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

a smaller quantity of fat. When done, lay it on a dish and pour the following sauce over it: A tablespoonful of minced herbs, the same of parsley, a pinch of seasoning, an ounce of fresh butter, and small glass of white wine all boiled together. PART IV. _FISH SAUCES_. A few plain directions as to the making of sauces suitable for serving with fish, will, we think, not be unwelcome. First as to that sauce commonly known as-- =Melted Butter.=--In France this sauce is what its name declares it to be, viz., a tureen half full of pure butter dissolved, in strong contrast to that generally found on English tables, where a mixture of milk and water thickened with flour, is usually dignified with this title. True "butter sauce" belongs to neither of these extremes. As one ladleful will generally suffice for each individual partaking of fish, it is as well to measure into the saucepan the number of ladlefuls that will be required, so that there shall be no waste of good material. Having ascertained how much liquid will be in the saucepan when the sauce is finished, pour away the water and proceed to divide the materials you will use. A small lump of butter should be allowed for each ladleful of sauce. Take one lump and let it dissolve, then stir in a heaped tablespoonful of dry flour, mix these quite smoothly together, with the addition of cold water, until like a cream; add boiling water to make half the quantity of sauce, then stir in by degrees the remaining lumps of butter. If the sauce shows signs of looking oily, a little cold water will correct it. A pinch of salt should be added, or salt butter may be used. =Maître d'Hôtel Butter.=--For this prepare a little melted butter, by mixing an ounce of butter with the same weight of flour, and cold water to make it smooth. Dilute with a quarter of a pint of white stock. Let this mixture boil, then stir in a tablespoonful of chopped parsley, one of sweet herbs, half