The cooking of fish depends very largely on taste, for va-
rious methods apply frequently and most appetizingly to the
same fish. Take halibut, for instance. It may be baked,
broiled, fried or boiled, and be quite as delicious in one way
as another. This rule is also true of cod, haddock, and nearly
every kind of white-fleshed fish. What a cook or a fish dealer
calls dark fish — this class contains bluefish, mackerel, herring,
salmon, eels, and shad — are best suited for broiling, baking,
or planking. They contain so much oil distributed through
the flesh that it requires a dry, intense heat to make them
palatable. Salmon is an exception to this rule, being at its best
when boiled. An old saying declares, "Small fish should
swim twice — once in water, once in oil." It is a good proverb
for the cook to remember, because it applies well to every
tiny fish. Smelts, brook trout, perch, whitebait, catfish, sun-
fish, bullheads, and everything in small finny things, partly
for the preservation of the small amount of meat on their
bones, should be carefully stripped, cleaned, egged, crumbed,
and fried. Sometimes these small fish are sauted, but they are
not so good nor so wholesome as when they "swim in oil."
BAKING
When baking halibut pour milk over and around it before
setting it in the oven. It keeps the fish moist, improves the
flavor, and makes it brown more thoroughly.
BOILING
In boiling, if you have no fish kettle, improvise one. Line
a wire basket with a cloth, allowing the linen to fall over the
FRESH FISH 55
edges ; put in the fish, coiling- it sHghtly if it is large, and drop
the basket in the boihng water. This is an easier method for
lifting it out whole than if set right in the kettle.
In spite of careful watching, a fish will occasionally break
in the boiling. Do not try to patch it together into an un-
sightly heap of skin, bones, and meat. Flake it quickly and
lay in good-sized portions on a large platter. Garnish with
mashed potato, and over the fish pour a sauce. This trans-
forms an almost hopeless failure into a most attractive dish.
BROILING
An oily fish, such as mackerel or bluefish, needs no enrich-
ment of fat before broiling; a white-fleshed fish does. If it
is cut in steaks, saturate it wath oil or melted butter and a
good seasoning of pepper and salt, then put between the wires
of the broiler. Lay the thickest end in the centre of the
broiler over the hottest part of the fire, skin side up. Let it
get perfectly crisp and brown on the flesh side before turning.
Broil the skin side very carefully; it is apt to burn. Set it in
a hot oven for five minutes to thoroughly finish the cooking.
An iron fish sheet, with rings at each end for handles, may
be made by any tinsmith for twenty-five cents. Grease it
well before setting the fish to cook and lay under it strips of
salt pork ; then set it in a baking-pan. You will find it very
easy to slip a baked fish from this sheet on to a platter.
PLANKING
Page 32
Presented as published in 1905. 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
The cooking of fish depends very largely on taste, for various methods apply frequently and most appetizingly to the same fish. Take halibut, for instance. It may be baked, broiled, fried or boiled, and be quite as delicious in one way as another. This rule is also true of cod, haddock, and nearly every kind of white-fleshed fish. What a cook or a fish dealer calls dark fish — this class contains bluefish, mackerel, herring, salmon, eels, and shad — are best suited for broiling, baking, or planking. They contain so much oil distributed through the flesh that it requires a dry, intense heat to make them palatable. Salmon is an exception to this rule, being at its best when boiled. An old saying declares, "Small fish should swim twice — once in water, once in oil." It is a good proverb for the cook to remember, because it applies well to every tiny fish. Smelts, brook trout, perch, whitebait, catfish, sunfish, bullheads, and everything in small finny things, partly for the preservation of the small amount of meat on their bones, should be carefully stripped, cleaned, egged, crumbed, and fried. Sometimes these small fish are sauted, but they are not so good nor so wholesome as when they "swim in oil."
BAKING
When baking halibut pour milk over and around it before setting it in the oven. It keeps the fish moist, improves the flavor, and makes it brown more thoroughly.
BOILING
In boiling, if you have no fish kettle, improvise one. Line a wire basket with a cloth, allowing the linen to fall over the
edges ; put in the fish, coiling it slightly if it is large, and drop the basket in the boiling water. This is an easier method for lifting it out whole than if set right in the kettle.
In spite of careful watching, a fish will occasionally break in the boiling. Do not try to patch it together into an unsightly heap of skin, bones, and meat. Flake it quickly and lay in good-sized portions on a large platter. Garnish with mashed potato, and over the fish pour a sauce. This transforms an almost hopeless failure into a most attractive dish.
BROILING
An oily fish, such as mackerel or bluefish, needs no enrichment of fat before broiling; a white-fleshed fish does. If it is cut in steaks, saturate it with oil or melted butter and a good seasoning of pepper and salt, then put between the wires of the broiler. Lay the thickest end in the centre of the broiler over the hottest part of the fire, skin side up. Let it get perfectly crisp and brown on the flesh side before turning. Broil the skin side very carefully; it is apt to burn. Set it in a hot oven for five minutes to thoroughly finish the cooking.
An iron fish sheet, with rings at each end for handles, may be made by any tinsmith for twenty-five cents. Grease it well before setting the fish to cook and lay under it strips of salt pork ; then set it in a baking-pan. You will find it very easy to slip a baked fish from this sheet on to a platter.
PLANKING