TWENTY-FIVE WAYS TO COOK STURGEON

BOILED STURGEON--I

Cover a cut of sturgeon with salted and acidulated water. Add an onion, six cloves, a slice of carrot, three bay-leaves, a small bunch of parsley, and a cupful of wine. Simmer slowly until done, drain, and serve with some of the cooking liquor thickened with flour, browned in butter.

BOILED STURGEON--II

Boil the fish in court bouillon and serve with Drawn-Butter Sauce.

BROILED STURGEON STEAKS--I

Parboil sturgeon steaks for fifteen minutes, drain, wipe dry, season with salt and pepper, and broil. Serve with melted butter or Maitre d'Hotel Sauce.

BROILED STURGEON STEAKS--II

Skin and soak for an hour in cold salted [Page 402] water. Drain, wipe dry, and soak for an hour in a marinade of oil and vinegar. Drain and broil. Serve with melted butter and lemon-juice.

BROILED STURGEON STEAKS--III

Skin the steaks and soak in cold, salted water for an hour, drain, season, and broil, basting with melted butter as required. Season with melted butter and garnish with lemon quarters and parsley. Or, brown a tablespoonful of flour in butter, add half a cupful of cold water and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Season with salt, lemon-juice, and Worcestershire Sauce, or anchovy essence. Bring to the boil, pour over the fish, and serve.

FRIED STURGEON--I

Parboil slices of sturgeon in milk for fifteen minutes, drain, dip in beaten egg, then in seasoned flour, and fry brown in butter.

FRIED STURGEON--II

Cut the fish into cutlets, dredge with flour, dip into egg and crumbs, and saute in a frying-pan. Drain off the fat, add a little flour and cook to a smooth paste. Add boiling water to make a sauce, and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Season with grated onion, [Page 403] pepper and salt and sweet herbs. Reheat the fish in the sauce, squeeze in the juice of half a lemon, and serve.

FRIED STURGEON--III

Cut sturgeon steaks into small cutlets. Dip into egg and crumbs, fry in fat to cover, and serve with any preferred sauce.

BAKED STURGEON--I

Skin a large cut of sturgeon, parboil for fifteen minutes, drain, cover with a marinade of oil and vinegar, and let stand for an hour. Gash the surface deeply and fill the incision with a force meat of bread-crumbs and minced salt pork, seasoning with lemon-juice, pepper, and minced parsley, and adding enough melted butter to make smooth. Cover, add enough boiling water to keep from burning, and bake, basting frequently.

BAKED STURGEON--II

Skin a large cut of sturgeon, parboil for fifteen minutes, drain, and cool. Rub with a marinade of oil and vinegar, cover, and bake with enough water to keep from burning. Serve with Caper Sauce.

[Page 404] BAKED STURGEON--III

Skin a six-pound cut of sturgeon and parboil for twenty minutes. Drain and put into a baking-pan on a layer of thinly sliced bacon. Add enough boiling water to keep from burning, and bake until done, basting often.

BAKED STURGEON--IV

Skin a six-pound cut of sturgeon, soak in salted water for an hour, drain, and parboil in fresh water. Make a stuffing of bread-crumbs, chopped salt pork, sweet herbs, and enough melted butter to make a smooth paste. Score the upper-side of the fish deeply and fill the gashes with the stuffing. Put in a buttered baking-pan with enough water to keep from burning, and bake for an hour, basting as required. Serve with Drawn-Butter Sauce, seasoned with capers and catsup.

BAKED STURGEON--V

Cover a buttered baking-pan with thin slices of salt pork. Sprinkle with chopped carrot, turnip, and onion, and lay a thick cut of sturgeon upon it. Season the fish with salt, pepper, and lemon-juice, and cover with thin slices of pork. Cook for ten minutes, [Page 405] then add one cupful of boiling water, and cook slowly, basting as required. Dredge with seasoned flour after each basting, and add more boiling water if necessary. After the fish has cooked for an hour, remove the pork, and drop it into the pan. Pour a wineglassful of Sherry over the fish, spread with butter, and dredge thickly with flour. Bake until the fish is a rich brown color. Take out the pork and add enough boiling water to the liquid in the pan to make the required quantity of sauce. Thicken with butter and flour cooked together, strain, and serve with the fish.

STURGEON A LA CARDINAL

Clean two pounds of sturgeon, bind into shape with tape, and put it into a buttered saucepan with acidulated water to cover. Add an onion, four cloves, a blade of mace, a sliced carrot, and a bunch of sweet herbs. Simmer gently until the fish is done and serve with Lobster Sauce.

STURGEON A LA FRANCAISE

Skin and clean a five-pound cut of sturgeon, and tie into shape with strings. Put into a buttered saucepan with sliced carrots and onions, a bunch of parsley, three blades of mace, three cloves [Page 406] of garlic, and salt and pepper to season. Add red wine and white stock in equal parts to cover. Simmer until done, drain, and keep warm. Take enough of the strained liquid to make a sauce, and thicken with butter and flour cooked together. Take from the fire, add a tablespoonful of anchovy essence, a dash of paprika, two tablespoonfuls of butter, and the juice of a lemon. Pour over the fish and serve.

STURGEON A LA NORMANDY

Remove the skin from a five-pound cut of sturgeon, cover with thin slices of salt pork, and tie into shape with a string. Put into a saucepan with sliced vegetables, two tablespoonfuls of butter, one cupful of white wine, two cupfuls of white stock, a little oyster or mussel liquor, and salt and sweet herbs to season. Cover and cook slowly for an hour, basting with the liquid frequently. When done, drain the fish, and keep warm. Strain the liquid, skim off the fat, thicken with a tablespoonful each of butter and flour cooked together, take from the fire, add the yolks of four eggs beaten with the juice of a lemon, and two tablespoonfuls of butter in small bits. Take the pork off the sturgeon, pour the sauce over, and serve.

[Page 407] STURGEON A LA RUSSE

Soak two pounds of sturgeon in salted water to cover for ten or twelve hours. Drain and marinate in vinegar for an hour. Put it into a fish-kettle with boiling water to cover, adding two onions, a bunch of sweet herbs, and a little salt. When nearly done drain, dredge with flour, and brown in the oven, basting with melted butter. Bone and skin two anchovies and put them into a saucepan with a wineglassful of white wine, a small onion, a bit of lemon-peel, and a cupful of stock. Boil for five minutes, strain, thicken with flour and butter cooked together, take from the fire, add two tablespoonfuls of cream, and pour over the fish, or serve separately.

STEWED STURGEON--I

Marinate slices of sturgeon in vinegar for ten minutes. Drain, dry, dredge with flour, and fry brown in hot fat. Add enough veal stock to cover the fish, and a wineglassful of Madeira; cover and simmer for an hour. Add a tablespoonful of capers and serve.

STEWED STURGEON--II

Cut sturgeon steaks into small pieces and [Page 408] parboil for fifteen minutes. Drain, season with salt and pepper, and cook slowly in butter until done. Add one cupful of milk, bring to the boil, and add one tablespoonful of flour rubbed smooth in a little cold water. Cook until thick, stirring constantly, and serve.

STURGEON STEAK--I

Put a large sturgeon steak into a buttered baking-pan with salt, pepper, sliced onion, a bunch of parsley, and some sweet herbs. Add Claret and white stock to cover. Cover with a buttered paper and cook slowly until done. Drain and serve with any preferred sauce.

STURGEON STEAK--II

Cover a sturgeon steak with boiling water, let stand for five minutes, and drain. Marinate for five hours in melted butter, lemon-juice, and vinegar, seasoning with salt and pepper. Drain, dip in egg and crumbs, and fry in deep fat. Beat the yolks of two eggs, add a teaspoonful of made mustard and the marinade drained from the fish. Cook over hot water until thick, pour over the fish, and serve.

[Page 409] GRILLED STURGEON

Cut the sturgeon into slices an inch thick. Dip in flour, then into egg and crumbs, and broil, basting with oil as needed. Season with salt and pepper and serve with any preferred sauce.

PANNED STURGEON

Cut two pounds of sturgeon into squares, parboil, drain, and cool. Cook together one tablespoonful each of butter and flour, add two cupfuls of milk, and some of the liquid drained from the fish. Cook until thick, stirring constantly. Season with salt and pepper, pour over the fish and serve.

PICKLED STURGEON

Skin a six-pound cut of sturgeon and soak in cold water for half an hour. Drain, cover with boiling water, parboil for fifteen minutes, drain, and cool. Bring to the boil three pints of vinegar to which has been added a sliced onion, two bay-leaves, a dozen cloves, three blades of mace, a tablespoonful of mustard seed, a dozen pepper-corns, a small red pepper, and two tablespoonfuls of sugar. Boil for fifteen minutes, pour over the sturgeon, and let stand covered for two or three days before using.

[Page 410] ROASTED STURGEON

Clean and skin a six-pound cut of sturgeon, season with salt and pepper, and wrap in a large sheet of buttered paper with carrots and onions sliced, two bay-leaves, sprigs of chive and parsley, the juice of a lemon, and a tablespoonful of olive-oil. Tie up and bake for an hour in a moderate oven. Unwrap the paper, take out the vegetables, and serve with any preferred sauce.