How to Boil Fish | Ch IV – To Boil, Bake, Steam, Poach, Fry, Grill, Stew and Roast, and To Cook Fish “En Pappilotte” – Marinade and Stuffing for Baked Fish – Time Table for Cooking Fish – Oven Temperature
IN boiling fish remember that the water in the fish kettle must be absolutely boiling before the fish is put into it, otherwise the juices of the fish would be drawn into the water. It should also be slightly salted (one teaspoonful of salt to three pints of water), and flavoured with vinegar (one tablespoonful to three pints of water). The water must be kept boiling for five minutes after the fish is put into it, and there should be sufficient to cover it; then the pan can be drawn aside and the contents allowed to simmer until the fish is done. The scum that arises should be skimmed off, and the fish removed from the water directly it is cooked.
The usual time allowed for boiling fish is ten minutes for every lb. of thick fish to be cooked, five minutes for every lb. of thin, but as so much depends on the size and thickness of the fish, it is well to test it from time to time with a skewer. As soon as the flesh parts easily from the bone it is ready to be removed from the kettle. There should be no redness near the backbone of a sufficiently cooked fish.
Salt fish, such as cod, after being soaked in water for some hours, should be soaked again in skim milk or milk and water for several hours more, in all twenty-four hours, and finally cooked, if possible, in half milk, half water. If it has already been soaked for some time before you obtain it from the fishmonger’s, only soak in milk and water.
In boiling it is treated differently to fresh fish, and should be placed in a fish-kettle with a drainer, and entirely covered with cold or cool milk and water or plain water. Allow this to come slowly to the boil, keeping it well skimmed as the scum rises, then at once draw the pan to the side of the fire, and cook slowly till ready only do not on any account allow it to actually boil again, or the fish will be spoilt. Never let the fish remain soaking after it is cooked. Drain it at once.
If you have not a fish kettle with a strainer, tie the fish up in a clean napkin; it can then be lifted out easily when cooked, and will not break in pieces. Be careful to strain every drop of water off before serving; nothing looks nastier than a fish which has not been sufficiently drained.
Fresh Fish are very good when boiled in a vegetable stock, consisting of 4 oz. of onions sliced, 4 oz. of carrots sliced, 1 oz. of parsley, a bunch of herbs, 1 oz. of butter, and 1 oz. of salt. Stir all together for ten minutes, then add 2 quarts of water and ½ pint (or less if preferred) of vinegar, simmer for one hour, and strain. If better liked, a mixture of white wine and water in equal parts can be used instead of the vinegar and water. When cooked in wine or stock, when serving, some of the boiling stock may be poured round the fish, which then looks better if served in a deep earthenware dish.
