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What You Need:
(To serve 4)
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2 tablespoons butter, softened, plus
¼ pound (1 stick), melted
3- to 3½-pound whole walleyed pike, cleaned and scaled but with head and tail left on,
or substitute any other whole, firm, white freshwater fish
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 medium-sized potato, peeled
2 slices bacon, 8 to 9 inches long
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped onions
3 whole allspice
3 whole cloves
3 whole black peppercorns, coarsely crushed with a mortar and pestle or wrapped in a towel and crushed with a rolling pin 1 small bay leaf, crumbled
2 cups white wine, preferably a Moselle
½ cup water
1 tablespoon flour
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Translate this recipe:
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| How To Cook: |
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1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Line a roasting pan or casserole large enough to hold the fish comfortably with a wide strip of heavy-duty foil and let 2 inches extend over the pan at each end. With a pastry brush coat the foil lightly with 1 tablespoon of the soft butter.
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2. Wash the fish under running water and dry it thoroughly with paper towels. Sprinkle it inside and out with salt and lemon juice. With a small, sharp knife, cut away a 1-inch-wide strip of skin from the backbone, starting just be. hind the head and reaching almost to the tail of the fish.
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3. Insert the potato into the cavity of the fish, then place the fish, split side down, in the lined pan. (The potato will serve to keep the back of the fish upright, but it is not meant to be served.) Lay the bacon strips over the exposed strip of flesh on the back, and sprinkle the fish lightly with white pepper.
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4. Pour the ¼ pound of melted butter over the entire surface of the fish and scatter the onions, allspice, cloves, peppercorns and bay leaf on top. Pour in 2 cups of wine and ½ cup of water and bring it to a boil over high heat.
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5. Cover the pan and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the fish is firm when pressed lightly with a finger. Baste the fish once or twice with the pan liquids during the cooking process. Remove the pan from the oven, and using the long ends of foil as handles carefully lift out the fish.
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6. Gently slide it from the foil onto a large heated platter. Remove and discard the bacon strips and cover the fish loosely with foil to keep it warm while you make the sauce. Strain the liquid left in the pan through a fine sieve into a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to boil, uncovered, until the liquid is reduced to 1 cup, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
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7. In a small bowl, make a paste of the remaining 1 tablespoon of soft butter and a tablespoon of flour, and stir it bit by bit into the simmering liquid. Cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens slightly. Taste for seasoning and pour the sauce into a sauceboat. Serve separately with the fish. Remove the potato before you carve the fish.
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