Fried Fish

Wash the fish and wipe dry. Lay them in a towel long enough to absorb the moisture, then rub them with salt, and dredge with flour, or roll in corn-meal. Have ready five or six slices of salt pork fried to a crisp. Take them out and lay the fish whole if very small, split if larger, in the boiling fat in the frying-pan. Be sure to have plenty of fat, enough to half cover the fish. Fry over a very hot fire; turn when half done, and when brown on both sides serve at once, having the head of one to the tail of the next in the platter.

It is an improvement to dip the fish into beaten egg before dredging them. Lard may be used in place of salt pork, but it does not give so good a flavor.

Fish Steaks (Fried)

Buy steaks of halibut, salmon, or any very large fish. Have them cut about one inch thick. Wash and wipe dry. Dip each into a beaten egg, on a plate, then into fine crumbs or better still, corn meal, and lay in a frying-pan, containing enough boiling lard to half cover the fish. Or four or five slices of salt pork may be used instead of lard. When half done, turn and brown the other side, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. The fish should fry in ten minutes.

Lay the steaks neatly on a hot platter; and garnish, if you choose, with slices of lemon and sprigs of parsley.

How To Broil Fish

"Wash and wipe the fish and dredge it with flour. Butter a toaster; lay the fish on it, open flat, with the inside toward the coals. If the fish is heavy, lay the toaster on a gridiron. If large and thick, let it heat through gradually, and cook it slowly a long time to ensure its being done in the inside. Keep it covered with a pan, and occasionally wet the top with melted butter, to prevent its getting dry. Turn the toaster when half done. This is a better way than to use a knife and fork in turning the fish. Increase the heat towards the last, or put the fish nearer the coals. Some large fish take an hour to broil. Those should be watched carefully, as it is a difficult operation to cook one successfully.

If the fish is small it can be cooked more quickly, over a hotter fire. Season broiled fish just before dishing; after dishing put bits of butter over the top.

Smelts

Soak smelts in warm water for fifteen minutes; then scrape them. Remove the long dark vein that runs through the body, by gently pulling off the head, first loosening it slightly with a knife. After this, rinse them, and lay them in a cloth to dry. Then roll each in a plate of corn meal. Fry them delicately in deep lard (or enough to half cover them), boiling hot when they are put in, and kept so till the fish are brown. Sprinkle them with salt when you dish them; if put on when you begin to cook them they will not brown.

Serve tastefully with parsley.

Perch

Dress and fry whole like smelts. They take longer to fry. They can be hastened, and also made to look pretty by cutting them half through at intervals on each side before frying.