Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/1412

1262 the knife, almost perpendicularly, in the right hand. Place the hilt of the knife's edge at the top of the steel, and draw the blade downwards the whole length of both steel and knife, first on one side and then on the other—i.e., so that the point of the knife finishes at the hilt of the steel. The blade should be almost flat on the steel, with the back slightly raised but with only the edge touching it.

Cut in fairly thick slices through to the centre bone and detach just above it.

Lay the crab upon its back, and insert the fingers between the shell and the fish. Using the thumbs as levers, push the body away from the shell (Fig. 1). Break off the claws, remove the poisonous "fingers," from the body of the fish, cut away the sides of the "back" shell, and dress the crab in this part, without disturbing the contents. The "fingers" usually adhere to the belly of the crab. When cutting away the sides of the shell, run the knife along the joint line, which is easily discernible. To demonstrate this, the picture only shows one side cut away (Fig. 2).

The thick part of the eel is reckoned the best; and this holds good of all flat fish.

Insert the knife at the centre of the back, and cut through towards the tail (Fig. 1 ). Then turn the lobster round and cut through towards the nose (Fig. 2.)(Fig. 2.). [sic] If this end is cut first the shell invariably breaks. Now remove the "brains" (Fig. 3). These are usually of a greenish colour and are found on either side of the lobster. Crack the claws with a hammer and arrange the fish on a dish, garnishing with fresh parsley. The tail of the lobster is the prime part and next to that the claws.

First cut along the backbone of the fish. Then insert the fish-knife at this part and cut through, separating the upper half of the fish which