Catfish

(Recipe #53, page 136)

Catfish are usually boiled and served with a butter sauce or else fried in fat.

Translated by David Green.

Grayling

(Recipe #52, page 136)

Treat like whitefish (no. 50).

Translated by David Green.

[Note: Since grayling is not a common fish in the U.S., read more about it here.]

Muskellunge

(Recipe #51, page 136)

Treat muskellunge like large pickerel and pike (no. 31, etc.), which they are very similar to.

Translated by David Green.

[Note: Muskellunge are also known as muskies.]

Maître d’hôtel butter

(Recipe #50A, page 136)

Melt ¼ pound of butter on the stove (without letting it foam or even get too hot), add the juice of a lemon, a small bunch of minced parsley, and some finely ground pepper.

Translated by David Green.

Grilled whitefish

(Recipe #50, page 136)

After cleaning and drying the fish, if it is large cut it into two pieces. Otherwise make small incisions on both sides, then sprinkle the fish with pepper and salt, brush it lightly with a little melted butter, and grill it on both sides over a hot wood coals on broiler rack made for this purpose. The grill must be heated before the fish is placed on it. When the fish is done, remove it carefully from the grill and serve it with maître d’hôtel butter, made as follows:

Melt ¼ pound of butter on the stove (without letting it foam or even get too hot), add the juice of a lemon, a small bunch of minced parsley, and some finely ground pepper; stir the sauce together and pass it with the fish.

Translated by David Green.

Minnows (small fish)

(Recipe #49, pages 135 – 136)

Minnows are neither scaled nor gutted, only rubbed with a bit of salt and washed on a sieve placed in water. At the same time, place a pot with water and salt, some bay leaves, a lot of peppercorns, and shallots or small onions on the stove, and boil for a bit to draw out the seasoning. Dump the fish into the water and remove the pot after a few moments; these tiny fish scarcely need cooking. Place them in a serving dish with the seasoning and send them to the table cold with oil and vinegar.

Translated by David Green.

To pickle shad

(Recipe #48, page 135)

Treat shad like eel in no. 2 (see also no. 16).

Translated by David Green.

Pan-fried walleye

(Recipe #47, page 135)

Fry walleye like pickerel in plenty of butter; when serving, stir a bit of wine vinegar into the browned fish butter and pour it under the fish.

Translated by David Green.

Baked walleye or pikeperch

(Recipe #46, page 135)

Prepare the fish as described above; make closely spaced incisions on both sides, salt it, and it off after an hour.

Then mix several raw egg yolks with the juice of a lemon, minced shallots and parsley, and equal parts of fresh butter and anchovy butter; coat the fish with the mixture. Place it on slices of pork fat in a baking pan and bake it in a hot oven, occasionally adding a little white wine to the pan. When the walleye is done and a golden brown crust has formed, serve it at once, accompanied by a crayfish or oyster sauce.

Translated by David Green.

Walleye or pikeperch

(Recipe #45, page 135)

Walleye should be scaled, gutted, have their fins removed, and thoroughly washed. If the fish is large, to prevent its falling apart when it is taken out it best to cook it on a fish rack. If a rack or fish slice is not available, use a packing needle to run twine through the tail and eyes and place the bent fish with its back down in a pan with cold salted water to cover.

Set the pan on the stove, skimming as the water boils. Boil the fish gently until quite done. To serve, place the fish on a warmed platter, cut the twine short and remove it carefully. Sprinkle the fish with minced parsley and cover it with a crayfish or oyster sauce, or pass a Saxon fish sauce.

Translated by David Green.