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Filet of Bass, Bostonienne
Scale, trim, cut the head off and split in two a fresh three-pound striped bass. Remove the spinal bone, skin it, then cut each half in three slanting equal pieces. Season with a teaspoon salt and half teaspoon pepper, then roll in flour, dip in beaten egg and lightly roll in bread crumbs. Arrange in a frying basket, plunge in boiling fat, fry for ten minutes, take up, drain on a cloth and arrange on dish with a folded napkin. Place six thin slices of broiled bacon over the fish, decorate with six quarters lemon and a little parsley greens and serve.
A plain breaded deep-fry that hinges entirely on fat temperature and time — the original's ten minutes will overcook pieces this size.
- Boiling fat means 350–375FFat does not boil; the phrase is period shorthand for fat hot enough to bubble vigorously when the food goes in. Use a thermometer and hold 350–375F so the crumb sets before the fish dries out.
- Ten minutes is too longTen minutes is likely too long -- Six pieces cut from a 3 lb bass will vary in thickness; judge by the crust turning deep gold and the flesh turning opaque and flaking, roughly 4-6 minutes at 365F. Held the full ten minutes the coating darkens and the fish dries out.
- Frying basketA wire basket is optional and can crush breading. Lower the pieces in with a spider or slotted spoon, fry in two batches so the fat does not drop below 340F, and drain on a rack rather than the cloth the original calls for — a cloth traps steam and softens the crust.
- The fishWild striped bass is regulated in much of its range and sizes vary by state; farmed hybrid striped bass, black sea bass or a firm white fillet such as haddock all work. Ask for a 3 lb fish filleted and skinned if you would rather not bone it yourself.
- Breading orderFlour, then beaten egg, then crumbs, patted on lightly — heavy crumbing sloughs off in the fat. Let the breaded pieces rest 10 minutes before frying so the coating adheres.
- SeasoningA teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper for a whole 3 lb fish is modest; season the flour as well, since some of the surface salt will be lost to the fat.
- Folded napkinServing fried fish on a folded napkin was a common convention in period restaurant cookery. A warmed platter with a paper liner does the same job.
- YieldSix pieces, six bacon slices and six lemon quarters: the dish is built for three generous or six small portions.
The International Cook Book (1906) is generally attributed to Alexander Filippini, long a chef at Delmonico's in New York, and it is organized as a vast catalogue of restaurant-style preparations with French dress. The name is a French adjective, Bostonienne, meaning simply "in the Boston manner." Striped bass was the great prestige fish of the northeastern seaboard, appearing constantly on nineteenth-century American menus, and the bacon-and-lemon garnish here is the Anglo-American convention for a fried fish rather than anything Parisian. The recipe also shows how a professional kitchen of the period thought about a whole fish: each half of a 3 lb bass is cut in three equal slanting pieces, served with slices of bacon and lemon quarters.