Celtnet Hannah Glasse Recipes for To Dress Fish, Chapter 5

Welcome to Celtnet's Hannah Glassse's Recipes for To Dress Fish — This page gives you the entire contents of the Fifth Chapter: To dreſs FISH from Hannah Glasses's 1747 volume, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy. Each recipe is given here in its original form, with a link underneath to the modern redaction, should you wish to replicate it. This is the first time that Hannah Glasse's book has been made available in its entirety on the internet. Enjoy...

These pages have been written to be as close to the 1747 original as possible, within the limitations of HTML. As a result, the long-s symbol 'ſ' has been used in the text wherever it features in the original. Typically this is used where the s precedes a long letter such as an I, t or 1 or another long-s (to create a ligature), or where the S precedds a curved letter such as an 'a', 'e', 'o' or 's'. As a result, in the original work 'seasoned skirret soop' is typeset 'ſeaſoned ſkirret ſoop'.

You will encounter many unfamiliar culinary terms and usages in this work. Where the recipe has been redacted into modern form, these are either defined in the redaction or a link to a definition is given. However, may of the terms can also be found by browsing or searching the glossary of cooking and food terms pages on this site.

The text presented here is derived directly from Hannah Glasse's book and redacted specifically for this website. Please do not copy or use the content of these pages without first gaining permission.

Hanna Glasse's Fifth Chapter

CHAP. V.
To dreſs FISH.

As to boiled fiſh of all ſorts, you have full directions in the Lent chapter. But here we can fry fiſh much better, becauſe we have beef-dripping, or hog's lard.
     Obſerve always in the frying of any ſort of fiſh ; firſt that you dry your fiſh very well in a clean cloth, then flour it. Let your ſtew-pan your fry them in be very nice and clean, and put in as much beef-dripping, or hog's lard, as will almoſt cover your fiſh ; and be ſure it boils before you put in your fiſh. Let it fry quick, and let it be of a fine light brown, but not too dark a colour. Have your fiſh-ſlice ready, and if there is occaſion turn it : when it is enough, take it up, and lay a coarſe cloth on a diſh, on which lay your fiſh, to drain all the greaſe from it ; if your fry parſley, do it quick, and take great care to whip it out of the pan as ſoon as it is criſp, or it will loſe its fine colour. Take great care that your dripping be very nice and clean. You have directions in the eleventh chapter, how to make it fit for uſe, and have it always in readineſs.
      Some love fiſh in batter ; then you muſt beat an egg fine, and dip your fiſh in juſt as you are going to put it in the pan ; or as good a batter as any, is a little ale and flour beat up, juſt as you are ready for it, and dip the fiſh, to fry it.

Fiſh-ſauce with lobſter.

FOR ſalmon or turbot, broiled cod or haddock, &c. nothing is better than fine butter melted thick ; and take a lobſter, bruiſe the body of the lobſter in the butter, and cut the fleſh into little pieces ; ſtew it all together, and give it a boil. If you would have your ſauce very rich, let one half be rich beef-gravy, and the other half melted butter with the lobſter ; but the gravy, I think, takes away the ſweetneſ of the butter and lobſter, and the fine flavour of the fiſh.

To make ſhrimp-ſauce.

TAKE a pint of beef-gravy, and half a pint of ſhrimps, thicken it with a good piece of butter rolled in flour. Let the gravy be well ſeaſoned, and let it boil.

To make oyſter-ſauce.

TAKE half a pint of large oyſters, liquor and all ; put them into a ſauce-pan, with two or three blades of mace, and twelve whole pepper-corns ; let them ſimmer over a low fire, till the oyſters are fine and plump, then carefully with a fork take out the oyſters from the liquor and ſpice, and let the liquor boil five or ſix minutes ; then ſtrain the liquor, waſh out the ſauce-pan clean, and put the oyſters and liquor into the ſauce-pan again, with half a pint of gravy, and half a pound of butter juſt rolled in a little flour. You may put in two ſpoonfuls of white wine, keep it ſtirring till the ſauce boils, and all the butter is melted.

To make anchovy-ſauce.

TAKE a pint of gravy, put in an anchovy, take a quarter of a pound of butter rolled in a little flour, and ſtir all together till it boils. You may add a little juice of a lemon, catchup, red wine, and walnut-liquor, juſt as you pleaſe.
     Plain butter melted thick, with a ſpoonful of walnut-pickle, or catchup, is good ſauce for anchovy ; in ſhort you may put as many things as you fancy into ſauce ; all other ſauce for fiſh you have in the Lent chapter.

To dreſs a brace of carp.

FIRST knock the carp on the head, ſave all the blood you can, ſcale it, and then gut it ; waſh the carp in a pint of red wine, and the rows ; have ſome water boiling, with a handful of ſalt, a little horſe-raddiſh, and a bundle of ſweet-herbs ; put in your carp, and boil it ſoftly. Whe it is boiled, drain it well over the hot water ; in the mean time, ſtrain the wine through a ſieve, put it and the blood into a ſauce-pan with a pint of good gravy, a little mace, twelve corns of black and twelve of white pepper, ſix cloves, an anchovy, an onion, and a little bundle of ſweet-herbs. Let them ſimmer very ſoftly a quarter of an hour, then ſtrain it, put it into the ſauce-pan again, and add to two ſpoonſfuls of catchup and a quarter of a pound of butter rolled in a little flour, half a ſpoonful of catchup and a quarter of a pound of butter rolled in a little flour, half a ſpoonful of muſhroom-juice : ſtir all together, and let it boil. Boil one half of the rows ; the other half beat up with an egg, half a nutmeg grated, a little lemon-peel cut fine, and a little ſalt. Beat all well together, and have ready ſome nice beef-dripping boiling in a ſtew-pan, into which drop your row, and fry them in little cakes, about as big as a crown-piece, of a fine light brown, and ſome ſippeets cut three corner-ways, and fried criſp ; a few oyſters, if you have them, dipped in a little batter and fried brown, and a good handful of parſley fried green.
     Lay the fiſh in the diſh, the boiled rows on each ſide, the ſippets ſtanding round the carp ; pour the ſauce boiling hot over the fiſh ; lay the fried rows and oyſters, with parſley and ſcraped horſe-raddiſh and lemon betwee, all round the diſh, the reſt of the cakes and oyſters lay in the diſh, and ſend it to table hot. If you would have the ſauce white, put in white-wine, and good ſtrong veal-gravy, with the above ingredients. Dreſſed as in the Lent chapter, is full as good. if your beer is not bitter.
     As to dreſſing, a pike, and all other fiſh, you have it in the Lent chapter ; only this, when you dreſs them with a pudding, you may add a little beef-ſuet cut very fine, and good gravy in the ſauce. This is a better way then ſteweing them in the gravy.

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