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CHAPTER III.

Table of Contents

Fish.—Fish Caught in Muddy Streams.—Kill your Fish as Soon as Caught.—Fish Grubs.—Fish Fried, Planked, Skewered, and Boiled.—Fish Sauce, Fish Roe, Shell-Fish.

Fish should naturally have a prominent place in the canoeist's larder. Few streams that he will navigate are entirely destitute of edible fish, and a few minutes spent in angling will amply repay the cruiser.

Fish caught out of muddy streams have an unpleasant taste, and their flavor can be improved by soaking them half an hour or more in strong salted water. Fish should be killed as soon as caught by a sharp rap on the back just aft of the head with a stick or the handle of your big knife, not only in justice to the fish, but because he tastes better, for the same reason that a butchered steer is preferable to one smothered to death.

You may find grubs in fish along the backbone in July and August. You will generally remove them by taking out the backbone and its branches. But if you don't get them all out, never mind; they are good to eat; but if any one of the party is squeamish, tell him you have got them all out anyway: he won't know any better after they are cooked. It is supposed that everybody has known how to clean fish ever since he was a schoolboy, so we will proceed at once to the instructions for cooking.

Fried Fish.

Small fish may be fried whole, but large ones should be cut up. Have enough pork fat or lard bubbling hot in the frying-pan to well cover the fish. Smear the fish well with dry corn meal or flour, or, what is better, dip it into well-beaten egg and then into bread or cracker crumbs, and fry both sides to a clear golden brown. Sprinkle lightly with pepper and salt just as it is turning brown.

Planked Fish.

Shad, flounders, sunfish or any other "flat" fish may be "planked." Cut off the head and tail, split open the back, but do not cut clear through the belly, leaving the fish so that it may be opened wide like a book and tacked on a plank or piece of bark. Tack some thin slices of bacon or pork to the end of the fish that will be uppermost when before the fire, and, if you like, a few slices of raw onion sprinkled with pepper and salt. Sharpen one end of the plank and drive it into the ground, before a bed of hot coals. Catch the drippings in a tin cup or large spoon and baste the fish continually till it smells so good you can't wait another instant to eat it. It is then done.

Skewered Trout.

Sharpen a small, straight stick, and on it skewer small trout and thin slices of bacon or pork in alternation. Hold over a bed of hot coals and keep constantly turning, so that the juices will not be lost in the fire. A very few minutes will suffice to cook the trout.

Boiled Fish.

Tie or pin the fish (which should not weigh less than three pounds) in a clean cloth. If the pot is too small for the fish, skewer the tail into the mouth. Put into enough boiling water to cover it about an inch, and simmer steadily until done. Some fish boil quicker than others; as a general rule those of white flesh requiring less time than those of a darker tinge. If a couple of tablespoonfuls of salt and four ditto of vinegar are put into the water the fish will cook sooner. About twenty-five minutes are necessary for a three-pound fish, and over that six minutes extra to every pound. An underdone fish is not fit to eat, and one boiled too long is insipid. When the meat separates easily from the backbone it is cooked just right. Take it up, remove the cloth carefully, and pour over it the following hot

Fish Sauce.

Put two tablespoonfuls of butter and two ditto of flour into a hot frying pan over the fire and mix them together with a spoon into a smooth paste. Pour over very gradually about a pint of the water in which the fish was boiled, stirring it well in. Boil up once and season with pepper and salt. If an acid taste is desired, add a few drops of vinegar.

Boiled Fish Roe.

Wash and wipe the roes with a soft cloth. Wrap in a cloth and boil the same as fish. Or, they may be tied inside the fish with a string and boiled with it.

Fried Fish Roe.

Prepare as above, dredge in meal or flour, and fry exactly as fish.

Soft Crabs.

Have enough boiling hot grease in a pan over a hot fire to cover the crabs. Throw them in as soon as possible after they are taken, with a little salt. Let them brown and turn them once. When done cut off the gills or "dead men's fingers," and serve on toast.

Hard Shell Crabs.

These are best steamed. Boil two cups of water in your largest pail. Put in two or three large handfuls of grass and then the crabs, as soon as possible after they are caught. Over them put more grass, and, covering the pail, let them steam thoroughly over the fire for twenty minutes. When done, eat all except the shell, the gills and the stomach, which last is in an easily distinguished sack. Be sure to have sufficient water in the pail to keep up the steam for the requisite time.

Fried Oysters.

Strain the liquor from the oysters. Crush crackers into fine crumbs; or, if you have no crackers, toast some slices of bread and crush them fine. Beat up an egg (both white and yolk) in a tin cup with a spoon. Dip the oysters into the beaten egg, then roll them in the crumbs, and put over the fire in a pan of boiling fat over half an inch deep. Turn when brown on one side, and let the other side brown. If the oysters are small do not prepare them singly, but place them two together (the large portions at opposite ends), then immerse them in the egg and crumbs together. If the crumbs do not readily adhere, pat the oysters gently while rolling them in the crumbs.

Blanketed Oysters.

Get the largest oysters you can find, cut fat bacon into very thin slices, wrap an oyster in each slice, and skewer with a small stick. Heat a frying pan very hot, put in your oysters, and cook long enough to just crisp the bacon—not over two minutes—taking care that they do not burn. Serve immediately without removing the skewers.