To Bake Fish
Dress and stuff the fish and sew up the opening with a trussing needle; then cut three slits in its sides and insert strips of salt pork, in each. In order to have the fish cook evenly it is better to keep it upright by passing a piece of twine through the head, the middle of the body, and the tail, and thus drawing the fish into the shape of a letter S which gives it a broader base. Place a fish-cloth in the bottom of a baking-pan, strew upon it minced salt pork, a few slices of onion and tomato, then the fish itself. Dredge with salt, pepper, and flour and lay on more salt pork; place in a hot oven, add a cup of boiling water, and cover. Cook ten to fifteen minutes to each pound, basting frequently and adding more water after each basting.
A whole baked fish in the older manner: larded with salt pork, propped upright, and steam-roasted under cover. The method still works, but the timing is the part to ignore.
- Timing is the hingeTen to fifteen minutes per pound risks overcooking, especially on a smaller fish. Judge by thickness instead — roughly 10 minutes per inch at the thickest point — and pull the fish at 140-145F at the backbone. A stuffed fish needs the stuffing to reach 165F, so check both.
- "A hot oven"In period cookbooks this is usually taken to mean something in the region of 400-450F, though usage varied. With the pan covered and water added, the fish essentially steam-roasts; if you would rather have browned skin, uncover for the last few minutes.
- Fish-clothA loose piece of cheesecloth or muslin laid under the fish, long enough to grip at both ends. It is the simplest way to move a cooked whole fish to a platter without breaking it. Parchment with overhanging edges does the same job.
- Salt porkUnsmoked cured pork belly, sold in slabs. Ordinary streaky bacon is close but adds smoke; blanch it a minute in boiling water if you want the fat without the flavour. The strips pushed into the slits are larding — they baste the lean flesh from inside.
- The S curveTrussing the fish into an S was, as the recipe says, a way to keep it upright on a broader base so it cooked evenly. A modern sheet pan makes this optional; if you skip it, lay the fish flat and turn the pan once during cooking rather than turning the fish.
- Suitable fishThis suits a firm whole round fish of 3-5 lb — striped bass, snapper, small salmon, trout. Have it gutted and scaled, gills removed. Sew the belly with a trussing needle and cotton twine, or close it with two skewers.
- Seasoning and liquidDredging with flour before the water goes in gives a light pan gravy; strain and reduce the pan juices rather than serving them as they are, since the salt pork makes them salty. Salt the fish lightly for the same reason.
- YieldA 4 lb whole fish, stuffed, serves four to five as a main course.
Baking a whole stuffed fish was a common company treatment in American cookbooks from the mid-nineteenth century onward, and this version gives the technique in a fully engineered form: larded, trussed, propped, blanketed in pork and basted throughout. The larding and constant basting suit lean fish and the drier, less even heat of a range of the period. The fish-cloth is the most durable idea here; professional kitchens still line pans and poaching kettles with cloth or parchment for the same reason.