Fish Stuffing II

A short, sharp stuffing meant for a whole baked fish. The recipe assumes you know what kind of crackers are meant and how much fish it will fill; both are worth pinning down.

• Cracker crumbsPeriod recipes mean plain soda or common crackers -- unsweetened, lightly salted, similar to a saltine or water biscuit. Crush them coarsely rather than to powder, and hold back some of the salt if the crackers are heavily salted.
• Onion juiceGrate a peeled onion on the fine side of a box grater and press the pulp through a sieve, or crush a piece with the flat of a knife and squeeze. A few drops is genuinely all that is wanted; the point is aroma without wet pulp in a stuffing built to stay dry.
• PicklesMost likely a sour cucumber pickle rather than a sweet gherkin, though the recipe does not specify. Chop fine and blot on a cloth so the vinegar liquid does not defeat the texture.
• The dry, crumbly texture is the pointThe recipe says as much itself. There is no egg and no stock to bind it, so the stuffing takes up the juices the fish gives off as it bakes rather than adding moisture of its own. Resist the impulse to bind it -- if it is moist going in, it will be pasty coming out.
• YieldA little over a cup of stuffing. The recipe gives no yield and does not say what size fish it is intended for; scale up for a large stuffed bass or salmon.
• ButterA quarter cup of melted butter to one cup of crumbs is a high proportion, and it is what carries the capers and parsley through. The recipe says to mix in the order given, so the butter goes onto the crumbs before the seasonings; toss rather than stir, so the crumbs stay separate.
• CookingA stuffed whole fish takes longer than a plain one. The recipe gives no oven temperature or timing; bake until the thickest part of the flesh reaches 145F and the stuffing is hot through, allowing longer than the usual rough guide of 10 minutes per inch of thickness.