TO BOIL A BRILL.
A fresh and full-sized brill always ranks high in the list of fish, as
it is of good appearance, and the flesh is sweet and delicate. It re-
quires less cooking than the turbot, even when it is of equal size;
but otherwise may be dressed and served in a similar manner. It has
not the same rich glutinous skin as that fish, nor are the fins esteemed.
CHAP. II.]
FISH,
59
They must be cut off when the brill is cleaned ; and it may be put
into nearly boiling water, unless it be very large. Simmer it gently,
and drain it well upon the fish-plate when it is lifted out ; dish it on a
napkin, and send lobster, anchovy, crab, or shrimp sauce to table
with it. Lobster coral, rubbed through a sieve, is commonly
sprinkled over it for a formal dinner. The most usual garnish for
boiled flat fish is curled parsley placed round it in light tufts ; how
far it is appropriate , individual taste must decide.
Brill, moderate* sized, about 20 minutes ; large, 30 minutes.
Obs. — -The precise time which a fish will require to be boiled cannot
be given : it must be watched, and not allowed to remain in the water
after it begins to crack.
TO BOIL SALMON.
[In full season from May to August: may be had much earlier, but is scarce
and dear.]
To preserve the fine colour of this fish, and to set the curd when it
is quite freshly caught, it is usual to put it into boiling , instead of into
cold water. Scale, empty, and wash it with the greatest nicety, and
be especially careful to cleanse all the blood from the inside. Stir
into the fish-kettle eight ounces of common salt✪ To Boil a Brill to the gallon of water,
let it boil quickly for a minute or two, take off all the scum, put in
the salmon and boil it moderately fast, if it be small, but more gently
should it be very thick ; and assure yourself that it is quite sufficiently
done before it is sent to table, for nothing can be more distasteful,
even to the eye, than fish which is under dressed.
From two to three pounds of the thick part of a fine salmon will
require half an hour to boil it, but eight or ten pounds will be done
enough in little more than double that time ; less in proportion to its
weight should be allowed for a small fish, or for the thin end of a
large one. Do not allow the salmon to remain in the water after it is
ready to serve, or both its flavour and appearance will be injured.
Dish it on a hot napkin, and send dressed cucumber, and anchovy,
shrimp, or lobster sauce, and a tureen of plain melted butter to table
with it.
To each gallon water, 8 oz. salt. Salmon, 2 to 3 lbs. (thick),
* hour ; 8 to 10 lbs., 1£ hour ; small, or thin fish, less time.
SALMON X LA GENEVESE.
A fashionable mode of serving salmon at the present day is to
divide the larger portion of the body into three equal parts ; to boil
them in water, or in a marinade ; and to serve them dished in a line,
but not close together, and covered with a rich Genevese sauce (for
which see Chapter V.) It appears to us that the skin should be
stripped from any fish over which the sauce is poured, but in this
case it is not customary.
60
MODERN COOKERY.
[ciiap. it.
CRIMPED SALMON. ✪ Crimped Salmon
Page 81 · 3 recipe records on this page
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
TO BOIL A BRILL.
A fresh and full-sized brill always ranks high in the list of fish, as it is of good appearance, and the flesh is sweet and delicate. It requires less cooking than the turbot, even when it is of equal size; but otherwise may be dressed and served in a similar manner. It has not the same rich glutinous skin as that fish, nor are the fins esteemed.
They must be cut off when the brill is cleaned ; and it may be put into nearly boiling water, unless it be very large. Simmer it gently, and drain it well upon the fish-plate when it is lifted out ; dish it on a napkin, and send lobster, anchovy, crab, or shrimp sauce to table with it. Lobster coral, rubbed through a sieve, is commonly sprinkled over it for a formal dinner. The most usual garnish for boiled flat fish is curled parsley placed round it in light tufts ; how far it is appropriate , individual taste must decide.
Brill, moderate-sized, about 20 minutes ; large, 30 minutes.
Obs. — -The precise time which a fish will require to be boiled cannot be given : it must be watched, and not allowed to remain in the water after it begins to crack.
TO BOIL SALMON.
[In full season from May to August: may be had much earlier, but is scarce
and dear.]
To preserve the fine colour of this fish, and to set the curd when it is quite freshly caught, it is usual to put it into boiling , instead of into cold water. Scale, empty, and wash it with the greatest nicety, and be especially careful to cleanse all the blood from the inside. Stir into the fish-kettle eight ounces of common salt to the gallon of water, let it boil quickly for a minute or two, take off all the scum, put in the salmon and boil it moderately fast, if it be small, but more gently should it be very thick ; and assure yourself that it is quite sufficiently done before it is sent to table, for nothing can be more distasteful, even to the eye, than fish which is under dressed.
From two to three pounds of the thick part of a fine salmon will require half an hour to boil it, but eight or ten pounds will be done enough in little more than double that time ; less in proportion to its weight should be allowed for a small fish, or for the thin end of a large one. Do not allow the salmon to remain in the water after it is ready to serve, or both its flavour and appearance will be injured. Dish it on a hot napkin, and send dressed cucumber, and anchovy, shrimp, or lobster sauce, and a tureen of plain melted butter to table with it.
To each gallon water, 8 oz. salt. Salmon, 2 to 3 lbs. (thick), * hour ; 8 to 10 lbs., 1£ hour ; small, or thin fish, less time.
SALMON X LA GENEVESE.
A fashionable mode of serving salmon at the present day is to divide the larger portion of the body into three equal parts ; to boil them in water, or in a marinade ; and to serve them dished in a line, but not close together, and covered with a rich Genevese sauce (for which see Chapter V.) It appears to us that the skin should be stripped from any fish over which the sauce is poured, but in this case it is not customary.
[ciiap. it.
CRIMPED SALMON.
Records on this page
To Boil a BrillTo Boil SalmonCrimped Salmon