not over ten minutes; a longer time giving a strong, oily taste,
which spoils it. Plain boiled or mashed potatoes are always served with
fish where used as a dinner-course. If fish is boiled whole, do not cut
off either tail or head. The tail can be skewered in the mouth if liked;
or a large fish may be boiled in the shape of the letter S by threading a
trussing-needle, fastening a string around the head, then passing the
needle through the middle of the body, drawing the string tight and
fastening it around the tail.

BAKED FISH.

Bass, fresh shad, blue-fish, pickerel, &c., can be cooked in this way:--

See that the fish has been properly cleaned. Wash in salted water, and
wipe dry. For stuffing for a fish weighing from four to six pounds, take
four large crackers, or four ounces of bread-crumbs; quarter of a pound of
salt pork; one teaspoonful of salt, and half a teaspoonful of pepper; a
tablespoonful of chopped parsley, or a teaspoonful of thyme. Chop half the
pork fine, and mix with the crumbs and seasoning, using half a cup of hot
water to mix them, or, if preferred, a beaten egg. Put this dressing into
the body of the fish, which is then to be fastened together with a skewer.
Cut the remainder of the pork in narrow strips, and lay it in gashes cut
across the back of the fish about two inches apart. Dredge thickly with
flour, using about two tablespoonfuls. Put a tin baking-sheet in the
bottom of a pan, as without it the fish can not be easily taken up. Lay
the fish on this; pour a cup of boiling water into the pan, and bake in a
hot oven for one hour, basting it very often that the skin may not crack;
and, at the end of half an hour, dredging again with flour, repeating this
every ten minutes till the fish is done. If the water dries away, add
enough to preserve the original quantity. When the fish is done, slide it
carefully from the tin sheet on to a hot platter. Set the baking-pan on
top of the stove. Mix a teaspoonful of flour with quarter of a cup of cold
water, and stir into the boiling gravy. A tablespoonful of walnut or
mushroom catchup, or of Worcestershire sauce, may be added if liked.
_Serve very hot._

Before sending a baked fish to table, take out the skewer. When done, it
should have a handsome brown crust. If pork is disliked, it may be omitted
altogether, and a tablespoonful of butter substituted in the stuffing.
Basting should be done as often as once in ten minutes, else the skin will
blist