Name: British Anchovies
Ingredients: ½ cup coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt'); 2 teaspoons sal prunelle; 2 teaspoons cochineal, finely powdered; 2 ounces gum th'agon; 2 teaspoons sal prunelle; 1 ounce red sanders

British Anchovies

Ingredients

½ cup coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt')
2 teaspoons sal prunelle
2 teaspoons cochineal, finely powdered
2 ounces gum th'agon
2 teaspoons sal prunelle
1 ounce red sanders

Directions

Prepare the fish

Select middle-sized fish from a half bushel of the freshest you can find.
Remove the heads and gut the fish without washing or wiping them.

Pack and cure

Layer the fish in straight-sided earthen jars with the salt mixture, pressing down as you go.
Ensure the top layer of the mixture is at least 2 inches thick.
Cork the jars securely with melted resin and bury them in dry sand for 9 months.

Finish the brine

A fortnight before using, dissolve gum th'agon and sal prunelle in a pint of boiled water.
Strain the mixture and pour it over the fish in the jars, then re-cork them.
After a week, turn the jars upside down for a day or two, then set them upright again.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Coarse sea salt: Draws moisture out of the fish and firmly preserves its flesh during long curing.
Cochineal: Adds a red colour to the fish flesh.
Gum th'agon: Dissolved into the poured liquor, it thickens the brine and helps it cling to the fish.
Red sanders: Gives the cured fish a deep red tint.

The step that matters

Packing the fish in salt mixture. Fish must be fully covered by a thick, evenly pressed layer of salt so that moisture is drawn out and spoilage is prevented. Gaps or a thin top layer let the fish rot during the long cure.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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British Anchovies