Steamed Fish
Place tail of fish in its mouth and secure it, lay on a plate, pour over it a half pint of vinegar, seasoned with pepper and salt; let stand an hour in the refrigerator, pour off the vinegar, and put in a steamer over boiling water; steam twenty minutes, or longer if the fish is very large (when done the meat easily parts from the bone); drain well, and serve on a napkin garnished with curled parsley. Serve drawn butter in a boat. - Mrs. E. S. Miller
A whole fish steamed on the bone, dressed up in the Victorian manner. The method is sound; most of what needs translating is the measurements and the serving ritual.
- Half pint of vinegarOne cup. Plain cider or white wine vinegar is closest to what would have been on hand. An hour is long enough to firm and lightly whiten the surface of the flesh; much longer and the outer layer turns opaque and chalky before it ever sees steam.
- Tail in the mouthThis is presentation, not technique. The fish is curled into a ring and fastened with a skewer or a loop of kitchen twine through the tail and jaw so it holds its shape on the platter. Skip it and the recipe works identically.
- What size fishThe recipe gives no weight, only 'longer if the fish is very large'. Twenty minutes suits a small whole round fish of roughly 2 to 3 lb, scaled and gutted, head on. A 4 to 5 lb fish wants 30 to 35 minutes; fillets want 6 to 10 and should be checked early.
- Judging donenessThe book's test still holds and is better than the clock: the flesh should lift cleanly from the backbone. If you prefer a thermometer, 140-145F at the thickest part behind the head.
- Drawn butterNot clarified butter. In American cookbooks of this period drawn butter is a light sauce of butter cooked briefly with flour and thinned with hot water, seasoned with salt and lemon. "In a boat" means a sauceboat passed at table.
- Serving on a napkinA folded linen napkin on the platter absorbs the steaming liquid so the fish is not sitting in a puddle. Draining well first matters more than the napkin does; a warmed platter and a few minutes of drainage achieve the same thing.
- YieldA 2 to 3 lb whole fish serves three or four as a main course, allowing for head, bones and fins.
Steaming was the genteel treatment for fish in the late nineteenth century, valued because it kept a whole fish intact for the table when boiling tended to break the skin and wash out flavor. The vinegar bath here does double duty: vinegar was held in the period to firm and whiten the flesh, and it also tempered any lingering muddiness in river fish. The curled fish with its tail in its mouth was a standard dressed presentation of the era, appearing in American cookbooks alongside the near-obligatory napkin and curled parsley. The Dixie Cook Book, like other compilation books of the 1880s, drew its recipes from named contributors, and the signature attached to this recipe is a reminder that these volumes were assembled from the practice of real kitchens rather than written by a single author.