Boiled Pike is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of cleaned pike boiled in salted water with a little vinegar that's served with Dutch sauce or anchovy sauce or melted butter sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Boiled Pike.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from the redoubtable Mrs Beeton's 1861 volume Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management, the classic Victorian cookbook.
Original Recipe
295. INGREDIENTS.—1/4 lb. of salt to each gallon of water; a little vinegar.
Mode.—Scale and clean the pike, and fasten the tail in its mouth by means of a skewer. Lay it in cold water, and when it boils, throw in the salt and vinegar. The time for boiling depends, of course, on the size of the fish; but a middling-sized pike will take about 1/2 an hour. Serve with Dutch or anchovy sauce, and plain melted butter.
Time.—According to size, 1/2 to 1 hour.—Average cost. Seldom bought.
Seasonable from September to March.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
1 pike, scaled and cleaned
25g salt per 1l of water
1 tbsp vinegar per 1l of water
melted butter or Dutch sauce or anchovy sauce to accompany.
Method:
Scale and clean the pike then secure its tail in its mouth using a skewer. Lay the fish in cold water and bring to a boil. As soon as the water is boiling add the vinegar and salt (add 25g of salt and 1 tbsp vinegar per l1 of water used to cover the fish).
Cover and cook until the fish is tender (as a guide a medium-sized pike will take about 30 minutes and a large pike can take up to 1 hour). When done, remove the fish from the liquid, arrange on a serving plate and accompany with melted butter, Dutch sauce or anchovy sauce.
