A Handbook of Fish Cookery: How to buy, dress, cook, and eat fish

Beat in slowly half a pint of oil and two spoonsful of vinegar. =Lobster Butter, and Sauce.=--The spawn and coral of a freshly-boiled hen lobster, pounded together in a mortar with twice their quantity of fresh butter and a spice of cayenne pepper, makes lobster butter. It should be of a bright red colour. Keep in small pots well covered, and in a cool place. For the sauce, make some good plain melted butter, pick out a few flakes of the white meat of a lobster, then stir in a spoonful of the lobster butter. Do not boil it after this, or the colour will be spoilt. The juice of a lemon may be added if liked. =Mackerel, Broiled.=--For a perfectly fresh, small, plump mackerel, this is _the_ mode of cooking _par excellence_. Cleanse the fish thoroughly, and dry them first with a cloth, then by hanging up in the open air. Split them open flat and carefully remove the backbone. Smear them with salad oil, sprinkle them with salt and pepper, wrap each one in a fold of buttered note-paper, and lay on the gridiron. Broil carefully over a clear _red_ fire for twenty minutes, turning occasionally. They may be broiled without the paper, in which case fifteen minutes will be more than long enough, but will taste less delicate and be less easily digested. Lay on a hot dish, cover closely, and serve with or without _maître d'hôtel_ butter. =Mackerel, Baked.=--Large mackerel are preferable for this mode. After cleaning and taking out the roes, fill with the following forcemeat:--Three ounces of breadcrumbs, an ounce of finely-shred beef suet, the same of chopped parsley, a pinch of savoury herbs, minced chives, and pepper and salt. Bind the mixture with a beaten egg. When the fish has been filled, sew the sides together with strong thread, lay it on a baking dish, dredge a little flour over it, and pour over either some melted butter or clarified fat. Bake twenty minutes. Serve with the same butter to the which some chopped parsley has been added, or with a _sauce piquante_.