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BROILED FISH. (Mrs. Lincoln's Boston Cook Book, 1884)
First clean the fish. Wash with a cloth wet in salt water, and dry on a clean fish towel, kept for no other purpose. Mackerel, white-fish, small blue-fish, trout, small cod, and shad should be split down the back, and if you prefer, cut off the head and tail. Halibut and salmon should be cut into inch slices, the skin and bone removed, and turned often while broiling. Cut flounder, bass, and chicken halibut into fillets. Oily fish need only salt and pepper; but dry white-fish should be spread with soft butter or olive oil before broiling.
Use a double wire broiler, and grease well with salt pork rind. Put the thickest edge of the fish next the middle of the broiler, and always broil the flesh side first, as the skin burns easily. Cook the flesh side until it is brown. The time should vary with the thickness of the fish; move the broiler up and down, that all parts may be equally browned; then turn, and cook on the other side just enough to crisp the skin. Small fish require from five to ten minutes; thicker fish, fifteen or twenty minutes. The fire should be hot and clear. If the fish be very thick, hold it farther from the fire; or when nicely browned, put the broiler in the oven on a dripping-pan, and cook till the flesh separates easily from the bones.
Mackerel, trout, and fresh herring are sometimes broiled whole. Clean without opening more than is necessary. Wipe and dry well. Gash through to the bone at intervals one inch apart on each side, and rub salt, pepper, and butter or oil in the incisions; wrap in buttered paper, and broil carefully from ten to twenty minutes. When ready to serve, loosen the fish from the broiler on each side, open the broiler, and, leaving the flesh side of the fish uppermost, slide it off without breaking. Or open the opposite way, hold a platter over the skin side, and invert platter and broiler together. Spread with butter, salt, and pepper; or add chopped parsley or watercresses; or serve with Maitre d'h6tel, Tartare, Tomato, or Curry sauce. Garnish with parsley and slices of lemon.
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