The Book of Household Management Part 31

263. INGREDIENTS.--A nice forcemeat (_see_ Forcemeats), b.u.t.ter to taste, egg and bread crumbs.

_Mode_.--Scale and clean the fish, without cutting it open much; put in a nice delicate forcemeat, and sew up the slit. Brush it over with egg, sprinkle over bread crumbs, and baste frequently with b.u.t.ter. Garnish with parsley and cut lemon, and serve with a nice brown gravy, plain melted b.u.t.ter, or anchovy sauce. The egg and bread crumbs can be omitted, and pieces of b.u.t.ter placed over the fish.

_Time_.--Large haddock, 3/4 hour; moderate size, 1/4 hour.

_Seasonable_ from August to February.

_Average cost_, from 9d. upwards.

_Note_.--Haddocks may be filleted, rubbed over with egg and bread crumbs, and fried a nice brown; garnish with crisped parsley.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE HADDOCK.]

THE HADDOCK.--This fish migrates in immense shoals, and arrives on the Yorks.h.i.+re coast about the middle of winter. It is an inhabitant of the northern seas of Europe, but does not enter the Baltic, and is not known in the Mediterranean. On each side of the body, just beyond the gills, it has a dark spot, which superst.i.tion a.s.serts to be the impressions of the finger and thumb of St. Peter, when taking the tribute money out of a fish of this species.

BOILED HADDOCK.

264. INGREDIENTS.--Sufficient water to cover the fish; 1/4 lb. of salt to each gallon of water.

_Mode_.--Sc.r.a.pe the fish, take out the inside, wash it thoroughly, and lay it in a kettle, with enough water to cover it and salt in the above proportion. Simmer gently from 15 to 20 minutes, or rather more, should the fish be very large. For small haddocks, fasten the tails in their mouths, and put them into boiling water. 10 to 15 minutes will cook them. Serve with plain melted b.u.t.ter, or anchovy sauce.

_Time_.--Large haddock, 1/2 hour; small, 1/4 hour, or rather less.

_Average cost_, from 9d. upwards.

_Seasonable_ from August to February.

WEIGHT OF THE HADDOCK.--The haddock seldom grows to any great size. In general, they do not weigh more than two or three pounds, or exceed ten or twelve inches in size. Such are esteemed very delicate eating; but they have been caught three feet long, when their flesh is coa.r.s.e.

DRIED HADDOCK.

I.

265. Dried haddock should be gradually warmed through, either before or over a nice clear fire. Hub a little piece of b.u.t.ter over, just before sending it to table.

II.

266. INGREDIENTS.--1 large thick haddock, 2 bay-leaves, 1 small bunch of savoury herbs, not forgetting parsley, a little b.u.t.ter and pepper; boiling water.

_Mode_.--Cut up the haddock into square pieces, make a basin hot by means of hot water, which pour out. Lay in the fish, with the bay-leaves and herbs; cover with boiling water; put a plate over to keep in the steam, and let it remain for 10 minutes. Take out the slices, put them in a hot dish, rub over with b.u.t.ter and pepper, and serve.

_Time_.--10 minutes. _Seasonable_ at any time, but best in winter.

THE FINNAN HADDOCK.--This is the common haddock cured and dried, and takes its name from the fis.h.i.+ng-village of Findhorn, near Aberdeen, in Scotland, where the art has long attained to perfection. The haddocks are there hung up for a day or two in the smoke of peat, when they are ready for cooking, and are esteemed, by the Scotch, a great delicacy. In London, an imitation of them is made by was.h.i.+ng the fish over with pyroligneous acid, and hanging it up in a dry place for a few days.

RED HERRINGS, or YARMOUTH BLOATERS.

267. The best way to cook these is to make incisions in the skin across the fish, because they do not then require to be so long on the fire, and will be far better than when cut open. The hard roe makes a nice relish by pounding it in a mortar, with a little anchovy, and spreading it on toast. If very dry, soak in warm water 1 hour before dressing.

THE RED HERRING.--_Red_ herrings lie twenty-four hours in the brine, when they are taken out and hung up in a smoking-house formed to receive them. A brushwood fire is then kindled beneath them, and when they are sufficiently smoked and dried, they are put into barrels for carriage.

BAKED WHITE HERRINGS.

268. INGREDIENTS.--12 herrings, 4 bay-leaves, 12 cloves, 12 allspice, 2 small blades of mace, cayenne pepper and salt to taste, sufficient vinegar to fill up the dish.

_Mode_.--Take the herrings, cut off the heads, and gut them. Put them in a pie-dish, heads and tails alternately, and, between each layer, sprinkle over the above ingredients. Cover the fish with the vinegar, and bake for 1/2 hour, but do not use it till quite cold. The herrings may be cut down the front, the backbone taken out, and closed again.

Sprats done in this way are very delicious.

_Time_.--1/2 an hour.

_Average cost_, 1d. each.

TO CHOOSE THE HERRING.--The more scales this fish has, the surer the sign of its freshness. It should also have a bright and silvery look; but if red about the head, it is a sign that it has been dead for some time.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE HERRING.]

THE HERRING.--The herring tribe are found in the greatest abundance in the highest northern lat.i.tudes, where they find a quiet retreat, and security from their numerous enemies. Here they multiply beyond expression, and, in shoals, come forth from their icy region to visit other portions of the great deep. In June they are found about Shetland, whence they proceed down to the Orkneys, where they divide, and surround the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. The princ.i.p.al British herring-fisheries are off the Scotch and Norfolk coasts; and the fis.h.i.+ng is always carried on by means of nets, which are usually laid at night; for, if stretched by day, they are supposed to frighten the fish away. The moment the herring is taken out of the water it dies. Hence the origin of the common saying, "dead as a herring."

KEGEREE.

269. INGREDIENTS.--Any cold fish, 1 teacupful of boiled rice, 1 oz. of b.u.t.ter, 1 teaspoonful of mustard, 2 soft-boiled eggs, salt and cayenne to taste.

_Mode_.--Pick the fish carefully from the bones, mix with the other ingredients, and serve very hot. The quant.i.ties may be varied according to the amount of fish used.

_Time_.--1/4 hour after the rice is boiled.

_Average cost_, 5d., exclusive of the fish.

TO BOIL LOBSTERS.

270. INGREDIENTS.--1/4 lb. of salt to each gallon of water.

_Mode_.--Buy the lobsters alive, and choose those that are heavy and full of motion, which is an indication of their freshness. When the sh.e.l.l is incrusted, it is a sign they are old: medium-sized lobsters are the best. Have ready a stewpan of boiling water, salted in the above proportion; put in the lobster, and keep it boiling quickly from 20 minutes to 3/4 hour, according to its size, and do not forget to skim well. If it boils too long, the meat becomes thready, and if not done enough, the sp.a.w.n is not red: this must be obviated by great attention.

Hub the sh.e.l.l over with a little b.u.t.ter or sweet oil, which wipe off again.

_Time_.--Small lobster, 20 minutes to 1/2 hour; large ditto, 1/2 to 1/3 hour.

_Average cost_, medium size, 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d.

_Seasonable_ all the year, but best from March to October.

TO CHOOSE LOBSTERS.--This sh.e.l.l-fish, if it has been cooked alive, as it ought to have been, will have a stiffness in the tail, which, if gently raised, will return with a spring. Care, however, must be taken in thus proving it; for if the tail is pulled straight out, it will not return; when the fish might be p.r.o.nounced inferior, which, in reality, may not be the case. In order to be good, lobsters should be weighty for their bulk; if light, they will be watery; and those of the medium size, are always the best. Small-sized lobsters are cheapest, and answer very well for sauce. In boiling lobsters, the appearance of the sh.e.l.l will be much improved by rubbing over it a little b.u.t.ter or salad-oil on being immediately taken from the pot.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE LOBSTER.]

THE LOBSTER.--This is one of the crab tribe, and is found on most of the rocky coasts of Great Britain. Some are caught with the hand, but the larger number in pots, which serve all the purposes of a trap, being made of osiers, and baited with garbage. They are shaped like a wire mousetrap; so that when the lobsters once enter them, they cannot get out again. They are fastened to a cord and sunk in the sea, and their place marked by a buoy. The fish is very prolific, and deposits of its eggs in the sand, where they are soon hatched. On the coast of Norway, they are very abundant, and it is from there that the English metropolis is mostly supplied. They are rather indigestible, and, as a food, not so nurtritive as they are generally supposed to be.