The accomplisht cook Part 66

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 b.u.t.ter, 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, b.u.t.ter, and a race of slic't ginger, stew them well together, and serve them on sippets of French bread, run them over with beaten b.u.t.ter, slic't lemon and barberries, and garnish the dish with the same.

_Sturgeon b.u.t.tered._

Boil a rand, tail, or jole in water and salt, boil it tender, and serve it with beaten b.u.t.ter 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, b.u.t.ter, and white-wine; being finely stewed, serve it on sippets with beaten b.u.t.ter, 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 b.a.l.l.s, 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 b.u.t.ter, 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 b.u.t.ter, and serve it with b.u.t.ter and vinegar, being either beaten with slic't lemon, or juyce of oranges.

_Otherways._

Broil it on white paper, either with b.u.t.ter 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 b.u.t.ter, some beaten b.u.t.ter, 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 b.u.t.ter; 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 b.u.t.ter, 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 b.u.t.ter, and being roasted serve them on the gravy that droppeth from them, beaten b.u.t.ter, 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 b.u.t.ter 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 b.u.t.ter, close them up and bake them, being baked, liquor them with b.u.t.ter, white-wine, and sugar, ice them, and serve them up hot.