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Gravy, White, for Fish
Take one pound of pike, or any other common fish, cut it into small pieces, and put these into a saucepan, with two pints of water, a small bunch of savoury herbs, the rind of a quarter of a lemon, four cloves, four peppercorns, and half a teaspoonful of salt. Cover the saucepan closely, and simmer gently for an hour. Strain, and when the gravy is wanted mix a table-spoonful of flour, in a clean saucepan, with two ounces of butter. Beat with the back of a wooden spoon until the flour and butter are perfectly smooth, add the liquid gradually, boil altogether for a quarter of an hour, and serve. Probable cost, about 8d. Sufficient for six or eight persons.
This is a fish velouté in all but name: a quick stock, then a white roux loosened with it. Nothing here is dangerous or obsolete, but a few of the proportions and timings reflect Victorian habits rather than modern ones.
- The hinge: strain, then clarify by restThe gravy is only as good as the stock, and fish stock turns bitter and cloudy if pushed. Keep it at a bare tremble for the hour, skim the grey scum in the first ten minutes, and strain through a cloth rather than pressing the solids through a sieve.
- Fish stock does not want an hourModern practice usually caps fish stock at 20-30 minutes, on the grounds that longer extraction gives glue and bitterness rather than flavour. Thirty minutes will generally give a cleaner result than sixty.
- Choosing the fish"Any other common fish" means lean white fish and its bones — sole, whiting, cod, haddock, plaice frames. Avoid oily fish (mackerel, herring, salmon) and avoid skin, which muddies the colour. A pound of trimmings from the fishmonger does the job as well as a pound of fillet, and costs almost nothing.
- The roux is loose by modern standardsOne tablespoon of flour and two ounces of butter to two pints of liquid gives a very thin sauce — closer to a broth than a coating. For a sauce that clings to poached fish, use roughly 2 oz butter to 2 oz flour per pint of stock; for a pouring gravy, halve that.
- Fifteen minutes of boilingThe long boil serves to cook out the raw flour. Ten to fifteen minutes at a slow simmer, stirring, is still right for flavour and will reduce the sauce usefully. Do not leave it at a rolling boil unattended; the butter will separate.
- Savoury herbsIn Victorian recipes a 'bunch of savoury herbs' generally means a tied bundle of aromatic pot herbs, commonly parsley, thyme and bay, close to what a French kitchen calls a bouquet garni. It does not necessarily indicate the herb savory.
- Lemon rindPare it thinly with a peeler so no white pith goes in; pith turns fish stock bitter over a long simmer. Add it for the last ten minutes rather than the whole hour if you want the perfume without the edge.
- Cost and yieldEightpence was a modest sum for a sauce of this size. Two pints reduced a little will sauce six to eight portions, as stated, though it will be thinner than most cooks now expect.