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Brine for Boiling Fish

A brine solution used to boil fish, made with cold water and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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Brine for Boiling Fish

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Bring 1 gallon of cold water to a boil.

  2. Add the fish and boil for the following times: large turbot or cod's head for 10 minutes, moderate plaice or John Dory for 5 minutes, small fish for 3-4 minutes.

  3. Remove 1 gallon of water from the kettle and set aside.

  4. Add salt to the remaining water, adjusting based on the type of fish.

  5. Skim the water to remove any scum that forms.

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

Salt
Seasons the water so the fish takes on flavor while it cooks.

The step that matters

Adding the fish and timing the boil. Fish proteins toughen and dry out when overcooked, so the boil time should match the size of the fish. Smaller fish need the shortest times.

“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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