Fish when fresh are hard when pressed by the finger - the gills red - the eyes full. If the flesh is flabby and the eyes sunken, the fish are stale. They should be thoroughly cleaned, washed, and sprinkled with salt.

Before broiling fish, rub the gridiron with a piece of fat, to prevent its sticking. Lay the skin side down first.

The earthy taste often found in fresh-water fish can be removed by soaking in salt and water.

Most kinds of salt fish should be soaked in cold water for twenty-four hours - the fleshy side turned down in the water.

Fish should be fresh, and always well cooked.

Never soak fresh fish in water, unless frozen. Clean, rinse, and wipe dry ; in warm weather, lay on the ice until needed.

In boiling, put into cold water, to which add a little salt and vinegar, and allow eight minutes to the pound. If boiled whole do not remove the head and tail, and serve always with a sauce.

How To Fry

Dredge with flour, dip lightly in beaten egg, roll in cracker crumbs, and fry in very hot lard. Serve with lemon slices.

How To Broil

Rub over with olive oil; cut in pieces or broil whole as preferred, over a clear, hot fire ; when done, sprinkle with pepper and salt, a little lemon juice, a little chopped parsley, and some melted butter.

How To Bake

Stuff with a dressing as for poultry, and sew it up ; lay strips of salt pork over it, sprinkle with pepper, salt, and crumbs, and bake in a hot oven ; baste often.

Baked Fish

Stuff it with plain dressing; put in a pan with a little water, salt, pepper, and butter. Baste while baking. A fish weighing four pounds will bake in an hour. Garnish with hard-boiled eggs and parsley, and serve with drawn butter or egg sauce.

How To Boil Fish

Sew them in a cloth, and put in cold water, with plenty of salt. Most fish will boil in thirty minutes.

Boiled Fish

Four or five pounds of fish, nearly cover with water and add two heaping tablespoonfuls of salt. Boil thirty minutes, and serve with drawn butter.

Pickling Fish

Spice the vinegar as for cucumbers, put your fish in and let them boil slowly for a few minutes, until done, without breaking; then set them away for several weeks, and the bones will be entirely destroyed.

Bread Stuffing For Fish

Take about half a pound of stale bread and soak in water, and when soft press out the water; add a very little chopped suet, pepper, salt, a large tablespoonful of onion minced and fried, and, if preferred, a little minced parsley; cook a trifle, and after removing from the fire add a beaten egg.

Baked Black Fish

Rub a handful of salt over the surface, to remove the slime peculiar to the fish. For the stuffing, two ounces of beef drippings, two tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley and one ounce of salt pork; put in a saucepan and fry brown; then add a tablespoonful of chopped capers, half a saltspoonful of white pepper, one-half teaspoonful of salt, five ounces of bread, and one gill of broth; then stir until scalding hot; place inside the fish; cut a quarter of a pound of pork in thin slices and lay on either side of the fish, holding in place by twine wound around it - a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper completing it for the baking-pan. Bake in a hot oven one-half hour and serve on slices of fried bread with a sauce made of stock seasoned with one tablespoonful each of walnut and Worcestershire sauce, one tablespoonful of chopped capers and one tablespoonful of parsley.