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To Pickle Sturgeon

Pickled sturgeon made from the tail portion, preserved in vinegar and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Mary Randolph · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 2 ingredients
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To Pickle Sturgeon

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fish

  1. Choose a small sturgeon, about four feet long without the head, and select the tail portion.

  2. Split the sturgeon through the backbone.

  3. Take a piece with the skin on.

  4. Cut off the gristle.

  5. Scrape the skin well.

  6. Wash the piece.

  7. Salt it.

  8. Let it lie for twenty-four hours.

  9. Wipe off the salt.

  10. Roll the piece.

  11. Tie it with twine.

Cook and pickle

  1. Place it in a good deal of cold water.

  2. Boil until a straw can run easily into the skin.

  3. Remove it.

  4. Pull off the large scales.

  5. When cold, put it in a pot.

  6. Cover it with one part vinegar and two parts salt and water.

  7. Keep it closely stopped.

Serve

  1. When served, garnish with green fennel.

By Mary Randolph. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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

Sturgeon (in the method)
Forms the main body of the dish, with its firm flesh pickled and cooked through.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that sharpens the flavor and helps preserve the pickled fish.

The step that matters

Boil until a straw can run easily into the skin. Boiling must be carried far enough to fully cook and soften the fish, yet stopped before it falls apart. The straw test checks tenderness by feel, showing when the flesh has given way without overcooking.

“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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