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A Salt-Cod Tidbit
Soak 2 pounds of salt cod overnight. In the morning wash and scrub it well, and cover with hot water in which an onion has been boiled. Let the fish lie in this until the water is cold. Then take the fish up and place between two towels until perfectly dry. Broil on both sides, turning it twice. Lay it in a hot-water dish; break to pieces with a fork, and cover well with hot drawn butter, seasoned with pepper, minced parsley, and the juice of 1 lemon. Let it stand, covered, for ten minutes over the hot water before serving.
A late-Victorian way of turning hard salt cod into a savory course, closer to a chafing-dish dish than to a fish fillet. The whole success of it rests on getting the salt out first and the surface dry before it meets the heat.
- Soaking is the hingeTwelve hours is a minimum, not a maximum. Soak in a large bowl of cold water in the refrigerator and change the water three or four times; heavily salted, bone-dry cod may want 24 hours. Taste a sliver of the raw fish before you go on — if it is still aggressively salty, keep soaking, since the later steps draw out little more salt.
- What kind of salt codThe recipe assumes stiff, board-like salt-dried cod sold in a whole side or in wooden boxes. The moist, lightly salted fillets sold vacuum-packed today need far less soaking, perhaps 4 to 6 hours with two changes of water.
- The onion waterBoil a peeled onion in enough water to cover the fish, then pour it over the drained fish off the heat. Cooling in this liquid does much of the cooking; the fish should be opaque and flaking by the time the water is cold. Do not let it sit at room temperature longer than that — chill it if you are not going straight on to broiling.
- "Perfectly dry"Take this literally. Press between clean towels or paper towels and change them once. Surface moisture will steam rather than brown, and the dish depends on a lightly scorched exterior for its flavor.
- BroilingUse an oven broiler on high with the rack 3 to 4 inches from the element, or a ridged pan over strong heat. Brush the fish with a little oil or melted butter first. Two or three minutes a side is enough for color; the fish is largely cooked already, so this is mainly browning.
- Drawn butterIn this period drawn butter means a thin butter sauce — about 3 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons flour cooked together, then whisked smooth with a cup of hot water or fish broth, not simply melted butter. Season it with pepper, parsley, and lemon, and add no salt until you have tasted the finished dish.
- "Hot-water dish"A serving dish with a reservoir of hot water beneath it, the Victorian equivalent of a warming tray. A shallow bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, or a covered dish in a 200F oven, does the same job for the final ten minutes.
- YieldTwo pounds of dry salt cod gains considerable weight in soaking and serves six as a first course, or four as a light main dish with boiled potatoes.