style="margin-top: 2em">Fish.

PRELIMINARY REMARKS.

When fish is to be boiled, it should be rubbed lightly over with salt, and set on the fire in a saucepan or fish-kettle sufficiently large, in hard cold water, with a little salt, a spoonful or two of vinegar is sometimes added, which has the effect of increasing its firmness.

Fish for broiling should be rubbed over with vinegar, well dried in a cloth and floured. The fire must be clear and free from smoke, the gridiron made quite hot, and the bars buttered before the fish is put on it. Fish to be fried should be rubbed in with salt, dried, rolled in a cloth, and placed for a few minutes before the fire previous to being put in the pan.

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FISH FRIED IN OIL.

Soles, plaice, or salmon, are the best kinds of fish to dress in this manner, although various other sorts are frequently used. When prepared by salting or drying, as above directed, have a dish ready with beaten eggs, turn the fish well over in them, and sprinkle it freely with flour, so that the fish may be covered entirely with it, then place it in a pan with a good quantity of the best frying oil at boiling heat; fry the fish in it gently, till of a fine equal brown colour, when done, it should be placed on a cloth before the fire for the oil to drain off; great care should be observed that the oil should have ceased to bubble when the fish is put in, otherwise it will be greasy; the oil will serve for two or three times if strained off and poured into a jar. Fish prepared in this way is usually served cold.

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FRIED SOLES IN THE ENGLISH WAY.

Prepare the soles as directed in the last receipt, brush them over with egg, dredge them with stale bread crumbs, and fry in boiling butter; this method is preferable when required to be served hot.

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ESCOBECHE.

Take some cold fried fish, place it in a deep pan, then boil half a pint of vinegar with two table spoonsful of water, and one of oil, a little grated ginger, allspice, cayenne pepper, two bay leaves, a little salt, and a table spoonful of lemon juice, with sliced onions; when boiling, pour it over the fish, cover the pan, and let it stand twenty-four hours before serving.

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FISH STEWED WHITE.

Put an onion, finely chopped, into a stew-pan, with a little oil, till the onion becomes brown, then add half a pint of water, and place the fish in the stew-pan, seasoning with pepper, salt, mace, ground allspice, nutmeg, and ginger; let it stew gently till the fish is done, then prepare the beaten yolks of four eggs, with the juice of two lemons, and a tea spoonful of flour, a table spoonful of cold water, and a little saffron, mix well in a cup, and pour it into the stew-pan, stirring it carefully one way until it thickens. Balls should be thrown in about twenty minutes before serving; they are made in the following way: take a little of the fish, the liver, and roe, if there is any, beat it up finely with chopped parsley, and spread warmed butter, crumbs of bread, and seasoning according to taste; form this into a paste with eggs, and make it into balls of a moderate size; this is a very nice dish when cold; garnish with sliced lemon and parsley.

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AN EXCELLENT RECEIPT FOR STEWED FISH IN THE DUTCH FASHION.

Take three or four parsley roots, cut them into pieces, slice several onions and boil in a pint of water till tender, season with lemon juice, vinegar, saffron, pepper, salt, and mace, then add the fish, and let it stew till nearly finished, when remove it, and thicken the gravy with a little flour and butter, and the yolk of one egg, then return the fish to the stew-pan, with balls made as directed in the preceding receipt, and boil up.

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FISH STEWED BROWN.

Fry some fish of a light brown, either soles, slices of salmon, halibut, or plaice, let an onion brown in a little oil, add to it a cup of water, a little mushroom ketchup or powder, cayenne pepper, salt, nutmeg, and lemon juice, put the fish into a stew-pan with the above mixture, and simmer gently till done, then take out the fish and thicken the gravy with a little browned flour, and stir in a glass of port wine; a few truffles, or mushrooms, are an improvement.

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WATER SOUCHY.

Take a portion of the fish intended to be dressed, and stew it down with three pints of water, parsley roots, and chopped parsley, and then pulp them through a sieve, then add the rest of the fish, with pepper, salt, and seasoning; and serve in a deep dish.

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A SUPERIOR RECEIPT FOR STEWED CARP.

Clean the fish thoroughly, put it into a saucepan, with a strong rich gravy, season with onion, parsley roots, allspice, nutmegs, beaten cloves, and ginger, let it stew very gently till nearly done, then mix port wine and vinegar in equal quantities, coarse brown sugar and lemon juice, a little flour, with some of the gravy from the saucepan, mix well and pour over the fish, let it boil till the gravy thickens. Pike is excellent stewed in this manner.

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FILLETS OF FISH.

Fillets of salmon, soles, &c., fried of a delicate brown according to the receipt already given, and served with a fine gravy is a very nice dish.

If required to be very savory, make a fish force-meat, and lay it thickly on the fish before frying; fillets dressed in this way are usually arranged round the dish, and served with a sauce made of good stock, thickened and seasoned with cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and mushroom essence; piccalilli are sometimes added cut small.

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BAKED HADDOCK.

Carefully clean a fresh haddock, and fill it with a fine forcemeat, and sew it in securely; give the fish a dredging of flour, and pour on warmed butter, sprinkle it with pepper and salt, and set it to bake in a Dutch-oven before the fire, basting it, from time to time, with butter warmed, and capers; it should be of a rich dark brown, and it is as well to dredge two or three times with flour while at the fire, the continual bastings will produce sufficient sauce to serve with it without any other being added.

Mackarel and whiting prepared in this manner are excellent, the latter should be covered with a layer of bread crumbs, and arranged in a ring, and the forcemeat, instead of stuffing them, should be formed into small balls, and served in the dish as a garnish.

The forcemeat must be made as for veal stuffing, with the addition of a couple of minced anchovies, cayenne pepper, and butter instead of suet.

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A NICE WAY OF DRESSING RED HERRINGS.

Open them, cut off the tails and heads, soak them in hot water for an hour, then wipe them dry; mix with warmed butter one beaten egg, pour this over the herrings, sprinkle with bread crumbs, flour, and white pepper, broil them and serve them very hot.

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BAKED MACKAREL WITH VINEGAR.

Cut off the heads and tails, open and clean them, lay them in a deep pan with a few bay leaves, whole pepper, half a tea-spoonful of cloves, and