Chapter 23

Take a carp alive, draw it, and wash out the blood in the body with claret wine into a dish, put to it some wine vinegar and oyl, then scrape off the slime, & wipe it dry both outside & inside, lay it in the dish with vinegar, wine, oyl, salt, and the streight sprigs of rosemary and parsley, let it steep there the space of an hour or two, then broil it on a clean scowred gridiron, (or toast it before the fire) broil it on a soft fire, and turn it often; being finely broil'd, serve it on a clean scowred dish, with the oyl, wine, and vinegar, being stew'd on the coals, put it to the fish, the rosemary and parsley round the dish, and some about the fish, or with beaten butter and vinegar, or butter and verjuyce, or juyce of oranges beaten with the butter, or juyce of lemons, garnish the fish with slices of orange, lemon, and branches of rosemary; boil the milt or spawn by it self and lay it in the dish with the Carp.

Or make sauce otherways with beaten butter, oyster liquor, the blood of the carp, grated nutmeg, juyce of orange, white-wine, or wine vinegar boil'd together, crumbs of bread, and the yolk of an egg boiled up pretty thick, and run it over the fish.

_To broil a Carp in Staffado._

Take a live carp, scale it, and scrape off the slime, wipe it clean with a dry cloth, and draw it, wash out the blood, and steep it in claret, white-wine, wine-vinegar, large mace, whole cloves, two or three cloves of garlick, some slic't ginger, gross pepper, and salt; steep it in this composition in a dish or tray the space of two hours, then broil it on a clean scoured gridiron on a soft fire, & baste it with some sweet sallet oyl, sprigs of rosemary, time, parsley, sweet marjoram, and two or three bay-leaves, being finely broil'd; serve it with the sauce it was steeped in, boil'd up on the fire with a little oyster-liquor, the spices on it, and herbs round about it on the dish, run it over with sauce, either with sweet sallet oyl, or good beaten butter, and broil the milt or spawn by it self.

_To roast a Carp._

Take a live carp, draw and wash it, and take away the gall, and milt, or spawn; then make a pudding with some grated manchet, some almond-paste, cream, currans, grated nutmeg, raw yolks of eggs, sugar, caraway-seed candied, or any peel, some lemon and salt, make a stiff pudding and put it through the gills into the belly of the carp, neither scale it, nor fill it too full; then spit it, and roust it in the oven upon two or three sticks cross a brass dish, turn it and let the gravy drop into the dish; being finely roasted, make sauce with the gravy, butter, juyce of orange or lemon, some sugar, and cinamon, beat up the sauce thick with the butter, and dish the carp, put the sauce over it with slices of lemon.

_Otherways._

Scale it, and lard it with salt eel, pepper, and nutmeg, then make a pudding of some minced eel, roach, or dace, some sweet herbs, grated bread, cloves, mace, nutmeg, pepper, salt, yolks of eggs, pistaches, chesnuts, and the milt of the carp parboil'd and cut into dice-work, as also some fresh eel, and mingle it amongst the pudding or farse.

_Sauces for Roast Carp._

1. Gravy and oyster liquor, beat it up thick with sweet butter, claret wine, nutmeg, slices of orange, and some capers, and give it a warm or two.

2. Beaten butter with slices of orange, and lemon, or the juyce of them only.

3. Butter, claret-wine, grated nutmeg, selt, slices of orange, a little wine-vinegar and the gravy.

4. A little white-wine, gravy of the carp, an anchove or two dissolved in it, some grated nutmeg, and a little grated manchet, beat them up thick with some sweet butter, and the yolk of an egg or two, dish the carp, and pour the sauce on it.

_To make a Carp Pye a most excellent way._

Take carp, scale it and scrape off the slime, wipe it with a dry clean cloth, and split it down the back, then cut it in quarters or six pieces, three of each, and take out the milt or spawn, as also the gall; season it with nutmeg, pepper, salt, and beaten ginger, lay some butter in the pye bottom, then the carp upon it, and upon the carp two or three bay-leaves, four or five blades of large mace, four or five whole cloves, some blanched chesnuts, slices of orange, and some sweet butter, close it up and bake it, being baked liquor it with beaten butter, the blood of the carp, and a little claret wine.

For variety, in place of chesnuts, use pine apple-seeds, or bottoms of artichocks, gooseberries, grapes, or barberries. Sometimes bake great oysters with the carp, and a great onion or two; sometimes sweet herbs chopped, or sparagus boiled.

Or bake it in a dish as you do the pye.

To make paste for the pie, take two quarts and a pint of fine flour, four or five yolks of raw eggs, and half a pound of sweet butter, boil the butter till it be melted, and make the paste with it.

_Paste for a Florentine of Carps made in a dish or patty-pan._

Take a pottle of fine flour, three quarters of a pound of butter, and six yolks of eggs, and work up the butter, eggs, and flour, dry them, then put to it as much fair spring water cold as will make it up into paste.

_To bake a Carp otherways to be eaten hot._

Take a carp, scale it alive, and scrape off the slime, draw it, and take away the gall and guts, scotch it, and season it with nutmeg, pepper, and salt lightly, lay it into the pye, and put the milt into the belly, then lay on slic't dates in halves, large mace, orange, or slic't lemon, gooseberries, grapes, or barberries, raisins of the sun, and butter; close it up and bake it, being almost baked liquor it with verjuyce, butter, sugar, claret or white-wine, and ice it.

Sometimes make a pudding in the carps belly, make it of grated bread, pepper, nutmegs, yolks of eggs, sweet herbs, currans, sugar, gooseberries, grapes, or barberries, orangado, dates, capers, pistaches, raisins, and some minced fresh eel.

Or bake it in a dish or patty pan in cold butter paste.

_To bake a Carp with Oysters._

Scale a carp, scrape off the slime, and bone it; then cut it into large dice-work, as also the milt being parboil'd; then have some great oysters, parboil'd, mingle them with the bits of carp, and season them together with beaten pepper, salt, nutmeg, cloves, mace, grapes, gooseberries, or barberries, blanched chesnuts, and pistaches, season them lightly, then put in the bottom of the pie a good big onion or two whole, fill the pye, and lay upon it some large mace and butter, close it up and bake it, being baked liquor it with white wine, and sweet butter, or beaten butter only.

_To make minced Pies of Carps and Eels._

Take a carp being cleansed, bone it, and also a good fat fresh water eel, mince them together, and season them with pepper, nutmeg, cinamon, ginger, and salt, put to them some currans, caraway-seed, minced orange-peel, and the yolks of six or seven hard eggs minced also, slic't dates, and sugar; then lay some butter in the bottom of the pyes, and fill them, close them up, bake them, and ice them.

_To bake a Carp minced with an Eel in the French Fashion, called Peti Petes._

Take a carp, scale it, and scrape off the slime, then roast it with a flayed eel, and being rosted draw them from the fire, and let them cool, then cut them into little pieces like great dice, one half of them, & the other half minced small and seasoned with nutmeg, pepper, salt, gooseberries, barberries, or grapes, and some bottoms of artichocks boil'd and cut as the carp: season all the foresaid materials and mingle all together, then put some butter in the bottom of the pye, lay on the meat and butter on the top, close it up, and bake it, being baked liquor it with gravy, and the juyce of oranges, butter, and grated nutmeg.

Sometimes liquor it with verjuyce and the yolks of eggs strained, sugar, and butter.

Or with currans, white wine, and butter boil'd together, some sweet herbs chopped small, and saffron.

_To bake a Carp according to these Forms to be eaten hot._

Take a carp, scale it, and scrape off the slime, bone it and cut it into dice-work, the milt being parboil'd, cut it into the same form, then have some great oysters parboild and cut into the same form also; put to it some grapes, goosberries, or barberries, the bottoms of artichocks boil the yolks of hard egs in quarters, boild, sparagus cut an inch long, and some pistaches, season all the foresaid things together with pepper, nutmegs, and salt, fill the pyes, close them up, and bake them, being baked, liquor them with butter, white-wine, and some blood of the carp, boil them together, or beaten butter, with juyce of oranges.

_To bake a Carp with Eels to be eaten cold._

Take four large carps, scale them & wipe off the slime clean, bone them, and cut each side into two pieces of every carp, then have four large fresh water eels, fat ones, boned, flayed, and cut in as many pieces as the carps, season them with nutmeg, pepper, and salt; then have a pye ready, either round or square, put butter in the bottom of it, then lay a lay of eel, and a lay of carp upon that, and thus do till you have ended; then lay on some large mace and whole cloves on the top, some sliced nutmeg, sliced ginger, and butter, close it up and bake it, being baked and cold, fill it up with clarified butter.

_Otherways._

Take eight carps, scale and bone them, scrape and wash off the slime, wipe them dry, and mince them very fine, then have four good fresh water eels, flay and bone them, and cut them into lard as big as your finger, then have pepper, cloves, mace, and ginger severally beaten and mingled with some salt, season the fish and also the eels, cut into lard; then make a pye according to this form, lay some butter in the bottom of the pye, then a lay of carp upon the butter, so fill it, close it up and bake it.

* * * * * * * * *

SECTION XIV.

or,

The Second Section of FISH.

_Shewing the most Excellent Ways of Dressing of Pikes._

_To boil a Pike._

Wash him very clean, then truss him either round whole, with his tail in his mouth, and his back scotched, or splatted and trust round like a hart, with his tail in his mouth, or in three pieces, & divide the middle piece into two pieces; then boil it in water, salt, and vinegar, put it not in till the liquor boils, & let it boil very fast at first to make it crisp, but afterwards softly; for the sauce put in a pipkin a pint of white wine, slic't ginger, mace, dates quartered, a pint of great oysters with the liquor, a little vinegar and salt, boil them a quarter of an hour; then mince a few sweet herbs & parsley, stew them till half the liquor be consumed; then the pike being boiled dish it, and garnish the dish with grated dry manchet fine searsed, or ginger fine beaten, then beat up the sauce, with half a pound of butter, minced lemon, or orange, put it on the pike, and sippet it with cuts of puff-paste or lozenges, some fried greens, and some yellow butter. Dish it according to these forms.

_To boil a Pike otherways._

Take a male pike alive, splat him in halves, take out his milt and civet, and take away the gall, cut the sides into three pieces of a side, lay them in a large dish or tray, and put upon them half a pint of white wine vinegar, and half a handful of bay-salt beaten fine; then have a clean scowred pan set over the fire with as much rhenish or white-wine as will cover the pike, so set it on the fire with some salt, two slic't nutmegs, two races of ginger slic't, two good big onions slic't, five or six cloves of garlik, two or three tops of sweet marjoram, three or four streight sprigs of rosemary bound up in a bundle close, and the peel of half a lemon; let these boil with a quick fire, then put in the pike with the vinegar, and boil it up quick; whilest the pike is boiling, take a quarter of a pound of anchoves, wash and bone them, then mince them and put them in a pipkin with a quarter of a pound of butter, and 3 or four spoonfuls of the liquor the pike was boiled in; the pike being boiled dish it, & lay the ginger, nutmegs, and herbs upon it, run it over with the sauce, and cast dried searsed manchet on it.

This foresaid liquor is far better to boil another pike, by renewing the liquor with a little wine.

_To boil a Pike and Eel together._

Take a quart of white-wine, a pint and a half of white wine vinegar, two quarts of water, almost a pint of salt, a handful of rosemary and tyme, let your liquor boil before you put in your fish, the herbs, a little large mace, and some twenty corns of whole pepper.

_To boil a Pike otherways._

Boil it in water, salt, and wine vinegar, two parts water, and one vinegar, being drawn, set on the liquor to boil, cleanse the civet, and truss him round, scotch his back, and when the liquor boils, put in the fish and boil it up quick; then make sauce with some white-wine vinegar, mace, whole pepper, a good handful of cockles broiled or boiled out of the shells and washed with vinegar, a faggot of sweet herbs, the liver stamped and put to it, and horse raddish scraped or slic't, boil all the foresaid together, dish the pike on sippets, and beat up the sauce with some good sweet butter and minced lemon, make the sauce pretty thick, and garnish it as you please.

_Otherways._

Take as much white-wine and water as will cover it, of each a like quantity, and a pint of vinegar, put to this liquor half an ounce of large mace, two lemon-peels, a quarter of an ounce of whole cloves, three slic't nutmegs, four races of ginger slic't, some six great onions slic't, a bundle of six or seven sprigs or tops of rosemary, as much of time, winter-savory, and sweet marjoram bound up hard in a faggot, put into the liquor also a good handful of salt, and when it boils, put in the fish being cleansed and trussed, and boil it up quick.

Being boiled, make the sauce with some of the broth where the pike was boiled, and put it in a dish with two or three anchoves being cleansed and minced, a little white wine, some grated nutmeg, and some fine grated manchet, stew it on a chafing dish, and beat it up thick with some sweet butter, and the yolk of an egg or two dissolved with some vinegar, give it a warm, and put to it three or four slices of lemon.

Then dish the pike, drain the liquor from it upon a chafing-dish of coals, pour on the sauce, and garnish the fish with slic't lemons, and the spices, herbs, and boil'd onions, run it over with beaten butter, and lay on some barberries or grapes.

Sometimes for change you may put some horse-raddish scraped, or the juyce of it.

_To boil a Pike in White Broth._

Cut your pike in three pieces, then boil it in water, salt, and sweet herbs, put in the fish when the liquor boils; then take the yolks of six eggs, beat them with a little sack, sugar, melted butter, and some of the pike broth then put it on some embers to keep warm, stir it sometimes lest it curdle; then take up your pike, put the head and tail together in a clean dish, cleave the other piece in two, and take out the back-bone, put the one piece on one side, and the other piece on the other side, but blanch all, pour the broth on it, and garnish the fish with sippets, strow on fine ginger or sugar, wipe the edge of the dish round, and serve it.

_To Boil a Pike in the French Fashion, a-la-Sauces d'Almaigne, or in the German Fashion._

Take a pike, draw him, dress the rivet, and cut him in three pieces, boil him in as much wine as water, & some lemon-peel, with the liquor boils put in the fish with a good handful of salt, and boil him up quick.

Then have a sauce made of beaten butter, water, the slices of two or three lemons, the yolks of two or three eggs, and some grated nutmeg; the pike being boiled dish it on fine sippets, and stick it with some fried bread run it over with the sauce, some barberries or lemon, and garnish the dish with some pared and slic't ginger, barberries, and lemon peel.

_To boil a Pike in the City Fashion._

Take a live male pike, draw him and slit the rivet, wash him clean from the blood, and lay him in a dish or tray, then put some salt and vinegar to it, (or no vinegar; but only salt); then set on a kettle with some water & salt, & when it boils put in the pike, boil it softly, and being boiled, take it off the fire, and put a little butter into the kettle to it, then make a sauce with beaten butter, the juyce of a lemon or two, grape verjuyce or wine-vinegar, dish up the pike on fine carved sippets, and pour on the sauce, garnish the fish with scalded parsley, large mace barberries, slic't lemon, and lemon-peel, and garnish the dish with the same.

_To stew a Pike in the French Fashion._

Take a pike, splat it down the back alive, and let the liquor boil before you put it in, then take a large deep dish or stewing pan that will contain the pike, put as much claret-wine as will cover it, & wash off the blood take out the pike, and put to the wine in the dish three or four slic't onions, four blades of large mace, gross pepper, & salt; when it boils put in the pike, cover it close, & being stewed down, dish it up in a clean scowred dish with carved sippets round abound it, pour on the broth it was stewed in all over it, with the spices and onions, and put some slic't lemon over all, with some lemon-peel; run it over with beaten butter, and garnish the dish with dry grated manchet. Thus you may also stew it with the scales on or off.

Sometimes for change use horse-raddish.

_To stew a Pike otherways in the City Fashion._

Take a pike, splat it, and lay it in a dish, when the blood is clean washed out, put to it as much white-wine as will cover it, and set it a stewing; when it boils put in the fish, scum it, and put to it some large mace, whole cinamon, and some salt, being finely stewed dish it on sippets finely carved.

Then thicken the broth with two or three egg yolks, some thick cream, sugar, and beaten butter, give it a warm and pour it on the pike, with some boil'd currans, and boil'd prunes laid all over it, as also mace, cinamon, some knots of barberries, and slic't lemon, garnish the dish with the same garnish, and scrape on fine sugar.

In this way you may do Carp, Bream, Barbel, Chevin, Rochet, Gurnet, Conger, Tench, Pearch, Bace, or Mullet.

_To hash a Pike._

Scale and bone it, then mince it with a good fresh eel, being also boned and flayed, put to it some sweet herbs fine stripped and minced small, beaten nutmeg, mace, ginger, pepper, and salt; stew it in a dish with a little white wine and sweet butter, being well stewed, serve it on fine carved sippets, and lay on some great stewed oysters, some fryed in batter, some green with juyce of spinage, other yellow with saffron, garnish the dish with them, and run it over with beaten butter.

_To souce a Pike._

Draw and wash it clean from the blood and slime, then boil it in water and salt, when the liquor boils put it to it, and boil it leisurely simmering, season it pretty savory of the salt, boil it not too much, nor in more water then will but just cover it.

If you intend to keep it long, put as much white-wine as water, of both as much as will cover the fish, some wine vinegar, slic't ginger, large mace, cloves, and some salt; when it boils put in the fish, spices, and some lemon-peel, boil it up quick but not too much; then take it up into a tray, and boil down the liquor to a jelly, lay some slic't lemon on it, pour on the liquor, and cover it up close; when you serve it in jelly, dish and melt some of the jelly, and run it all over, garnish it with bunches of barberries and slic't lemon.

Or being soust and not jellied, serve it with fennil and parsley.

When you serve it, you may lay round the dish divers Small Fishes, as Tench, Pearch, Gurnet, Chevin, Roach, Smelts, and run them over with jelly.

_To souce and jelly Pike, Eeel, Tench, Salmon, Conger,_ &c.

Scale the foresaid fishes, being scal'd, cleansed and boned, season them with nutmeg and salt, or no spices at all, roul them up and bind them like brawn, being first rouled in a clean white cloth close bound up round it, boil them in water, white-wine, and salt, but first let the pan or vessel boil, put it in and scum it, then put in some large mace and slic't ginger. If you will only souce them boil them not down so much; if to jelly them, put to them some ising-glass, and serve them in collars whole standing in the jelly.

_Otherways to souce and jelly the foresaid Fishes._

Make jelly of three tenches, three perches, and two carps, scale them, wash out the blood, and soak them in fair water three or four hours, leave no fat on them, then put them in a large pipkin with as much fair spring water as will cover them, or as many pints as pound of fish, put to it some ising-glass, and boil it close covered till two parts and a half be wasted; then take it off and strain it, let it cool, and being cold take off the fat on the top, pare the bottom, and put the jelly into three pipkins, put three quarts of white-wine to them, and a pound and a half of double refined sugar into each pipkin; then to make one red put a quarter of an ounce of whole cinamon, two races of ginger, two nutmegs, two or three cloves, and a little piece of turnsole dry'd, the dust rubbed out and steep'd in some claret-wine, put some of the wine into the jelly.

To make another yellow, put a little saffron-water, nutmeg, as much cinamon as to the red jelly, and a race of ginger sliced.

To the white put three blades of large mace, a race of ginger slic't, then set the jelly on the fire till it be melted, then have fiveteen whites of eggs beaten, and four pound and a half of refined sugar, beat amongst the eggs, being first beaten to fine powder; then divide the sugar and eggs equally into the three foresaid pipkins, stir it amongst the sugar very well, set them on the fire to stew, but not to boil up till you are ready to run it; let each pipkin cool a little before you run it, put a rosemary branch in each bag, and wet the top of your bags, wring them before you run them, and being run, put some into orange rinds, some into scollop shells, or lemon rindes in halves, some into egg shells or muscle shells, or in moulds for Jellies. Or you may make four colours, and mix some of the jelly with almonds-milk.

You may dish the foresaid jellies on a pie-plate on a great dish in four quarters, and in the middle a lemon finely carved or cut into branches, hung with jellies, and orange peels, and almond jellies round about; then lay on a quarter of the white jelly on one quarter of the plate, another of red, and another of amber-jelly, the other whiter on another quarter, and about the outside of the plate of all the colours one by another in the rindes of oranges and lemons, and for the quarters, four scollop shells of four several colours, and dish it as the former.

_Pike Jelly otherways._