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Broiled Spanish Mackerel
Cut a fish down the middle to take out all the bones and then cut again in halves; dry the pieces on a cloth, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place two yolks of eggs in a basin and mix them with an equal bulk of olive oil, dip the pieces of fish into this and then into breadcrumbs and broil over a clear fire.
A short line of instruction that assumes a cook who already knows how to bone a round fish and manage a charcoal broiler. Two details carry the dish: the egg-and-oil coating, which is a binder rather than a batter, and the "clear fire" — a bed of coals with no flame, because crumbs scorch the instant they meet a flare-up.
- The clear fireClear means burned down to steady, ash-grey coals with no visible flame and no smoke. On a gas or charcoal grill, wait for even medium-high heat; under an oven broiler, set the rack about 4 inches from the element and preheat it fully.
- Cutting the fish"Down the middle" means splitting the fish and lifting out the backbone and rib bones, then cutting again to give four pieces; the recipe names no size of fish. A fishmonger will butterfly or fillet it; ask for the pin bones out as well, since the recipe assumes an entirely boneless piece.
- The coatingTwo yolks with an equal volume of olive oil is roughly 2 tablespoons of yolk to 2 tablespoons of oil — a loose, unemulsified wash, not a mayonnaise. Whisk it only enough to combine; if it thickens it will sit too heavily on the fish.
- BreadcrumbsDry, fine white crumbs, not the coarse panko sold today, and certainly not seasoned crumbs. Press them on lightly and shake off the loose surplus, which is what burns first.
- Keep it from stickingCrumbed fish welds itself to bare bars. Oil the grate well and use a hinged fish grill or a well-oiled perforated pan; turn once, with a wide spatula, not tongs.
- TimingA ¾-inch mackerel portion needs roughly 4 minutes on the skin side and 2–3 after turning; the recipe gives no times. Current food-safety guidance for fish is an internal temperature of 145°F, though mackerel is oily and dries out if pushed much past that.
- SaltSeason just before dipping rather than well ahead. Salt drawn out onto the surface will thin the yolk wash and keep the crumbs from adhering.
- Yield and serviceOne fish gives four pieces; the recipe states no number of servings and no garnish. Maître d'hôtel butter — softened butter worked with lemon juice, chopped parsley, salt and pepper — and lemon wedges would be the period accompaniment.
Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus) was a prized Atlantic coast market fish in the late nineteenth century, running up from Florida in spring and reaching New York in quantity through the summer; its oily, fine-grained flesh made it a broiling fish rather than a boiling one. Oscar Tschirky, the Waldorf's maître d'hôtel, published his cook book in 1896, and its brevity is characteristic: these are working notes for people who already knew the trade. The egg-yolk-and-oil dip before crumbing is a standard hotel à l'anglaise treatment adapted for the grill, giving the crumbs something to hold to and a little fat to brown in over coals.