Chapter 26

Take a piece of conger being scalded and wash'd from the blood and slime, lay it in vinegar & salt, with a slice or two of lemon, and some large mace, slic't ginger, and two or three cloves, then set some liquor a boiling in a pan or kettle, as much wine and water as will cover it when the liquor boils put in the fish, with the spices, and salt, and when it is boil'd put in the lemon, and serve the fish on fine carved sippets; then make a lear or sauce with beaten butter, beat with juyce of oranges or lemons, serve it with slic't lemon on it, slic't ginger and barberries; and garnish it with the same.

_To stew Conger._

Take a piece of conger, and cut it into pieces as big as a hens egg, put them in a stew-pan or two deep dishes with some large mace, salt, pepper, slic't nutmeg, some white-wine, wine vinegar, as much water, butter, and slic't ginger, stew these well together, and serve them on sippets with slic't orange, lemon, and barberries, and run them over with beaten butter.

_To marinate Conger._

Scald and draw it, cut it into pieces, and fry it in the best sallet oyl you can get; being fried put it in a little barrel that will contain it; then have some fryed bay-leaves, large mace, slic't ginger, and a few whole cloves, lay these between the fish, put to it white-wine, vinegar, and salt, close up the head, and keep it for your use.

_To souce Conger._

Take a good fat conger, draw it at two several, vents or holes, being first scalded and the fins shaved off, cut it into three or four pieces, then have a pan of fair water, and make it boil, put in the fish, with a good quantity of salt, and let it boil very softly half an hour: being tender boil'd, set it by for your use for present spending; but to keep it long, boil it with as much wine as water, and a quart of white-wine vinegar.

_To souce Conger in Collars like Brawn._

Take the fore part of a conger from the gills, splat it, and take out the bone, being first flayed and scalded, then have a good large eel or two, flay'd also and boned, seasoned in the inside with minced nutmeg, mace, and salt, seasoned and cold with the eel in the inside, bind it up hard in a clean cloth, boil it in fair water, white-wine and salt.

_To roast Conger._

Take a good fat conger, draw it, wash it, and scrape off the slime, cut off the fins, and spit it like an S. draw it with rosemary and time, put some beaten nutmeg in his belly, salt, some stripped time, and some great oysters parboil'd, roast it with the skin on, and save the gravy for the sauce, boil'd up with a little claret-wine, beaten butter, wine vinegar, and an anchove or two, the fat blown off, and beat up thick with some sweet butter, two or three slices of an orange, and elder vinegar.

Or roast it in short pieces, and spit it with bay-leaves between, stuck with rosemary. Or make venison sauce, and instead of roasting it on a spit, roast it in an oven.

_To broil Conger._

Take a good fat conger being scalded and cut into pieces; salt them, and broil them raw; or you may broil them being first boiled and basted with butter, or steeped in oyl and vinegar, broil them raw, and serve them with the same sauce you steeped them in, bast them with rosemary, time, and parsley, and serve them with the sprigs of those herbs about them, either in beaten butter, vinegar, or oyl and vinegar, and the foresaid herbs: or broil the pieces splatted like a spitch-cock of an eel, with the skin on it.

_To fry Conger._

Being scalded, and the fins shaved off, splat it, cut it into rouls round the conger, flour it, and fry it in clarified butter crisp, sauce it with butter beaten with vinegar, juyce of orange or lemon, and serve it with fryed parsley, fryed ellicksanders, or clary in butter.

_To bake Conger in Pasty proportion._

_In Pye Proportion._

Bake it any way of the sturgeon, as you may see in the next Section, to be eaten either hot or cold, and make your pies according to these forms.

_To stew a Lump._

Take it either flayed (or not) and boil it, being splated in a dish with some white-wine, a large mace or two, salt, and a whole onion, stew them well together, and dish them on fine sippets, run it over with some beaten butter, beat up with two or three slices of an orange, and some of the gravy of the fish, run it over the lump, and garnish the meat with slic't lemon, grapes, barberries, or gooseberries.

_To bake a Lump._

Take a lump, and cut it into pieces, skin and all, or flay it, and part it in two pieces of a side, season it with nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and lay it in the pye, lay on it a bay-leaf or two, three or four blades of large mace, the slices of an orange, gooseberries, grapes, barberries, and butter, close it up and bake it, being baked liquor it with beaten butter.

Thus you make bake it in a dish, pye, or patty-pan.

_To boil Soals._

Draw and flay them, then boil them in vinegar, salt, white-wine and mace, but let the liquor boil before you put them in; being finely boil'd, take them up and dish them in a clean dish on fine carved sippets, garnish the fish with large mace, slic't lemon, gooseberries, grapes, or barberries, and beat up some butter thick with juyce of oranges, white-wine, or grape verjuyce and run it over the fish. Sometimes you may put some stew'd oysters on them.

_Otherways._

Take the soals, flay and draw them, and scotch one side with your knife, lay them in a dish, & pour on them some vinegar and salt, let them lie in it half an hour, in the mean time set on the fire some water, white-wine, six cloves of garlick, and a faggot of sweet herbs; then put the fish into the boiling liquor, and the vinegar and salt where they were in steep; being boiled, take them up and drain them very well, then beat up sweet butter very thick, and mix with it some anchoves minced small, and dissolved in the butter, pour it on the fish being dished, and strow on a little grated nutmeg, and minced orange mixt in the butter.

_To stew Soals._

Being flayed and scotched, draw them and half fry them, then take some claret wine, and put to it some salt, grated ginger, and a little garlick, boil this sauce in a dish, when it boils put the soals therein, and when they are sufficiently stewed upon their backs, lay the two halves open on the one side and on the other; then lay anchoves finely washed and boned all along, and on the anchoves slices of butter, then turn the two sides over again, and let them stew till they be ready to be eaten, then take them out of the sauce, and lay them on a clean dish, pour some of the liquor wherein they were stewed upon them, and squeeze on an orange.

_Otherways._

Draw, flay, and scotch them, then flour them and half fry them in clarified butter, put them in a clean pewter dish, and put to them three or four spoonfuls of claret wine, two of wine vinegar, two ounces of sweet butter, two or three slices of an orange, a little grated nutmeg, and a little salt; stew them together close covered, and being well stewed dish them up in a clean dish, lay some sliced lemon on them, and some beaten butter, with juyce of oranges.

_To dress Soals otherways._

Take a pair of Soals, lard them with water'd salt Salmon, then lay them on a pye-plate, and cut your lard all of an equall length, on each side lear it but short; then flour the Soals, and fry them in the best ale you can get; when they are fryed lay them on a warm dish, and put to them anchove sauce made of some of the gravy in the pan, and two or three anchoves, grated nutmeg, a little oyl or butter, and an onion sliced small, give it a warm, and pour it on them with some juyce, and two or three slices of orange.

_To souce Soals._

Take them very new, and scotch them on the upper or white side very thick, not too deep, then have white-wine, wine vinegar, cloves, mace, sliced ginger, and salt, set it over the fire to boil in a kettle fit for it; then take parsley, tyme, sage, rosemary, sweet marjoram, and winter savory, the tops of all these herbs picked, in little branches, and some great onions sliced, when it boils put in all the foresaid materials with no more liquor than will just cover them, cover them close in boiling, and boil them very quick, being cold dish them in a fair dish, and serve them with sliced lemon, and lemon-peels about them and on them.

_Otherways._

Draw them and wash them clean, then have a pint of fair water with as much white-wine, some wine vinegar & salt; when the pan or kettle boils, put in the soals with a clove or two, slic't ginger, and some large mace; being boil'd and cold, serve them with the spices, some of the gravy they were boil'd in, slic't lemon, and lemon-peel.

_To jelly Soals._

Take three tenches, 2 carps, and four pearches, scale them and wash out the blood clean, then take out all the fat, and to every pound of fish take a pint of fair spring-water or more, set the fish a boiling in a clean pipkin or pot, and when it boils scum it, and put in some ising-glass, boil it till one fourth part be wasted, then take it off and strain it through a strong canvas cloth, set it to cool, and being cold, divide it into three or four several pipkins, as much in the one as in the other, take off the bottom and the top, and to every quart of broth put a quart of white-wine, a pound and a half of refined sugar, two nutmegs, 2 races of ginger, 2 pieces of whole cinamon, a grain of musk, and 8 whites of eggs, stir them together with a rowling-pin, and equally divide it into the several pipkins amongst the jellies, set them a stewing upon a soft charcoal fire, when it boils up, run it through the jelly-bags, and pour it upon the soals.

_To roast Soals._

Draw them, flay off the black skin, and dry them with a clean cloth, season them lightly with nutmeg, salt, and some sweet herbs chopped small, put them in a dish with some claret-wine and two or three anchoves the space of half an hour, being first larded with small lard of a good fresh eel, then spit them, roast them and set the wine under them, baste them with butter, and being roasted, dish them round the dish; then boil up the gravy under them with three or four slices of an orange, pour on the sauce, and lay on some slices of lemon.

Marinate, broil, fry and bake Soals according as you do Carps, as you may see in the thirteenth Section.

* * * * * * * * *

SECTION XVIII.

or,

The Sixth Section of FISH.

_The A-la-mode ways of Dressing and Ordering of Sturgeon._

_To boil Sturgeon to serve hot._

Take a rand, wash off the blood, and lay it in vinegar and salt, with the slice of a lemon, some large mace, slic't ginger, and two or three cloves, then set on a pan of fair water, put in some salt, and when it boils put in the fish, with a pint of white-wine, a pint of wine vinegar, and the foresaid spices, but not the lemon; being finely boil'd, dish it on sippets, and sauce it with beaten butter, and juyce of orange beaten together, or juyce of lemon, large mace, slic't ginger, and barberries, and garnish the dish with the same.

_Otherways._

Take a rand and cut it in square pieces as big as a hens egg, stew them in a broad mouthed pipkin with two or three good big onions, fome large mace, two or three cloves, pepper, salt, some slic't nutmeg, a bay-leaf or two some white-wine and water, butter, and a race of slic't ginger, stew them well together, and serve them on sippets of French bread, run them over with beaten butter, slic't lemon and barberries, and garnish the dish with the same.

_Sturgeon buttered._

Boil a rand, tail, or jole in water and salt, boil it tender, and serve it with beaten butter and slic't lemon.

_To make a hot Hash of Sturgeon._

Take a rand, wash it out of the blood, and take off the scales, and skin, mince the meat very small, and season it with beaten mace, pepper, salt, and some sweet herbs minced small, stew all in an earthen pipkin with two or three big whole onions, butter, and white-wine; being finely stewed, serve it on sippets with beaten butter, minced lemon, and boil'd chesnuts.

_To make a cold Hash of Sturgeon._

Take a rand of sturgeon being fresh and new, bake it whole in an earthen pan dry, and close it up with a piece of course paste; being baked and cold slice it into little slices as small as a three pence, and dish them in a fine clean dish, lay them round the bottom of it, and strow on them pepper, salt, a minced onion, a minced lemon, oyl, vinegar, and barberries.

_To marinate a whole Sturgeon in rands and joles._

Take a sturgeon fresh taken, cut it in joles and rands, wash off the blood, and wipe the pieces dry from the blood and slime, flour them, & fry them in a large kettle in four gallons of rape oyl clarified, being fryed fine and crisp, put it into great chargers, frayes, or bowls; then have 2 firkins, and being cold, pack it in them as you do boil'd sturgeon that is kept in pickle, then make the sauce or pickle of 2 gallons of white-wine, and three gallons of white-wine vinegar; put to them six good handfuls of salt, 3 in each vessel, a quarter of a pound large mace, six ounces of whole pepper, and three ounces of slic't ginger, close it up in good sound vessels, and when you serve it, serve it in some of its own pickle, the spices on it, and slic't lemon.

_To make a farc't meat of Sturgeon._

Mince it raw with a good fat eel, and being fine minced, season it with cloves, mace, pepper, and salt, mince some sweet herbs and put to it, and make your farcings in the forms of balls, pears, stars, or dolphins; if you please stuff carrots or turnips with it.

_To dress a whole Sturgeon in Stoffado cut into Rands and Joles to eat hot or cold._

Take a sturgeon, draw it, and part it in two halves from the tail to the head, cut it into rands and joles a foot long or more, then wash off the blood and slime, and steep it in wine-vinegar, and white-wine, as much as will cover it, or less, put to it eight ounces of slic't ginger, six ounces of large mace, four ounces of whole cloves, half a pound of whole pepper, salt, and a pound of slic't nutmegs, let these steep in the foresaid liquor six hours, then put them into broad earthen pans flat bottom'd, and bake them with this liquor and spices, cover them with paper, it will ask four or five hours baking; being baked serve them in a large dish in joles or rands, with large slices of French bread in the bottom of the dish, steep them well with the foresaid broth they were baked in, some of the spices on them, some slic't lemon, barberries, grapes, or gooseberries, and lemon peel, with some of the same broth, beaten butter, juyce of lemons and oranges, and the yolks of eggs beat up thick.

If to eat cold, barrel it up close with this liquor and spices, fill it up with white-wine or sack; and head it up close, it will keep a year very well, when you serve it, serve it with slic't lemon, and bay-leaves about it.

_To souce Sturgeon to keep all the year._

Take a Sturgeon, draw it, and part it down the back in equal sides and rands, put it in a tub into water and salt, and wash it from the blood and slime, bind it up with tape or packthred, and boil it in a vessel that will contain it, in water, vinegar, and salt, boil it not too tender; being finely boil'd take it up, and being pretty cold, lay it on a clean flasket or tray till it be through cold, then pack it up close.

_To souce Sturgeon in two good strong sweet Firkins._

If the Sturgeon be nine foot in length, 2 firkins will serve it, the vessels being very well filled and packed close, put into it eight handfuls of salt, six gallons of white wine, and four gallons of white wine vinegar, close on the heads strong and sure, and once a month turn it on the other end.

_To broil Sturgeon, or toast it against the fire._

Broil or toast a rand or jole of sturgeon that comes new out of the sea or river, (or any piece) and either broil it in a whole rand, or slices an inch thick, salt them, and steep them in oyl-olive and wine vinegar, broil them on a soft fire, and baste them with the sauce it was steeped in, with branches of rosemary, tyme, and parsley; being finely broiled, serve it in a clean dish with some of the sauce it was basted with, and some of the branches of rosemary; or baste it with butter, and serve it with butter and vinegar, being either beaten with slic't lemon, or juyce of oranges.

_Otherways._

Broil it on white paper, either with butter or sallet oyl, if you broil it in oyl, being broil'd, put to it on the paper some oyl, vinegar, pepper, and branches or slices of orange. If broil'd in butter, some beaten butter, with lemon, claret, and nutmeg.

_To fry Sturgeon._

Take a rand of fresh sturgeon, and cut it into slices of half an inch thick, hack it, and being fried, it will look as if it were ribbed, fry it brown with clarified butter; then take it up, make the pan clean, and put it in again with some claret wine, an anchove, salt, and beaten saffron; fry it till half be consumed, and then put in a piece of butter, some grated nutmeg, grated ginger, and some minced lemon; garnish the dish with lemon, dish it, and run jelly first rubbed with a clove of garlick.

_To jelly Sturgeon._

Season a whole rand with pepper, nutmeg, and salt, bake it dry in an earthen pan, and being baked and cold, slice it into thin slices, dish it in a clean dish, the dish being on it.

_To roast Sturgeon._

Take a rand of fresh sturgeon, wipe it very dry, and cut it in pieces as big as a goose-egg, season them with nutmeg, pepper, and salt, and stick each piece with two or 3 cloves, draw them with rosemary, & spit them thorow the skin, and put some bay-leaves or sage-leaves between every piece; baste them with butter, and being roasted serve them on the gravy that droppeth from them, beaten butter, juyce of orange or vinegar, and grated nutmeg, serve also with it venison sauce in saucers.

_To make Olines of Sturgeon stewed or roasted._

Take spinage, red sage, parsley, tyme, rosemary, sweet marjoram, and winter-savory, wash and chop them very small, and mingle them with some currans, grated bread, yolks of hard eggs chopped small, some beaten mace, nutmeg, cinamon and salt; then have a rand of fresh sturgeon, cut in thin broad pieces, & hackt with the back of a chopping knife laid on a smooth pie-plate, strow on the minced herbs with the other materials, and roul them up in a roul, stew them in a dish in the oven, with a little white-wine or wine-vinegar, some of the farcing under them, and some sugar; being baked, make a lear with some of the gravy, and slices of oranges and lemons.

_To make Olines of Sturgeon otherways._

Take a rand of sturgeon being new, cut it in fine thin slices, & hack them with the back of a knife, then make a compound of minced herbs, as tyme, savory, sweet marjoram, violet-leaves, strawberry leaves, spinage, mints, sorrel, endive and sage; mince these herbs very fine with a few scallions, some yolks of hard eggs, currans, cinamon, nutmegs, sugar, rosewater, and salt, mingle all together, and strow on the compound herbs on the hacked olines, roul them up, and make pies according to these forms, put butter in the bottom of them, and lay the olines on it; being full, lay on some raisins, prunes, large mace, dates, slic't lemon, some gooseberries, grapes, or barberries, and butter, close them up and bake them, being baked, liquor them with butter, white-wine, and sugar, ice them, and serve them up hot.

_To bake Sturgeon in Joles and Rands dry in Earthen Pans, and being baked and cold, pickled and barreld up, to serve hot or cold._

Take a sturgeon fresh and new, part him down from head to tail, and cut it into rands and joles, cast it into fair water and salt, wash off the slime and blood, and put it into broad earthen pans, being first stuffed with penniroyal, or other sweet herbs; stick it with cloves and rosemary, and bake it in pans dry, (or a little white-wine to save the pans from breaking) then take white or claret wine and make a pickle, half as much wine vinegar, some whole pepper, large mace, slic't nutmegs, and six or seven handfuls of salt; being baked and cold, pack and barrel it up close, and fill it up with this pickle raw, head it up close, and when you serve it, serve it with some of the liquor and slic't lemon.

_To bake Sturgeon Pies to eat cold._

Take a fresh jole of sturgeon, scale it, and wash off the slime, wipe it dry, and lard it with a good salt eel, seasoned with nutmeg, and pepper, cut the lard as big as your finger, and being well larded, season the jole or rand with the foresaid spices and salt, lay it in a square pie in fine or course paste, and put some whole cloves on it, some slic't nutmeg, slic't ginger, and good store of butter, close it up, and bake it, being baked fill it up with clarified butter.

_To bake Sturgeon otherways with Salmon._

Take a rand of sturgeon, cut it into large thick slices, & 2 rands of fresh salmon in thick slices as broad as the sturgeon, season it with the same seasoning as the former, with spices and butter, close it up and bake it; being baked, fill it up with clarified butter. Make your sturgeon pyes or pasties according to these forms.

_To make a Sturgeon Pye to eat cold otherways._

Take a rand of sturgeon, flay it and wipe it with a dry cloth, and not wash it, cut it into large slices; then have carps, tenches, or a good large eel flayed and boned, your tenches and carps scaled, boned, and wiped dry, season your sturgeon and the other fishes with pepper, nutmeg, and salt, put butter in the bottom of the pie, and lay a lay of sturgeon, and on that a lay of carps, then a lay of sturgeon, and a lay of eels, next a lay of sturgeon, and a lay of tench, and a lay of sturgeon above that; lay on it some slic't ginger, slic't nutmeg, and some whole cloves, put on butter, close it up, and bake it, being baked liquor it with clarified butter. Or bake it in pots as you do venison, and it will keep long.

_Otherways._

Take a rand of sturgeon, flay it, and mince it very fine, season it with pepper, cloves, mace, and salt; then have a good fresh fat eel or 2 flayed and boned, cut it into lard as big as your finger, and lay some in the bottom of the pye, some butter on it, and some of the minced meat or sturgeon, and so lard and meat till you have filled the pye, lay over all some slices of sturgeon, sliced nutmeg, sliced ginger, and butter, close it up and bake it, being baked fill it up with clarified butter. If to eat hot, give it but half the seasoning, and make your pyes according to these forms.

_To bake sturgeon Pies to be eaten hot._

Flay off the scales and skin of a rand, cut it in pieces as big as a walnut, & season it lightly with pepper, nutmeg, and salt; lay butter in the bottom of the pye, put in the sturgeon, and put to it a good big onion or two whole, some large mace, whole cloves, slic't ginger, some large oysters, slic't lemon, gooseberries, grapes, or barberries, and butter, close it up and bake it, being bak'd, fill it up with beaten butter, beaten with white-wine or claret, and juyce or slices of lemon or orange.

To this pye in Winter, you may use prunes, raisins, or currans, and liquor it with butter, verjuyce, and sugar, and in Summer, pease boil'd and put in the pye, being baked, and leave out fruit.

_Otherways._

Cut a rand of sturgeon into pieces as big as a hens egg, cleanse it, and season them with pepper, salt, ginger, and nutmeg, then make a pye and lay some butter in the bottom of it, then the pieces of sturgeon, and two or three bay-leaves, some large mace, three or four whole cloves, some blanched chesnuts, gooseberries, grapes, or barberries, and butter, close it up and bake it, and being baked, liquor it with beaten butter, and the blood of the sturgeon boil'd together with a little claret-wine.

_To bake Sturgeon Pyes in dice work to be eaten hot._