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Broiled White Fish
Clean, split down the back, and let stand in salted water for several hours; wipe dry, and place on a well-greased gridiron over hot coals, sprinkling with salt and pepper. Put flesh side down at first, and when nicely browned, turn carefully on the other. Cook for twenty or thirty minutes, or until nicely browned on both sides. -Mrs. H. Colwell, Chicago, Ill.
A whole split fish over live coals, from an era when Great Lakes whitefish came into Chicago by the boatload. Almost everything here still works; the timing is the part that needs judgment.
- What "white fish" meansLake whitefish, a fatty Great Lakes coregonid, not the generic "whitefish" of a fish counter. Lake trout, arctic char, black cod or a fat mackerel behave similarly over coals; lean cod and tilapia will dry out and fall apart.
- Split down the backThis is butterflying: the fish is opened along the backbone and laid flat, skin down, in one piece, head and tail often left on. Ask the fishmonger to do it, or cut along either side of the spine and remove it, leaving the belly attached.
- The salted water"Several hours" in salted water is a brine, and modern practice is far shorter. About 1/4 cup salt per quart of water for 30 to 45 minutes firms the flesh and seasons it; the recipe does not say how strong its brine was, and in anything approaching that strength several hours would leave the fish noticeably salty and firmer in texture. Wiping dry afterward is essential, as the recipe says, since a wet surface steams instead of browning.
- Gridiron and greaseA gridiron is a rack of iron bars set over coals; some patterns had hinged or revolving bars. Grease the bars generously and let them get thoroughly hot before the fish goes on, or the skin will weld to them. A hinged fish basket makes the single turn much easier than a spatula does.
- TimingTwenty to thirty minutes suits a three- or four-pound whole split fish over moderate coals. A one-pound butterflied fish or a set of fillets wants closer to 8 to 12 minutes total, most of it flesh side down. Cook to 130-140F at the thickest point; the flesh should just separate into flakes.
- Coals"Hot coals" here means a bed burned down to steady grey-ashed heat, not flames. Fat rendering from whitefish will flare, so keep a cooler zone on the grill to move the fish to.
- YieldA three-pound whitefish, split and broiled, serves four. Serve with melted butter and lemon, or the maitre d'hotel butter common in books of this period.
Buckeye Cookery first appeared in Ohio in 1877, with the 1880 and later editions issued from Minneapolis, compiled from contributions by housekeepers across the Midwest, which is why this one carries a Chicago address: lake whitefish was then a Chicago staple, shipped in ice from the upper Great Lakes fisheries and sold fresh, salted and smoked in enormous quantities. Broiling a split fish over a gridiron was the standard treatment for a fat fish before gas broilers were common, and the long soak in salted water reflects a period habit of firming and seasoning fish that had traveled some distance. Commercial catches of lake whitefish declined sharply in the twentieth century under overfishing, sea lamprey predation and pollution, so the fish that was cheap enough for a weeknight in Mrs. Colwell's Chicago is now a regional specialty rather than a commonplace.