Name: Cod’s Head & Shoulders
Ingredients: sufficient water to cover the fish; 5 oz. coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt') for each gallon of water

The recipe

Ingredients

Contains: fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

sufficient water to cover the fish
5 oz. coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt') for each gallon of water

Directions

Prepare the fish

Clean the fish thoroughly.
Rub a little salt over the thick part and inside the fish 1 to 2 hours before cooking.
Place the fish in a fish kettle and cover it with cold water.
Avoid pouring water directly on the fish to prevent breaking it.

Poach

Add salt in the specified proportion.
Gradually bring the water to a boil.
Skim carefully.
Reduce heat.
Keep the water just simmering.
If the water boils away, add more by pouring it in at the side of the kettle.
Let it gently simmer until done.

Serve

Remove the fish and drain it.
Serve on a hot napkin garnished with cut lemon and horseradish.

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

Cod (in the method): Is the main protein poached gently in salted water until its flesh is cooked through.
Coarse sea salt: Seasons the fish and water, and firms the flesh as it is salted before cooking.