Baked Smelts

Clean eighteen or twenty smelts, wipe them very dry, and put them on a baking dish with two tablespoonfuls of cooked fine herbs, one-half wineglassful of white wine, one-half pinch of salt, one-half pinch of pepper, and cover with six whole mushrooms and one-half pint of Spanish sauce. Sprinkle lightly with breadcrumbs and a little warmed butter, place the dish in a hot oven for ten minutes, and serve with the juice of half a lemon, and sprinkle over one teaspoonful of chopped parsley. The smelts can be boned if desired.

Smelts, Bearnaise

Split twelve large or eighteen medium-sized smelts down the backs, remove the backbones, rub them with one tablespoonful of oil and season with one-half pinch of salt and one-third of a pinch of pepper. Broil them in a double broiler for two minutes on each side, pour a little over one gill of Bearnaise sauce on a dish, arrange the smelts carefully on top, garnishing with a very little demi-glaze sauce round the dish and serve.

Smelts, Boulangere

Clean and dry the fish on a cloth, dip them into very thick cream and then dredge them thickly over with flour forming a paste round them. Put some lard in a fryingpan and when very hot put the fish in and fry them till of a light golden brown. Arrange the smelts on a dish paper or a folded napkin placed on a hot dish, garnish with fried parsley and serve.

Fried Smelts

Clean and dry the fish, roll them in beaten egg and then in finely grated breadcrumbs; dredging a little flour and salt over them. Put a good-sized lump of butter into a fryingpan, and when hot put in the smelts and fry them quickly. Drain the fish when richly browned, place them on an ornamental dish-paper or a folded napkin on a hot dish garnished with fried parsley and serve.

Smelts In Matelote

Put a chopped onion, a sprig of parsley, two or three mushrooms and a small piece of garlic into a saucepan; pour over them a small quantity of oil and season with salt and pepper. Clean the smelts, put them into a stewpan, pour over one teacupful of champagne and let them simmer gently until cooked. Place the smelts on a hot dish, squeeze a little lemon juice over and serve.

Smelts Sauted In Brown Butter

Remove the gills, clean and wash the smelts, and when well dried roll them in flour. Place a lump of butter in a fryingpan, and when it is hot put in the smelts and brown them, turning when done on one side. Arrange some slices of hot buttered toast on a dish, put the fish on them and serve at once.

Stuffed Smelts

Cut off the fins of eighteen or twenty fresh medium-sized Long Island smelts and wash and dry them well; remove the insides without splitting the stomachs open, then stuff them with a fish forcemeat, using a paper cornet for the purpose. Place the smelts on a well-buttered baking dish (silver if possible), and cover them with one pint of Italian sauce. Place them in a hot oven and bake for eight or ten minutes; remove, squeeze over the juice of a lemon and serve in the same dish.

Smelts, Toulouse

Take twelve or fourteen good-sized smelts, remove the bones and then close them up again. Put them in a stewpan with one-half wineglassful of white wine and three tablespoonfuls of mushroom liquor; season with one-half pinch of salt and one-third pinch of pepper and cook over a moderate fire for six or eight minutes. Arrange the smelts on a dish; add to the sauce a dozen button mushrooms, two sliced truffles, six fish quenelles, and moisten with one-half pint of allemande sauce. Thicken with one tablespoonful of butter and pour the sauce over the smelts. Neatly dress the garnishing round the dish and serve with sippets of toast or croutons of fried bread.