I 
The Art of Cookery s 
To fry tench . 
SLIME your tenches, flit the fkin along the backs, and with 
the point of your knife raife it up from the bone, then cut the 
ikin acrofs at the head and tad, then ftrip it off, and take out 
the bone ; then take another tench, or a carp, and mince the 
flefh fmall with rnufhrooms, chives, and parfley. Seafon them 
with fait, pepper, beaten mace, nutmeg and a few favoury herbs 
minced fmall. Mingle ihi fe all well together, then pound them 
in a mortar, with crumbs of bread, as much as two eggs, foaked 
in cream, the yolks of three or four eggs, and a piece of butter. 
When thefe have been well pounded, ftufF the tenches with this 
farce : take clarified butter, put it into a pan, fet it over the fire, 
and when it is hot flour your tenches, and put them into the pan 
one by one, and fry them brown ; then take them up, lay them 
in a coarfe cloth before the fire to keep hot. In the mean time 
pour all the greafe and fat out of the pan, put in a quarter of a 
pound of butter, (hake fome flour all over the pan, keep ftirring 
with a fpoon. till the butter is a little brown ; then pour in half a 
pint of white wine, ftir it together, pour in half a pint of boiling 
water, an onion ftuck with cloves, a bundle of fweet-herbs, and 
a blade or two of mace. Cover them clofe, and let them ftew as 
foftly as you can for a quarter of an hour; then ftrain off the li¬ 
quor, put it into the pan again, add two fpoonfuls of catchup, 
have ready an ounce of truffles or morels boiled in half a pint of 
water tender, pour in truffles, water and all, into the pan, a few 
rnufhrooms, and either half a pint of ovfters clean wafhed in 
their own liquor, and the liquor and all put into the pan, or fome 
crawfifh; but then you mud put in the tails, and after clean 
picking them, boil them in half a pint of water, then ftrain the 
liquor, and put into the fauce: or take fome fifh-melts, and tofs 
up in your fauce. All this is juft as you fancy. 
When you find your fauce is very good, put your tench into 
the pan, make them quite hot, then lay them into your difh and 
pour the fauce over them. Garnifh with lemon. 
Or you may, for change, put in half a pint of ftale beer inr 
ffceatf of water. You may drefs tench juft as you do carp, 
To roaji a cod's head . 
WASH it very clean and fcore it with a knife, ftrew a little 
fait on it, and lay it in a ftew-pan before the fire, with fome- 
tfaing behind it, that the fire may roaft it. All the water that 
comes 
