The Manner of dressing various Sorts of dried Fish

The Art Of Cookery · Hannah Glasse · 1747
Source
The Art Of Cookery
Status
success · extracted 12 days ago
Not a recipe
No
Ingredients (10)
Steeping liquid for dried fish
For basting fish
For coating fish before grilling
For sauce
For sauce (sweet oil option)
For tossing fish in a pan
Instructions (23)
General Steeping Rules for Dried Fish
  1. All kinds of fish, except stock-fish, are salted, or either dried in the sun, as the most common way; or are prepared in kilns, or by the smoke of wood fires in chimnies or corners.
  2. Fish prepared in these ways require being softened and freshened in proportion to their bulk, their nature or drying.
  3. The very dry sorts, as cod-fish, bacalo, or whitings, and such like, should be steeped in luke-warm milk and water.
  4. The steeping should be kept as near as possible to an equal degree of heat.
  5. The larger fish should be steeped twelve hours; the small, as whitings, &c. about two hours.
  6. The cod are therefore laid to steep in the evening, the whitings, &c. in morning before they are to be dressed.
  7. After the time of steeping, they are to be taken out, and hung up by the tails until they are dressed.
  8. Reason for hanging them up: they soften equally as in the steeping, without extracting too much of the relish, which would make them insipid.
Grilling Instructions
  1. When prepared, the small fish, as whiting, tusk, and such like, are flowered and laid on the gridiron.
  2. When a little hardened on the one side, they must be turned and basted with oil upon a feather.
  3. When basted on both sides, and well hot through, taken up.
  4. Observe that as sweet oil supplies the fish with artificial juices, so the fire draws out those juices and hardens them.
  5. Be careful not to let them broil too long; no time can be prescribed because of the difference of fires and the size of the fish.
  6. A clear charcoal fire is much the best.
  7. Keep the fish at a good distance to broil gradually.
  8. To know when they are enough: they will swell a little in the basting, and you must not let them fall again.
Sauce and Garnish
  1. The sauces are the same as usual to salt-fish, and garnish with oysters fried in batter.
  2. For supper, for those that love sweet oil, the best sauce is oil, vinegar, and mustard beat up to a consistence, and served up in saucers.
Boiling Instructions
  1. If boiled as the great fish usually are, it should be in milk and water, but not so properly boiled as kept just simmering over an equal fire.
  2. In this way, half an hour will do the largest fish, and five minutes the smallest.
  3. Some broil both sorts after simmering.
  4. Some pick them to pieces, and then toss them up in a pan with fried onions and apples.
  5. They are either way very good, and the choice depends on the weak or strong stomach of the eaters.
Original Text
The Manner of dressing various Sorts of dried Fish; as Stock-fish, Salmon, Cod, Whitings, &c. The general Rule for steeping of dried Fish, the Stock-fish excepted. ALL kinds of fish, except stock-fish, are salted, or either dried in the sun, as the most common way; or are prepared in kilns, or by the smoke of wood fires in chimnies or corners; and in either case require being softened and freshened in proportion to their bulk, their nature or drying: the very dry sorts, as cod-fish, bacalo, or whitings, and such like, should be steeped in luke-warm milk and water; the steeping kept as near as possible to an equal degree of heat. The larger fish should be steeped twelve; the small, as whitings, &c. about two hours. The cod are therefore laid to steep in the evening, the whitings, &c. in morning before they are to be dressed; after the time of steeping, they are to be taken out, and hung up by the tails until they are dressed: the reason of hanging them up is, that they soften equally as in the steeping, without extracting too much of the relish, which would make them insipid: when thus prepared, the small fish, as whiting, tusk, and such like, are flowered and laid on the gridiron; and when a little hardened on the one side, must be turned and basted with oil upon a feather; and when basted on both sides, and well hot through, taken up, always observing, that as sweet oil supplies, and supplies the fish with a kind of artificial juices, so the fire draws out those juices, and hardens them; therefore be careful not to let them broil too long; no time can be prescribed, because of the difference of fires, and the size of the fish. A clear charcoal fire is much the best, and the fish kept at a good distance to broil gradually is the best way to know when they are enough is, they will swell a little in the basting, and you must not let them fall again. The sauces are the same as usual to salt-fish, and garnish with oysters fried in batter. For supper, for those that love sweet oil, the best sauce is oil, vinegar, and mustard beat up to a consistence, and served up in saucers. If boiled as the great fish usually are, it should be in milk and water, but not so properly boiled as kept just simmering over an equal fire; in which way, half an hour will do the largest fish, and five minutes the smallest: some broil both sorts after simmering, and some pick them to pieces, and then toss them up in a pan with fried onions and apples. They are either way very good, and the choice depends on the weak or strong stomach of the eaters.
Notes
—