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Oysters and Fish

<h2 id="MISCELLANEOUS">MISCELLANEOUS.</h2> Catfish, Fried.—Catfish and waffles is a combination dear to the hearts of Philadelphians, and the road-houses near that city are celebrated for cooking them. Select the fish already cleaned,71 as it is a troublesome job to clean them, and pick out the white instead of the red catfish; rub a little salt along the backbone on the inside, and let the fish stand over night. Next day dredge them with corn-meal or flour, and fry in a little fat; sprinkle salt and pepper over them before serving. The Tenderloin Trout.—Large catfish are caught in Southern rivers; and while they are fair eating, they are not popular with the whites in the vicinity of New Orleans. The restaurant people, however, cut the fish into pieces an inch square and about four inches long; these are dipped in egg, rolled in crumbs, and fried and served as tenderloin trout. Fricasseed Eels.—Cut up three pounds of eels into pieces of three inches in length; put them into a stewpan, and cover them with Rhine wine (or two-thirds water and one-third vinegar); add fifteen oysters, two pieces of lemon, a bouquet of herbs, one onion quartered, six cloves, three stalks celery, a pinch of cayenne, pepper and salt to taste. Stew the eels one hour; remove them from the dish; strain the liquor. Put it back into the stewpan with a gill of cream and an ounce of butter rolled in flour; simmer gently a few minutes, pour over the fish, and serve. 72 Eel Patties.—Take three medium-sized eels, and cut them up into inch pieces. Put them in a stewpan, add salt, and cover them with cold water. When the water comes to a boil, take them off the fire, wash them in cold water, scrape off any fat that may adhere, return them to the stewpan with just enough hot water to cover them, and add a blade of mace, a bay leaf, a few whole peppers, a few sprigs of parsley, and one lemon cut into slices. Stew gently until the fish will separate from the bone; remove the fish from the broth, pick it into small pieces, and set them aside; reduce the broth a little, strain, and thicken with flour and butter. Return the fish to the broth, simmer a moment, fill your patties, and serve; make patty-shells as directed for oyster patties. Stewed Eels, Hoboken Turtle Club Style.—Cut into three-inch pieces two pounds of medium-sized cleaned eels. Rub the inside of each piece with salt. Let stand half an hour, then parboil them. Boil an onion in a quart of milk, and remove the onion. Drain the eels from the water, and add them to the milk. Season with half a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, salt and pepper, and the slightest suspicion of mace. Simmer until the flesh falls from the bones. Fried eels should be slightly salted before73 cooking them. Do not cover them with batter, but dredge them with just flour enough to absorb all moisture, then cover them with boiling fat, as for doughnut cooking. Many New England families use corn-meal to dredge them with instead of flour. Eels en matelotte, or sailor fashion, are appreciated by many. Cut them into three-inch pieces, and salt them. Fry an onion brown in a little dripping; add half a pint of broth to the brown onion, part of a bay leaf, six broken peppercorns, four whole cloves, and a gill of claret. Add the eels to this, and simmer until thoroughly cooked. Remove the eels, put them on a hot dish, add a teaspoonful of browned flour to the sauce, strain, and pour over the eels. Pan Bass, Anchovy Butter.—During February, March, and the first part of April, there may be found in market a variety of bass which much resembles the Oswego bass. They come from the Carolinas and Virginia, and are excellent eating. Let them stand an hour in salt water, then drain and wipe dry, and fry them in tried-out salt-pork fat. Serve them with a butter made as follows: Mix together a teaspoonful of anchovy paste with a tablespoonful of sweet butter, and, if not objected to, add a few blades of chopped chives. 74 The chive has the flavor peculiar to the onion family, but in a mild form. It is cultivated by truck gardeners, and may be found on the New York vegetable stands as early as January. The retail price at the first of the season is ten cents a tuft; as it becomes more plentiful, it is offered at five cents. Placed in the kitchen, it grows luxuriantly,—in fact, it grows faster than it can be used by a small family. This very useful herb should be in the kitchen window of every home where soups and salads are rightly appreciated. The chive grows wild in nearly all of the Middle and Eastern States, and the first green spot seen in our parks is more than likely to be chives. Cows eat it, and their milk has a slight garlic flavor. The garlic flavor in milk is decidedly objectionable; yet the early Dutch settlers planted the chives in the pastures for the cows to eat, thereby imparting to the milk this peculiar flavor. Fillet of Flounder, Tartar Sauce.—Cut the flesh from the bone lengthwise, and then cut each piece into strips an inch wide. Dip them in beaten egg. Roll them in cracker-crumbs, and fry in hot fat enough to cover them. This dish appears on our French bills-of-fare as filet de sole. Serve with sauce tartare. 75 Fried Tomcods.—These delicate, sweet-flavored pan-fish are called frost-fish by dealers, but the fishermen along the Hudson call them “Tommies.” Whatever name they are known by, they are delicious morsels when fresh caught. Clean them without removing the heads, dry them in a napkin, and salt their insides, dredge them with a little flour, and fry them crisp in hot smoking fat. Put the clean fish into a baking-tin. Over each fish place a thin slice of bacon, add salt and pepper, and bake them twenty minutes in a hot oven. Broiled Salt Codfish.—Cut half of a small codfish into medium-sized square pieces; split them in two, and soak them over night in cold water. Drain, and dry them in a napkin, next morning. Rub a little butter over each piece, and broil them. Place them on a hot platter, and pour a little melted butter over them. Drawn butter is sometimes served with this dish. It should be very smooth looking, and have a starchy appearance. Divide three ounces of butter into little balls. Dredge them with flour. Put one-fourth of them into a saucepan, and when they begin to melt, whisk to a smooth consistency. Now add one more of the floured balls, and whisk thoroughly until incorporated76 with the first. Repeat this process until all are used. When smooth and thick, stir in a teaspoonful of lemon-juice, and, if liked, a little chopped parsley. Broiled Salt Mackerel.—“I like salt mackerel, but it does not agree with me,” is a remark often heard in nearly all classes of society. Many imagine they can eat cured fish with the same degree of recklessness and lack of regard for dietetic laws which they often show in eating more digestible food. They soon discover, however, that something is radically wrong; just where the blame rests, is a matter they settle to their own satisfaction by declaring that salt mackerel was not intended for civilized people, because they are unable to eat it without experiencing disagreeable after-effects. Salt mackerel is really wholesome food, but, like all cured food, is not so digestible as when fresh: it is therefore necessary to restore it as near as possible to its original freshness. This is done by a thorough soaking in a liberal quantity of fresh water. There is no danger of the fish becoming too fresh; if it does, it is an easy matter to add fresh salt, which is much more acceptable than condensed brine. In selecting salt mackerel, examine them carefully. If rusty in appearance reject them,77 “for rust in fish, if I am not mistaken, is as bad as rust in steel or rust in bacon.” Large fish are likely to be poor and coarse; a medium-sized or No. 2 is the most profitable provided the white or under part of the fish is fat. After soaking thoroughly, rub a little melted butter or olive-oil over them, and broil not too close to the fire; do not cook them enough to dry up all moisture, as they would then be unpalatable. After broiling, plunge them into boiling water for a moment to swell them,—this treatment gives the fish the appearance of being fat,—place on a hot plate, add a little melted butter, a dash of pepper, and finally the juice of half a lemon. To avoid the unpleasantness referred to, drink all liquids first, before eating a mouthful of the fish; masticate the food thoroughly and slowly, and the result will be surprising. Those who eat salt fish alternated with mouthfuls of liquid must expect the oily particles to rise up, and create a gastronomic disturbance. Fried Porgies with Salt Pork.—The much-abused porgy is one of the sweetest of pan-fish. Select four good-sized porgies, and clean them, but do not remove the heads. Cut into small dice a quarter of a pound of fat salt pork, fry out the fat, and when it is very hot fry the fish in it. While they are cooking, broil four78 small thin slices of the pork, and serve by placing them on top of the fish. Pork gives a more delicate flavor to the fish than bacon. Fish Curries.—Cold boiled or baked fish is simply a luxury when warmed up in a delicious curry sauce. This dish may be served at breakfast or luncheon. Americans are fast learning the usefulness of curry-powders; as yet they demand a mild form of curry, and a little flour is added to the sauce to tone down the pungency of the curry. A Plain Fish Curry.—Fry an onion quite brown in a little butter or oil, add a teaspoonful of curry-powder and half a pint of hot water. Dissolve a teaspoonful of flour in a little cold water; when free from lumps add it to the sauce, then strain; divide the cold fish into flakes, and warm it up in the sauce. Curry of Scallops.—Wash a quart of scallops in cold water, drain, put them in a saucepan, and let them simmer gently one hour. Blanch two ounces of sweet almonds, remove husks, and fry a delicate brown; drain from the hot butter, and pound to a paste with a clove of garlic, the grated rind of a lemon. Mix two teaspoonfuls of curry, a little sauce, and an ounce of butter, put it in the frying-pan, and add gradually one half-pint of the scallop broth and the79 almond paste. Now add a pint of hot milk; simmer until the liquid is reduced one-third, add the scallops, and serve. Curry of Crayfish.—These may be purchased by the quart at all seasons. They are already boiled. Prepare the curry sauce as above described, add the crayfish, and serve with rice; over all squeeze the juice of a sweet orange. Curry of Eels, with Rice.—Cut into two-inch pieces one medium-sized eel or two small ones; put them in a saucepan, and cover with boiling water; add a little salt, a piece of lemon-peel, and a tablespoonful of vinegar; boil slowly one hour, and drain. Cut up a small onion, and fry it brown in a little butter; add a pint of the water in which the fish was boiled, and a teaspoonful of walnut catsup. Mix together a teaspoonful of flour with a gill of cold water, rub it smooth, and add a teaspoonful of dry curry-powder. Mix, and add it to the pan, strain, and return to the pan; then add the eels; simmer fifteen minutes, and serve surrounded by a border of boiled rice. Curry of Shad Roe.—Fry half an onion very brown in a heaping teaspoonful of dripping; add a teaspoonful of curry-powder, and a few moments later add a gill of hot water; simmer80 five minutes, and add a teaspoonful of flour dissolved in a little water. When it begins to thicken, strain. While preparing the sauce, boil two roes in water well salted. When done, place them on a hot platter, and pour the sauce over them. Curry of Frogs’ Legs.—This is an excellent dish. Wash one pound of frogs’ legs in cold water; brown one-fourth of an onion in oil or butter; add a teaspoonful of curry and a pint of hot water; pour this in a saucepan, and add the frogs; simmer an hour and a half, and drain. Mix a teaspoonful each of rice-flour and curry to a paste, with the broth; add salt to taste, and half a pint of milk. Place on the range, and when hot add the frogs. Blanch two dozen sweet almonds; rub off the skins, split them, and toss them about in hot butter; season with pepper and salt; when done squeeze a little lemon-juice over them, and send to table on separate dish with the curry. Broiled Weakfish.—When freshly caught, this is an excellent fish and well flavored; but it loses its flavor when kept on ice more than a day, and the flesh becomes soft and spongy. In color the weakfish is of a bluish-gray, with faint speckled back and sides, belly white, the fins yellow. It is in season from May to Octo81ber, and is best-flavored in the latest two months of that time. Select a medium-sized fish for broiling; see that the flesh is firm, the eyes bright, and the gills a bright red, and free from a soft, flabby appearance. Place the well-cleaned whole fish on the table or fish-board, back towards you; make an incision close to the head, down to the bone; hold the head firmly with the left hand, and cut the fish in two lengthwise, keeping the knife close to the bone the whole length of the fish; remove the bone. (The bone and head may be boiled a few hours, seasoned, and the broth used in fast-day soups.) Cut each piece of fish in two, crosswise; rub on a little sweet oil or melted butter; broil the outer side first, then the inner side, and serve with this side upwards on the hot dish; pour over the fish well-made drawn butter (which see). Baked Whitefish, Bordeaux Sauce.—Clean and stuff the fish. Put it in a baking-pan, and add a liberal quantity of butter, previously rolled in flour, to the fish. Put in the pan half a pint of claret, and bake for an hour. Remove the fish, and strain the gravy; add to the latter a gill more of claret, a teaspoonful of brown flour, and a pinch of cayenne, and serve with the fish. 82 Halibut, Egg Sauce.—Select a three-pound piece of white halibut, cover it with a cloth, and place it in a steamer; set the steamer over a pot of fast boiling water, and steam two hours; place it on a hot dish, surrounded with a border of parsley; and serve with egg-sauce, which is made as follows:— Egg Sauce.—Cream an ounce of butter; add to it one tablespoonful of dry flour, a saltspoonful of salt, and half a saltspoonful of white pepper (black pepper spoils its color). Stir it briskly, and add half a pint of hot water. Divide an ounce of butter into little balls, roll them in flour, and add them one at a time; stir constantly, and care should be exercised not to allow the sauce to brown or discolor. Chop three cold hard-boiled eggs, and add them to the sauce; let it heat thoroughly, and serve in a boat. Fried Butterfish.—These flat, slate-colored little fish are excellent when quite fresh; and as they are easily cleaned, they are recommended to house-keepers. Fry them in tried-out salt-pork fat, which gives them a very nice flavor. Broiled Shad.—The secret of having the fish juicy, and at the same time properly cooked, is to rub a little olive-oil over it before broiling,83 and broil it over a fire free from smoke or flame. Charcoal affords the best fire. The sulphurous fumes of hard coal injure the flavor of the fish. When done, have ready a little sweet butter melted and mixed with salt, white pepper (black pepper spoils the looks of the fish), half a teaspoonful of chopped parsley to two ounces of butter, and the juice of half a lemon. Place the fish on a hot dish, pour the hot sauce over it, and serve with hot plates. Baked Shad.—Broiling is, next to planking, the best way of cooking this excellent fish; but a baked shad is not to be despised. Prepare it as follows:— Make a stuffing of soaked bread-crumbs, butter, pepper, and salt; place it lengthwise in a pan; roll walnuts of butter in flour, and put four to six of them on top of the fish; fill the space around the fish with inch slices of raw potato, and bake forty minutes. When done, serve potatoes and fish together. Shad Roe à la Poulette.—Cover a pair of roes with water slightly salted; add a tablespoonful of vinegar and a slice of lemon; simmer twenty minutes, and drain; put into a saucepan an ounce of butter; when it begins to melt, whisk it, and add the juice of half a lemon. Beat up the yolk of one egg with a gill of84 cream containing half a teaspoonful of flour rubbed free from lumps; whisk this gently into the warm butter; keep it quite warm until it thickens, but do not boil, or it will curdle. Pour it over the shad roes, strew over the top a trifle of chopped parsley, and serve. Broiled Royans.—These delicate little fish are excellent as whet at dinner-parties, and may be served au naturel, or broiled, or served on toast. Procure them from the nearest grocer, open the can carefully to prevent breaking the fish, remove the skin, and broil them over a slow fire; arrange them on toast, squeeze a little lemon-juice over them, and serve. Broiled Sardines.—When neatly prepared, this forms an excellent breakfast or luncheon dish. Remove the sardines from the can without breaking them; scrape off the skin, place them between double wire broilers, and broil to a delicate brown; arrange neatly in a hot dish, squeeze a little lemon-juice over them, and serve. Orange-juice is very nice with the above dish. Broiled Smelts, Sauce Tartare.—Thoroughly clean half a dozen smelts, split them in two, place them on a double wire broiler, and broil. Send to table with sauce tartare, which is made as follows: Chop together a few sprigs85 of parsley, six capers, one small pickle, a piece of onion as large as a bean. Add these to half a pint of mayonnaise, mix, and add a teaspoonful of French mustard, mix again, and serve. Smelts Fried, Sauce Tartare.—Clean six small smelts, leave on the heads, dip them in beaten egg, roll them in fine cracker-dust, and fry in very hot fat. Serve with sauce tartare. Broiled Whitefish.—The whitefish is one of the best of summer fish, but does not stand long transportation very well. See that the flesh is firm, and free from flabbiness. Cut the fish in two lengthwise, remove the backbone, divide each piece in two; brush over it a little sweet butter or olive-oil, and broil over a moderate fire for ten minutes. Place it in a hot dish, squeeze the juice of a lemon over it, add salt and pepper and a tablespoonful of melted butter. Garnish with tufts of parsley and thin slices of lemon, and serve. Sheeps-head with Drawn Butter.—The Englishman who wrote the extraordinary statement that sheeps-head sometimes sold for “four or five pounds sterling in New York” may be pleased to learn that the price for this excellent fish is fifteen to eighteen cents per pound on an average, and that the best mode of preparing it86 for table is to boil or steam it, although broiled sheeps-head is very good. Procure a medium-sized fish, clean it thoroughly, and rub a little salt over it; wrap it in a cloth, and put it in a steamer; place this over a pot of fast boiling water, and steam one hour; then lay it whole upon a hot side-dish, garnish with tufts of parsley and slices of lemon, and serve with drawn butter prepared as follows:— Drawn Butter.—Take four ounces of butter, and roll it into small balls; dredge these with flour; put one-fourth of them in a saucepan, and as they begin to melt whisk them; add the remainder, one at a time, until thoroughly smooth; while stirring add a tablespoonful of lemon-juice and half a teaspoonful of chopped parsley; pour into a hot sauce-boat, and serve. Broiled Sheeps-head.—Split the fish in two lengthwise, and remove the head and bone, brush over the fish a liberal quantity of melted butter or oil, then broil over a fire free from flame or smoke. When done, squeeze the juice of a lemon over the fish, then add salt, pepper, and a pat of the choicest table butter. <hr class="full" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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