Page:010 Once a week Volume X Dec 1863 to Jun 64.pdf/91

 Jan.

ONCE A WEEK.

'.'.

83

on the average out of every

have thought the culinary virtues of these fish Horace, worthy of high praise in their pages. whom we have ample reason to consider a

lose five mullets

vivant," alludes to the excellence of the and during the mullet, as also does Pliny considered reigns of the Csesars, mullets were

are taken pretty freely on our British and Irish coasts, and in the North Sea also on

such choice articles of food, that artificial ponds were made for the special purpose of

lets of the Baltic

" bon



feeding them

to perfection. Indeed, amongst all the luxuries of that luxurious age, none ranked higher than the pleasures of the table,

and

at

the head of the

list

of

fish

then in

It is recorded demand, stood the mullet. that enormous prices were given by Apicius, Vitellius, and others, for red mullets of a At the present day certain size and flavour.

they are still much esteemed. There are two varieties of mullet, the red

and the the

.grey,

favourites

and

the latter are, I think, with epicures, although red

mullets are unquestionably excellent. Strictly speaking, mullets are sea fish, yet the grey sort are always found in the best condition in those places where the water is rather brackish

than salt, as at the mouths of tidal rivers and In such places as the latter about large docks. they may be seen en the top of the basking in the sun, or feeding on scraps of vegetable matter thrown from vessels in their vicinity. They are taken with rod and line very easily, and I have seen a small white fly used successfully as a bait on a very still day. I have been also told that grey mullets will take a bait of boiled turnip-tops or "white" heart cabbage, and I think this probable, for the following reason Sailors, it is well known, are fond of any green vegetable, and when in dock are in the habit of washing cabbages over

their vessels, besides throwing overboard the remains of green garden stuff which has been boiled with their salt beef or It is therefore likely that the grey pork.

the sides of

mullets, which congregate in large numbers about the dock-entrances, may become habitu-

"When ated to the taste of green vegetables. I have taken mullet, or have seen them taken, the baits used have been a small worm, a grub,

and once or twice a little piece of The liver was that of a sheep, and the bait was cut to about the size of a a white

fly,

boiled liver.

Grey mullets are very difficult fish to are hooked, and I think this from the softness of the skin of their mouths. They bite in so dainty and coquettish a way that the hook only just penetrates the skin of the lip, and the consequence is

pea.

land

when they

that (as

when a

child in play runs a needle

lightly through the skin of its finger) the least Qsures the liberty of the mullet. In this er I

have seen very experienced fishermen

eight fish hooked. Mullets of both the red

and the grey

varieties



the coasts of

Norway and Sweden.

The mulThe

Sea are very excellent.

grey mullet, like many other fish of similar habits, is rather a choice feeder, and does not, even when it bites freely, bite greedily Red mullets are not so often taken with the r

hook

as are their grey relations, nor

do they

prefer those places which the latter delight in ; but, on the contrary, are found far out at sea r

and taken mostly in nets. comparatively speaking, a rare occurrence to catch red mullets with hook and line, but in

It

large numbers,

is,

they are occasionally so taken, and generally

Red

in harbours.

mullets will bite at

worms

or a piece of a red mullet. Mackerel, whitings, and smelts also bite readily at a piece of one

of their

own

species



and

I

have caught large

numbers of whitings with the eyes of other whitings, when I ran short of bait. The red mullet is the variety of mullet most frequently alluded to by the ancients. Martial mentions a sum of upwards of 2001. price of a dish of three mullets; 201. , re given for fish 307., 50/., We do Varying from libs, to 811 x. in weight. not see or even hear of such fish in our day, the mullets on our coasts seldom exceeding a foot in length, or weighing more than a pound. The average weight of mullets, both grey and red, is from half-a-pound to a pound, though there are to this, as to all other rules, some Mullets are in perfection from exceptions. The red mullet is August until February. sometimes called the striped or sur-mullet. It is not easy to ascertain to a certainty when many of our sea fish spawn, as the spawning

season varies according to individual

fish.

the

condition

Some salmon spawn

of

in Octo-

hilst others do not shed their roes until Mullets spawn Christmas or even afterwards. about Midsummer or a little later. There are many ways of dressing the mullet for the table, but none comparable, in my opinion, to the fashion of stewing them in wine, either Port, Claret, Burgundy, or red

Always select Hermitage, according to taste. A little spice may be added at a red wine. discretion.

Red

mullets fried are good.

A

very excellent plan is to cook them enclosed in small envelopes of fine white paper, in the style The paper must be of " Maintenon cutlets." The well buttered to prevent it catching fire. fish when done should be served very hot, and then slices of dressed cucumber handed round with them. Epicures can use any fish sauce