How to Cook Them 



sides, then cut ofip the fins with a sharp knife or 

 shears, and wij)c the fish clean and dry with a 

 cloth. The gills should then be cut from the 

 lower jaw and back of the head, a slit being made 

 from the head along the lower body to the vent. 

 The gills being pulled will at the same time 

 draw the insides away, and if done with care, a 

 perfectly clean inside is the result. In most fish 

 (if fresh) the blood is encased in 

 Qelninl Fi"sh » thin skin close to the backbone 

 and can be pulled away entire. 

 A fish so treated can and should be prepared 

 without the use of water. After being cleaned and 

 scaled it should be well w^ashed in two waters, to 

 thoroughly divest it of all slime and blood. If 

 it is a fresh-water fish it can be placed in a vessel 

 of salt and water to soak for half an hour; if they 

 are coarse fish, caught in quiet, stagnant pools 

 (such as carp, catfish, perch, eels, and pickerel), 

 an hour's soak is better. Afterward they should 

 be taken out of the bath, dried with a clean cloth, 

 and they are ready for cooking. To skin eels, cat- 

 fish, perch, etc., a slit is made a short distance 

 T <i^' P* h ^°^^ ^^^ back from the head ; then 

 take a pinch of salt or sand between 

 the fingers, to stop the skin from slipping, pull 

 steadily toward the lower part of the fish on one 

 side and then on the other. This should be done 

 before the belly is cut open, or else it tears away 

 the shoulder bone. When the skin is pulled down 

 to the lower under-fin, pull from the other side; 

 then take both sides together, and it will tear off 

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