How To Cook Perch

Perch is a fish that is held in high estimation. Its flesh is white and delicate; it is easily digested, and is particularly recommended to those invalids who have a weak, debilitated stomach.

Perch A La Water-Fish

Empty the perch. Wash it well in several waters. Mark in a stew-pan a white marinade, composed of shreds of parsley and of parsley roots, a few carrots, and two or three green onions cut into fillets. Stew the whole in a little butter. When the roots begin to get soft, moisten with boiling water, and a glass of white wine, salt, pepper, etc. Let the whole stew well, and pour that marinade over the fish, which stew for about ten minutes. Then drain and scale it nicely, preserving, however, the red fins. When the perch is quite clean, stick those red fins into the partition of the fillet, to shew what the fish is. As it is very liable to break, put it with care into a saute pan, covered with some of the liquid, to keep it warm, reduce the remainder of the liquid almost to glaze; have some parsley roots cut as for Julienne soup, some leaves of parsley blanched very green, and two spoonfuls of good bechamelle; add to it the reduction, some salt, pepper, the juice of half a lemon, and half a quartern of fresh butter: after having drained the perch, dish it, and cover it with the sauce.

* Mask, or cover with the sauce.

Perch Plain Boiled, Or Water Suchet

Empty and wash the perch as above. Trim a stew-pan with parsley roots, a bunch of parsley, a little salt, and a few grains of corn pepper, which you must count, that you may take every one out when the water has boiled for half an hour. Put the perch into the water, and boil them speedily, that they may be more firm. Then take out the bunch of parsley ;.and throw into the liquor some leaves of parsley that have been blanched very green. Serve up the fish in a deep-bottomed dish, with the liquor and the roots, which must be cut into fillets of about an inch long and an eighth wide, send up with slices of bread and butter on a plate, the liquor must be rather salt.

Perch A La Maitre D' Hotel

Let them be prepared and cooked as above. Remember that you must preserve the red fins, which you stick into the middle part, instead of leaving them in their natural place. After you have drained the fish, mask it with a maitre d'hotel.

Perch Plain Boiled, Dutch Sauce

After having emptied the fish, scale them well, and boil them, with water and salt, for a quarter of an hour. Serve them up on a cloth, with parsley quite green all round, and send up the Dutch sauce separately.

How To Cook Tench

Tench is a fish which real epicures think very little of; yet it is more admissible in a matelotte than in any other way. However, it may be dressed either broiled, au court-bouillon, or farcie, the same in every respect as a carp. (See Carp).

Fried Tench

After having scaled and empted the tench, split the back of the fish, but take care not to touch the belly, for if you do it will divide. Let it pickle for three hours in vinegar, salt, pepper, stalks of parsley, and onions. Then drain it and dip it into flour. Fry it of a fine colour and quite firm. The dripping must be very hot. This you try with a drop of water, which being thrown into the dripping, occasions a noise, if it is in a proper state. Send it up to table on a cloth, with fried parsley all round ; if you have a soft roe, fry it likewise, and serve it in the middle.

Trout, And Salmon-Trout

Trout is never good unless it is caught in running water; indeed it is seldom to be found elsewhere. It is to be cooked, or dressed in the same manner as salmon, and is generally better and more delicate.

Trout Au Court-Bouillon

Empty the trout without making a large opening in the belly. Wash it well; wrap it up in a cloth, fasten both ends with a bit of packthread, and bind the middle, or body, but hot too tight. Then stew it in a court-bouillon. (See Court-bouillon). When the trout is done, drain it, unfold the cloth, and send it up to table on another clean cloth, with green parsley all round. Send up the Dutch sauce in a boat.

Trout With Genevoise Sauce

After having emptied the, trout, fasten the head with packthread, and stew it (without having removed the scales) with marinade. This is to be dressed exactly in the same manner as the pike (See Pike d la Genevoise), only put a little more cloves with this sauce, and make it with red wine instead of white. All red fish must be dressed with red wine in preference to white. When the trout is done, take off the scales and skin, and put it again to warm with some of the liquor.