Then take out the feet and split them; thicken your gravy with flour and butter, and put in your mince-meat, a spoonful of white wine, a slice of lemon, a little salt, and give it a gentle boil. Beat the yolk of an egg; put to it two spoonsful of cream, and a little grated nutmeg. Then put in the pettitoes, and shake it over the fire till it is quite hot, but do not let it boil. Put sippets into the dish, pour over the whole, and garnish with sliced lemon.
SECT. II.
BOILING POULTRY.
Turkeys.
A Turkey should not be dressed till three or four days after being killed, as it will otherwise not boil white, neither will it eat tender. When you have plucked it, draw it at the rump, cut off the legs, put the ends of the thighs into the body, and tie them with a string. Having cut off the head and neck, grate a penny loaf, chop fine about a score of oysters, shred a little lemon-peel, and put in a sufficient quantity of salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Mix these up into a light forcemeat, with a quarter of a pound of butter, three eggs, and a spoonful or two of cream. Stuff the craw of the turkey with one part of this composition; the other must be made into balls, and boiled. When you have sewed up the turkey, and dredged it with flour, put it into a kettle of cold water; cover it close, set it over the fire, and when the scum begins to rise, take it clean off, and then cover the kettle close. If a young one of a moderate size, let it boil very slowly for half an hour; then take off your kettle, and let it stand for some time close covered, when the steam being confined, will sufficiently do it. When you dish it up, pour a little of your oyster sauce over it, lay the force-meat balls round it, and serve it up with the rest of the sauce in a boat. Garnish your dish with barberries and lemon.
The best sauces for a boiled turkey are, good oyster and celery sauce. Make the oyster sauce thus: Take a pint of oysters, strain the liquor from them, and beard and wash them in cold water. Pour the liquor clear off into a stew-pan, and put in the oysters with a blade of mace, some butter rolled with flour, and a quarter of a lemon. When they boil up, put in half a pint of cream, and boil the whole gently together. Take the lemon and mace out; squeeze the juice of the lemon into the sauce, and serve it up in your boats or basins. Make the celery sauce thus: Cut the white part of the celery into pieces about an inch in length, and boil it in some water till it is tender. Then take half a pint of veal broth and a blade of mace, and thicken it with a little flour and butter; add half a pint of cream, and boil them gently together. Put in your celery, and when it boils, pour them into your boats.
Chickens.
AFTER you have drawn them, lay them in skimmed milk for two hours, and truss them. When you have properly singed, and dusted them with flour, cover them close in cold water, and set them over a slow fire. Having taken off the scum, and boiled them slowly five or six minutes, take them off the fire, and keep them close covered for half an hour in the water, which will do them sufficiently, and make them plump and white. Before you dish them, set them on the fire to heat: then drain them and pour over them white sauce, which you must have made ready in the following manner:
Take the heads and necks of the chickens, with a small bit of scrag of veal, or any scraps of mutton you may have by you, and put them into a saucepan, with a blade or two of mace, and a few black peppercorns, an anchovy, a head of celery, a slice of the end of a lemon, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Put to these a quart of water, cover it close, and let it boil till it is reduced to half a pint. Then strain it, and thicken it with a quarter of a pound of butter mixed with flour, and boil it five or six minutes. Then put in two spoonsful of mushrooms, and mix the yolks of two eggs with a tea-cup full of cream, and a little nutmeg grated. Put in your sauce, and keep shaking it over the fire till it is near boiling; then pour it into your boats, and serve it up with your chickens.
Fowls.
AFTER having drawn your fowls, which you must be particularly careful in doing, cut off the head, neck, and legs. Skewer them with the ends of their legs in their bodies, and tie them round with a string. Singe and dust them well with flour, put them into cold water, cover the kettle close, and set it on the fire; but take it off as soon as the scum begins to rise. Cover them close again, and let them boil gently twenty minutes: then take them off, and the heat of the water will do them sufficiently. Melted butter with parsley shred fine is the usual sauce, but you may serve them up with the like sauce as before directed for chickens.
Rabbits or Ducks.
BOIL your duck or rabbit in a good deal of water, and when the scum rises take it clean off. A duck will take about twenty minutes, and a rabbit half an hour. Melted butter and parsley is frequently used as sauce for rabbits; but if you prefer onion sauce, which will do for either, make it thus: Peel your onions, and throw them into water as you peel them; then cut them into thin slices, boil them in milk and water, and scum the liquor. About half an hour will boil them. When they are sufficiently boiled, put them into a clean sieve to drain: chop them, and rub them through a cullender; then put them into a saucepan, and shake a little flour, with two or three spoonsful of cream, and a good piece of butter. Stew them all together till they are thick and fine; lay the duck or rabbit in a dish, and pour the sauce all over. If a rabbit, you must pluck out the jaw-bones, and stick one in each eye, the small end inwards.
Another sauce for a boiled duck may be made thus: Take a large onion, a handful of parsley clean washed and picked, and a lettuce: cut the onion small, chop the parsley fine, and put them into a quarter of a pint of good gravy, with a spoonful of lemon-juice, and a little pepper and salt. When they have stewed together half an hour, add two spoonsful of red wine. Lay the duck in your dish, and pour the sauce over it.
Pigeons.
WHEN you draw your pigeons, be careful to take out the craw as clean as possible. Wash them in several waters, and having cut off the pinions turn their legs under their wings. Let them boil very slowly a quarter of an hour, and they will be sufficiently done. Dish them up, and pour over them good melted butter; lay round the dish a little brocoli, and serve them up with melted butter and parsley in boats. They should be boiled by themselves, and may be eaten with bacon, greens, spinach, or asparagus.
Geese.
SINGE a goose, and pour over it a quart of boiling milk. Let it continue in the milk all night, then take it out, and dry it well with a cloth. Cut an onion very small with some sage, put them into the goose, sew it up at the neck and vent, and hang it up by the legs till the next day; then put it into a pot of cold water, cover it close, and let it boil gently for an hour. Serve it up with onion sauce.
Partridges.
BOIL them quick in a good deal of water, and fifteen minutes will be sufficient. For sauce, take a quarter of a pint of cream, and a bit of fresh butter about the size of a walnut. Stir it one way till it is melted, and then pour it over the birds.
THESE must be likewise boiled in plenty of water. If it be a small one, half an hour will be sufficient, but if a large one, three quarters. For sauce, stew some heads of celery cut very fine, thickened with cream, and a small piece of butter rolled in flour, and season with salt to your palate. When your bird is done, pour the sauce over it, and garnish the dish with thin slices of lemon.
Snipes or Woodcocks.
SNIPES or Woodcocks must be boiled in good strong broth, or beef gravy, which you must make as follows: Cut a pound of lean beef into small pieces, and put it into four quarts of water, with an onion, a bundle of sweet herbs, a blade or two of mace, six cloves, and some whole pepper. Cover it close, let it boil till it is half wasted, then strain it off, and put the gravy into a saucepan, with salt enough to season it. Draw the birds clean, but take particular care of the guts. Put the birds into the gravy, cover them close, and ten minutes will boil them. In the meantime cut the guts and liver small, then take a little of the gravy the birds are boiling in, and stew the guts in it with a blade of mace. Take about as much of the crumb of bread as the inside of a roll, and rub or grate it very small into a clean cloth, then put into a pan with some butter, and fry it till crisp, and of a fine light brown colour. When your birds are ready, take about half a pint of the liquor they were boiled in, and add to the guts two spoonsful of red wine, and a piece of butter about the size of a walnut, rolled in flour. Set them on the fire, and shake your saucepan often, (but by no means stir it with a spoon,) till the butter is melted; then put in the fried crumbs, give the saucepan another shake, take up your birds, lay them in the dish, and pour your sauce over them. Garnish with sliced lemon.
BOILING FISH.
Turbot.
WHEN you have thoroughly washed and cleansed your fish, rub some allegar over it, which will greatly contribute to its firmness. Put it in your fish-plate with the belly upwards, and fasten a cloth tight over it to prevent its breaking. Let it boil gently in hard water, with plenty of salt and vinegar, and scum it well, to prevent the skin being discoloured. Be sure not to put in your fish till the water boils, and when it is enough, take it up, and drain it. Remove the cloth carefully, and slip the fish very cautiously on the dish, for fear of breaking it. Lay over it oyster-patties, or fried oysters. Put your lobster or gravy sauce into boats, and garnish with crisped parsley and pickles.
Another Way to dress a Turbot.
PUT into the bottom of your stew-pan some thyme, parsley, sweet herbs, and an onion sliced. Then lay in your fish, and strew over it the like quantity of the same herbs, with some chives and sweet basil. Cover the fish with an equal quantity of white wine and the best vinegar. Strew in a little bay salt with some whole pepper. Set the stew-pan over a gentle fire, and gradually increase the heat till it is enough; when done, take it off the fire, but let the fish remain in the liquor, till you have made your sauce as follows: Set a saucepan over the fire, with a pound of butter, two anchovies split, boned, and washed, two large spoonsful of capers, cut small, some chives whole, a little pepper and salt, some nutmeg grated, a little flour, a spoonful of vinegar, and a little water.—Keep shaking it round for some time, and then put on the fish to make it quite hot. When both are done, put the turbot into a dish, pour some of the sauce over it, and the remainder into a boat. Garnish the dish with horse-radish.
PUT into your stew-pan a pint of water, a good bit of salt, some garlic, onions, all sorts of sweet herbs, and cloves; boil the whole half an hour over a slow fire. Let it settle. Pour it off clear, and strain it through a sieve; then put in twice as much milk as brine, and put the fish in it over a slow fire, letting it simmer only. When your turbot is done, you may serve it with any one of the following sauces: Ragout of egg balls, ragout of oysters, or truffles, or mushroom, or a sauce hachée.
Salmon.
THIS is so substantial a fish, that it requires to be well boiled. A piece not very thick will take half an hour. Boil horse-radish in the water. For sauce, melt some butter plain, and some other with anchovy. Garnish with horse-radish and sliced lemon.
To dress a whole Salmon for a large Company.
WHEN the salmon is scalded and gutted, take off the head and tail, cut the body through into slices an inch and a half thick, and throw them into a large pan of pump water. When they are all put in, sprinkle a handful of bay salt upon the water, stir it about, and then take out the fish. Set on a large deep stew-pan, boil the head and tail, but do not split the head, and put in some salt. When they have boiled ten minutes, skim the water very clean, and put in the slices. When they are boiled enough, take them out, lay the head and tail in a dish, and the slices round. Serve it up with plain melted butter and anchovy sauce. Garnish with horse-radish, mixed with the slices.
Cod’s Head.
TAKE out the gills and the blood, wash the whole very clean, rub over it a little salt, and a glass of allegar, and lay on your fish plate. When the water boils, throw in a good handful of salt, with a glass of allegar. Then put in the fish, and let it boil gently half an hour (if it is a large one, three quarters.) Take it up very carefully, and strip the skin clean off, set it before a brisk fire, dredge it all over with flour, and baste it well with butter. When the froth begins to rise, throw over it some very fine white bread crumbs, and continue basting it to make it froth well. When it is of a fine light brown, dish it up, and garnish it with lemon cut in slices, scraped horse-radish, barberries, a few small fish fried and laid round it, or fried oysters. Cut the row and liver in slices, and lay it over a little of the lumpy part of the lobster out of the sauce, which you must make as follows: Take a good lobster, and stick a skewer in the vent of the tail to keep out the water. Throw into the water a handful of salt, and when it boils, put in the lobster, which will be done in half an hour. If it has spawn, pick them off, and pound them very fine in the mortar. Put them into half a pound of good melted butter; then take the meat out of your lobster, break it in bits, and put that in likewise, with a large spoonful of lemon-pickle, the same of walnut catchup, a slice of lemon, one or two slices of horse-radish, and a small quantity of beaten mace; season it to your taste with salt and chyan pepper. Boil them one minute, then take out the horse-radish and lemon, pour it into your sauce-boat, and serve it up with your fish.—If lobsters cannot be procured, you may make use of oysters or shrimps the same way; and if you cannot get any kind of shell fish, you may then add to the butter two anchovies cut small, a spoonful of walnut liquor, and an onion stuck with cloves.
Whole Cod.
PUT a large quantity of water into your fish-kettle, which must be of a proper size for the cod, with a quarter of a pint of vinegar, a handful of salt, and half a stick of horse-radish. Let these boil together for some time, and then put in the fish. When it is done enough (which will be known by feeling the fins, and the look of the fish) lay it to drain, put it in a hot fishplate, and then in a warm dish, with the liver cut in half, and laid on each side. Serve it up with shrimp or oyster-sauce, and garnish with scraped horse-radish.
Salt Cod.
STEEP your salt fish in water all night, with a glass of vinegar thrown into it, with which take out the salt; and make it as mild as fresh fish. The next day boil it, and when it is enough, separate it in flakes into your dish. Then pour egg-sauce over it, or parsnips boiled and beat fine with butter and cream. As it will soon grow cold, send it to table on a water plate.
Cod Sounds.
BOIL your sounds well, but be careful they are not done too much. Take them up, and let them stand till they are quite cold. Then make a forcemeat of chopped oysters, crumbs of bread, a lump of butter, the yolks of two eggs, nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and fill your sounds with it. Skewer them in the shape of a turkey, and lard them down each side, as you would the breast of a turkey. Dust them well with flour, and put them before the fire in a tin oven to roast. Baste them well with butter, and when enough, pour on them oyster-sauce, and garnish with barberries. This is a pretty side-dish for a large table; or very proper in the time of Lent.
Soles.
TAKE a pair of soles, skin and gut them. Then wash them thoroughly clean, and lay them in vinegar, salt and water, for two hours; then dry them in a cloth, put them into a stew-pan with a pint of white wine, a bunch of sweet herbs, an onion stuck with six cloves, some whole pepper, and a little salt. Cover them quite close, and when enough, take them up, lay them in your dish, strain the liquor, and thicken it with butter and flour. Pour the sauce over, and garnish with scraped horse-radish and lemon. You may add prawns, shrimps, or muscles to your sauce, according to the fancy of those for whom you provide. This is a very good method; but to make a variety, you may dress them as follows:
Take two or three pair of middling sized soles, skin, gut, and wash them in spring water. Then put them on a dish, and pour half a pint of white wine over them, turn them two or three times in it, and then pour it away. Cut off the heads and tails of the soles, and set on a stew-pan with a little rich fish broth; put in an onion cut in pieces, a bunch of sweet herbs, pepper, salt, and a blade of mace. When these boil, put in the soles, and with them half a lemon cut in slices with the peel on. Let them simmer slowly for some time, then take out the sweet herbs, and put in a pint of strong white wine, and a piece of butter rolled in flour. Let them all simmer together till the soles are enough. While the fish are doing, put in half a pint of veal gravy, and a quarter of a pint of essence of ham, let it boil a little, then take up the soles, and pour this over them. Serve up sauce as before directed, and garnish your dish with sliced lemon and horse-radish.
Trout.
BOIL them in vinegar, water, and salt, with a piece of horse-radish; and serve them up with anchovy-sauce and plain butter.
Pike.
WHEN you have taken out the gills and guts, and thoroughly washed it, make a good forcemeat of chopped oysters, the crumb of half a penny loaf, a little lemon-peel shred fine, a lump of butter, the yolks of two eggs, a few sweet herbs, and season them to your taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Mix all these well together, and put them into the belly of the fish, which must be sewed up, and skewered round. Boil it in hard water with a little salt, and a tea-cup full of vinegar put into the pan. As soon as the water boils, put in the fish, (but not before,) and if it is of a middling size, it will be done in half an hour. Serve it up with oyster-sauce in a boat, having first poured a little on the fish. Garnish with pickled barberries.
WHEN you kill your carp, save all the blood, and have ready some nice gravy, made of beef and mutton, seasoned with pepper, salt, mace, and onion. Before you put in your fish, strain it off, and boil your carp before you put it into the gravy. Set it on a slow fire about a quarter of an hour, and thicken the sauce with a large piece of butter rolled in flour; or you may make your sauce thus: take the liver of the carp clean from the guts, three anchovies, a little parsley, thyme, and an onion. Chop these small together, and take half a pint of Rhenish wine, four spoonsful of vinegar, and the blood of the carp. When all these are stewed gently together, put it to the carp, which must first be boiled in water with a little salt and a pint of wine; but take care not to do it too much after the carp is put into the sauce.
Mullets.
THESE must be boiled in salt and water. When they are enough, pour away part of the water, and put to the rest a pint of red wine, some salt and vinegar, two onions sliced, with a bunch of sweet herbs, some nutmeg, beaten mace, and the juice of a lemon. Boil these well together, with two or three anchovies. Then put in the fish, and when they have simmered in it some time, put them into a dish, and strain the sauce over them. You may add shrimp or oyster-sauce according to your discretion.
Mackarel.
GUT and wash them clean, then dry them in a cloth, and rub them gently over with vinegar. Lay them strait on your fish plate, and be very careful in handling them, as they are so tender a fish that they will easily break. When the water boils, put them into your fish-pan with a little salt, and let them boil gently about a quarter of an hour. When you take them up, drain them well, and put the water that runs from them into a sauce-pan with one large spoonful of catchup, a blade or two of mace, an anchovy, and a slice of lemon. Let these all boil together about a quarter of an hour, then strain it through a hair sieve, and thicken it with flour and butter. Put this sauce in one boat, and melted butter and parsley in another. Dish up your fish with their tails in the middle; and garnish with scraped horseradish and barberries. Mackarel may be served with melted butter and a little fennel, cut fine, mixed with scalded gooseberries; also with sweet herbs, cut fine, in melted butter, with a little anchovy essence.
Mackarel a-la Bourgeois.
SPLIT them open, put pepper, salt, mace, parsley, shalots, and bread crumbs, with some butter on them. You may either fry or send them to the oven. Serve them up with plain melted butter.
Herrings.
SCALE, gut, and wash them, then dry them thoroughly in a cloth, and rub them over with a little salt and vinegar. Skewer their tails in their mouths, and lay them on your fish plate. When the water boils, put them in, and about ten or twelve minutes will do them. After you have taken them up, let them drain properly, and then turn their heads into the middle of the dish. Serve them up with melted butter and parsley, and garnish with scraped horse-radish.
Flounders, Plaice, and Dabs.
As the similarity of these fish is so great, the method of dressing either must be the same. First cut off the fins, nick the brown side under the head, and take out the guts. Then dry them with a cloth, and boil them in salt and water. Serve them up with shrimp, cockle, or muscle sauce, and garnish with red cabbage.
Perch.
PUT your fish into the water when it boils, with some salt, an onion cut in slices, some parsley, and as much milk as will turn the water. When the fish is enough, put it into a soup-dish, and pour a little of the water with the parsley and onions over it. Serve it up with melted butter and parsley in a boat.
AFTER skinning, gutting, and properly washing them, cut off their heads, dry them, and twist them round on your fish plate. Boil them in salt and water, and serve them up with melted butter and parsley. If you only boil them in such a quantity of water as will just cover them, the liquor will be exceeding good, and very beneficial to weak or consumptive constitutions.
Sturgeon.
WHEN you have cleaned your fish properly, prepare as much liquor as will boil it in the following manner: To two quarts of water put a pint of vinegar, a stick of horse-radish, two or three bits of lemon-peel, some whole pepper, a bay-leaf, and a small quantity of salt. Boil your fish in this liquor, and when enough (which you will know by the flesh appearing likely to separate from the bones) take it up, and have ready the following sauce: Melt a pound of butter, dissolve an anchovy in it, put in a blade or two of mace, bruise the body of a crab in the butter, a few shrimps or cray-fish, a little catchup, and a little lemon-juice. When it boils, take up the sturgeon, drain it well, lay it in your dish, and serve it up with the sauce poured into boats. Garnish with fried oysters, sliced lemon, and scraped horse-radish.
Turtles.
THESE animals not only furnish the most delicious repast to the epicure, but to all those who can obtain so luxurious a gratification. They are of various sizes, and that the reader may be informed how to dress them, we shall here confine ourselves to one of about eighty pounds weight. Take the turtle out of the water the night before you intend to dress it. In the morning cut its throat, or the head off, and let it bleed for some time. Then cut off the fins; scald, scale, and trim them and the head, and raise the callipee, which is the belly or under shell; clean it well, leaving to it as much meat as you conveniently can. Take from the back shell all the meat and entrails, except the monsieur, which is the fat, and looks green: this must also be baked with the shell. Wash all clean with salt and water, and cut it into pieces of a moderate size. Take it from the bones, and put them with the fins and head into a soup-pot, with a gallon of water, some salt, and two blades of mace. When it boils, skim it clean, and put in it a bunch of thyme, parsley, savory, and young onions, and your veal part, except about one pound and a half, which must be made forcemeat of, as for Scotch collops, adding a little chyan pepper. When the veal is boiled in the soup about an hour, take it out, cut it into pieces, and put to the other part. The guts, which are considered as the best part, must be split open, scraped, and made clean, and cut into pieces about two inches long. Scald and skin the paunch or maw, and cut it like the other parts; mix them with the guts and other parts, except the liver, and add half a pound of fresh butter, a few shalots, a bunch of thyme, parsley, and a little savory, seasoned with salt, white pepper, mace, three or four cloves beaten, and a little chyan pepper. Stew them about half an hour over a good charcoal fire, and put in half a pint of Madeira wine, with as much of the broth as will cover it, and let it stew till tender, which will take about four or five hours. When it is nearly enough, skim it, thicken it with flour, and some veal broth, and make it about the thickness of a fricasee. Let your forcemeat balls be fried about the size of a walnut, and stewed about half an hour with the rest. If there are any eggs, let them be boiled and cleaned; but if none, get twelve or fourteen yolks of hard eggs. Then put the stew (which is the callipash) into the shell with the eggs, and either make use of a salamander, or put it into the oven to bake. Slash the callipee in several places, put some butter to it, and season it moderately with chyan and white pepper, salt, beaten mace, chopped thyme, parsley, and young onions. Put a piece on each slash, and some over the whole, and a dust of flour: then bake it in a brisk oven, in a tin or iron dripping-pan. The back shell, which is called the callipash, must be seasoned like the callipee, and baked in a dripping-pan, set upright, with four brick-bats, or any thing of that kind. An hour and a half will bake it, which must be done before the stew be put in. The fins, when boiled very tender, must be taken out of the soup, and put into a stew-pan, with some good veal gravy, not high coloured, a little Madeira wine, seasoned and thickened as the callipash, and served in a dish by itself. The lights, heart, and liver, may be done the same way, but a little higher seasoned; or the lights and heart may be stewed with the callipash, and taken out before you put it into the shell, with a little of the sauce, adding a little more seasoning; but dish it by itself. The veal part may be made fricandos, or Scotch collops. The liver should never be stewed with the callipash, but dressed by itself in any manner you like; except you separate the lights and heart from the callipash, and serve them together in one dish. Be careful to strain the soup, and serve it in a tureen, or large china bowl. The different dishes may be placed on the table as follows: The callipee at the head, the callipash at the bottom, and the lights, soup, fins, &c. in the centre.—The fins kept in the liquor will eat well when cold.
Court Bouillon for all kinds of fresh Fish.
PUT into your fish kettle, which must be according to the size of your fish, some water, a quart of white wine, a bit of butter, salt, pepper, a faggot of sweet herbs, some stewed onions and carrots: boil your fish in this liquor.