Woman's Institute Library of Cookery Volume III Part 26

2 Tb. b.u.t.ter 1 slice of carrot 1 slice of onion Sprig of parsley 1/2 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. pepper 2 Tb. flour 1 c. meat stock 1/2 c. mushrooms 2 tsp. lemon juice

Put the b.u.t.ter in a frying pan with the carrot, onion, parsley, salt, and pepper, and cook together until brown. Remove the onion, carrot, and parsley. Stir in the flour, brown it slightly, and then add the meat stock. Cook together until thickened. Just before removing from the fire, add the mushrooms, chopped into fine pieces, and the lemon juice.

Allow it to heat thoroughly and then serve.

DRAWN-b.u.t.tER SAUCE

1/4 c. b.u.t.ter 2 Tb. flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. pepper 1-1/2 c. hot water 2 hard-cooked eggs

Melt the b.u.t.ter, and add the flour, salt, and pepper. Pour into this the hot water, and cook until the mixture thickens. Slice the eggs into 1/4-inch slices and add these to the sauce just before removing from the stove.

33. STUFFING FOR FISH.--As has been mentioned, fish that is to be baked is often stuffed before it is put into the oven. The stuffing not only helps to preserve the shape of the fish, but also provides a means of extending the flavor of the fish to a starchy food, for bread or cracker crumbs are used in the preparation of most stuffings. Three recipes for fish stuffing are here given, the first being made of bread crumbs and having hot water for the liquid, the second of cracker crumbs and having milk for the liquid, and the third of bread crumbs and having stewed tomato for the liquid.

FISH STUFFING No. 1

1/4 c. b.u.t.ter 1/2 c. hot water 1/2 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. pepper 1 tsp. onion juice 1 Tb. chopped parsley 2 c. fine bread crumbs

Melt the b.u.t.ter in the hot water, add the salt, pepper, onion juice, and parsley, and pour over the crumbs. Mix thoroughly and use to stuff the fish.

FISH STUFFING No. 2

1/2 c. milk 2 c. cracker crumbs 1/2 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. pepper 1/4 c. melted b.u.t.ter 1 Tb. chopped parsley 1 egg

Warm the milk and add it to the crumbs, together with the salt, pepper, melted b.u.t.ter, and parsley. To this mixture, add the beaten egg. When well mixed, use as stuffing for fish.

FISH STUFFING No. 3

2 Tb. b.u.t.ter 1 Tb. finely chopped onion 1 Tb. chopped parsley 1/2 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. pepper 1 Tb. chopped sour pickles 1/2 c. stewed tomato 2 c. stale bread crumbs

Melt the b.u.t.ter and add the onion, parsley, salt, pepper, pickles, and tomato. Pour this mixture over the crumbs, mix all thoroughly, and use to stuff the fish. If the dressing seems to require more liquid than the stewed tomato, add a little water.

RECIPES FOR FRESH FISH

34. BOILED FISH.--Boiling extracts flavor and, to some extent, nutriment from the food to which this cookery method is applied. Therefore, unless the fish to be cooked is one that has a very strong flavor and that will be improved by the loss of flavor, it should not be boiled. Much care should be exercised in boiling fish, because the meat is usually so tender that it is likely to boil to pieces or to fall apart.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 16]

35. A utensil in which fish can be boiled or steamed very satisfactorily is shown in Fig. 16. This _fish boiler_, as it is called, is a long, narrow, deep pan with a cover and a rack on which the fish is placed.

Attached to each end of the rack is an upright strip, or handle, that permits the rack containing the fish to be lifted out of the pan and the fish thus removed without breaking. To a.s.sist further in holding the fish together while it is cooking, a piece of gauze or cheesecloth may be wrapped around the fish before it is put into the pan.

36. When a fish is to be boiled, clean it and, if desired, remove the head. Pour sufficient boiling water to cover the fish well into the vessel in which it is to be cooked, and add salt in the proportion of 1 teaspoonful to each quart of water. Tie the fish in a strip of cheesecloth or gauze if necessary, and lower it into the vessel of slowly boiling water. Allow the fish to boil until it may be easily pierced with a fork; then take it out of the water and remove the cloth, provided one is used. Serve with a well-seasoned sauce, such as lemon cream, horseradish, etc.

37. BOILED COD.--A fish that lends itself well to boiling is fresh cod.

In fact, codfish prepared according to this method and served with a sauce makes a very appetizing dish.

Scale, clean, and skin a fresh cod and wrap it in a single layer of gauze or cheesecloth. Place it in a kettle or a pan of freshly boiling water to which has been added 1 teaspoonful of salt to each quart of water. Boil until the fish may be easily pierced with a fork, take from the water, and remove the gauze or cheesecloth carefully so as to keep the fish intact. Serve with sauce and slices of lemon.

38. STEAMED FISH.--The preparation of fish by steaming is practically the same as that by boiling, and produces a dish similar to boiled fish.

The only difference is that steamed fish is suspended over the water and is cooked by the steam that rises instead of being cooked directly in the water. Because the fish is not surrounded by water, it does not lose its nutriment and flavor so readily as does boiled fish.

If fish is to be cooked by steaming, first clean it thoroughly. Wrap in a strip of gauze or cheesecloth and place in a steamer. Steam until tender, and then remove the cloth and place the fish on a platter. As steaming does not add flavor, it is usually necessary to supply flavor to fish cooked in this way by adding a sauce of some kind.

39. BROILED FISH.--The best way in which to cook small fish, thin strips of fish, or even good-sized fish that are comparatively thin when they are split open is to broil them. Since in this method of cooking the flavor is entirely retained, it is especially desirable for any fish of delicate flavor.

To broil fish, sear them quickly over a very hot fire and then cook them more slowly until they are done, turning frequently to prevent burning.

As most fish, and particularly the small ones used for broiling, contain almost no fat, it is necessary to supply fat for successful broiling and improvement of flavor. It is difficult to add fat to the fish while it is broiling, so, as a rule, the fat is spread over the surface of the fish after it has been removed from the broiler. The fat may consist of broiled strips of bacon or salt pork, or it may be merely melted b.u.t.ter or other fat.

40. BROILED SCROD WITH POTATO BORDER.--Young cod that is split down the back and that has had the backbone removed with the exception of a small portion near the tail is known as _scrod_. Such fish is nearly always broiled, it may be served plain, but it is much more attractive when potatoes are combined with it in the form of an artistic border.

To prepare this dish, broil the scrod according to the directions given in Art. 39. Then place it on a hot platter and spread b.u.t.ter over it.

Boil the desired number of potatoes until they are tender, and then force them through a ricer or mash them until they are perfectly fine.

Season with salt, pepper, and b.u.t.ter, and add sufficient milk to make a paste that is a trifle stiffer than for mashed potatoes. If desired, raw eggs may also be beaten into the potatoes to serve as a part of the moisture. Fill a pastry bag with the potatoes thus prepared and press them through a rosette tube in any desired design on the platter around the fish. Bake in a hot oven until the potatoes are thoroughly heated and are browned slightly on the top.

41. BROILED FRESH MACKEREL.--Probably no fish lends itself better to broiling than fresh mackerel, as the flesh of this fish is tender and contains sufficient fat to have a good flavor. To improve the flavor, however, strips of bacon are usually placed over the fish and allowed to broil with it.

Clean and skin a fresh mackerel. Place the fish thus prepared in a broiler, and broil first on one side and then on the other. When seared all over, place strips of bacon over the fish and continue to broil until it is done. Remove from the broiler, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

42. BROILED SHAD ROE.--The ma.s.s of eggs found in shad, as shown in Fig.

17, is known as the _roe_ of shad. Roe may be purchased separately, when it is found in the markets from January 1 to June 1, or it may be procured from the fish itself. It makes a delicious dish when broiled, especially when it is rolled in fat and bread crumbs.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 17]

Wash the roe that is to be used and dry it carefully between towels.

Roll it in bacon fat or melted b.u.t.ter and then in fine crumbs. Place in a broiler, broil until completely done on one side, turn and then broil until entirely cooked on the other side. Remove from the broiler and pour melted b.u.t.ter over each piece. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve hot.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 18]

43. BAKED FISH.--Good-sized fish, that is, fish weighing 4 or 5 pounds, are usually baked. When prepared by this method, fish are very satisfactory if they are spread out on a pan, flesh side up, and baked in a very hot oven with sufficient fat to flavor them well. A fish of large size, however, is especially delicious if its cavity is filled with a stuffing before it is baked.

When a fish is to be stuffed, any desired stuffing is prepared and then filled into the fish in the manner shown in Fig. 18. With the cavity well filled, the edges of the fish are drawn together over the stuffing and sewed with a coa.r.s.e needle and thread, as Fig. 19 shows.

Whether the fish is stuffed or not, the same principles apply in its baking as apply in the roasting of meat; that is, the heat of a quick, hot oven sears the flesh, keeps in the juices, and prevents the loss of flavor, while that of a slow oven causes the loss of much of the flavor and moisture and produces a less tender dish.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 19]

44. Often, in the baking of fish, it is necessary to add fat. This may be done by putting fat of some kind into the pan with the fish, by spreading strips of bacon over the fish, or by larding it. In the dry varieties of fish, larding, which is ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 20, proves very satisfactory, for it supplies the substance in which the fish is most lacking. As will be observed, larding is done by inserting strips of bacon or salt pork that are about 3 inches long and 1/4 inch thick into gashes cut into the sides of the fish.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 20]

45. BAKED HADDOCK.--As haddock is a good-sized fish, it is an especially suitable one for baking. However, it is a dry fish, so fat should be added to it to improve its flavor. Any of the methods suggested in Art.

44 may be used to supply the fat that this fish needs.

When haddock is to be baked, select a 4 or 5-pound fish, clean it thoroughly, boning it if desired, and sprinkle it inside and out with salt. Fill the cavity with any desired stuffing and sew up. Place in a dripping pan, and add some bacon fat or a piece of salt pork, or place several slices of bacon around it. Bake in a hot oven for about 1 hour.

After it has been in the oven for about 15 minutes, baste with the fat that will be found in the bottom of the pan and continue to baste every 10 minutes until the fish is done. Remove from the pan to a platter, garnish with parsley and slices of broiled bacon, and serve with any desired sauce.

46. BAKED HALIBUT.--Because of its size, halibut is cut into slices and sold in the form of steaks. It is probably one of the most economical varieties of fish to buy, for very little bone is contained in a slice and the money that the housewife expends goes for almost solid meat.

Halibut slices are often sauted, but they make a delicious dish when baked with tomatoes and flavored with onion, lemon, and bay leaf, as described in the accompanying recipe.

BAKED HALIBUT (Sufficient to Serve Six)