Roasted.—Prepare the eels as for broiling, and, instead of placing on the gridiron, envelop them in oiled paper and roast before a sharp fire. Serve with piquante, ravigote, or Tartar sauce.
Fried.—Prepare as for broiling as far as rolling in bread-crumbs, then dip in beaten-egg, roll in bread-crumbs again, and fry. (See Frying.) Serve with tomato-sauce, or just as it is.
In Maître d'hôtel.—Clean as directed, but boil twenty minutes instead of five. Serve with a maître d'hôtel sauce and steamed potatoes, or with muscle, oyster, shrimp, or Tartar sauce.
In Matelote.—(See Fish in Matelote.)
Stuffed.—Clean as directed; stuff it with currant jelly, bake or roast, and serve with currant jelly.
Flounder (wrongly called sole; the flounder is as good as the sole—the soles that may be found here are imported from Europe or from Newfoundland), dab-fish, and plaice, after being baked or boiled, may be served with the following sauces:
Allemande, anchovy, anchovy-butter, Mayonnaise, tomato, and au gratin.
Baked.—Clean three pounds of the above fish. Put in a crockery dish four ounces of butter, set it on a good fire, and when melted sprinkle in it a teaspoonful of flour, stirring the while; also, a pinch of grated nutmeg, salt, pepper, a saltspoonful of chopped parsley, two or three mushrooms, also chopped, then the fish; pour on it a glass of white wine, and a liquor-glass of French brandy; cover the dish, take it from the fire, and put it in a moderately heated oven, and serve when done just as it is, and in the crockery dish.
A la Normande.—Bone and skin the fish as directed. For a fish weighing four pounds, spread two ounces of butter on the bottom of a baking-pan; spread one onion, chopped fine, over the butter, and as much carrot, cut in small dice. Place the fish over the whole, the pieces as they are, or cut according to the size of the pan, salt and pepper, and bake. Take from the oven when done and dish the fish, leaving the juice in the pan; cut the stems of about a dozen mushrooms; place the heads on the middle of the fish, and the stems around it.
Mix cold a tablespoonful of flour and the same of butter in a saucepan, turn into it a pint of broth, set on the fire and stir continually; when thoroughly mixed, turn into it also, and through a strainer, the juice from the pan in which the fish has baked; stir again two or three minutes; turn gently over the fish, put in the oven for about ten minutes, and serve hot. Croutons may be placed around the dish as a decoration.
Another Normande.—Bone and skin the fish as directed; butter well the dish on which the fish is to be served, spread some chopped onion all over, then place the fish over it; sprinkle salt, pepper, and white wine or vinegar (a tablespoonful to a pound of fish), all over the fish, and bake it. It takes about fifteen minutes for a fish weighing two or three pounds. Wine is better than vinegar.
While the fish is baking, set a saucepan on the fire with an ounce of butter in it, and when melted, add half a tablespoonful of flour; stir, and when turning yellow, add also half a pint of broth or water, salt, then the juice from the fish when baked, stir, give one boil, and turn over the fish.
Blanch a dozen or so of oysters, place them all over the fish also.
Have ready two or three potatoes, cut with a round vegetable spoon; boil till done; place them around the fish as a border for it; dust then the whole with bread-crumbs, put in a warm oven for about fifteen minutes, take off, place half a dozen croutons all around the dish also, and serve.
The croutons are generally cut of a heart-shape. It will be easily done if the directions are followed properly and carefully.
Commence by cutting the bread, then cut the potatoes, and set them on the fire with cold water and salt; while they are cooking, prepare the fish and set it in the oven; while this is baking, make the sauce, fry the croutons, and blanch the oysters. If the fish is baked before the rest are ready, take it off and keep warm till wanted. It makes a sightly and excellent dish.
The same fried.—Small flounders are fried like other small fish, and served either with or without a tomato-sauce or à la Orly.
The same, boned and fried.—Bone and skin small flounders as directed; mix together a tablespoonful of oil, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, the juice of half a lemon, and salt; dip the pieces of fish in the mixture, dust them slightly with flour, and fry. Serve hot.
Pike, Pickerel, and Trout or Troutlet.—Those three fish, besides being prepared as directed for bass, etc., and in all its different ways, they are boiled as directed and served warm, with a génoise sauce.
A more delicious dish of fish can hardly be prepared.
Ray, Skate, and Angel or Monk fish.—Ray, though excellent, is very little known; there is only one place at which it can be bought—Washington Market, New York.
It is unquestionably an excellent dish, prepared au beurre noir. When clean, boil the fish as directed, and dish it, sprinkling salt and pepper on it.
While it is boiling, put about two ounces of butter to a pound of fish in a frying-pan, set it on a sharp fire, stir now and then, and when brown, throw into it about six sprigs of parsley, which you take off immediately with a skimmer. As soon as the parsley is taken off, pour the butter over the fish, quickly put two tablespoonfuls of vinegar in the frying-pan and over the fire, give one boil, and pour also over the fish. Frying the parsley and boiling the vinegar cannot be done too fast, as the fish must be served very warm. The warmer it is served, the better it is.
Salmon, sturgeon, and white-fish, after being baked or boiled, may be served with a caper, and also with a Mayonnaise sauce. They may also be served in court bouillon, like bass. They are broiled whole, or in slices, and served with a maître d'hôtel or a caper sauce.
The same in Fricandeau.—Cut the fish in slices about half an inch thick, and place them in a saucepan with slices of fat salt pork, carrots and onions under them; set on a good fire; ten minutes after, add a little broth, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan; after about five minutes, turn the slices over; finish the cooking and serve with the gravy strained over the fish, or with a tomato-sauce.
The same in Papillotes.—Fry slices of salmon with a little butter, and until of a golden color; take them from the fire. While they are frying, mix well together parsley chopped fine, salt, pepper, melted butter, grated nutmeg, and a little lemon-juice; spread some of the mixture on both sides of the slices of fish, envelop them in buttered or oiled paper; broil, and serve them hot.
Some mushrooms or truffles, or both, and chopped, may be added to the mixture.
The same à la Génevoise.—Put in a saucepan a thick slice of salmon—from five to six pounds; just cover it with broth and claret wine—half of each; season with a bunch of seasonings composed of six or eight sprigs of parsley, two of thyme, two bay-leaves, two cloves, and two cloves of garlic, salt, a few slices of carrot, and a small green onion, or a shallot, if handy. Boil gently till nearly done, when add about a dozen mushrooms, and keep boiling till done; dish the fish, and put it in a warm but not hot place; mix cold, in a saucepan, four ounces of butter with about two ounces of flour; turn over it, through a strainer, the liquor in which the fish has been cooked, and set on a sharp fire; after about three minutes, during which you have stirred with a wooden spoon, add the mushrooms; stir again for about two minutes, turn over the fish, and serve warm.
The same in Salad.—Boil, as directed for fish, some thin slices of salmon, drain, and serve cold, on a napkin and on a dish.
Serve with it, and in a boat, the following: half a teaspoonful of salt, a pinch of pepper, two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, four of sweet oil, a pickled cucumber chopped fine, two hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine also, two or three anchovies, and a tablespoonful of capers; the anchovies may be chopped fine or pounded. Beat the whole well and serve.
The same in Scallops.—Cut it in round slices, about one-eighth of an inch in thickness; fry them with butter, and serve.
The pieces should be tastefully arranged on a dish, imitating a flight of stairs.
Broiled.—Cut it in rather thin slices, butter both sides with a brush; broil, and serve with a maître d'hôtel.
Shad and sheep's-head, after being baked or boiled, are served with an anchovy, caper, or tomato sauce. They are also served cold, à la vinaigrette.
Broiled.—When cleaned and prepared, salt, pepper, and butter it; broil and serve it with a maître d'hôtel.
It may be stuffed as directed for fish.
In Provençale.—Clean, prepare, and cut the fish in pieces about two inches long; put about three pounds of it in a saucepan, with a pint of claret; six stalks of parsley, a small onion, a clove of garlic, and six mushrooms, all chopped fine; boil till done, when add four ounces of butter, and two of flour, well kneaded together; boil three minutes longer, and serve warm.
Another way, or à la Chambord.—Stuff the fish with sausage-meat, envelop it in a towel, boil, and serve it with a tomato-sauce.
The same with Sorrel.—Broil the fish, and serve it on a purée of sorrel or of spinach.
It may also be prepared au court bouillon, à la Bretonne, and aux fines herbes, like bass, etc.
Sheep's-head may also be prepared like turbot.
Au Gratin.—The shad, after being cleaned, but not split on the back (as is too often the case, to the shame of the fishmongers who begin by spoiling the fish under the pretence of cleaning it), is placed in a bake-pan, having butter, chopped parsley, mushroom, salt, and pepper, both under and above the fish. For a fish weighing three pounds, add one gill of broth and half as much of white wine; dust the fish with bread-crumbs, and set in a pretty quick oven.
Fifteen minutes afterward, examine it. When done, the fish is dished, a little broth is put in the pan, which is placed on a sharp fire; stir with a spoon or fork so as to detach the bread, etc., that may stick to the pan, then pour this over the fish, and serve warm.
The gravy must be reduced to two or three tablespoonfuls only, for a fish weighing about two pounds.
The fish must be dished carefully in order not to break it.
Sterlet.—This is a fish of the sturgeon family, very plentiful in the Caspian Sea and in many Russian rivers, principally in the Neva and in Lake Ladoga.
Tunny and bonito, after being boiled, are served cold in vinaigrette.
Turbot and Whiff.—Turbot is among fishes what pheasant is among birds. Rub it with lemon before cooking it.
After being boiled or baked, as directed, it is served with the following sauces: Béchamel, cream, caper, Hollandaise, Mayonnaise, tomato, and in vinaigrette.
It is also served au court-bouillon and aux fines herbes like bass.
Au Gratin.—It is prepared and served like shad au gratin.
It is also broiled and served with a maître d'hôtel.
Bordelaise.—Bone and skin the fish as directed; dip each piece in melted butter, then in beaten egg, roll in bread-crumbs and broil. While it is broiling on a rather slow fire, turn it over several times and keep basting with melted butter; the more butter it absorbs the better the fish.
When broiled, serve the slices on a dish and place some boiled craw-fish all around and in the middle. A dish of steamed potatoes is served with it.
The following sauce is also served at the same time: Chop fine and fry till half done, with a little butter, two small green onions or four shallots. Put half a pint of good meat-gravy in a small saucepan; set on the fire, and as soon as it commences to boil, pour into it, little by little, stirring the while with a wooden spoon, about a gill of Bordeaux wine, then the onions or shallots, and also a piece of beef marrow chopped fine; give one boil, and serve in a saucer.
In Salad.—Proceed as for salmon in salad.
When boiled, serve the turbot with anchovy-butter, lobster-butter, lobster-sauce, or muscle-sauce.
Cold.—Any cold piece of turbot is served with a Mayonnaise sauce, or in vinaigrette.
Cold Fish.—If the fish is with sauce, that is, if the sauce is in the same dish with the fish, warm it in the bain-marie, and serve warm. Any other piece of cold fish, baked, boiled, broiled, or roasted, is served with a Mayonnaise sauce, or with a vinaigrette.
Any kind of cold fish may be prepared in salad. Slice the fish or cut it in pieces and put it in the salad-dish with hard-boiled egg sliced, onion and parsley chopped fine, salt, pepper, vinegar, and oil. Mix the whole gently and well, and serve.
Anchovy.—It is imported preserved. It is used as a hors-d'oeuvre, to decorate or season.
The essence of anchovy is used for sauce.
The smallest are considered the best.
To serve as a hors d'oeuvre, wash, wipe dry, and remove the backbone, serve with tarragon or parsley, chopped fine, vinegar, and oil.
They may also be served with hard-boiled eggs, chopped or quartered.
Sprats.—There are none in or near American waters; they are imported under their French name, sardines. Fresh sprats are very good boiled without any grease, and without being cleaned and prepared like other fish; but when on the plate, skin them, which is easily done, as then the flesh is so easily detached from the bones that the inside need not be touched at all; they are eaten with salt and pepper only.
Sardines are served as a hors-d'oeuvre, with oil and lemon-juice, and properly scaled. They are arranged on the dish according to fancy, together with lemon in slices.
Salt Cod—to prepare.—Soak it in cold water for two days, changing the water two or three times; then scale it well and clean. Lay it in a fish-kettle, cover with cold water, set on a rather slow fire, skim off the scum, let it boil about one minute, take the kettle from the fire, cover it well, and leave thus ten minutes; then take off the cod, and drain it.
In Béchamel.—Prepare it as above, and serve with a béchamel sauce, and as warm as possible.
With a Cream-Sauce.—Prepare as above, and serve either warm or cold with a cream-sauce.
In Brown Butter.—When prepared as above, place it on a dish, and keep it in a warm place. Put four ounces of butter in a frying-pan, and on a good fire; when turning brown, add three sprigs of parsley, fry about two minutes, pour the whole on the fish, and serve. You may also pour on it a hot caper-sauce, and serve.
With Croutons.—Prepare and cook as directed, three pounds of cod; take the bones out, break in small pieces, and mash with the hand as much as possible; put it then in a stewpan, beat three yolks of eggs with two tablespoonfuls of cream, and mix with the cod; set on a slow fire, and immediately pour in, little by little, stirring the while, about one gill of sweet oil; simmer ten or twelve minutes, and serve with croutons around.
In Maître d'Hôtel.—Lay three pounds of cod on a dish, after being cooked as directed; keep it warm, spread a maître d'hôtel sauce on it, and serve.
With Potatoes.—Prepare about three pounds of cod as directed above. Lay the fish on a dish; have a piquante sauce ready, turn it over it, and serve with steamed potatoes all around the dish. The potatoes may also be served separately.
In Vinaigrette.—Prepare as directed, and when cold, serve with a vinaigrette.
With Cheese.—Prepare the cod as directed, then dip it in lukewarm butter, roll it in grated cheese, lay it in a baking-pan, dust slightly with bread-crumbs; bake, and serve warm. Two or three minutes in a quick oven will be sufficient.
Au Gratin.—When soaked only and wiped dry, but not boiled, prepare it as directed for fish au gratin.
With Caper-Sauce.—Prepare it as directed, and serve warm with caper-sauce.
Salt Salmon.—Soak it in cold water for some time, the length of time to be according to the saltness of the fish; scale and clean it well, lay it in a fish-kettle, cover it with cold water, and set it on a moderate fire. Boil gently about two minutes, skim off the scum, take from the kettle and drain it. Put butter in a frying-pan and set it on the fire; when it turns rather brown, put a few sprigs of parsley in it, and immediately pour it over the fish in the dish; add a few drops of lemon-juice all over, and serve warm.
It may also be served with a caper or maître d'hôtel sauce; or, when cold, serve à la vinaigrette.
Salt salmon is also served like salt cod-fish.
It may also be served on a purée of celery or of onion.
Smoked Salmon.—Cut it in thin slices; have very hot butter or oil in a frying-pan, and lay the slices in only long enough to warm them; then take out, drain them, and serve with a few drops of lemon-juice or vinegar sprinkled on them.
Tunny.—This is not a good fish fresh; it is generally preserved, and served as a hors-d'oeuvre. It comes from Holland, Italy, and the south of France.
Fresh, it is prepared like sturgeon. That prepared in Holland is the best. The Dutch cure fish better than any other nation.
When you serve tunny, take it out of the bottle or jar and serve it on a small plate, or on a dessert-plate. A very small piece is served, generally like every other hors-d'oeuvre.
Salt Herring.—Soak in cold or tepid water; if soaked in tepid water, it does not require as long; the time must be according to the quality or saltness of the fish. Wipe dry, broil, and serve like salt mackerel.
Another way.—Salt herring may also be soaked in half water and half milk, or in milk only; drain and wipe dry. Bone and skin, cut off the head, tail, and fins, and serve with oil, vinegar, and pickled cucumbers.
They are also served with slices of sour apples, or slices of onions, after being soaked and wiped dry.
They may also be broiled slightly and served with oil only, after being soaked, or served with sour grape-juice.
Salt Pike.—It is prepared and served the same as salt herring; so is pickled trout.
Red Herring.—Wipe or skin them, they are not as good when washed; cut off the head and tail, split the back open, lay them on a warm and well-greased gridiron, set on a slow fire; spread some butter or oil on them, turn over, do the same on the other side; broil very little, and serve with a vinaigrette and mustard to taste.
Another way.—Clean and split them as above, soak them in lukewarm water for two hours; take out, drain, and wipe dry. Mix two or three yolks of eggs with a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and a little melted butter; put some of the mixture around every herring, then roll them in fine bread-crumbs, place them on a gridiron on a slow fire: and when lightly broiled, serve as the preceding one.
Red herring may also be broiled with bread-crumbs like salt herring.
It is also served as a hors-d'oeuvre, cut in slices.
Salt Mackerel broiled.—If the fish be too salt, soak it for a while in lukewarm water, take off and wipe dry. Have a little melted fat or lard, dip a brush in it and grease slightly both sides of the fish; place on or inside of the gridiron, the bars of which must also be greased; set on, or before, or under a pretty sharp fire; broil both sides; dish the fish, the skin under; spread butter on it; also parsley chopped fine, and serve.
Lemon-juice may be added if liked, or a few drops of vinegar.
When broiled and dished, spread a maître d'hôtel on it, and serve.
Another way.—When soaked and wiped dry, dip in melted butter, again in beaten eggs, and roll in bread-crumbs. Broil and serve with parsley and lemon-juice, or with a maître d'hôtel.
FROGS.
The hind-legs of frogs only are used as food; formerly they were eaten by the French only, but now, frog-eating has become general, and the Americans are not behind any others in relishing that kind of food.
Fried.—Skin well, and throw into boiling water with a little salt, for five minutes, the hind-legs only; take out and throw them in cold water to cool, and drain. Have hot fat in a pan on the fire (see Directions for Frying); lay the frogs in, and serve when done with fried parsley around.
Stewed.—Skin, boil five minutes, throw in cold water, and drain as above. Put in a stewpan two ounces of butter (for two dozen frogs); set it on the fire, and when melted, lay the legs in, fry two minutes, tossing now and then; then sprinkle on them a teaspoonful of flour, stir with a wooden spoon, add two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, two cloves, one of garlic, salt, white pepper, and half a pint of white wine; boil gently till done, dish the legs, reduce the sauce on the fire, strain it, mix in it two yolks of eggs, pour on the legs, and serve them.
LOBSTER.
Never buy a dead lobster.
Large lobsters are not as good as small ones. From about one to two pounds and a half in weight are the best. The heavier the better.
Lobsters are better at some seasons of the year than at others. They are inferior when full of eggs.
It is from mere prejudice that the liver (also called tomalley) is eschewed. This prejudice may come from its turning green on boiling the lobster.
Use every thing but the stomach and the black of bluish vein running along its back and tail.
Boil your lobsters yourself; because, if you buy them already boiled, you do not know if they were alive when put in the kettle.
A lobster boiled after being dead is watery, soft, and not full; besides being very unhealthy, if not dangerous.
A lobster suffers less by being put in cold than in boiling water, and the flesh is firmer when done. In putting it in boiling water it is killed by the heat; in cold water it is dead as soon as the water gets warm.
To boil..—Lay it in a fish-kettle; just cover it with cold water, cover the kettle, and set it on a sharp fire.
It takes from fifteen to twenty-five minutes' boiling, according to the size of the lobster.
When boiled, take it from the kettle, break it in two, that is, separate the body from the tail, and place it in a colander to let the water drain.
In the shell.—When the lobster is boiled, divide it in two, taking care not to break the body and large claws. The tail is then split in two, lengthwise, the flesh taken off, cut in small dice, and mixed with the inside of the lobster.
The vein found immediately under the shell, all along the flesh of the lobster, is removed as soon as it is split. The stomach, found near the head, is removed also and thrown away; all the rest is good, including the liver.
When the flesh and inside are properly mixed, season with salt, pepper, vinegar, oil, mustard, and chopped parsley.
Place the body of the lobster on the middle of a dish, the head up, the two large claws stretched out, and the two feelers stretched out also and fastened between the claws. A sprig of parsley is put in each claw, at the end of it, in the small claws as well as in the two large ones. Then the two empty halves of the tail-piece are put around the body of the lobster, the prepared flesh placed around them; hard-boiled eggs cut in eight pieces each are placed around the dish, tastefully arranged; some slices of red, pickled beets and cut with paste-cutters, are placed between each piece of egg, and serve.
It makes a simple, good, and very sightly dish.
Half a dozen boiled craw-fish may be placed around the dish also; it will add to the decoration.
Two middling-sized lobsters prepared thus will fill a very large dish. They should be placed back to back, with only a few craw-fish between, and the rest arranged as the above.
In Salad.—Boil the lobster as directed; break and drain it as directed also. Slice the flesh of the tail, place it tastefully on a dish; also the flesh from the two large claws, which may be sliced or served whole. Lettuce, or hard-boiled eggs, or both, may be arranged on the dish also, and served with the following sauce:
Put in a boat or saucer all the inside save the stomach, with salt, pepper, vinegar, oil, mustard, and chopped parsley, to taste; beat and mix the whole well together, and serve. In case there are eggs, these are also to be mixed with the rest.
Another.—Boil and drain as directed; cut all the flesh in dice, and put it in a bowl with the inside, some lettuce cut rather fine, salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard, and very little oil; mix well, and then put the mixture on a dish, placing it like a mound on the middle of the dish; spread a Mayonnaise sauce over it; decorate with the centre leaves of the lettuce, some hard-boiled eggs cut in slices or in fancy shapes, capers, boiled or pickled red beets, cut also in fancy shapes, slices of lemon, and serve.
Anchovies, olives, pickled cucumbers, or any other pickled fruit or vegetable may also be added.
A rose, or two or three pinks, may be placed right on the top, as a decoration. Just before commencing to serve, the rose may be put on a dessert plate and offered to a lady.
In Coquilles, or Scalloped.—It is boiled and then finished like oysters scalloped.
It may be served thus on scallop-shells, on silver shells, or on its own shell; that is, on the shell of the tail, split in two lengthwise, and trimmed according to fancy.
Croquettes.—Lobster croquettes are made exactly like fish-balls, and then fried according to directions for frying.
They are served warm. It is an excellent dish for breakfast.
Fried.—To be fried, the lobster must be bled; separate the body from the tail, then cut the tail in pieces, making as many pieces as there are joints. Put these pieces in a frying-pan with two or three ounces of butter, and one onion, chopped fine; set on a sharp fire, stir now and then tin the whole is fried, then add a bunch of seasoning composed of three sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, and a clove; salt, pepper, and three gills of Madeira wine; boil gently till reduced about half; dish the pieces of lobster according to fancy; add two or three tablespoonfuls of gravy to the sauce, stir it, give one boil, and turn it over the lobster through a strainer; serve warm.
Another way.—Proceed as above in every particular, except that you use Sauterne or Catawba wine instead of Madeira, and, besides the seasonings, add half a dozen mushrooms, or two truffles, or both.
Dish the mushrooms and truffles with the lobster, then finish and serve as the above.
Craw-fish.—These are found in most of the lakes, brooks, and rivers.
In some places they are called river-crabs, or freshwater crabs.
They resemble the lobster, and are often taken for young lobsters.
Besides being a beautiful ornament and much used to decorate dishes, they are excellent to eat and very light.
They are dressed and served like lobsters and crabs.
Fishermen are sure to find a ready market for them, though they are, as yet, very little known.
Crabs.—Crabs are boiled like lobsters, and may be served like lobster, in salad. They are often eaten, only boiled, without any seasonings.
Like lobsters also, to be good, crabs must be put in the water alive.
When well washed and clean, they may be prepared in the following way: Put them in a saucepan with slices of onions, same of carrots, parsley, chives if handy, thyme, bay-leaves, cloves, salt, and pepper-corns; half cover them with white wine, add butter, set on a good fire, and boil till done. Serve with parsley only.
The sauce may be used a second time by adding a little wine.
The soft-shell crab is blanched five minutes, and fried like fish.
It may also be sauté with a little butter, and served with a maître d'hôtel.
Broil it also, and serve it with a maître d'hôtel.
Muscles.—These are unwholesome between April and September. They must be heavy, fresh, and of a middling size. The very large ones are really inferior.
Soak them in water and wash well several times, then drain.
In Poulette.—Put them in a saucepan with a little parsley chopped fine, and set them on a pretty good fire; as soon as they are opened, remove the shell to which they are not attached, and keep them in a warm place.
For two quarts of muscles, put two ounces of butter in the saucepan in which they have been cooked and in which you have left their liquor; set on the fire, stir, and as soon as the butter is melted, add and stir into it a tablespoonful of flour; when turning a little yellow, add also half a dozen pepper-corns, then the muscles; boil gently about ten minutes, stirring occasionally; take from the fire, mix one or two yolks of eggs with it, a little lemon-juice, parsley chopped fine, and serve warm.
Another way.—When clean, put them in a saucepan with a few slices of carrot, same of onion, two or three stalks of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, two cloves, six pepper-corns, and salt. Set on the fire, and take the muscles from the pan as soon as they open, then remove one shell; put them back in the pan, with as much white wine as there is liquor from the muscles; boil gently about ten minutes, add the yolk of an egg, a little lemon-juice, and dish the muscles; drain the sauce over them, add a little chopped parsley, and serve warm.
Fried.—Fry, and serve the muscles like fried oysters. They may also be served like scalloped oysters.
Prawns and Shrimps.—Wash, boil in water and salt, and serve. They may be used, like craw-fish, to decorate fish after being boiled.
Another way.—Wash well, and put two quarts of them in a saucepan with four onions in slices, two sprigs of parsley, one of thyme, a bay-leaf, two cloves, salt, pepper, half a pint of white wine, and two ounces of butter, just cover with water and set on a good fire; when properly cooked, drain, and serve warm with green parsley all around. The liquor may be used a second time.
OYSTERS.
The American oyster is unquestionably the best that can be found. It varies in taste according to how it is treated, either after being dredged or while embedded; and also according to the nature of the soil and water in which they have lived. It is very wrong to wash oysters. We mean by washing oysters, the abominable habit of throwing oysters in cold water, as soon as opened, and then sold by the measure. It is more than a pity to thus spoil such an excellent and delicate article of food.
Oysters, like lobsters, are not good when dead. To ascertain if they are alive, as soon as opened and when one of the shells is removed, touch gently the edge of the oyster, and, if alive, it will contract.
Raw.—When well washed, open them, detaching the upper shell, then detach them from the under shell, but leave them on it; place on a dish, and leave the upper shell on every oyster, and serve thus.
To eat them, you remove the upper shell, sprinkle salt, pepper, and lemon-juice on, and eat.
When raw oysters are served on a table, at which there are gentlemen only, some shallots, chopped fine and gently bruised in a coarse towel, are served with them, on a separate dish. The taste of the shallot agrees very well with that of the oyster.
A Tartar sauce may be served instead of shallots.
To blanch.—Set the oysters and a little water on the fire in a saucepan, take them off at the first boil, skim off the scum from the top, strain them, and drop them in cold water.
The skimming, straining, and dropping in cold water must be done quickly—the quicker the better. If allowed to stay in the warm water, or out of water, they get tough.
In dropping them in cold water, see that they are free from pieces of shell; take them with a fork if necessary.
As soon as in cold water they are ready for use, but they must always be drained again before using them.
When the water used to blanch is employed in preparing them, it is explained in the different receipts.
White wine may be used, instead of water, to blanch them, according to taste.
Fried.—Open the oysters, and put them in a colander for about half an hour. They must be as well drained as possible. Then dip them in egg and roll in bread-crumbs in the following way: Beat one or two, or three, eggs (according to the quantity of oysters to be fried), as for an omelet, turn the oysters into the eggs and stir gently; then take one after another, roll in bread-crumbs; place each one on your left hand, in taking them from the crumbs, and with the other hand press gently on it. Put them away in a cool place for about half an hour, and then dip again in egg, roll in bread-crumbs, and press in the hand as before. It is not indispensable to dip in egg and roll in crumbs a second time; but the oysters are better, and you are well repaid for the little extra work it requires. While you are preparing them, set some fat on the fire in a pan, and when hot enough (see Frying) drop the oysters in, stir gently, take off with a skimmer when fried, turn into a colander, add salt, and serve hot.
Roasted.—Place the oysters on a hot stove or range, or on coals, and as soon as they open take off, remove one shell; turn a little melted butter on each, and serve.
There are several other ways.
When blanched, they are served on toast, a little gravy is added, the toast placed on a dessert-plate, and served thus.
Broiled and roasted as above is the same thing.
Oysters scalloped on their own shell, and placed on the range instead of in the oven, are also called broiled.
Scalloped.—Place the oysters when thoroughly washed on a hot stove, and as soon as they open remove one shell, the flatter one of the two, and take them from the fire. Sprinkle salt, pepper, chopped parsley, and bread-crumbs on them; place on each a piece of butter the size of a hazel-nut; put in the oven about ten minutes, and when done add a few drops of meat-gravy, to each, and serve hot.
Another.—Put a quart of oysters and their liquor in a saucepan, set it on the fire, take off at the first boil, and drain. Set a saucepan on the fire with two ounces of butter in it; as soon as melted, add a teaspoonful of flour, stir, and, when turning rather brown, add the juice of the oysters, about a gill of gravy, salt, and pepper; boil gently for about ten minutes, stirring now and then. While it is boiling, place the oysters on scallop-shells, or on silver shells made for that purpose, two or three oysters on each, turn some of the above sauce on each, after it has boiled; dust with bread-crumbs, put a little piece of butter on each shell, and bake for about twelve minutes in a warm oven.
A dozen silver shells served thus make a sightly and excellent dish.
Some truffles, chopped fine, may be added to the sauce, two minutes before taking it from the fire.
Stewed.—Procure two quarts of good and fresh oysters. Set them on a sharp fire, with their liquor and a little water, and blanch as directed. Put four ounces of butter in a saucepan, set on the fire, and when melted stir into it a small tablespoonful of flour; as soon as mixed, add also a teaspoonful of parsley, chopped fine, and about half a pint of broth; boil gently about ten minutes, then add the oysters, salt and pepper, boil again about one minute, dish the whole, sprinkle lemon-juice on, and serve.
An oyster soup is often called a stew.
In Poulette.—In adding chopped mushrooms to the stewed oysters, at the same time that the oysters are put in the pan, you make them in poulette.
A la Washington.—Fried oysters are called à la Washington, when two, three, or four very large oysters are put together (they adhere very easily), dipped in egg, rolled in bread-crumbs, and fried, as directed above. It is necessary to have a deep pan, and much fat, to immerse them completely.
Pickled oysters are always served as a hors d'oeuvre. Place around the oysters some hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine, and serve with oil and vinegar.
Serve them in the same way, with slices of truffles instead of hard-boiled eggs.
They may also be served with lemon-juice only.
Or with shallots chopped fine, and then bruised in a coarse towel. This last one is considered of too strong a taste for ladies.
They are also served with a Tartar sauce.
Scallops.—Blanch the scallops for three minutes, drain them. Put butter on the fire in a frying-pan, and when melted turn the scallops in; stir now and then, take from the fire when fried, add parsley chopped fine, salt, pepper, and serve warm.
On the Shell.—Chop fine a middling-sized onion, and fry it with one ounce of butter. While the onion is frying, chop fine also one quart of scallops and put them with the onion; stir for two or three minutes, or till about half fried, when turn the juice off, put back on the fire, and add one ounce of butter, one gill of white wine, stir for two or three minutes, and if too thick add the juice you have turned off; take from the fire, and mix a yolk of egg with it, add salt, pepper, nutmeg grated, and parsley chopped fine.
Have the scallop shells properly cleaned, or silver shells, spread the mixture on the shells; dust with bread-crumbs, put a piece of butter about the size of a hazel-nut on each, and put in an oven, at about 320 deg. Fahr., for from ten to fifteen minutes.
This is a dish for breakfast.
Scallop, scollop, or escalop, are one and the same fish.
CLAMS.
Wash clean with a scrubbing-brush and put them in a kettle; set on a good fire, and leave till they are wide open; then take from the kettle, cut each in two or three pieces, put them in a stewpan with all the water they have disgorged in the kettle, and about four ounces of butter for fifty clams; boil slowly about an hour, take from the fire, and mix with the whole two beaten eggs, and serve warm.
Clams are also eaten raw with vinegar, salt, and pepper.
Chowder.—This popular dish is made in a hundred different ways, but the result is about the same.
It is generally admitted that boatmen prepare it better than others, and the receipts we give below came from the most experienced chowder-men of the Harlem River.
Potatoes and crackers are used in different proportions, the more used, the thicker the chowder will be.
Put in a pot (technical name) some small slices of fat salt pork, enough to line the bottom of it; on that, a layer of potatoes, cut in small pieces; on the potatoes, a layer of chopped onions; on the onions, a layer of tomatoes, in slices, or canned tomatoes; on the latter a layer of clams, whole or chopped (they are generally chopped), then a layer of crackers.
Then repeat the process, that is, another layer of potatoes on that of the clams; on this, one of onions, etc., till the pot is nearly full. Every layer is seasoned with salt and pepper. Other spices are sometimes added according to taste; such as thyme, cloves, bay-leaves, and tarragon.
When the whole is in, cover with water, set on a slow fire, and when nearly done, stir gently, finish cooking, and serve.
As we remarked above, the more potatoes that are used, the thicker it will be.
When done, if found too thin, boil a little longer; if found too thick, add a little water, give one boil, and serve.
Another way.—Proceed as above in every particular, except that you omit the clams and crackers, and when the rest is nearly cooked, then add the chopped clams and broken crackers, boil fast about twenty-five minutes longer, and serve.
If found too thick or too thin, proceed exactly as for the one above.