The accomplisht cook, or The art and mystery of cookery.: Wherein the whole art is revealed in a more easie and perfect method, then hath been publisht in any language. Expert and ready wayes for the dressing of all sorts of flesh, fowl, and fish; the raising of pastes; the best directions for all manner of kickshaws, and the most poinant sauces; with the tearms of carving and sewing. An exact account of all dishes for the season; with other a la mode curiosities. Together with the lively illustrations of such necessary figures as are referred to practice. / Approved by the fifty years experience and industry of Robert May, in his attendance on several persons of honour.

Section 17. OR. The fifth Section of Fish.

Shewing the best way to Dress Eels, Conger, Lump, and Soals.

To boil Eels to be eaten hot.

DRaw them, fley them; and wipe them clean, then put them in a posnet or stew-pan, cut them three inches long, and put to them some white wine, white wine vinegar, a little fair water, salt, large mace, and a good big onion, stew the foresaid together with a little butter; being finely stewed and tender, dish them on carved sippets, or on ssices of French bread, and serve them with boild currans boild by themselves, slic't lemon, barberries, and scrape on sugar.

Otherwayes.

Draw and fley them, cut them into pieces, and boil them in a little fair water, white wine, an anchove, some oyster liquor, large mace, two or three cloves bruised, salt, spi∣nage, sorrel, and parsley grosly minced with a little onion, and pepper, dish them upon fine carved sippets; then broth them with a little of that broth, and beat up a lear with

some good butter, the yolk of an egg or two, and the rinde and slices of a lemon.

To stew Eels.

FLey them, cut them into pieces; and put them into a skillet with butter, verjuyce, and fair water as much as will cover them, some large mace, pepper, a quarter of a pound of currans, two or three onions, three or four spoon∣fuls of yeast, and a bundle of sweet herbs, stew all these to∣gether till the fish be very tender, then dish them, and put to the broth a quarter of a pound of butter, a little salt, and sugar, pour it on the fish, sippet it, and serve it hot.

To stew Eels in an Oven.

CUt them in pieces, being drawn and fleyed, then season them with pepper, salt, and a few sweet herbs chop∣ped small, put them into an earthen pot, and set them up an end, put to them four or five cloves of garlick, and two or three spoonfuls of fair water, bake them, and serve them on sippets.

To stew Eels otherwayes to be eaten hot.

DRaw the eels, fley them, and cut them into pieces three inches long, then put them into a broad mouthed pipkin with as much white wine and water as will cover them, put to them some stripped time, sweet marjo∣ram, savory, picked parsley, and large mace, stew them well together, and serve them on fine sippets, stick bay∣leaves round the dish, garnish the meat with flic't lemon; and the dish with fine grated manchet.

To stew whole Eels to eat hot.

TAke three good eels, draw, fley them, and truss them round, (or in pieces) then have a quart of white

wine, three half pints of wine vinegar, a quart of water, some salt, and a handful of rosemary and time bound up hard, when the liquor boils put in the eels with some whole pepper, and large mace; being boiled serve them with some of the broth, beat up thick with some good butter, and slic't lemon, dish them on sippets with some grapes, barberries, or gooseberries.

Otherwayes.

Take three good eels, draw, fley, and scotch them with your knife, truss them round, or cut them in pieces, and fry them in clarified butter, then stew them between two dish∣es, put to them some two or three spoonfuls of claret or white wine, some sweet butter, two or three slices of an orange, some salt, and slic't nutmeg; stew all well toge∣ther, dish them, pour on the sauce, and run it over with beaten butter, and slices of fresh orange; and put fine sip∣pets round the dish.

To dress Eels in Stoffado.

TAke two good eels, draw, fley them, and cut them in pieces three inches long, put to them half as much claret wine as will cover them, or white wine, wine vine∣gar, or elder vinegar, some whole cloves, large mace, gross pepper, slic't ginger, salt, four or five cloves of garlick; being put into a pipkin that will contain it, put to them also three or four sprigs of sweet herbs, as rosemary, time, or sweet marjoram, two or three bay leaves, and some par∣sley; cover up the pipkin, and paste the cover, then stew it in an oven, in one hour it will be baked, serve it hot for dinner or supper on fine sippets of French bread, and the spices upon it, the herbs, slic't lemon, and lemon-peel, and run it over with beaten butter.

To souce Eels in Collers.

TAke a good large silver eel, flay it (or not) take out the back-bone, and wash and wipe away the blood with a dry cloth, then season it with beaten nutmeg and salt, cut off the head and roul in the tail; being seasoned in the inside, binde it up in a fine white cloth close and streight; then have a large skillet or pipkin, put in it some fair water and white wine, of each a like quantity, and some salt, when it boils put in the eel; being boild tender take it up, and let it cool, when it is almost cold keep it in sauce for your use in a pipkin close covered, and when you will serve it take it out of the cloth, pare it, and dish it in a clean dish or plate, with a sprig of rosemary in the middle of the coller; garnish the dish with jelly, barberries, and le∣mon.

If you will have it jelly, put in a piece of isingglass after the eel is taken up, and boil the liquor down to a jelly.

To Jelly Eels otherwayes.

FLey an eel, and cut into rowels, wash it clean from the blood, and boil it in a dish with some white wine, and white wine vinegar, as much water as wine and vinegar and no more of the liquor then will just cover it; being tender boild with a little salt, take it up and boil down the liquor with a piece of isingglass, a blade of mace, a little juyce of orange and sugar; then the eel being dished, run the clearest of the jelly over it.

To souce Eels otherwayes in Collers.

TAke two fair eels, fley them, and part them down the back, take out the back bone; then take time, par∣sley,

and sweet marjoram, mince them small, and mingle them with nutmeg, ginger, pepper, and salt, strow it on the inside of the eels, then roul them up like a coller of brawn, and put them in a clean cloth, binde the ends of the cloth, and boil them tender with vinegar, white wine, salt, and water; but let the liquor boil before you put in the eels.

To souce Eel otherwayes in a Coller or Roll.

TAke a large great eel, and scoure it with a handful of salt, then split it down the back, take out the back∣bone and the guts, wipe out the blood clean, and season the eel with pepper, nutmeg, salt, and some sweet herbs min∣ced and strowed upon it, roul it up, and binde it up close with packthread like a coller of brawn, boil it in water, salt, vinegar, and two or three blades of mace, boil it half an hour; and being boild, put to it a slic't lemon, and keep it in the same liquor; when you serve it, serve it in a coller, or cut it out in round slices, lay six or seven in a dish, and garnish it in the dish with parssey and barberries, or serve with it vinegar in saucers.

To souce Eels otherwayes cut in pieces, or whole.

TAke two or three great eels, scour them in salt, draw them and wash them clean, cut them in equal pieces three inches long, and scotch them cross on both sides, put them in a dish with wine, vinegar, and salt, then have a kettle over the fire with fair water and a bundle of sweet herbs, two or three great onions, and some large mace; when the kettle boils put in the eels, wine, vinegar, and salt; being finely boild and tender, drain them from the liquor, and when they are cold take some of the broth and a pint of white wine, boil it up with some saffron beaten

to powder, or it will not colour the wine; then take out the spices of the liquor where it was boild, and put it in the last broth made for it, leave out the onions and herbs of the first broth, and keep it in the last.

To make a Hash of Eels.

TAke a good large eel, or two, fley, draw, and wash them, bone and mince them, then season them with cloves and mace, mix with them some good large oyfters, a whole onion, salt, a little white wine, and an anchove, stew them upon a soft fire, and serve them on fine carved sippets, garnish them with some slic't orange, and run them over with beaten butter thickned with the yolk of an egg or two, some grated nutmeg, and juyce of orange.

To make a Spitch-Cock or broild Eels.

TAke a good large eel, splat it down the back, and joynt the back-bone; being drawn and the blood washed out, leave on the skin, and cut it in four pieces equally, salt them, and baste them with butter, or oyl and vinegar; broil them on a soft fire, and being finely broild, serve them in a clean dish, with beaten butter, and juyce of lemon, or beaten butter, and vinegar, with sprigs of rosemary round about them.

To broil salt Eels.

TAke a salt eel and boil it tender, being fleyed and trust round with scuers, boil it tender on a soft fire, then broil it brown, and serve it in a clean dish with two or three great onions boild whole and tender, and then broild brown; serve them on the eel with oyl and mustard in sau∣cers.

To roast an Eel.

CUt it three inches long, being first fleyed and drawn, split it, put it on a small spit, and roast it, set a dish under it to save the gravy, and roast it fine and brown, then make sauce with the gravy, a little vinegar, salt, pepper, a clove or two, and a little grated parmisan, or old English cheese, or a little buttargo grated; the eel being roasted, blow the fat off the gravy, and put to it a piece of sweet butter, shaking it well together with some salt, put it in a clean dish, lay the eel on it, and some flices of oranges.

To roast Eels otherwayes.

TAke a good large silver eel, draw it, and fley it in pie∣ces of four inches long, spit it on a small spit, with some bay leaves, or large sage leaves between each piece, spit it cross wayes and roast it; being roasted, serve it with beaten butter, beaten with juyce of oranges, lemons, or el∣der vinegar, and beaten nutmeg, or serve it with venison sauce, and dredge it with beaten caraway-seed, cinamon, flour, or grated bread.

To bake Eels in Pie, Dish, or Patty-pan.

TAke good fresh water eels, draw and fley them, cut them in pieces, and season them with pepper, salt, and nutmeg, lay them in a pie with some prunes, currans, grapes, gooseberries, or barberries, large mace, slic't dates, and butter, close it up and bake it, being baked, liquor it with white wine, sugar, and butter, and ice it.

If you bake it in a dish in paste, bake it in cold butter paste, roast the eel and let it be cold, season it with nutmeg, pepper, ginger, cinamon, and salt, put butter on the paste,

and lay on the eel with a few sweet herbs chopped, and grated bisket bread, grapes, currans, dates, large mace, and butter, close it up and bake it, liquor it and ice it.

Otherwayes.

Take good fresh water eels, fley and draw them, season them with nutmeg, pepper, and salt, being cut in pieces lay them in the pie, and put to them some two or three onions in quarters, some butter, large mace, grapes, bar∣berries, or gooseberries, close them up and bake them; be∣ing baked liquor them with beaten butter, beat up thick with the yolks of two eggs, and slices of an orange.

Sometimes you may bake them with a minced onion, some raisins of the sun, and season them with some ginger, pepper, and salt.

To bake Eels otherwayes.

TAke half a dozen good eels, fley them and take out the bones, mince them, and season them with nut∣meg, pepper, and salt, lay some butter in the pie, and lay a lay of eel, and a lay of watered salt eel, cut into great lard as big as your finger, lay a lay of it, and another of minced eels, thus lay six or seven layes, and on the top lay on some whole cloves, slic't nutmeg, butter, and some slices of salt eel, close it up and bake it, being baked fill it up with some clarified butter, and close the vent. Make your pie round according to this form.

[illustration] form of eel pie

To bake Eels with Tenches in a round or square pie to eat cold.

TAke four good large eels fleyed and boned, and six good large tenches, scale, splat, and bone them, cut

off the heads and fins as also of the eels, cut both eels and tenches a handful long, and season them with pepper, salt, and nutmeg; then lay some butter in the bottom of the pie, lay a lay of eels, and then a lay of tench, thus do five or six layings, lay on the top large mace, and whole cloves, and on that butter, close it up and bake it; being baked and cold, fill it up with clarified butter.

Or you may bake them whole, and lay them round in the pie, being fleyed, boned, and seasoned as the former, bake them as you do a lampry, with two or three onions in the middle.

To make minced Pies of an Eel.

TAke a fresh eel, fley it and cut off the fish from the bone, mince it small, and pare two or three wardens or pears, mince of them as much as of the eel, or oysters; temper and season them together with ginger, pepper, cloves, mace, salt, a little sanders, some currans, raisins, prunes, dates, verjuyce, butter, and rose-water.

Minced Eel Pies otherwayes.

TAke a good fresh water eel, fley, draw, and parboil it, then mince the fish being taken from the bones, mince also some pippins, wardens, figs, some great raisins of the sun, season them with cloves, mace, pepper, salt, sugar, saf∣fron prunes, currans, dates on the top, whole raisins, and butter; make pies according to these forms, fill them, close them up and bake them, being baked liquor them with grape verjuyce, slic't lemon, butter, sugar and white wine.

[illustration] forms of minced eel pies

Other minced Eel Pyes.

TAke two or three good large eels being cleansed, mince them and season them with cloves, mace, pepper, nutmeg, salt, and a good big onion in the bottom of your pye, some sweet herbs chopped, and onions, put some gooseberries and butter to it, and fill your pye, close it up and bake it; being baked, liquor it with butter and verjuyce, or strong fish broth, butter, and saffron.

Otherwayes.

Mince some wardens or pears, figs, raisins, prunes, and season them as abovesaid with some spices, but no onions nor herbs, put to them gooseberries, saffron, slic't dates, sugar, verjuyce, rosewater, and butter; then make pyes according to these forms, fill them and bake them, being baked, liquor them with white batter, white wine and su∣gar, and ice them.

[illustration] forms of minced eel pies

To boil Conger to be eaten hot.

TAke a piece of conger being scalded and washed from the blood and slime, lay it in vinegar and salt, with a slice or two of lemon, some large mace, slic't ginger, and two or three cloves; then set some liquor a boiling in a pan or kettle, as much wine and water as will cover it; when the liquor boils put in the fish, with the spices, and salt; when it is boild put in the lemon, and serve the fish on fine carved sippets; then make a leir or sauce with beaten butter, beaten with juyce of oranges or lemons,

serve it with slic't lemon on it, slic't ginger, and barber∣ries; and garnish it with the same.

To stew Conger.

TAke a piece of conger, and cut it into pieces as big as a hens egg, put them in a stew pan or two deep dishes, with some large mace, salt, pepper, slic't nutmeg, some white wine, wine vinegar, as much water, butter, and slic't ginger; stew these well together, and serve them on sip∣pets, with slic't orange, lemon, and barberries, and run them over with beaten butter.

To marinate Conger.

SCald and draw it, cut it into pieces, and fry it in the best sallet oyl you can get; being fryed put it in a little barrel that will contain it; then have some fryed bay leaves, large mace, slic't ginger, and a few whole cloves; lay these between the fish, put to it white wine vinegar, and salt, close up the head and keep it for your use.

To souce Conger.

TAke a good fat conger, draw it at two several vents or holes, being first scalded and the finns shaved off, cut it into three or four pieces; then have a pan of fair water and make it boil, put in the fish, with a good quantity of salt, let it boil very softly half an hour; being tender boild, set it by for your use for present spending: but to keep it long, boil it with as much wine as water, and a quart of white wine vinegar.

To souce Conger in Collers like Brawn.

TAke the forepart of a conger from the gills, splat it, and take out the bone; being first fleyed or scalded,

then have a good large eel or two, fleyed also and boned, seasoned in the inside with minced nutmeg, mace and salt, seasoned and cold with the eel in the inside, binde it up hard in a clean cloth, boil it in fair water, white wine, and salt.

To roast Conger.

[illustration] form of roasted conger

TAke a good fat conger, draw it, wash it, and scrape off the slime, cut off the finns, and spit it like an S, draw it with rosemary and time, put some beaten nutmeg in his belly, salt, some stripped time, and some great oysters par∣boild, roste it with the skin on, and save the gravy for the sauce, boild up with a little claret wine, beaten butter, wine vinegar, and an anchove or two, the fat blown off, and beat up thick with some sweet butter, two or three slices of an orange, and elder vinegar.

Or roste it in short pieces, and spit it with bay leaves be∣tween, stuck with rosemary. Or make venison sauce, and instead of rosting it on a spit, roste it in an oven.

To broil Conger.

TAke a good fat conger being scalded and cut into pie∣ces, salt them and broil them raw; or you may broil them being first boiled and basted with butter, or steeped in oyl and vinegar, broil them raw, and serve them with the same sauce you steeped them in, baste them with rosemary, time, and parsley, and serve them with the sprigs of those

herbs about them, either in beaten butter and vinegar, or oyl and vinegar, and the foresaid herbs: or broil the pie∣ces spiatted like a spitch-cock of an eel, with the skin on.

To fry Conger.

BEing scalded, and the finns shaved off, splat it, cut it in∣to rouls round the conger, flour it, and fry it in cla∣rified butter crisp, sauce it with butter beaten with vine∣gar, juyce of orange or lemon, and serve it with fryed par∣sley, fryed ellicksanders, or clary in batter.

To bake Conger in Pasty proportion.

[illustration] form of conger pastry

[illustration] form of conger pie

In Pye proportion.

BAke it any way of the sturgeon, as you may see in the next Section, to be eaten either hot or cold; and make your pyes according to these forms.

To stew a Lump.

TAke it either fleyed (or not) and boil it, being splatted in a dish with some white wine, a large mace or two, salt, and a whole onion; stew them well together, and dish them on fine sippets, run it over with some beaten butter, beat up with two or three slices of an orange, and some of the gravy of the fish, run it over the lump, and garnish the meat with slic't lemon, grapes, barberries, or gooseberries.

To bake a Lump.

TAke a lump, and cut it in pieces skin and all, or fley it, and part it in two pieces of a side, season it with nut∣meg, pepper, and salt, and lay it in the pye, lay on it a bay leaf or two, three or four blades of large mace, the slices of an orange, gooseberries, grapes, barberries, and butter, close it up and bake it, being baked liquor it with beaten butter.

Thus you may bake it in dish, pye, or patty-pan.

To boil Soals.

DRaw and fley them, then boil them in vinegar, salt, white wine, and mace, but let the liquor boil before you put them in; being finely boild take them up and dish them in a clean dish on fine carved sippets, garnish the fish with large mace, slic't lemon, gooseberries, grapes, or bar∣berries, and beat up some butter thick with juyce of oran∣ges, white wine, or grape verjuyce, and run it over the fish. Sometimes you may put some stewed oysters on them.

Otherwayes.

Take the soals, flay and draw them, and scotch one side with your knife, lay them in a dish, and pour on them some

vinegar and salt, let them lie in it half an hour, in the mean time set on the fire some water, white wine, six cloves of garlick, and a faggot of sweet herbs; then put the fish into the boiling liquor, and the vinegar and salt where they were in steep; being boild, take them up and drain them very well, then beat up sweet butter very thick, and mix with it some anchoves minced small and dissolved in the butter, pour it on the fish being dished, and strow on a lit∣tle grated nutmeg, and minced orange mixt in the butter.

To stew Soals.

BEing fleyed and scotched, draw them and half fry them, then take some claret wine, and put to it some Falt, grated ginger, and a little garlick, boil this sauce in a dish, when it boils put the soals therein, and when they are sufficiently stewed upon their backs, lay the two halves open an the one side and on the other, then lay anchoves finely washed and boned all along, and on the anchoves slices of butter, then turn the two sides over again, and let them stew till they be ready to be eaten, then take them out of the sauce and lay them on a clean dish, pour some of the li∣quor wherein they were stewed upon them, and squeeze on an orange.

Otherwayes.

Draw, fley, and scotch them, then flour them and half fry them in clarified butter, put them in a clean pewter dish, and put to them three or four spoonfuls of claret wine, two of wine vinegar, two ounces of sweet butter, two or three slices of an orange, a little grated nutmeg, and a little salt; stew them together close covered, and being well stewed, dish them up in a clean dish, lay some sliced lemon on them, and some beaten butter with juyce of oranges.

To dress Soals otherwayes.

TAke a pair of soals, lard them with watered salt salmon, then lay them on a pie-plate, and cut your lard all of an equal length, on each side lear it but short; then flour the soals, and fry them in the best ase you can get; when they are fried lay them on a warm dish, and put to them anchove sauce made of some of the gravy in the pan, and two or three anchoves, grated nutmeg, a little oyl or but∣ter, and an onion sliced small, give it a walm, and pour it on them with some juyce, and two or three slices of orange.

To souce Soals.

TAke them very new, and scotch them on the upper or white side very thick not too deep; then have white wine, wine vinegar, cloves, mace, sliced ginger, and salt, set it over the fire to boil in a kettle fit for it; then take parsley, time, sage, rosemary, sweet marjoram, and winter savory, the tops of all these herbs picked, in little branches, and some great onions sliced, when it boils put in all the foresaid materials with no more liquor then will just cover them; cover them close in boiling, and boil them very quick, being cold dish them in a fair dish, and serve them with sliced lemon, and lemon-peels about them and on them.

Otherwayes.

Draw them and wash them clean, then have a pint of fair water with as much white wine, some wine vinegar, and salt; when the pan or kettle boils, put in the soals with a clove or two, slic't ginger, and some large mace; being boild and cold, serve them with the spices, some of the gra∣vy they were boild in, slic't lemon, and lemon-peel.

To jelly Soals.

TAke three tenches, two carps, and four pearches, scale them and wash out the blood clean, take out ali the

fat, and to every pound of fish take a pint of fair spring water, or more, set the fish a boiling in a clean pipkin or pot. and when it boils scum it, and put in some isingglass, boil it till one fourth part be wasted, then take it off and strain it through a strong canvas cloth, set it to cool, and being cold divide it into three or four several pipkins, as much in the one as the other, take off the bottom and top, and to every quart of broth put to a quart of white wine, a pound and half of refined sugar, two nutmegs, two races of ginger, two pieces of whole cinamon, a grain of musk, and eight whites of eggs, stir them together with a roul∣ing-pin, and equally divide it into the several pipkins a∣mongst the jellies, set them a stewing upon a soft charcoal fire, when it boils up, run it through the jelly-bags, and pour it upon the soals.

To roast Soals.

DRaw them, fley off the black skin, and dry them with a clean cloth, season them lightly with nutmeg, salt, and some sweet herbs chopped small, put them in a dish with some claret wine and two or three anchoves the space of half an hour, being first larded with small lard of a good fresh eel, then spit them, roast them, and set the wine under them, baste them with butter, and being roasted, dish them round the dish, then boil up the gravy under them with three or four slices of an orange, pour on the sauce, and lay on some slices of lemon.

Marinate, broil, fry, and bake Soals according as you do Carps, as you may see in the thirteenth Section.