Page:Australian enquiry book of household and general information.djvu/42

38 whole secret is in having it the right heat, which is not reached till it has ceased to bubble, and is smoking. Do not let it burn, which it will if the fish is not put in at once when it has reached the right heat.

Have your fish or pieces of fish quite dry. Let them be well wiped and dried with a cloth, salted inside, and floured, then place each piece orof [sic] fish in carefully, and so as not to touch another, do not turn till quite cooked on the one side. If egged and bread crumbed, let them be prepared twenty minutes or half an hour before cooking. Failing bread crumbs, oatmeal is an excellent substitute, indeed, many people much prefer it.

Many cooks have a fashion of cutting off the fins of the fish, when preparing them for frying. It is of course a matter of taste, but the smaller sized fish look best if left quite perfect—heads, tails, and fins; so long as they will fit comfortably into your pan there is no more trouble in frying them, whole than without the heads, etc.

BOILING FISH.

No actual rule can be given for boiling fish, as some cook quickly and others not. The signs when they are done are the meat separates from the bone, and the flesh loses all redness and transparency. Fish should always be well cooked, as it is most unwholesome if underdone; but the opposite extreme must also be avoided.

All fish to be boiled should be rolled in a floured cloth, and put into boiling water, to which salt and a little vinegar has been added. The vinegar keeps in the flavor and tends to harden the flesh.

Fresh fish takes from five to eight minutes to the pound to boil, according to its thickness.

The head and shoulders of a barramundi can be either boiled or baked. If boiled, serve with melted butter and chopped egg strewed over it, parsley and butter can be substituted if preferred, or a sauce made with prawns. A very nice sauce I sometimes use with this fish is the ordinary melted butter with a good spoonful of anchovy paste. A king fish boiled and served in the same way is very good. Oyster sauce with any of these is a pleasant change. Mullet is the fish most usually caught in the bush rivers and creeks. Two or three rolled together in a floured cloth, and boiled from twenty to twenty-five minutes make a nice dish served with egg sauce or parsley and butter. The water should be boiling when the fish is put in salted well.