James Beard's New Fish Cookery (35 page)

Most of the perch caught are small fish weighing around 1 to 11/2 pounds, although occasionally larger ones are marketed. A large proportion of the commercial catch is filleted, but the fish are also sold whole.

PIKE PERCH SAUTÉ MEUNIÈRE

The fish may be cleaned and split or, if small enough, they may be sautéed whole. Follow directions for sauté meunière, page 10. Fillets may be treated in the same manner.

VARIATIONS

1. After removing the fish to a hot platter, add blanched almonds to the pan and toss them about until they brown. Pour the almonds and the pan juices over the fish and serve with lemon wedges.

2. Sauté mushroom slices with the fish.

3. Add chopped parsley and white wine to the pan juices, bring to a boil, and pour over the fish.

PAN-FRIED PIKE PERCH

Follow directions for pan-frying crappies, page 322.

OVEN-FRIED FILLETS OF PIKE PERCH

Follow directions for oven-frying fillets of whitefish, pages 345–346.

BAKED PIKE PERCH

Clean and wash the fish. Oil a large flat baking dish and cover the bottom with chopped green onions. Arrange the fish on top, dot them with butter and sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add enough white wine to cover the bottom of the pan. Bake at 425° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Baste during the cooking process, and add more wine and butter if needed.

VARIATION

Just before the fish are done, sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and grated Parmesan cheese.

Sheepshead

The sheepshead is the only freshwater relative of the drums and the croakers — the fish that are heard as well as seen. They love to play tunes, and you may hear their entertaining music on still nights.

The flesh of the sheepshead is white, lean, and tender, with an excellent flavor. You will find sheepshead on the market in the Middle West and the South, whole and filleted. They come in sizes from 1 to 12 pounds, though some sheepshead have been known to weigh 60 pounds.

Cook sheepshead as you would drum, croaker, or weakfish.

Suckers

When I was about eight years old, my neighborhood contemporaries were always running off on fishing excursions and coming home with suckers — and I was never much impressed. I still think the sucker is a dull fish, a sort of underwater vacuum cleaner. It is plentiful, however, in country streams and many people enjoy eating it. In fact, there is a good commercial market for suckers.

The sucker is not a fat fish, and needs the lift of a good sauce to make it palatable.

BROILED SUCKER

Suckers must be lubricated well with oil or butter before broiling. Follow the general directions on pages 9–10. Serve with lemon butter (page 31) or anchovy butter (page 32).

PAN-FRIED SUCKER

Small-sized suckers may be pan-fried whole. Clean them and soak for about 1/2 hour in milk with salt and freshly ground black pepper added. Roll them in crumbs and sauté in butter or bacon fat according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 10). Serve with a tartar sauce (pages 35–36) or rémoulade (page 35).

BRAISED SUCKER

2 large onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 cups tomato paste
or
strained canned tomatoes

4 pounds of sucker

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Oregano

Sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil. Add the chili powder and tomato paste. Place the fish on a well-oiled baking dish or pan; season to taste with salt, pepper, and oregano. Cover with the sauce and bake at 450° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8).

POACHED SUCKER

Poach suckers in a court bouillon (page 18) according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 12). Serve them with a Hollandaise sauce (pages 25–26), or with a shrimp or lobster sauce (page 21), or with sauce velouté (page 21) made with the reduced court bouillon.

COLD POACHED SUCKER

Mask the cold poached sucker in mayonnaise (page 34) or rémoulade (page 35). This is a nice change for a hot summer day when the neighborhood fisherman brings you part of his catch.

Trout

Trout is the glamour fish. They are beautiful, they are perfectly meated, and in many places they are scarce.

Since I am not an ichthyologist, I am not going into a discussion of all the different varieties of trout. I recommend all of them indiscriminately. I do remember particularly, however, a mess of tiny mountain trout caught in a cold Oregon stream, cooked with bacon over a campfire, and served up for breakfast less than an hour after they have been taken from the water. The combined flavors of wood smoke, bacon, and delicate trout cannot be duplicated in a modern kitchen by even the most experienced chef. But if outdoor simplicity can work miracles with trout, so can sophistication. I recall with drooling tastebuds the incomparable
truite en chemise
at the station restaurant in the Gare de l’Est in Paris.

The recipes here are for the small trout — mountain trout, Dolly Vardens, small-sized brook or speckled trout, all those running from 8 to 12 inches. These are usually served whole with head and tail intact. Simply wash and clean them. As for the amount of trout per serving, that depends on individual taste.

Certainly at least one per person, and of the smaller fish, two or three. But suit yourselves.

If the trout you intend to cook is one of the larger varieties, try the salmon recipes (pages 178–192). You’ll find that they apply perfectly.

TROUT SAUTÉ MEUNIÈRE

This, of course, is the classic preparation for trout. See directions for sauté meunière, page 10.

VARIATION

Sauté the trout, and just before removing it from the pan add 1/2 to 1 cup of heavy cream. Let it come to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the trout to a hot platter. Correct the seasoning, reduce the cream a bit, and pour it over the fish. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

TROUT AMANDINE, IN THE MANNER OF RESTAURANT CASENAVE IN PARIS

1/2 pound shelled almonds

6 tablespoons butter

4 trout

Flour

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Chopped parsley

Blanch the almonds. Leave half of them whole and cut the rest into slivers. Melt the butter in a skillet. Dip the trout in flour, and when the butter is bubbly but not burning add the trout and almonds. Spoon the nuts around in the butter so that they will brown well. Cook according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 10), turning the trout once. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove the trout to a hot platter and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Pour the golden-colored almonds and the butter from the pan over the fish. With this serve new potatoes in their jackets, and some lemon butter (page 31) or lemon wedges.

BROOK TROUT, OUTDOORS METHOD

If you catch trout early and can have them for breakfast that same morning, you are the most fortunate of people. To cook 6 trout:

Try out 6 to 12 rashers of bacon, depending on your appetite. When the bacon is crisp, remove it to a paper or plate. Dip the trout in flour or corn meal and sauté them quickly in the bacon fat. Do not add salt until the fish are cooked and you have tasted them; the bacon fat may add enough seasoning. Serve the trout with the bacon rashers and toast made over the fire. Steaming campfire coffee is a must, of course.

TRUITE EN CHEMISE

This delightful way to serve trout and other small fish will always bring cheers from your guests. For 6 people:

1/2 pound mushrooms, finely chopped

4 tablespoons butter

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons flour

4 tablespoons heavy cream

6 crêpes, made without sugar

6 trout, sauté meunière (page 10)

Browned butter

Lemon juice

Sauté the mushrooms in the butter until they are soft and well cooked. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and flour. Add the cream and stir until the mixture is thick.

Prepare the crêpes without sugar according to the recipe on page 190. They should be about 6 inches in diameter, well browned, thin and tender.

Sauté the trout meunière according to the directions on page 10. Spread each pancake with the mushroom mixture, place a trout on top of this, and roll up the pancake so that the head sticks out one end and the tail the other. Arrange these rolls in a baking dish — an oval one is perfect. Cover with a little browned butter and lemon juice. Heat for just a moment or two in the oven and serve. Delicious with a good green salad and a brittle white wine.

TROUT À L’ANGLAISE

12 trout

4 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons olive oil

Flour

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups crumbs, crushed

Clean and wash the trout. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Dust the trout with flour, sprinkle with salt and pepper, dip in the egg, and then in the crumbs. Sauté quickly in the hot fat according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 10). Remove to a hot platter and serve with a tartar sauce (pages 35–36), sauce diable (page 29), or rémoulade (page 35). Boiled potatoes and peas seem to be a good but rather homely accompaniment.

VARIATION

French-Fried Trout.
Prepare the fish as above, but fry it according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 11). Serve with tartar sauce (pages 35–36) or rémoulade (page 35).

CHARCOAL-BROILED TROUT

I have had all sorts of trout broiled over coals: wrapped in wet newspapers; wrapped in clay (and they were not too bad this way); and held over the coals after being impaled on a stick — which works very well if you do it right.

I really feel, however, that there are only two ways of doing the job and doing it well.

I. Clean the trout, dip them in flour, and then in melted butter. Salt and pepper them and arrange securely in a wire grill. Grill over hot coals according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 9). Brush with butter during the cooking (a good-sized pastry brush or a small paintbrush is excellent for doing this). The trout should have a nice crispy coating — be careful not to overcook them. Serve with potatoes sautéeed over or baked under the fire and cole slaw.

II. Arrange the trout in an S-shape on long skewers, or make rings of the fish by running the skewers through the head and tail. Dip these in flour, then in melted butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil them over the coals as above, brushing with butter during the process. Serve with lemon or lime wedges and melted butter or with a Hollandaise sauce (pages 25–26).

TROUT EN PAPILLOTES

For 6 people:

6 trout

Butter

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Oil

FILLING

2 carrots, finely chopped

2 small white onions, finely chopped

2 shallots or green onions, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

4 to 6 tablespoons butter

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Prepare the filling by sautéing the vegetables in the butter until soft. Salt and pepper to taste.

Split and clean the trout and stuff each one with a little of the mixture. Dot with butter, and place about 3 inches from the broiler flame. Broil for 6 minutes. Salt and pepper the fish when you remove them.

Have ready 6 heart-shaped pieces of cooking parchment large enough for the trout. Place a fish on each piece of parchment, near one edge. Fold the rest of the paper over the fish and crimp the edges together so that the fish is sealed in. Oil the paper. Place these on a buttered baking sheet and bake at 425° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8), adding an additional five minutes for the paper.

VERY DRESSY STUFFED TROUT

This is a spectacular dish for special occasions.

12 good-sized trout

3 large onions, chopped

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter plus 6 tablespoons

2 cups dry white wine

1 cup very heavy béchamel (page 23)

FILLING

2 medium onions, chopped

Butter

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound raw white-meated fish

2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

3 egg whites

Chopped tarragon

Chopped parsley

Clean the fish and prepare them for stuffing. Leave the heads intact.

Filling.
Sauté the onions in butter until they are soft and golden. Salt them lightly. Grind the white-meated fish several times; salt and pepper it to taste. Add it to the onions and blend the two together with a wooden spoon. Add the egg yolks and egg whites and season with tarragon and parsley. Stuff the fish with this mixture.

Sauté the onions in the 6 tablespoons of butter until soft. Force them through a sieve or food mill. Cover the bottom of a baking dish with this puree and arrange the trout on top. Dot with butter, add the wine, and bake at 450° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8).

Remove the fish to a hot platter. Force the sauce through a sieve or food mill and combine it with the béchamel and the remaining butter. Blend thoroughly and pour over the fish. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve with julienne potatoes and a good green salad.

TROUT SMOTHERED IN MUSHROOMS

8 trout

1 pound mushrooms, finely chopped

6 tablespoons butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

11/2 cups and 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Butter

Beurre manié (page 475)

Fried toast

Parsley

Clean and wash the trout. Sauté the mushrooms in butter until they are soft. Season with the garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the 2 tablespoons of cream and let it cook down.

Arrange the trout on a well-oiled baking dish and top with the mushrooms. Dot with butter and bake at 425° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Remove to a hot platter. Add the remaining cream to the pan, heat, and blend thoroughly. Add the beurre manié and stir until nicely thickened. Taste for seasoning and pour over the trout. Garnish the platter with pieces of fried toast heavily sprinkled with chopped parsley.