Chapter 24

Take a good large pike, draw it, wash out the blood, and cut it in pieces, then boil it in a gallon or 6 quarts of fair spring water, with half a pound of ising-glass close covered, being first clean scum'd, boil it on a soft fire till half be wasted; then strain the stock or broth into a clean bason or earthen pan, and being cold pare the bottom and top from the fat and dregs, put it in a pipkin and set it over the fire, melt it, and put it to the juyce of eight or nine lemons, a quart of white-wine, a race of ginger pared and slic't, three or four blades of large mace, as much whole cinamon, and a grain of musk and ambergriese tied up in a fine clean clout, then beat fifteen whites of eggs, and put to them in a bason four pound of double refined sugar first beaten to fine powder, stir it with the eggs with a rouling pin, and then put it among the jelly in the pipkin, stir them well together, and set it a stewing on a soft charcoal fire, let it stew there, but not boil up but one warm at least, let it stew an hour, then take it off and let it cool a little, run it through your jelly-bag, put a sprig of rosemary in the bottom of the bag, and being run, cast it into moulds. Amongst some of it put some almond milk or make it in other colours as aforesaid.

_To make White Jelly of two Pikes._

Take two good handsome pikes, scale and draw them, and wash them clean from the blood, then put to them six quarts of good white-wine, and an ounce of ising-glass, boil them in a good large pipkin to a jelly, being clean scummed, then strain it and blow off the fat.

Then take a quart of sweet cream, a quart of the jelly, a pound and a half of double refined sugar fine beaten, and a quarter of a pint of rose-water, put all together in a clean bason, and give them a warm on the fire, with half an ounce of fine searsed ginger, then set it a cooling, dish it into dice-work, or cast it into moulds and some other coloured Jellies. Or in place of cream put in almond-milk.

_To roast a Pike._

Take a pike, scour off the slime, and take out the entrails, lard the back with pickled herrings, (you must have a sharp bodkin to make the holes to lard it) then take some great oysters and claret-wine, season the oysters with pepper and nutmeg, stuff the belly with oysters, and intermix the stuffing with rosemary, tyme, winter savory, sweet marjoram, a little onion, and garlick, sow these in the belly of the pike; then prepare two sticks about the breadth of a lath, (these two sticks and the spit must be as broad as the pike being tied on the spit) tie the pike on winding packthred about it, tye also along the side of the pike which is not defended by the spit and the laths, rosemary, and bays, baste the pike with butter and claret wine with some anchoves dissolved in it; when the pike is wasted or roasted, take it off, rip up the belly, and take out the whole herbs quite away, boil up the gravy, dish the pike, put the wine to it, and some beaten butter.

_To fry Pikes._

Draw them, wash off the slime and the blood clean, wipe them dry with a clean cloth, flour them, and fry them in clarifi'd butter, being fried crisp and stiff, make sauce with beaten butter, slic't lemon, nutmeg, and salt, beaten up thick with a little fried parsley.

Or with beaten butter, nutmeg, a little claret, salt, and slic't orange.

Otherways, oyster-liquor, a little claret, beaten butter, slic't orange, and nutmeg, rub the dish with a clove of garlick, give the sauce a warm, and garnish the fish with slic't lemon or orange and barberries. Small pikes are best to fry.

_To fry a Pike otherways._

The pike being scalded and splatted, hack the white or inside with a knife, and it will be ribbed, then fry it brown and crisp in clarified butter, being fried, take it up, drain all the butter from it, and wipe the pan clean, then put it again into the pan with claret, slic't ginger, nutmeg, an anchove, salt, and saffron beat, fry it till it half be consumed, then put in a piece of butter, shake it well together with a minced lemon or slic't orange, and dish it, garnish it with lemon, and rub the dish with a clove of garlick.

_To broil a Pike._

Take a pike, draw it & scale it, broil it whole, splat it or scotch it with your knife, wash out the blood clean, and lay it on a clean cloth, salt it, and heat the gridiron very hot, broil it on a soft fire, baste it with butter, and turn it often; being finely broil'd, serve it in a dish with beaten butter, and wine-vinegar, or juyce of lemons or oranges, and garnish the fish with slices of oranges or lemons, and bunches of rosemary.

_Otherways._

Take a pike, as abovesaid, being drawn, wash it clean, dry it, and put it in a dish with some good sallet oyl, wine vinegar, and salt, there let it steep the space of half an hour, then broil it on a soft fire, turn it and baste it often with some fine streight sprigs of rosemary, parsley, and tyme, baste it out of the dish where the oyl and vinegar is; then the pike being finely broil'd, dish it in a clean dish, put the same basting to it being warmed on the coals, lay the herbs round the dish, with some orange or lemon slices.

_To broil Mackarel or Horn kegg._

Draw the Mackarel at the gills, and wash them, then dry them, and salt and broil them with mints, and green fennil on a soft fire, and baste them with butter, or oyl and vinegar, and being finely broil'd, serve them with beaten butter and vinegar, or oyl and vinegar, with rosemary, time, and parsley; or other sauce, beaten butter, and slices of lemon or orange.

_To broil Herrings, Pilchards, or Sprats._

Gill them, wash and dry them, salt and baste them with butter, broil them on a soft fire, and being broi'ld serve them with beaten butter, mustard, and pepper, or beaten butter and lemon; other sauce, take the heads and bruise them in a dish with beer and salt, put the clearest to the herrings.

_To bake Pikes._

Bake your pikes as you do carp, as you may see in the foregoing Section, only remember that small pikes are best to bake.

* * * * * * * * *

SECTION XV.

or

The Third Section for dressing of FISH.

_The most excellent ways of Dressing Salmon, Bace, or Mullet._

_To Calver Salmon to be eaten hot or cold._

Chine it, and cut each side into two or three peices according to the bigness, wipe it clean from the blood and not wash it; then have as much wine and water as you imagine will cover it, make the liquor boil, and put in a good handful of salt; when the liquor boils put in the salmon, and boil it up quick with a quart of white-wine vinegar, keep up the fire stiff to the last, and being througly boil'd, which will be in the space of half an hour or less, then take it off the fire and let it cool, take it up into broad bottomed earthen pans, and being quite cold, which will be in a day, a night, or twelve hours, then put in the liquor to it, and so keep it.

Some will boil in the liquor some rosemary bound up in a bundle hard, two or three cloves, two races of slic't ginger, three or four blades of large mace, and a lemon peel. Others will boil it in beer only.

Or you may serve it being hot, and dish it on sippets in a clean scowred dish; dish it round the dish or in pieces and garnish it with slic't ginger, large mace, a clove or two, gooseberries, grapes, barberries, slic't lemon, fryed parsley, ellicksaders, sage, or spinage fried.

To make sauce for the foresaid salmon, beat some butter up thick with a little fair water, put 2 or three yolks of eggs dissolved into it, with a little of the liquor, grated nutmeg, and some slic't lemon, pour it on the salmon, and garnish the dish with fine searsed manchet, barberries, slic't lemon, and some spices, and fryed greens as aforesaid.

_To stew a small Salmon, Salmon Peal, or Trout._

Take a salmon, draw it, scotch the back, and boil it whole in a stew-pan with white-wine, (or in pieces) put to it also some whole cloves, large mace, slic't ginger, a bay-leaf or two, a bundle of sweet herbs well and hard bound up, some whole pepper, salt, some butter, and vinegar, and an orange in halves; stew all together, and being well stewed, dish them in a clean scowred dish with carved sippets, lay on the spices and slic't lemon, and run it over with beaten butter, and some of the gravy it was stewed in; garnish the dish with some fine searsed manchet or searsed ginger.

_Otherways a most excellent way to stew Salmon._

Take a rand or jole of salmon, fry it whole raw, and being fryed, stew it in a dish on a chaffing dish of coals, with some claret-wine, large mace, slic't nutmeg, salt, wine-vinegar, slic't orange, and some sweet butter; being stewed and the sauce thick, dish it on sippets, lay the spices on it, and some slices of oranges, garnish the dish with some stale manchet finely searsed and strewed over all.

_To pickle Salmon to keep all the year._

Take a Salmon, cut it in six round pieces, then broil it in white-wine, vinegar, and a little water, three parts wine and vinegar, and one of water; let the liquor boil before you put in the salmon, and boil it a quarter of an hour; then take it out of the liquor, drain it very well, and take rosemary sprigs, bay-leaves, cloves, mace, and gross pepper, a good quantity of each, boil them in two quarts of white-wine, and two quarts of white-wine vinegar, boil it well, then take the salmon being quite cold, and rub it with pepper, and salt, pack it in a vessel that will but just contain it, lay a layer of salmon and a layer of spice that is boil'd in the liquor; but let the liquor and spice be very cold before you put it to it; the salmon being close packed put in the liquor, and once in half a year, or as it grows dry, put some white-wine or sack to it, it will keep above a year; put some lemon-peel into the pickle, let the salmon be new taken if possible.

_An excellent way to dress Salmon, or other Fish._

Take a piece of fresh salmon, wash it clean in a little wine-vinegar, and let it lye a little in it in a broad pipkin with a cover, put to it six spoonfuls of water, four of vinegar, as much of white-wine, some salt, a bundle of sweet herbs, a few whole cloves, a little large mace, and a little stick of cinamon, close up the pipkin with paste, and set it in a kettle of seething water, there let it stew three hours; thus you may do carps, trouts, or eels, and alter the taste at your pleasure.

_To hash Salmon._

Take salmon and set it in warm water, take off the skin, and mince a jole, rand, or tail with some fresh eel; being finely minced season it with beaten cloves, mace, salt, pepper, and some sweet herbs; stew it in a broad mouthed pipkin with some claret wine, gooseberries, barberries, or grapes, and some blanched chesnuts; being finely stewed serve it on sippets about it, and run it over with beaten butter, garnish the dish with stale grated manchet searsed, some fryed oysters in batter, cockles, or prawns; sometimes for variety use pistaches, asparagus boil'd and cut an inch long, or boil'd artichocks, and cut as big as a chesnut, some stewed oysters, or oyster-liquor, and some horse-raddish scraped, or some of the juyce; and rub the bottom of the dish wherein you serve it with a clove of garlick.

_To dress Salmon in Stoffado._

Take a whole rand or jole, scale it, and put it in an earthen stew-pan, put to it some claret, or white-wine, some wine-vinegar, a few whole cloves, large mace, gross pepper, a little slic't ginger, salt, and four or five cloves of garlick, then have three or four streight sprigs of rosemary as much of time, and sweet marjoram, two or 3 bay leaves and parsley bound up into a bundle hard, and a quarter of a pound of good sweet butter, close up the earthen pot with course paste, bake it in an oven, & serve it on sippets of French bread, with some of the liquor and spices on it, run it over with beaten butter and barberries, lay some of the herbs on it, slic't lemon and lemon-peel.

_To marinate Salmon to be eaten hot or cold._

Take a Salmon, cut it into joles and rands, & fry them in good sweet sallet oyl or clarified butter, then set them by in a charger, and have some white or claret-wine, & wine vinegar as much as will cover it, put the wine & vinegar into a pipkin with all maner of sweet herbs bound up in a bundle as rosemary, time, sweet marjoram, parsly winter-savory, bay-leaves, sorrel, and sage, as much of one as the other, large mace, slic't ginger, gross pepper, slic't nutmeg, whole cloves, and salt; being well boil'd together, pour it on the fish, spices and all, being cold, then lay on slic't lemons, and lemon-peel, and cover it up close; so keep it for present spending, and serve it hot or cold with the same liquor it is soust in, with the spices, herbs, and lemons on it.

If to keep long, pack it up in a vessel that will but just hold it, put to it no lemons nor herbs, only bay-leaves; if it be well packed, it will keep as long as sturgeon, but then it must not be splatted, but cut round ways through chine and all.

_To boil Salmon in stewed Broth._

Take a jole, chine, or rand, put it in a stew-pan or large pipkin with as much claret wine and water as will cover it, some raisins of the sun, prunes, currans, large mace, cloves, whole cinamon, slic't ginger, and salt, set it a stewing over a soft fire, and when it boils put in some thickning of strain'd bread, or flour, strain'd with some prunes being finely stewed, dish it up on sippets in a clean scowred dish, put a little sugar in the broth, the fruit on and some slic't lemon.

_To fry Salmon._

Take a jole, rand, or chine, or cut it round through chine and all half an inch thick, or in square pieces fry it in clarified butter; being stiff & crisp fryed, make sauce with two or three spoonfuls of claret-wine, some sweet butter, grated nutmeg, some slices of orange, wine-vinegar, and some oyster-liquor; stew them all together, and dish the salmon, pour on the sauce, and lay on some fresh slices of oranges and fryed parsley, ellicksander, sage-leaves fryed in batter, pippins sliced and fryed, or clary fryed in butter, or yolks of eggs, and quarters of oranges and lemons round the dish sides, with some fryed greens in halves or quarters.

_To roast a Salmon according to this Form._

Take a salmon, draw it at the gills, and put in some sweet herbs in his belly whole; the salmon being scalded and the slime wip't off, lard it with pickled herrings, or a fat salt eel, fill his belly with some great oysters stewed, and some nutmeg; let the herbs be tyme, rosemary, winter savory, sweet marjoram, a little onion and garlick, put them in the belly of the salmon, baste it with butter, and set it in an oven in a latten dripping-pan, lay it on sticks and baste it with butter, draw it, turn it, and put some claret wine in the pan under it, let the gravy drip into it, baste it out of the pan with rosemary and bayes, and put some anchoves into the wine also, with some pepper and nutmeg; then take the gravy and clear off the fat, boil it up, and beat it thick with butter; then put the fish in a large dish, pour the sauce on it, and rip up his belly, take out some of the oysters, and put them in the sauce, and take away the herbs.

_Otherways._

Take a rand or jole, cut it into four pieces, and season it with a little nutmeg and salt, stick a few cloves, and put it on a small spit, put between it some bay-leaves, and stick it with little sprigs of rosemary, roast it and baste it with butter, save the gravy, with some wine-vinegar, sweet butter, and some slices of orange; the meat being rosted, dish it, and pour on the sauce.

_To broil or toast Salmon._

Take a whole salmon, a jole, rand, chine, or slices cut round it the thickness of an inch, steep these in wine-vinegar, good sweet sallet oyl and salt, broil them on a soft fire, and baste them with the same sauce they were steeped in, with some streight sprigs of rosemary, sweet marjoram, tyme, and parsley: the fish being broil'd, boil up the gravy and oyster-liquor, dish up the fish, pour on the sauce, and lay the herbs about it.

_To broil or roast a Salmon in Stoffado._

Take a jole, rand, or chine, and steep it in claret-wine, wine-vinegar, white-wine, large mace, whole cloves, two or three cloves of garlick, slic't ginger, gross pepper and salt; being steeped about two hours, broil it on a soft fire, and baste it with butter, or very good sallet oyl, sprigs of rosemary, tyme, parsley, sweet marjoram, and some two or three bay-leaves, being broiled, serve it with the sauce it was steeped in, with a little oyster-liquor put to it, dish the fish, warm the sauce it was stewed in, and pour it on the fish either in butter or oyl, lay the spices and herbs about it; and in this way you may roast it, cut the jole, or rand in six pieces if it be large, and spit it with bayes and rosemary between, and save the gravy for sauce.

_Sauces for roast or boil'd Salmon._

Take the gravy of the salmon, or oyster liquor, beat it up thick with beaten butter, claret wine, nutmeg, and some slices of orange.

Otherways, with gravy of the salmon, butter, juyce of orange or lemon, sugar, and cinamon, beat up the sauce with the butter pretty thick, dish up the salmon, pour on the sauce, and lay it on slices of lemon.

Or beaten butter, with slices of orange or lemon, or the juyce of them, or grape verjuyce and nutmeg.

Otherways, the gravy of the salmon, two or three anchoves dissolved in it, grated nutmeg, and grated bread beat up thick with butter, the yolk of an egg and slices of oranges, or the juyce of it.

_To bake Salmon._

Take a salmon being new, scale it, draw it, and wipe it dry, scrape out the blood from the back-bone, scotch it on the back and side, then season it with pepper, nutmeg, and salt; the pie being made, put butter in the bottom of it, a few whole cloves, and some of the seasoning, lay on the salmon, and put some whole cloves on it, some slic't nutmeg, and butter, close it up and baste it over with eggs, or saffron water, being baked fill it up with clarified butter.

Or you may flay the salmon, and season as aforesaid with the same spices, and not scotch it but lay on the skin again, and lard it with Eels.

For the past only boiling liquor, with three gallons of fine or course flour made up very stiff.

_To make minced Pies of Salmon._

Mince a rand of fresh salmon very small, with a good fresh water eel being flayed and boned; then mince, some violet leaves, sorrel, strawberry-leaves, parsley, sage, savory, marjoram, and time, mingle all together with the meat currans, cinamon, nutmeg, pepper, salt, sugar, caraways; rose-water, white-wine, and some minced orangado, put some butter in the bottom of the pies, fill them, and being baked ice them, and scrape on sugar; Make them according to these forms.

_To make Chewits of Salmon._

Mince a rand of salmon with a good fresh water eel, being boned, flayed, and seasoned with pepper, salt, nutmeg cinamon, beaten ginger, caraway-seed, rose-water, butter, verjuyce, sugar, and orange-peel minced mingle all together with some slic't dates, and currans, put butter in the bottom, fill the pies, close them up, bake them, and ice them.

_To make a Lumber Pye of Salmon._

Mince a rand, jole, or tail with a good fat fresh eel seasoned in all points as beforesaid, put five or six yolks of eggs to it with one or two whites, make it into balls or rouls, with some hard eggs in quarters, put some butter in the pye, lay on the rouls, and on them large mace, dates in halves, slic't lemon, grapes, or barberries, & butter, close it up, bake it, and ice it; being baked, cut up the cover, fry some sage-leaves in batter, in clarified butter, and stick them in the rouls, cut the cover, and lay it on the plate about the pie, or mingle it with an eel cut into dice work, liquor it with verjuyce, sugar, and butter.

_To boil Bace, Mullet, Gurnet, Rochet, Wivers,_ &c.

Take a mullet, draw it, wash it, and boil it in fair water and salt, with the scales on, either splatted or whole, but first let the liquor boil, being finely boiled, dish it upon a clean scowred dish, put carved sippets round about it, and lay the white side uppermost, garnish it with slic't lemon, large mace, lemon-peel, and barberries, then make a lear or sauce with beaten butter, a little water, slices of lemon, juyce of grapes or orange, strained with the yolks of two or three eggs.

_To souce Mullets or Bace._

Draw them & boil them with the scales, but first wash them clean, & lay them in a dish with some salt, cast upon them some slic't ginger, & large mace, put some wine vinegar to them, and two or three cloves; then set on the fire a kettle with as much wine as water, when the pan boils put in the fish and some salt; boil it with a soft fire, & being finely boiled and whole, take them up with a false bottom and 2 wires all together. If you will jelly them, boil down the liquor to a jelly with a piece of ising-glass; being boil'd to a jelly, pour it on the fish, spices and all into an earthen flat bottomed pan, cover it up close, and when you dish the fish, serve it with some of the jelly on it, garnish the dish with slic't ginger and mace, and serve with it in saucers wine vinegar, minc't fennil and slic't ginger; garnish the dish with green fennil and flowers, and parsley on the fish.

_To marinate Mullets or Bace._

Scale the mullets, draw them, and scrape off the slime, wash & dry them with a clean cloth, flour them and fry them in the best sallet oyl you can get, fry them in a frying pan or in a preserving pan, but first before you put in the fish to fry, make the oyl very hot, fry them not too much, but crisp and stiff; being clear, white, and fine fryed, lay them by in an earthen pan or charger till they be all fry'd, lay them in a large flat bottom'd pan that they may lie by one another, and upon one another at length, and pack them close; then make pickle for them with as much wine vinegar as will cover them the breadth of a finger, boil in it a pipkin with salt, bay-leaves, sprigs or tops of rosemary, sweet marjoram, time, savory, and parsley, a quarter of a handful of each, and whole pepper; give these things a warm or two on the fire, pour it on the fish, and cover it close hot; then slice 3 or 4 lemons being par'd, save the peels, and put them to the fish, strow the slices of lemon over the fish with the peels, and keep them close covered for your use. If this fish were barrel'd up, it would keep as long as sturgeon, put half wine vinegar, and half white-wine, the liquor not boil'd, nor no herbs in the liquor, but fry'd bay-leaves, slic't nutmegs, whole cloves, large mace, whole pepper, and slic't ginger; pack the fishes close, and once a month turn the head of the vessel downward; will keep half a year without barrelling.

Marinate these fishes following as the mullet; _viz_, Bace, Soals, Plaice, Flounders, Dabs, Pike, Carp, Bream, Pearch, Tench, Wivers, Trouts, Smelts, Gudgeons, Mackarel, Turbut, Holly-bur, Gurnet, Roachet, Conger, Oysters, Scollops, Cockles, Lobsters, Prawns, Crawfish, Muscles, Snails, Mushrooms, Welks, Frogs.

_To marinate Bace, Mullet, Gurnet, or Rochet otherways._

Take a gallon of vinegar, a quart of fair water, a good handful of bay-leaves, as much of rosemary, and a quarter of a pound of pepper beaten, put these together, and let them boil softly, season it with a little salt, then fry your fish in special good sallet oyl, being well clarifi'd, the fish being fryed put them in an earthen vessel or barrel, lay the bay-leaves, and rosemary between every layer of the fish, and pour the broth upon it, when it is cold close up the vessel; thus you may use it to serve hot or cold, and when you dish it to serve, garnish it with slic't lemon, the peel and barberries.

_To broil Mullet, Bace, or Bream._