Cod's Head and Shoulders

The Book of Household Management · Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary) · 1861

Source: The Book of Household Management
Yield: 6.0 – 8.0 persons
Status: success · extracted 13 days ago
Not a recipe: No

Ingredients (8)

Sufficient water to cover the fish ↝ Water, tap [Tap water]
5 oz. of salt to each gallon of water ↝ Salt, table, iodized [Spices and Herbs]
cut lemon, horseradish, the roe and liver ↝ Lemon, raw [Citrus fruits]
cut lemon, horseradish, the roe and liver ↝ Horseradish [Mustard and other condiments]
cut lemon, horseradish, the roe and liver ↝ Fish, roe, mixed species, raw [Finfish and Shellfish Products]
cut lemon, horseradish, the roe and liver ↝ Duck, domesticated, liver, raw [Poultry Products]
Oyster sauce ↝ Oyster sauce [Soy-based condiments]
plain melted butter ↝ Butter, stick, unsalted [Dairy and Egg Products]

Instructions (8)

Cleanse the fish thoroughly, and rub a little salt over the thick part and inside of the fish, 1 or 2 hours before dressing it, as this very much improves the flavour.
Lay it in the fish-kettle, with sufficient cold water to cover it.
Be very particular not to pour the water on the fish, as it is liable to break it, and only keep it just simmering.
If the water should boil away, add a little by pouring it in at the side of the kettle, and not on the fish.
Add salt in the above proportion, and bring it gradually to a boil.
Skim very carefully, draw it to the side of the fire, and let it gently simmer till done.
Take it out and drain it; serve on a hot napkin, and garnish with cut lemon, horseradish, the roe and liver.
Oyster sauce and plain melted butter should be served with this.

Original Text

COD'S HEAD AND SHOULDERS.

232. INGREDIENTS.—Sufficient water to cover the fish; 5 oz. of salt to each gallon of water.

Mode.—Cleanse the fish thoroughly, and rub a little salt over the thick part and inside of the fish, 1 or 2 hours before dressing it, as this very much improves the flavour. Lay it in the fish-kettle, with sufficient cold water to cover it. Be very particular not to pour the water on the fish, as it is liable to break it, and only keep it just simmering. If the water should boil away, add a little by pouring it in at the side of the kettle, and not on the fish. Add salt in the above proportion, and bring it gradually to a boil. Skim very carefully, draw it to the side of the fire, and let it gently simmer till done. Take it out and drain it; serve on a hot napkin, and garnish with cut lemon, horseradish, the roe and liver. (See Coloured Plate C.)

Time.—According to size, 1/2 an hour, more or less. Average cost, from 3s. to 6s.

Sufficient for 6 or 8 persons.

Seasonable from November to March.

Note.—Oyster sauce and plain melted butter should be served with this.

TO CHOOSE COD.—The cod should be chosen for the table when it is plump and round near the tail, when the hollow behind the head is deep, and when the sides are undulated as if they were ribbed. The glutinous parts about the head lose their delicate flavour, after the fish has been twenty-four hours out of the water. The great point by which the cod should be judged is the firmness of its flesh; and, although the cod is not firm when it is alive, its quality may be arrived at by pressing the finger into the flesh. If this rises immediately, the fish is good; if not, it is stale. Another sign of its goodness is, if the fish, when it is cut, exhibits a bronze appearance, like the silver side of a round of beef. When this is the case, the flesh will be firm when cooked. Stiffness in a cod, or in any other fish, is a sure sign of freshness, though not always of quality. Sometimes, codfish, though exhibiting signs of rough usage, will eat much better than those with red gills, so strongly recommended by many cookery-books. This appearance is generally caused by the fish having been knocked about at sea, in the well-boats, in which they are conveyed from the fishing-grounds to market.

Notes

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