Cassell's dictionary of cookery

of variety, the centre of the circle may be filled with oysters, prawns, or shrimps, mixed in Dutch sauce, with a further quantity of sauce in a tureen. Fried fillets of salmon are frequently served without sauce, and with the juice of a lemon strained over them. Time to fry, ten to fifteen minutes, according to the thickness of the fish. Probable cost, salmon, when plentiful, Is. to Is. 4d. per pound. Salmon, Fillets of, Stewed.— Trim a pound of salmon into neat fillets. Dry these, dip them in flour, partially fry them, and put them on a sieve to drain. Dissolve three ounces of butter in a saucepan. Mix smoothly with this a table-spoonful of flour, and add a tea-spoonful of chopped parsley, half a teaspoonful of chopped fennel, a pinch of powdered thyme, and a little pepper and salt. Stir the mixture; over the fire for four or five minutes, add a glassful of sherry, and put into the sauce the half -fried fillets. Let them simmer gently for ten minutes. Lift the fish out with a slice, and place it on a hot dish. Let the sauce cool for two minutes, then stir into it the well-beaten yolks of two eggs, then whisk it over the fire for a minute till it thickens, and pour it over the fish. Garnish the dish with fried sippets. Time, altogether, half an hour. Probable cost, 28. to 2s. 6d. Sufficient for three or four persons. Salmon, Fillets of, with Potatoes. — Split and trim a pound or more of salmon into neat fillets, egg and braid-crumb these, and fry in hot fat till they are done enough. Drain them on a sieve before the fire. Slice some potatoes thinly ; blanch them in boiling water, drain and fry them in hot fat till they are soft without being browned. Arrange the fillets in a circle on a dish, put the fried potatoes in the centre, and send lobster sauce to table in a tureen. Time to fry the fillets, eight to fifteen minutes, according to thickness. Salmon Forcemeat for Garnishing, &C- — Lift the flesh from the back bone of a dressed salmon, and take half a pound of it, free from skin and bone ; tear it into flakes, and rub it through a sieve. Put the pulp into a mortar, and pound it with five ounces of butter and five ounces of panada, season with pepper and salt, and moisten with a raw egg and a little rich white sauce. Make the forcemeat into cakes, and poach one of these in boiling water to ascertain whether or not it is of the proper consistency. If too stiff, add a little more sauce or cream. Keep the forcemeat in a cool place till wanted. , Salmon, Freshness of.—" The freshness of the salmon," says Careme, '' may be known hy the redness of the gills and brilliancy of the eye, which is of a clear red and transparent. The flesh should be firm, its shape short and round, which constitutes it well made, fat, and of a, good quality ; the head short and pointed ; the back of a dark blue tint, and covered with red spots-, the belly like silver; small scales compactly placed cover its whole surface, and, when the fish is fresh, are very brilliant, but if not, become dull and clouded.''