The Indians bleed the fish as soon as caught, because the flesh is firmer when cooked.

The Dutch and the French bleed the cod, which accounts for the better quality and whiteness of their cod-fish.

To Select

To be good, fish must be fresh. It is fresh when the eyes are clear, the fins stiff, the gills red, hard to open, and without bad odor.

To Clean And Prepare For Boiling

The sooner fish is cleaned the better. Cut the belly open, take the inside out, wash well and wipe dry immediately with a clean towel, inside and out. Place the eggs or soft roes inside, and tie with twine. It is then ready to be boiled.

If not cooked as soon as cleaned and prepared, keep it on ice.

To Clean And Prepare For Baking, Frying, Roasting, And To Cut In Pieces, Etc

Scale the fish well, holding it by the head or tail; cut the belly open and take the inside out; trim off the fins, gills, and tail; wash well inside and out, and wipe dry immediately.

Keep it on ice if not used immediately.

Same Family, Or Kind

We give only one receipt for all the fishes of the same family, or having the same kind of flesh, as they are cooked alike, and require the same spices.

Almost every kind of fish is boiled, broiled, fried, or stewed. Some are better boiled than broiled, others better fried than stewed, etc. With few exceptions, any eatable fish may be cooked in these four ways. Few are roasted.

To Know When Cooked Enough

It is very difficult, if not entirely impossible, to tell how long it takes to cook fish, as it depends as much on the size, kind, or quality of the fish as on the fire; but as soon as the flesh comes off the bones easily, the fish is cooked; this is very easy to be ascertained with a knife.

To Improve

Clean the fish as for baking, etc., and lay it in a crockery vessel with the following seasonings under and' upon it: parsley and onions chopped fine, salt, pepper, thyme, bay-leaves, and vinegar or oil; turn it over occasionally, and leave thus for two or three hours.

To Bone

Slit the fish on one side of the backbone and fins, from head to tail; then run the knife between the bones and the flesh so as to detach the whole side from the rest; do the same for the other side.

For a flounder, or any other flat fish, slit right in the middle of both sides of the fish so as to make four instead of two pieces.

The head, bones, and fins are not used at all, and are left in one piece.

To Serve, When Boiled

The fish is placed on a napkin and on a dish or platter, surrounded with parsley, and the sauce served in a saucer.

To Skin

Take hold of the piece of fish by the smaller end, and with the thumb and forefinger of the left hand; run the knife between the flesh and skin, moving the knifo to and fro as if you were sawing. Throw away the skin, and the fish is ready for cooking.

If the skin were breaking, as it happens sometimes, take hold of it again, and proceed as before.