Salt Mackerel

Boiled Salt Mackerel Recipe

Wash and clean off all the brine and salt; put it to soak with the meat side down, in cold water over night; in the morning rinse it in one or 2 waters. Wrap each up in a cloth and put it into a kettle with considerable water, which should be cold; cook about thirty minutes. Take it carefully from the cloth, remove the backbones and pour over a bit of melted butter and cream; add a light sprinkle of pepper. Or make a cream sauce like the following:

Heat a small cup of milk to scalding. Stir into it a tea-spoonful of cornstarch wet up with a bit of water. When this thickens, add 2 table spoonfuls of butter, pepper, salt and chopped parsley, to taste. Beat an egg light, pour the sauce gradually over it, put the mixture again on the stove, and stir for one minute, not more. Pour upon the fish, and serve it with some slices of lemon, or a few sprigs of parsley or water-cress, on the dish as a garnish.

Baked Salt Mackerel Recipe

When the mackerel have soaked over night, put them in a pan and pour on boiling water sufficient to cover. Let them stand a couple of minutes, then drain them off, and put them in the pan with a few lumps of butter; pour on a ½ teacup-ful of sweet cream, or rich milk, and a bit of pepper; set in the oven and let it bake a bit of until brown.

Fried

Pick as many salt mackerel as required; wash and cleanse them well, then put them to soak all day in cold water, changing them every 2 hours; then put them into fresh water just before retiring. In the morning drain off the water, wipe them dry, roll them in flour, and fry in a bit of butter on a hot, thick-bottomed frying pan. Serve with a bit of melted butter poured over, and garnish with a bit of parsley.