It is
an excellent plan to dissolve it in a separate saucepan, to skim it
well, and after it has stood to become clear, to pour it gently over
the shrimps, leaving all the buttermilk behind. They should not be
placed immediately by the fire, or they will heat too quickly : they
should be set away from it until the butter has cooled upon them.
If carefully prepared, and agreeably seasoned, they will be excellent,
and can be sent to a great distance without detriment if packed so as
to be kept cool. The red shrimps may be substituted for the brown,
when they can be more easily procured.
Ohs . — -Lobsters and shrimps, or prawns, in equal proportions,
answer extremely well for houdinettes as for potting.
CHAP. ITT.]
FISH.
93
TO BOIL SHRIMPS OR PRAWNS.
Throw them into plenty of fast boiling water, to which salt has
been added in the proportion of from five to six ounces to the gallon ;
take off all the scum, boil the shrimps for five or six minutes, or
rather less should they be very small, and the prawns for about two
minutes longer. The shrimpers* of the coast frequently cook them
in sea- water, but the flavour is not then so agreeable as when fresh
brine is used for them. They are always unwholesome when not
sufficiently boiled ; and even mure so when they are stale. As soon
as they are tender, drain them well in a cullender, and spread them
out on a soft cloth to cool ; or dish them on a napkin, and send them
hot to table when they are liked so. The large brown shrimps are
considered the best, and they are more easily shelled than the red
ones : these last, however, are sometimes preferred to them. Prawns,
though superior to shrimps only in size , are always much higher
in price.
Shrimps, 5 to 6 minutes if large. Prawns, 6 to 8 minutes.
Obs. — Ready-dressed shrimps or prawns may be preserved fit for
eating at least twelve hours longer than they would otherwise keep,
by throwing them for an instant into boiling salt and water, when
they first begin to lose their freshness, and then draining them as
above.
TO DISH COLD PRAWNS.
When they are quite cold, dish them singly upon a very white
napkin neatly arranged over a saucer or small basin reversed in a
dish, and garnish the base with a wreath of curled parsley, or with
small leaves of the purple endive.
TO SHELL SHRIMPS AND PRAAVNS QUICKLY AND EASILY.
This, though a most simple process, would appear, from the manner
in which it is performed by many people, to be a very difficult one ;
indeed it is not unusual for persons of the lower classes, who, from lack,
of a little skill, find it slow and irksome, to have resource to the dan-
gerous plan of eating the fish entire. It need scarcely be remarked
that very serious consequences may accrue from the shells being
swallowed with them, particularly when they are taken in large quan-
tities. Unless the fish be stale, when they are apt to break, they will
quit the shells easily if the head be held firmly in the right hand and
the tail in the other, and the fish be straightened entirely, then the two
hands pressed quickly towards each other, and the shell of the tail
broken by a slight vibrator}7 motion of the right hand, when it will
be drawn ofl' with the head adhering to it : a small portion, only will
then remain on at the other end, which can be removed in an instant.
Or pandlers, as they are often called.
94
Page 108
Presented as published in 1884. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
It is an excellent plan to dissolve it in a separate saucepan, to skim it well, and after it has stood to become clear, to pour it gently over the shrimps, leaving all the buttermilk behind. They should not be placed immediately by the fire, or they will heat too quickly : they should be set away from it until the butter has cooled upon them. If carefully prepared, and agreeably seasoned, they will be excellent, and can be sent to a great distance without detriment if packed so as to be kept cool. The red shrimps may be substituted for the brown, when they can be more easily procured.
Obs. — Lobsters and shrimps, or prawns, in equal proportions, answer extremely well for boudinettes as for potting.
TO BOIL SHRIMPS OR PRAWNS.
Throw them into plenty of fast boiling water, to which salt has been added in the proportion of from five to six ounces to the gallon ; take off all the scum, boil the shrimps for five or six minutes, or rather less should they be very small, and the prawns for about two minutes longer. The shrimpers* of the coast frequently cook them in sea- water, but the flavour is not then so agreeable as when fresh brine is used for them. They are always unwholesome when not sufficiently boiled ; and even mure so when they are stale. As soon as they are tender, drain them well in a cullender, and spread them out on a soft cloth to cool ; or dish them on a napkin, and send them hot to table when they are liked so. The large brown shrimps are considered the best, and they are more easily shelled than the red ones : these last, however, are sometimes preferred to them. Prawns, though superior to shrimps only in size , are always much higher in price.
Shrimps, 5 to 6 minutes if large. Prawns, 6 to 8 minutes.
Obs. — Ready-dressed shrimps or prawns may be preserved fit for eating at least twelve hours longer than they would otherwise keep, by throwing them for an instant into boiling salt and water, when they first begin to lose their freshness, and then draining them as above.
TO DISH COLD PRAWNS.
When they are quite cold, dish them singly upon a very white napkin neatly arranged over a saucer or small basin reversed in a dish, and garnish the base with a wreath of curled parsley, or with small leaves of the purple endive.
TO SHELL SHRIMPS AND PRAAVNS QUICKLY AND EASILY.
This, though a most simple process, would appear, from the manner in which it is performed by many people, to be a very difficult one ; indeed it is not unusual for persons of the lower classes, who, from lack, of a little skill, find it slow and irksome, to have resource to the dangerous plan of eating the fish entire. It need scarcely be remarked that very serious consequences may accrue from the shells being swallowed with them, particularly when they are taken in large quantities. Unless the fish be stale, when they are apt to break, they will quit the shells easily if the head be held firmly in the right hand and the tail in the other, and the fish be straightened entirely, then the two hands pressed quickly towards each other, and the shell of the tail broken by a slight vibrator}7 motion of the right hand, when it will be drawn ofl' with the head adhering to it : a small portion, only will then remain on at the other end, which can be removed in an instant.
Or pandlers, as they are often called.