James Beard's New Fish Cookery - James Beard [109]
There are innumerable ways of cooking pike, but it has often seemed to me that not enough care is taken to bring out its fine flavor and texture.
BROILED PIKE
You may broil either the steaks, the fillets, or the boned and split whole fish. Pike is a lean fish, however, and I do not believe broiling is the best method of preparing it. If you do broil it, be sure to lubricate it well during the cooking with butter or oil. Follow the general rules for broiling on pages 9–10. Serve with maître d’hôtel butter, lemon butter, or parsley butter (pages 31–33).
BAKED STUFFED PIKE
2 cups cracker crumbs
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup crabmeat
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
Heavy dash of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 cup melted butter
5-to-6-pound pike
Strips of salt pork
Make a stuffing of the crumbs, chopped vegetables, crabmeat, eggs, seasonings, and melted butter. Clean the fish and stuff it with this mixture. Sew it up and place on an oiled baking dish or pan. Top with strips of salt pork and bake at 425° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8).
Serve with a crabmeat sauce (page 21), saffron rice, and cooked chopped spinach seasoned with garlic, nutmeg, and butter.
BRAISED STUFFED PIKE
5-pound pike
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound smoked ham, ground
2 cups dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs
4 tablespoons melted butter
Strips of salt pork
White wine
Beurre manié (page 475)
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
Lemon juice
Parsley
Clean the fish and prepare for stuffing. Sauté the chopped onions in 4 tablespoons of butter until soft. Combine with the ham, crumbs, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper, eggs, and the melted butter. Stuff the fish with this mixture and sew it up. Place it in a shallow baking pan with enough white wine to cover the bottom of the pan well. Top the fish with strips of salt pork and bake at 425° according to the Canadian cooking theory (page 8). Baste occasionally, and cover the pan after the first 15 minutes of cooking. When the fish is done, remove the salt pork and arrange the stuffed pike on a platter.
Strain the pan juices and thicken with beurre manié. Stir in the egg yolks and continue stirring until well blended. Do not let the sauce boil. Check for seasoning; add a dash of lemon juice and plenty of chopped parsley. Pour the sauce over the fish.
QUENELLES DE BROCHET I
These have been great favorites in France for many years. They are not simple to make, and they must be done properly or they are not good.
1 cup boiling milk
3 cups soft bread crumbs
1 pound of pike
1 teaspoon salt
1 grind fresh black pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup creamed butter
2 eggs
4 or 5 egg yolks
Pour the boiling milk over the bread crumbs and let the crumbs stand until the milk is entirely absorbed. Mix them well with a wooden spoon until they are practically a paste. Place this over the lowest flame on your stove and dry it out, working it all the time with the wooden spoon. Spread it out on a flat pan and let it cool thoroughly.
Put the pike through the fine grinder twice or chop in the food processor. Then work it in a mortar, or put it in a heavy bowl and work it with a wooden spoon. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and blend thoroughly. Turn it out on a board, combine it with a crumb mixture, and mix well with your hands. Return it to the mortar or bowl, add the creamed butter, and continue blending until it is smooth and thoroughly mixed. Gradually work in the eggs and additional egg yolks. Put the mixture through a fine sieve or a food mill and work it again with a wooden spoon until it has a smooth and silky texture.
Form into flat oval cakes about the size of an egg or a little larger and arrange them in a buttered skillet so that they barely touch one another.