Pike with Force-Meat and Sauce

The housekeeper's instructor; or, uni... · William Augustus Henderson · 1791
Source
The housekeeper's instructor; or, universal family cook
Status
success · extracted 12 days ago
Not a recipe
No
Ingredients (23)
For the pike
For the force-meat
For coating the fish
For the sauce
Garnish
Instructions (17)
  1. Gut the pike without cutting it open, and take care it is well cleaned.
  2. Cut a notch down the back from head to tail, turn it round, and soften the tail in the mouth.
  3. Prepare the force-meat: Take the udder of a leg of veal, or the kidney part of a loin of lamb, some fat bacon cut in dice, the spawn or melt of the fish, some green onions, a mushroom or two, or truffles, parsley and salt, and a little nutmeg and pepper.
  4. Add a bit of butter to fry the force-meat ingredients.
  5. Chop all the force-meat ingredients well, with the crumb of a French roll soaked in cream or milk.
  6. Pound all together in a large mortar, with three or four eggs.
  7. Try if the force-meat is seasoned to your mind.
  8. Fill the belly of your fish with the force-meat.
  9. Close up the part which was cut in the back, and make it nice and even.
  10. Beat two or three eggs.
  11. Daub the fish well over with the beaten eggs.
  12. Strew some crumbs of bread on the fish.
  13. Put the fish in a gentle oven, and proportion the time according to the size of your fish.
  14. Prepare the sauce: Take two or three ladles of good gravy, and add to it three large spoonful of whole capers, some parsley chopped fine, the juice of two lemons, and a little minced shallot.
  15. Pour the sauce into a boat or basin.
  16. Serve the sauce hot with your fish.
  17. Garnish with fried parsley.
Original Text
PREPARE your pike thus:--Gut it without cutting it open, and take care it is well cleaned. Cut a notch down the back from head to tail, turn it round, and soften the tail in the mouth. Make your force-meat thus: Take the udder of a leg of veal, or the kidney part of a loin of lamb, some fat bacon cut in dice, the spawn or melt of the fish, some green onions, a mushroom or two, or truffles, parsley and salt, and a little nutmeg and pepper; add a bit of butter to fry it; chop it all well, with the crumb of a French roll soaked in cream or milk. Pound all together in a large mortar, with three or four eggs; try if it is seasoned to your mind, fill the belly of your fish with it, close up that part which was cut in the back, and make it nice and even. Then take two or three eggs, beat them up, daub the fish well over with it, and strew on some crumbs of bread. Put it in a gentle oven, and proportion the time according to the size of your fish. When done use the following sauce: take two or three ladles of good gravy, and add to it three large spoonful of whole capers, some parsley chopped fine, the juice of two lemons, and a little minced shallot. Pour this into a boat or basin, and serve it up hot with your fish. Garnish with fried parsley.
Notes