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Mackerel, Baked

Get quite fresh mackerel; they may be known by their almost silvery brightness. If stale, they are limp in body, and red and dull-looking about the eyes and head. When baked, they should be cleaned, the roes taken out, and the cavity filled with a forcemeat delicately prepared, as follows. Put into a basin four ounces of bread-crumbs, two ounces of butter broken into bits, half a tea-spoonful of savoury herbs, a little chopped parsley, an anchovy boned and pounded, pepper, salt, and cayenne, and an egg to cement. Onion, in very small quantity, and shredded very fine, may be added if the flavour be liked. Fill the fish with the forcemeat, lay them neatly in a dish, with pepper, salt, and small bits of butter. Bake half an hour in a moderate oven, serve with maitre d'hotel sauce or plain melted butter. The roes should be placed in the baking-dish with the fish. Probable cost, 2s. Four fish sufficient for six persons.