The angler's vade mecum, or, A compendious, yet full, discourse of angling discovering the aptest methods and ways ... for the catching all manner of fresh-water fish ... : together with a brief discourse of fish ponds, and not only the easiest but most palatable ways of dressing all sorts of fish ... / by a lover of angling.

CHAP. XXXIX. Manner of Dressing Fish.

ALthough I cannot pretend to the least Skill in Cookery; yet I will not deny, but that (as the times phrase it) I understand somthing of Eating, and very well know that the Angler when from Home, and would Pleasure his Friends with the fruit of his Re∣creations, frequently meets with such ill Hus∣wives at ordinary Inns or Ale-houses (being often enforc't to take up his quarters at such places for the conveniences of the River he Angles at) as renders by their ill Dressing,

the most dilicate Fish, not onely ingrateful to the Palate, but even nauseous to the Stomach; to obviate which inconvenience, I will here furnish the Angler (out of Mr. Walton, inge∣nious Mr. Cotton, and others) what the easiest, and best ways of dressing fresh water Fish; so that upon such stress, he may direct his Land∣lady so well, as (if shee'l observe him) nei∣ther to shame her self, nor spoil a good Dish of Fish; and I will first teach you how to dress the Chub: he being a Fish that has lost much reputation for want of good dressing.

How to dress a Chub.

1. First scale him, and then wash him clean, and take out his Guts, and to that end, make the hole little and as near to his Guils you may conveniently, and especially make clean his Throat from Grass and Weeds that are usual in it (for if that be not clean it will make him tast sowr) having so done, put some sweet herbs into his Belly, and then tye him with a or 3 splinters to a Spit, and roast him, basted often with Vinegar, or rather Verjuice and Butter, with good store of Salt mixt with it. This way drys up the fluid watry humor with which all Chubs do abound. A Tench may be thus drest like wise.

Another way to dress a Chub.

2. When you have scaled the Chub and cut of his Tail and Fins and washed him very clean, then chine or slit him through the mid∣dle, as a Salt Fish is usually cut, then give

him 3 or 4 cuts or scotches on the back with your Knife and broil him on Charcoal, Wood∣coal, or Coal that are free from Smoak, and all the time he's broiling bast him with best sweet Butter, and good store of Salt mixt with it, and to this add a little Thyme cut exceed∣ing small or bruised into the Butter. Drest in this manner, the watry tast is taken away for which many except against him: they are to be eaten the same day they are caught, and forget not to wash his Throat very clean, and his Body must not be washed after gutted; as indeed no Fish should be, but wiped clean with a linnen cloath. After this manner, you may dress other Fish as Trouts, Barbels, &c.

Another way to dress a Chub.

3. Set a Kettle over the fire with some Beer Vinegar and Water, so much as will cover the Fish, and therein put Fennel and good store of Salt, and when the water boils put in the Chub (he being first scald, gutted and throat made clean) and when boil'd e∣nough, take him out and lay him on a board, for the water to run from him, having so rested one hour, pick all the Fish from the Bones, and lay it on a Pewter dish, which set on a Chafing-dish of Coals, and put good store of Butter to it, which when the Fish is very well hot, serve it up, and eat it as min∣ced Veal.

To dress Trouts the common way.

4. First with a Knife gently scrape all the

slime off them, then wash them in Salt and Water, then gut them, and wipe them very clean with a linnen cloth, then flower them with Wheat-flower, and fry them very well in Sweet-butter, until they be brown and crisp; then take them out of the frying-pan, and lay them on a pewter dish very well heated be∣fore then Fire; then pour off the Batter the Trouts were fryed in, into the Grease-pot, and not on the Fish; then fry good store of Parsly and young Sage in other Sweet-butter, until they be crisp, then take out the Herbs and lay them on the Fish; but put not any of the Butter, wherein the Herbs were fried, on the Fish. Then beat up some Sweet-butter, with three or four spoonfuls of boiling hot spring-water (an Anchovis being first there∣in dissolved, if you can easily have them) and pour it on the Fish, and serve it up, garnishing your dish with Straw-berry or other green leaves. * 1.1 This is the way to fry Trouts or Salmon, Smelts, under a Foot-long, or Gray∣lings, Roches, Dates, Breams, or Gudgeons, their Scales first scraped off, and you may thus fry small Eels, after they are flead, gutted, wiped clean and cut into pieces of four or five Inches long. You may also fry this way Pearches and small Pikes, &c.

The best way of dressing a Trout.

Take the Trout, wash and dry him with a

clean Napkin, then open him, and having ta∣ken out his Guts, and all the Blood, wipe him very clean within, but wash him not, and give him three scotches with a Knife to the Bone on one side only. After which take a clean Kettle, and put in as much hard stale Beer (but it must not be flat or dead) Vinegar, and a little white wine and water, as will cover the Fish you intend to boil, then throw into the Liquor a good quantity of Salt, the rind of a Lemon, a handful of slic't Horse Radish root, with a handsome little Fagot of Parsley, Rose∣mary, time and Winter-savory. Then set your Kettle, upon a quick fire of Wood, and let your Liquor boil up to the height, be∣fore you put in your Fish, and then if there be many, put them in one by one, that they may not so cool the Liquor as to make it fall; and whilst your Fish is boyling, beat up the butter for the Sawce with a Ladle full or two of the Liquor its boyling in, and being boyled e∣nough, immediately powr the Liquor from the Fish, and being laid in a Dish, powr your Butter upon it, and strewing it plentifully o∣ver with shaved Horse-Radish, and a little pounded Ginger, garnish the sides of your Dish and the Fish it self with a slic't Lemon or two, and serve it up. In the same man∣ner you may dress a Salmon-Moat under half a yard long: * 1.2 likewise a Grayling, Carp, Bream, and large Roch may be drest after the same man∣ner,

only they are to be scal'd, which a Trout never is, and that must be done very lightly and carefully with a Knife for bruising the Fish, also a Pike may be thus drest, the slime being first well scourd off with Water and Salt: so likewise may a Pearch be drest, but before you powr on the Sawce, blanch off the Pearches Skin.

To Dress Salmon.

6. You may fry pieces of Salmon, or a Chine of Salmon, as you are directed for the Trout, at Sect. 4. of this Chapter.

To Stew Salmon or other Fish.

7. Take a Salmon, draw it, scotch the back; put it whole or in pieces into a Stew∣pan, and thereunto put some Beer-Vinegar, white Wine and Water, as much as will cover it, put also to it some whole Cloves, large Mace, slic'd Ginger, a Bay Leaf, a bundle of the tops of Rosemary, Time, sweet Marjo∣ram, winter Savory, add pick't Parsly, some whole Peper, Salt Butter, and an Orange in halves, stew all leisurely together, and when well stewed, dish them with carved Sippets, lay on the spices and slc'd Lemon, run it over with Butter, beaten up with some of the Li∣quor it was stewed in, garnish the dish with fearsed Manchet, &c. Thus you may stew any other Fish, as Carp, pike, Bream, &c.

The best way to boyl a Carp.

8. Take a Carpy (alive if possible) scour him and rub him clean with Water and Salt,

but scale him not, then open him, and put him with his Blood and his Liver (which you must save when you open him) into a small Pot or Kettle, then take sweet Marjoram, Time and Parsly, of each half a handful, a sprig of Rosemary and another of Savory, bind them into two or three small bundles, and put them to your Carp, with 4 or 5 whole Onyons, twenty pickled Oysters, and three Anchovies, then pour upon your Carp, as much Claret Wine as will cover him; and season the Claret well with Salt, Cloves, brui∣sed Mace, slic'd Nutmeg, and the rinds of O∣ranges and Lemons, that done, cover the Pot, and set it on a quick fire, till it be sufficiently boyled, then take out the Carp and lay it with the broth in the Dish, and pour upon it a quarter of a pound of good fresh Butter, mel∣ted and beaten with half a dozen spoonfuls of the Broth, the Yealks of two or three Eggs, and some of the Herbs shred; Garnish the Dish with Lemons and so serve it up. If you be not willing to be at the charges of the Wine, you may, in its stead, put good Sider, and for want of that, some white Wine, good Beer-vi∣negar and Water will serve very well, instead of the Claret, you may also omit the pickled Oysters and Anchovies, and it will, notwith∣standing such omission, eat very well.

In the same manner you may dress other Fish, only you must for others omit the Blood and Liver: As Pike Bream, Trout, Pearch,

Grayling, &c. Those that have scales being scal'd, and put them into the Liquor before it boyls.

The common way of boyling Fish, is to draw, scale them, if scales, and wipe them clean, and then to set over a Kettle with as much water as will cover the Fish, and to put therein some Beer-Vinegar, good store of sweet Fennel and Salt, and when the Liquor boils very well up, to put in the Fish, and when boyled enough, let the water run off, and lay them on a hot Powter Dish, and serve them up with beaten Butter, and some shred Parsly boyled by it self.

How to Fry Eels.

9. First take the Eel, flea him, gut him, and wash him clean, then cut him into the lengths of three or four Inches a piece, then set over water in a skellet, and let it boyl, wherein you must put good store of salt, and some Fennel or Rosemary, when this water boils, put in the peices of Eel, and let them therein be almost half boyl'd, then take them out, putting them into a Cullendar, then flower and fry them, and proceed farther, as you are instructed to fry a Trout, at Sect. 4. of this Chapter for a Trout.

The best way of Dressing a large Eel.

10. First wash the Eel, (which should be a large one) in water and salt, then pull off his skin below his Vent or Navel, and not much farther: having done that, take out his guts

as clean as you can, but wash him not, but wipe him clean within with a linnen Cloth, and then give him three or four scotches with a Knife, then put into his belly and those scotch∣es sweet Herbs (which are the tops of Rose∣mary, sweet Marjoram, Winter-savory, strip∣ped Time, and picked Parsly) an Anchovy and a little Nutmeg grated or cut very small, the Herbs and Anchovys cut small and mix∣ed with good Butter and Salt; having done this, then pull his skin over him, all but his Head, which you are to cut off, to the end you may tye his skin about that part where his Head grew, and it must be so tyed as to keep all his moisture within his skin: and having done this, with Tape or Pack-thread tie him to a Spit, and Roast him leisurely, and bast him with Salt and Water till his skin breaks, and then with Butter, and having roasted him enough, let what was put into his belly be mixed with beaton butter for the sawce.

Note, That when you put the Herbs and Anchovy into his Belly, they are first to be cut very small before they be put into the Eels Belly and mixt with Butter and Salt, and if you omit the Anchovy, yet the Eel will eat well enough.

To roast Eels.

11. Take Eels, flea, gut, and wipe them clean, and cut them in pieces four or five Inches long, put them on a small spit cross∣ways,

and between each piece put some large sage leaves, or Bay-leaves: then roast, and bast them, and when enough, serve them up with Butter beaten up in 3 or 4 spoonfuls of boiling-water, and the yolk of an Egg or two, if you like Eggs.

Spitch Cock or broiled Eels.

12. Take a large Eel, splat it down the back, and joint-bone, being drawn, and the Blood washed out, leave on the Skin, and cut it in 4 pieces equally, Salt them, and bast them with butter, broil them on a soft Fire, and being finely broild, serve them on a clean dish with beaten butter.

Stewed Eels.

13. Draw them, flay them, and wipe them clean, and cut them in pieces 3 or 4 Inches long, and put them into a Posnet or Skillet with fair water, a little White-wine, Verjuice, or instead thereof Beer-Vinegar, as much as will well cover them, butter, some large Mace, Pepper, a quarter of a pound of Currans, Salt, two, or three Onions, three or four∣spoonfuls of Yeast, and a bundle of Sweet∣herbs. Stew all these together leasurely till the Fish be very tender, then dish them, and put to the Broth a quarter of a pound of But∣ter, pour it on the Fish, sipped it, and serve it up.

In like manner you may stew them in an Oven, cutting them in peices, and setting them an the end in an earthen pot. boing first sea∣soned

with Pepper, Salt, Cloves, Nutmeg, sweet Herbs chop'd small (Currans, Butter,) but instead of the Currans and Butter, some only put in 2 or 3 spoonfuls of fair water, and 4 or 5 Cloves of Garlick, and so bake them and serve them on Sippets.

To Collar Eels.

Take large Eels, slay, draw and wipe them clean with a Linnen Cloth, part them down the back, and take out the back-bone, then take Thyme, Parsley, sweet Marjoram, and a little of the tops of Rosemary, mince them small, and mingle them with Nutmeg, Gin∣ger, Pepper and Salt; then strew them on the inside of the Eels, then rowl them up like a Collar of Brawn, and put them in a clean Linnen Cloth tied at both ends, and boil them tender with Beer-Vinegar, Water and Salt, but let the Liquor boyl before you put in the Eels; when boyl'd enough, take them out of the Liquor, and let them and the Liquor be cold, and put them in again, and you may therein keep them 3 or 4 days or more, and you may serve it either in Collars, or in round slices with Sawcers of Vinegar.

To Roast a Pike.

14 First open your Pike at the Gills, and if need be, cut also a little Slit towards the Belly, out of these take his Guts, and keep his Liver, which you are to shred very small with Thyme, sweet Marjoram, and a little Winter Savory, to these put some pickled

Oysters and two or three Anchovies, both these last whole (for the Anchovies will melt, and the Oysters should not) to these you must add also a pound of sweet Butter, which you are to mix with the Herbs that are shred, and let them all be well Salted (if the Pike be more than a yard long, then you may put into these herbs more than a pound of But∣ter, if he be less, then loss will suffice) these being thus mixt with a blade or 2 of Mace, must be put into the Pikes Belly, and the Belly so sowed up, as to keep all the Butter in his belly, if it be possible, if not, then as much of it as you possibly can, but take not off the scales; then you are to thrust the spit through his month out at his tail, then take 4, 5, or 6 Split-sticks or very thin Laths, and a conve∣nient quantity of Tape or Filleting, these are to be tyed round about the Pikes body from his head to his Tail, and the Tape tyed some∣what thick to prevent his breaking or falling off from the Spit, let him be roasted very lea∣surely and basted often with Claret Wine and Anchovies and Butter mixt together, and al∣so with what moisture falls from him into the Pan, when roasted sufficiently you are to hold under him (when you unwind or cut the Tape that ties him) such a Dish as you purpose to eat him out of; and let him fall into it, with the Sawce that is roasted in his Belly, and by this means the Pike will be kept unbroken and compleat, then to the Sawce

which was within, you are to add a fit quan∣tity of the best Butter, and to squeeze there∣in the juyce of 3 or 4 Oranges; lastly, you may either put into the Pike with the Oysters 3 or 4 Cloves of Garlick, and take it whole our, when the Pike is taken off the Spit, or to give the Sawce a hogo, let the Dish (into which you let the Pike fall) be rubbed with it; the using, or not using the Garlick is left to your discretion.

15. Whensoever you do Butter for Fishes sawce, let it be very well beaten up with 3 or 4 spoonfuls of boyling Spring water, and if you desire it to be thick, dissolve a Yolk of an Egg therein well beaten with the Butter, and if you desire the Sawce to be better relished than ordinary, put an Anchovy in the water, and let it dissolve before you beat up the But∣ter, or boil Parsly by it self, and shred it, and ••eat it up with the Butter and Water, and its a good Sawce. Trouts, Chubs, Carp, Bearch, Bream, Roch, Gudgeon and Grayling should be eat the very same day they are caught, else they are worth little.

Finally, let me tell you, That in the course of my Observations, I know amongst all sorts ••f Fish, none differ amongst themselves in taste more than Eels, for I have eat of them, taken ••ut of above 30 several Rivers, and amongst ••he rest of the Thames, Severn and Trent Eel; ••et none that I ever met with, were to be com∣••ared for goodness (although not large) and

deliciousness of Taste to the Eels caught in a small River in Lancashire called Irk, which is composed of 3 small Brooks that have their conflux near unto Middleton Hall, where it assumes the name of Irk, and thence descends through Blakely and Crumpsall, &c. to Man∣chester; where under Chetham's Hospital, it mingles its waters with the Irwell, and there∣unto pays the Tribute of its Name. Neither are the Inhabitants on its Bank partial in their Judgments, by reason of their vicinity; but its highly applauded for its excellent taste, by persons meer Strangers, and such as had the estimation of curious Palats, and having often enquired of the Neighbouring People to it, what might be the reason, they have unani∣mously ascribed it to the numerousness of Fulling Mills that stand on that River, and say that the Fat, Oyl and Grease scowred out of the Cloth, make the Eels pallatable and fat, above other River Eels.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Graylings, Pear∣ches, small Pikes or Jakes, Roch, Eel, Gudgeon to fry.
• * 1.2

  Grayling, Carp, Bream, Roch, Pike, Pearh, Salmon, Moat,