THE BOOK OF THE PIKE 



of pickerel browned to a nicety and served with a 

 garnishment of peppergrass, gathered hard by the 

 home of the fish. I would not roll pickerel in cracker 

 crumbs, because of the fine bones the eater encounters ; 

 otherwise crumbs are an improvement. 



If one uses cracker crumbs, they should be prepared 

 beforehand at home. It is a good plan to save the left- 

 overs of bread, thoroughly dry, and pulverize. This 

 can be done with a rolling-pin or meat-chopper; then 

 pass through a fine sifter so that the crumbs will be 

 of an equal size. After pulverizing, dry out thoroughly 

 in the oven. They will keep indefinitely, if kept dry. 

 A small sack in the outfit will be found convenient 

 when needed. In order to use crumbs successfully, 

 the cook should have an egg batter in which to dip 

 the fish before rolling in the crumbs; otherwise the 

 crumbs will not adhere to the fish. The foregoing 

 applies to the frying of any pike, save that a large 

 fish must be cut into rather thin slices, not over an 

 inch thick, to cook successfully. 



Baked Great Pike 



Perhaps there is no more delicious way to serve 

 a large great pike — the larger the better — than to bake 

 it. So cooked, as Walton would say, "he is choicely 

 good." For baking, one should catch nothing smaller 

 than a five-pound fish; a ten-pounder would serve 

 better. Once I had the privilege of preparing half of 

 a twenty-four-pound great pike and, take my word 

 for it, the result was a dish fit for an epicure. Par- 

 enthetically: One can imagine a hotel range of suffi- 

 cient length to accommodate a thirty-pound fish, but 

 the reader must remember that I am writing of out- 



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