312 COOKING OF SALMON, &c. 



rival kingdoms within the towers of Roxburgh, Wark, 

 and Norham. Who knows indeed but some sturdy 

 Roman imperator has tickled his palate at a fish-kettle 

 on Tweedside, and taken home to the Seven-hilled city, 

 and the gourmands of the senate-house, a description 

 of the primitive banquet ? 



A fresh salmon thus cooked is remarkable for its 

 curd and consistence, and very unlike the soft oily 

 mass generally presented under that designation. Even 

 when it has been kept a day or two, this method of 

 boiling will be found to bring out more equally the 

 true flavour of the fish, than if it had been placed 

 entire, with a mere sprinkling of salt, in the fish-pan. 

 Under these circumstances, melted butter is preferred 

 by some to the simple gravy above mentioned, but no 

 true fish-eater can tolerate the substitute. 



Through the kindness of Thomas White, Esq., soli- 

 citor, Berwick-on-Tweed, I have been favoured with 

 another much approved of recipe for the boiling of this 

 delicious fish : 



" Cut off the tail of the salmon, grilse, or sea-trout 

 about four inches above the fin, then split the fish in 

 two halves along the bone, and after removing the 

 entrails cut it across into pieces of about two and a 

 half or three inches in breadth, or a little broader if re- 

 quired. Remove all the blood from the bone and 

 wash the cuts perfectly clean in cold water. Hard 

 water, both in washing and boiling the fish, is to be 

 preferred. The scales ought not to be scraped off. 



" The water in which the fish is boiled ought previ- 

 ously to be made nearly as salt as to float an egg ; and 

 the cuts should be put into -this salt water or pickle 

 when boiling, with the skin uppermost. The quicker 

 they boil the better. 



