THE ART AND MYSTERY OF CURING, PRESERVING, AND POTTING ALL KINDS OF MEATS, GAME, AND FISH TEXT

fish. Then tie wetted bladder over the pots and keep them in a cool dry air. This cannot fail of gaining the approval of all who partake of it, and is the most certain method of obtaining fresh salmon in the winter months. The same oil will do again and again for a similar purpose. MARINATED TENCH AND CARP. How often have I seen twenty or thirty brace of these delicious and exceedingly nutritious fish exposed for sale in some provincial market-place, and spoiling for want of purchasers, some neighbouring baronet or esquire having been drawing his pits and preserves. But why no purchasers? Simply because, although the spectators might nearly beg them, the price being so low, few persons only would know what to do with them, they not being “poor men’s fish;” and the sauces, &c., required to dress them would be too expensive; the operatives have not seen pies made of them, like eels, so even the million as they are termed do not enjoy them, and ten to one the beautiful fish are lost; whilst if they were near Houndsditch or the Minories, amongst the Israelites, they would not remain half an hour unsold even at half-a-crown the brace, because they know how to prepare them, and delicious indeed are the majority of their fish dishes. Take three brace of these fish, scale them, cut off the tails and fins, split them open at the back, take out all the garbage, gills and eyes, and wash them quickly in salt and water; now wipe them dry, and have ready the following mixture: Fresh parsley, minced finely 2 tablespoonfuls Thyme, in powder 2 tablespoonfuls Marjorum, in powder 2 tablespoonfuls Moist sugar ½ lb. Table salt ¾ lb. Make two sides of each fish and cut them across, again place these pieces in alternate layers with the mixture in an oblong pot closely covered up, and set them aside for forty-eight hours; then unpack the fish and replace them in the same receptacle, having rubbed them well and turned each piece over; so let remain twenty-four hours longer, the thickest pieces lying nearest the bottom of the jar. Now unpack again and wash the pieces separately in weak vinegar and water with a trifle of saltpetre in it, and wiping, leave them between cloths while you are preparing, by boiling the used herbs and liquor with half a pint of vinegar and water for ten minutes, and skimming well, strain it through a fine sieve and set it aside. Now take Mace, bruised ½ oz. Cloves, bruised 1 oz. Cayenne pepper 1 teaspoonful Twelve bay leaves, shred Four laurel leaves, green Of the strained liquor ½ pint Boil these for fifteen minutes, skim thoroughly, strain through a fine sieve and add port wine half a pint, return this to the saucepan, simmer it covered close for twelve minutes, and let remain by the fireside. Lay your pieces of fish in a pie dish that will just hold them, the thickest near the bottom, and pour the liquor in the saucepan over the fish, tie paper doubled over the dish and bake till done moderately, which can always be ascertained by the fish leaving the bone upon a knife being applied. Now pour off the liquor, take out the fish and set it to drain all night, covered up; place the pieces in the best adapted pots and fill up with olive oil, renewing on the third day what had been absorbed by the fish, and tie bladder over. In this and similar cases take care that the oil is sufficient in quantity to cover the contents to the thickness of three quarters of an inch at least. These will be remarkably fine eating in a month. You cannot purchase such at the shops. MARINATED SHRIMPS. To ensure this delicacy of first-rate quality you must buy your shrimps alive, and boil and pick them at home with all possible despatch. Set a gallon of live shrimps in three quarts of boiling water, in which one and half pounds of bay or rock salt has been dissolved, and boil them fifteen minutes, then strain off the water and as soon as possible commence shelling them, and keep them covered with cloths as you proceed. Be particular that no refuse or pieces of the shells remain to disgrace the preparer, and laying them lightly on clean dishes, mix amongst them the following seasoning in very fine powder, being well sifted and dried the day previous and kept bottled up. I repeat that the shrimps must have been deprived of all their moisture with the assistance of a moderately cool oven, and not two fish to be seen sticking together. Nor can any excuse avail in this instance, as the less time that is occupied in potting these sorts so much better chance will there be of your total success in the product. Mace, in finest powder 1 oz. Nutmeg, in finest powder 2 oz. Cloves, in finest powder 2 oz. Table salt, in finest powder 1 lb. Loaf sugar, in finest powder ¾ lb. When seasoned to your entire satisfaction, the fish however fully retaining their own fine flavour, fill your pots, which must be the cleanest and best dried possible; press the shrimps well down, and set them as you proceed at the mouth of your cool oven until there is no evaporation observable. Now take them up, press down again, and laying one or two bay leaves on the top, fill up with the best olive oil, and set away in a cool dry room. Next day replenish the oil that has been absorbed, and not till after the third day tie bladder over. Plenty of oil must cover the fish, and although potted shrimps are not expected to keep well after three or four days, yet you may expect every satisfaction from this process. If decay soon takes place, it will be owing to the fish not having been well dried in the process. As to the preservation of the true flavour of the fish, this preparation demands our decided preference. MARINATED TROUT AND GRAYLING. Fish about a pound weight each are the best for this purpose, but provided that they are perfectly fresh, have a clear red gill, and bright eye, we should be induced to thus preserve fish of any size, because by this process the true flavour of the fish may be effectually retained. Take two dozen fish, from twelve to twenty ounces each, scale them, take off the heads, tails, and fins, open them at the belly, take out the garbage, and washing them quickly in salt and water, dry them with cloths and leave them covered up. Make the following seasoning: Table salt 1 lb. Cayenne pepper ¾ oz. Sifted loaf sugar ½ lb. Dried parsley 1 oz. Thyme ½ oz. All these must be in finest powder, and sifted, and with a good mixture of them rub the insides and outsides of the fish well. If you have any roes of them, wash them well, roll them in the powder and place them inside the fish, bring the sides together, and tie round with thread; place them in a convenient pot of earthenware, and with half a pint of good sherry wine, paper tied closely over, bake them sufficiently; then, while warm, pour off the gravy and let the fish lie by till next day, basting them two or three times with the liquor, and removing to the top those which laid on the bottom. Now pour off the gravy, strain it, and put it aside bottled up close. Take out the fish and pay the backbones inside with a camel’s-hair brush and this mixture: Essence of cassia 1 tablespoonful Essence of mace 1 tablespoonful Essence of nutmegs 2 tablespoonfuls Essence of bays 3 tablespoonfuls Lay the fish on their backs and repeat this brushing over the bone two or three times, then lay the fish on their flat, mix the strained liquor in the bottle with whatever you have remaining of your essence mixture, and six tablespoonfuls of good old malt whisky, and pour this over the fish; baste well with it two or three times daily for a week or until they have imbibed a fine flavour of the ingredients, and tying over with leather. Now dry the fish by wiping outside only, and place pieces in fitting oblong pots and cover with olive oil of first quality. (See Note, No. 11.) Replenish the oil, and after the third day make safe with wetted bladder and remove to a cool dry room. In a month they will be very good, but if you could keep some three months they would be much improved. MARINATED SILVER EELS. Take ten pounds of fine fresh river eels, each one and a half pound to two pounds, skin them, cut off the heads, tails, and fins, lay them open at the backs and remove all visible bones, and wash in salt and water; then dry them, cut them into pieces four inches long, and lay them in salt and water with a bit of saltpetre in it for ten hours; then make a seasoning thus: Allspice, ground finely 1 oz. Cayenne pepper, ground finely 1 teaspoonful Bay leaf, in fine powder 1 oz. Parsley, dried and rubbed fine 2 oz. Dry the fish well with cloths, rub them all over plentifully with this mixture, and let them lie packed closely for twenty-four hours; roll them up neat into little collars, tie them round, and bake them in a wide-mouthed jar with a teacupful of water and vinegar at the bottom. Next day pour off the liquor, take out the collars and put them singly into white earthenware pots, and cover with olive oil, observing to replenish the oil before finally closing up with bladder. SUPERIOR MARINATED SILVER EELS, OF VERY HIGH FLAVOUR. Get fresh eels of ten to fifteen ounces each, skin them, take off heads, tails, and fins, open them at the bellies, and, clearing away all refuse, wash them in salt and water and dry with cloths. Then for ten pounds of fish take Garlic, minced finely ½ oz. Chillies, minced finely 1 oz. Juniper berries, minced finely ¾ oz. Jamaica pepper, powdered 1 oz. Bay salt 1 lb. Saltpetre ¼ lb. Vinegar 1 pint Boil these twenty minutes, skimming well, and let go cold. Cut the fish into pieces, place them in a deep dish and pour this pickle over them, so let them lie till next day. Take out the fish and rub each piece separately with the mixture, replace the fish in the vessel and let them lie so for twenty-four hours longer. Now wipe them and hang them up in a current of air for two days; then with a soft brush take off the herbs and spice and roll up tightly each piece into a collar, which secure with narrow tapes. Choose pots of white earthenware that will each just hold a collar, and so as to allow of the fish being totally surrounded by oil, and fill up with olive oil and replenishing as before directed previous to finishing with wetted bladder. Keep these three months at least, when they will be a fine relish at a moderate expense. They should be boiled in hot water, and when cold enough the tapes taken off and the fish eaten cold. PICKLED SMELTS, PREFERRED TO ANCHOVIES. This is an elegant preparation of the smaller fish, the large ones being chosen for the dinner table. Cut open the fish at the belly, and wipe them well out with damp cloths, lay in a light coat of the following seasoning, the roes being replaced, and put them in layers with the mixture alternately, in a deep jar wide at the top: Saltpetre, in powder ½ oz. Bay salt, in powder 9 oz. Mace, in powder ½ oz. Cloves, in powder 1 oz. Black pepper, in powder 1 oz. Cochineal, in powder ¾ oz. These must have been well mixed. Press the fish well down in the jar, and boiling sufficient of the best pickling vinegar with bay leaves, and four or five laurel leaves, pour it upon the fish when cold, and tie leather over the jar. They will require three months at least to become mellow, and are much improved by keeping twice that length of time. PICKLED LOBSTERS. In our hot summer months, and when lobsters are plentiful, it would be wise to save some that would come in opportunely for sauce and many dishes, when lobsters are scarce and high priced. Take fresh boiled lobsters, split them, take out the meat as whole as you can, and make a seasoning of Mace, in fine powder 1 oz. Cayenne pepper ¾ oz. Nutmeg, in fine powder 1 oz. Table salt, in fine powder 6 oz. by well mixing them. Rub the meat well with this and equally, so that no part is left undefended. Put the fish down in an earthen jar, and repeat the rubbing for a day or two. Pack it then in small jars and pour the following pickle over it, so that it may be covered to thickness of an inch: Best vinegar 1 pint Chillies 1 oz. Cucumber vinegar ½ pint Sal prunelle ¾ oz. and in similar proportions for each pint of vinegar used. Mind that the vinegar pickle covers well, and then put over all as much olive oil as will cover to the depth of half an inch. Tie wetted bladder over and leather upon that for safe keeping. It will be well recommended after a trial. MARINATED HERRINGS. The freshest full-roed herrings must be taken for this purpose. Scale twenty of the shortest and fattest you can get in the middle of the season, take off the heads, tails, fins, and open them at the bellies, clean all out, scrape the backbone, and washing the fish in salt and water, wipe them dry and let them lie until next day, after rubbing a dessert-spoonful of good moist sugar into the inside of each fish. Lay them upon their backs in any vessel not too deep, and cover the fish over with the following mixture――the roes should be nicely washed, dried, and laid by the side of the fish: Coarse sugar 1 lb. Bay salt, in fine powder ¾ lb. Black pepper 1 oz. Eschalots, minced 1 oz. Nutmegs, grated 1 oz. putting half the fish in one layer then a layer of the mixture, and then a layer of fish above that, and the spices covering all; so let them lie covered up with a cloth three days. Then wipe the fish dry, place the roes inside, cut them across in two parts, tie up in rolls with calico, and lay them with plenty of bay leaves and four laurel leaves in a deep dish and bake them, just covered over with good sound porter; then while warm pour off the liquor, and set the fish on a sieve to go cold, and next day put each one into a white earthenware jar and cover with olive oil with the same precautions as before. In two months they will be mellow and rich and greatly liked. The porter in which they were baked, being boiled twenty minutes with a dozen of shalots and cayenne, will be a very good cold sauce for chops, steaks, fish, &c. MARINATED SPRATS. These shall be superior to what were called “sardines in oil,” some thirty years ago, and sold in London at 4s. 6d. at first in small tin boxes, and afterwards at 2s. 6d., each tin containing about sixteen sprats――for sprats they certainly were. Take a peck of fresh sprats and pick out for your present use as many of the largest and most sound as will suit your purpose. Pull off the heads, cut off the fins and tails, and draw out the little guts, wash them quickly through salt and water, and dry them between cloths. Have ready the following: Mace, in finest powder 1 oz. Cloves, in finest powder 2 oz. Nutmeg, in finest powder 1 oz. Saltpetre, in finest powder 3 oz. Table salt, in finest powder 1 lb. Bay leaf, in finest powder 3 oz. with which rub each fish on the inside first, and then throughout the bulk; put them into small pots of white earthenware, closely packed; tie bladder over them, merely to keep out the water, and place them in a stewpan, adding water to reach half way up the sides of the jars, cover the pan and set it on a slow fire to simmer until the fish are cooked; then take them up, remove the covers, and set them aside till the next day, when, pouring off any oil or fat that may have been given out in cooking, fill up with olive oil and tie bladders safely over. POTTED SMELTS. For this purpose the smaller fish will do very well. Cut them open at the belly, clean out and wash in salt and water, having first cut off the tails and fins; now season them inside with Mace, in powder ½ oz. Nutmeg, in powder 1 oz. Table salt 3 oz. Cayenne pepper ½ oz. Bay leaf ¾ oz. and let them lie till next day, when lay them in oblong pots and cover them with clarified butter; bake them in a slow oven, and when done enough pour off the butter, and drain effectually, and let them remain twelve hours. Now warm up the butter again in a water bath, and running it through a warmed sieve, pour the clear again over the fish, adding more clarified butter to cover well. Tie bladder over and keep dry. POTTED LOBSTERS. Take a couple of fine lobsters, place them in a tub with plenty of weak salt and water, and brush them well from froth and slime, then wash in pure water and pop them into boiling water in which some salt and saltpetre have been dissolved. When done lay them on a sieve to get cold, and next day cut open the shells, crack the claws and take out the meat, which then pick over carefully from skins and specks, the coral also must be separated and examined. Now cut the meat into dice and pound it finely in a mortar, till of a nice smooth consistence, adding clarified butter at pleasure. Then season with Mace, in fine powder ¾ oz. Nutmeg, in fine powder 1 oz. Bay leaf, in fine powder 1 oz. White pepper, in fine powder 1 oz. Cloves, in fine powder ¾ oz. and working the paste well proceed to fill white pots, and putting a part of the coral into the middle of each pot. Press well in and set aside for the night. Put the pots next into a slow oven, and let the steam escape that might arise, and when you have got them as dry as it is possible, without changing the colour of the preparation, set them by to go cold; then cover with clarified butter effectually and writing paper over the tops of the pots. POTTED CRABS. To meet with well potted crabs is a very rare occurrence, and, speaking generally, is attributable to the carelessness of the preparer. Crabs are very often out of season, that is, cannot be got without great trouble and expense, and they are very much liked; these admissions furnish reasons why we should have some well preserved. Take half a dozen eastern coast crabs――those of Hartlepool and neighbourhood are always sound and well flavoured, while those on the western coast and about Ireland are little worth――plug up all the holes with wooden pegs,