153. - To Cook Trout. (Frank Forrester's Method.)

This is the method of the woods, and in the woods I learned it: The trout must be cooked in the open air, by a wood fire on the ground, or a charcoal fire in a small Boston furnace.

Clean and scale your fish; open, clean and wash the inside; for a pound fish take two small skewers of red cedar wood; upon each thread a piece of fat salt pork half an inch square; with these fasten the belly of the fish asunder, annex him by the tail to a twig of pliant wood, which suffer to bend over the fire so as to bring the fish opposite to the blaze; place a large biscuit, or a thin slice of dry toast, under the drip of the gravy; cook quickly. For a two pound fish ten minutes will suffice; dish with the biscuit under him, and eat with salt and lemon-juice, or with shrimp or lobster sauce; or a dash of Worcestershire or Harvey sauce; though I think these bad taste.

154. - To Dress Pickerel - (Nobbs.)

Open and rub the fish within with salt and claret wine; save the milt and a little of the bloody fat; cut him in two or three pieces, and put him into boiling water, with sweet marjoram, savory, thyme, or fennel, and a good handful of salt. Boil nearly half an hour. For the sauce, take butter, anchovies, horseradish, claret wine, a little of the blood, shalot, or garlic, and lemon sliced; beat all together, and serve.

155. - Stewed Carp

Three carps will make a dish; put them in a baking-dish, cut up in thin pieces a carrot, turnip, onion, celery, a fagot of sweet herbs, a bay-leaf, a little mace, six cloves, whole pepper, some good second stock, six anchovies, half a pint of port wine; boil all this together, pour it over the carp while hot, put buttered paper over them, do them in the oven; when done, strain off the stock from the fish and thicken it, strain it through a tammy, add a glass more port wine, season it with sugar, lemon-juice, cayenne pepper, and salt.

156. - Soles, Fried

Have about four pounds of lard or clean fat in a small fish-kettle, which place over a moderate fire; cut off the fins of the sole, and dip it into flour, skake part of the flour off, have an egg well beaten upon a plate, with which brush the fish all over, and cover it with fine bread-crumbs; ascertain if the lard is hot, by throwing in a few breadcrumbs; it will hiss if sufficiently hot; put in the fish, which will require nearly ten minutes' cooking, and ought to be perfectly crisp; drain it on a cloth, dish upon a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve with shrimp sauce in a boat.

The above quantity of lard or fat, if carefully used and not burnt, would do for several occasions, by straining it off each time after using. All kinds of fish, such as eels, smelts, whitings, flounders, perch, gudgeons, etc, are fried precisely in the same manner. Regulate the time according to the size of your fish.

157. - Pike

Clean and stuff the interior as directed for haddocks, only adding some fillets of anchovies, if handy, and chopped lemon-peel with it; curl round and put in a baking-dish, spread a little butter all over, put in a moderate oven; when about half done egg over with a paste-brush, and sprinkle bread-crumbs upon it; a middling-sized pike will take about an hour, but that according to the size and the heat of the oven; when done, dress upon a dish without a napkin, and sauce round as directed for baked haddock.