Page:Art of Cookery 1774 edition.djvu/267

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
made Plain and Easy.
229

meg pepper beat fine, and grated bread. Work all these together into a body, with the yolks of eggs, lay it all over the fleshy part, and a little more pepper and salt over the salmon; so roll it up into a collar, and bind it with broad tape, then boil it in water, salt, and vinegar; but let the liquor boil first, then put in your collars, a bunch of sweet herbs, sliced ginger and nutmeg; let it boil, but not too fast. It will take near two hours boiling. When it is enough, take it up into your sousing-pan and when the pickle is cold, put it to your salmon, and let it stand in it till used, or otherwise you may pot it. Fill it up with clarified butter, as you pot fowls; that way will keep longest.

To collar eels.

TAKE your eel and cut it open, take out the bones, cut off the head and tail, lay the eel flat on the dresser, and shred some sage as fine as possible, and mix with it black pepper beat, grated nutmeg, and salt, lay it al over the eel, roll it up hard in little cloths; and tie both ends tight; then set over the fire some water, with pepper and salt, five or six cloves, three or four blades of mace, a bay leaf or two. Boil it, bones, head, and tail well together; then take out your heads and tails, put in your eels and let them boil till they are tender; then take them out, and boil the liquor longer, till you think there is enough to cover them. Take it off, and when cold pour it over the eels, and cover it close. Don't take off the cloths till you use them.

To pickle or bake herrings.

SCALE and wash them clean, cut off the heads, take out the roes, or wash them clean, and put them in again just as you like. Season them with a little mace and cloves beat, a very little beaten pepper and salt, lay them in a deep pan, lay two or three bay-leaves between each lay, then put in half vinegar and half water, or rape vinegar. Cover it close with a brown-paper, and send it to the oven to bake; let it stand till cold, then pour off that pickle, and put fresh vinegar and water, and send them to the oven again to bake. Thus do sprats; but don't bake them the second time. Some use only all-spice, but that is not so good.

To pickle or bake mackrel, to keep all the year.

GUT them, cut off their heads, cut them open, dry them very well with a clean cloth, take a pan which they will lie cleverly in, lay a few bay-leaves at the bottom, rub the bone with a