Boiled Fish
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the fish in cold water and wipe dry.
Pin the fish in a piece of strong white cotton cloth to keep it from breaking.
Cook
Cover the fish with boiling water to which one teaspoonful of salt has been added, and cook gently.
Do not boil rapidly, as it will break the fish.
For a fish weighing from four to six pounds, cook for thirty minutes; allow about three minutes longer for each additional pound.
For boiled white fish, add a teaspoonful of lemon juice to the water.
When the fish is cooked, remove it from the kettle and drain well.
Serve
Serve the fish on a hot platter garnished with sprigs of parsley.
Serve boiled fish with Hollandaise sauce, drawn butter, or egg sauce.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Fish (in the method)
- Provides the main protein, which firms and turns opaque as it cooks in gently simmering water.
- Salt
- Seasons the cooking water so the fish is flavoured as it poaches.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the mild flavour of white fish.
The step that matters
Keep the water at a gentle simmer, not a rapid boil. Vigorous boiling agitates and toughens the proteins and can break the fish apart. Gentle heat cooks it evenly and keeps the flesh intact.
“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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