Home › Pulled Fish › Pulled Fish
Pulled Fish
121. One pound of meat pulled from the bones of any fish, two teaspoonfuls essence of anchovies, two ounces of butter, one table-spoonful of mustard, quarter of a pint of cream, crumbs of bread as for scalloped oysters, pepper and salt to taste, brown before the fire,
A Victorian way of using up cooked fish: flake it, bind it in a mustard-and-anchovy cream, top with crumbs and brown it. The whole thing takes about twenty minutes once the fish is cooked.
- "Pulled" means already cookedThe pound of meat is picked from the bones of fish that has been poached, baked or boiled beforehand; the recipe says only "any fish," and it would serve equally for freshly cooked fish or for the remains of a large one. Raw fish will not pull, and browning alone will not cook it through; poach it first and take it to 145F before flaking.
- A quarter of a pintIn British imperial measure that is 5 fl oz, about 140 ml or a scant two-thirds of a US cup. Use double or heavy cream; single cream will thin out and weep under the grill.
- Essence of anchoviesA thin, salty commercial anchovy extract, still sold in Britain as anchovy essence. Anchovy paste works in its place, or two mashed oil-packed fillets — but taste before adding salt, since all three are already heavily salted.
- A tablespoonful of mustardAlmost certainly made English mustard, mixed from powder, rather than dry powder straight from the tin; a tablespoon of dry powder would swamp the dish. A full tablespoon is assertive; start with two teaspoons, taste the sauce, and add the rest if the fish is bland.
- Crumbs as for scalloped oystersPresumably buttered white breadcrumbs, as scalloped oyster recipes of the period generally direct; toss them in melted butter so they colour rather than dry out. Reserve a little of the two ounces of butter for this and work the rest into the fish mixture.
- Brown before the fireAn open coal fire or a Dutch oven set on the hearth. Use a grill or broiler on high with the dish four to five inches from the element, three to five minutes, until the crumbs are dark gold. If the mixture has gone cold, heat it through in a 375F oven for fifteen minutes first, then finish under the grill.
- YieldA pound of picked fish in this quantity of cream serves three or four as a light main course with toast, or six as a savoury course in small ramekins.