No. 1303

Tunny Fish or Horse Mackerel-Fried-with Arrowroot Mayonnaise Sauce

Thon Frit a la Sauce Mayonnaise a l'Arrowroot

Lift the fillets from a young tunny fish or from a horse mackerel, suppress the skin and from the meats cut some lenthwise slices or aiguillettes, lay these on a dish to season with salt, mignonette, slices of onions, sprigs of parsley, thyme, bay leaf, oil and vinegar. Leave to marinate for two hours, then drain and wipe dry, dip them in eggs, then in bread-crumbs, fry to a good color; drain and dress on a folded napkin placing a bunch of fried parsley on top. Serve separately arrowroot mayonnaise sauce (No. 611).

← No. 1302 Salmon Trout-a l'Antoinette Shad, Herring & Mackerel No. 1304 Canadian Turbot a la d'Orleans →

For the Modern Kitchen

A straightforward breaded-and-fried fish, but the vocabulary is nineteenth-century French-American and the sauce is a cross-reference. Two things decide the outcome: how thick you cut the aiguillettes and how briefly they stay in the fat.

Tunny and horse mackerel"Tunny" is tuna; in nineteenth-century American markets "horse mackerel" was a common name for Atlantic bluefin, then a cheap fish. Any firm tuna loin works, and albacore or bonito stands in well for a "young tunny" without the cost of a bluefin steak.
AiguillettesLengthwise strips, roughly finger-shaped. The recipe gives no dimensions; strips around half an inch thick fry evenly. Cut thicker and the crumb burns before the centre warms; cut thinner and the fish is dry before it colours.
MignonetteCoarsely cracked black or white peppercorns, not a shallot-vinegar relish. Crack them yourself; pre-ground pepper gives none of the intended texture.
The marinadeOil, vinegar, onion and herbs for two hours, as the recipe directs; keep it cold. Drain and blot genuinely dry or the egg wash will slide.
FryingThe recipe says only "fry to a good color." Deep fat at around 350-360F suits strips of this size, which take only a few minutes. Lift them out as soon as the crust is golden rather than frying on until the fish is dry.
Fried parsleyDry curly parsley sprigs dropped into the same fat for 15-20 seconds, until they stop sputtering and turn brilliant green. Wet parsley will spit violently, so shake it out well first.
Arrowroot mayonnaiseNo. 611 is Ranhofer's mayonnaise made with arrowroot; consult the cross-reference for the method. The arrowroot appears to be there for stability rather than flavour, and an ordinary mayonnaise sharpened with lemon serves at table.
YieldThe recipe gives no quantities; reckon roughly four modest first-course portions to a pound of trimmed loin. The folded napkin is a service convention, and a wire rack over a warm plate keeps the crust crisper.

A Little History

Charles Ranhofer wrote The Epicurean (1894) out of thirty-odd years running the kitchens at Delmonico's, and the placement of this dish among shad, herring and mackerel says a good deal about how tuna was regarded in America at the time. Bluefin landed off the Northeast was widely called horse mackerel and sold cheaply, sometimes said to have gone for bait or oil, while in France and Italy thon had long been a respectable table fish, salted, preserved in oil, or grilled fresh. Ranhofer, French-trained and cooking for New Yorkers, gives it the full French treatment: a marinade, a crumb coating, a garnish of fried parsley and a separately served cold sauce. The arrowroot mayonnaise of No. 611 belongs to the same professional world. Tuna's rise to premium status in the United States came much later, with the canning industry and, later still, with sashimi; here it is still a bargain fish being dressed up.