Name: To Boil a John Dory
Ingredients: 1 John Dory (8-12 pounds); 2 ounces coarse sea salt; Cold water

To Boil a John Dory

Ingredients

1 John Dory (8-12 pounds)
2 ounces coarse sea salt
Cold water

Directions

Prepare

Gut the fish immediately to prevent unpleasant taste.
Remove the long spikes and trim the fins without removing them completely.

Boil and serve

Place the fish in a kettle and cover with cold water mixed with salt.
Boil for 20 minutes if the fish is large.
Serve with lobster sauce.

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

John dory: The main fish, which is cooked whole and forms the body of the dish.
Coarse sea salt: Seasons the cooking water so the fish is flavoured as it poaches.

“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.