MACKENZIE HOUSE
RECEIPT FROM THE HISTORIC KITCHEN


SCOTCH FISH AND SAUCE


ORIGINAL RECEIPT

Mistress Margaret Dods, The Cook and Housewife's Manual, (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd; London: Simpkin and Marhshall, 5th edition, 1833), page 306.

PLAIN SCOTCH FISH AND SAUCE, A MAIGRE DISH, number 731.
"This is, in fact, just a fish-soup. Make a stock of the heads, points and the tails, fins, &c., or, where fish is cheap, cut down a down a small one or two to help the stock. Boil green onions, parsley, and chives in this, and some whole pepper. When all the substance is obtained, strain it. Thicken with butter kneaded in browned flour, but only to the consistence of a soup, and put in the fish (generally haddocks), cut in three or divided. Boil the fish ten minutes, and serve them and the sauce together in a tureen or soup-dish.”

SCOTCH FISH AND SAUCE, A FAVOURITE FAMILY-DISH, number 732.
"Proceed as above to make a stock; or use broth of meat, if wanted rich, though plenty of butter kneaded in browned flour will make this rich enough. The fish cut in pieces may also be browned in the frying-pan. Season highly with mixed spices and a half -cupful of catsup. This dish may be enriched with oysters, shrimps, or muscles prepared: or with fish farce-balls. The sauce or soup should be rather thicker than in the former receipt. Serve as above. Some will like celery in this dish.”

HISTORIC BACKGROUND

“This is, in fact, just a fish-soup.” The word sauce in old Scottish usage meant gravy. This receipt (recipe) appears in the section on National Scottish Dishes, and was printed verbatim in 1929 in F. Marian McNeill’s The Scots Kitchen because it was still popular. Late 20th century cookery books from Scotland still include it, often as “Haddock in Brown Sauce”, a recipe for which also appears in Dods’ cookery book in the fish section.

Maigre comes from the French word maigre, meaning “lean” as in “meatless”. This Maigre Dish was considered proper for those days in the (Roman Catholic) calendar when meat was not allowed; fish was a favourite alternative. Maigre soups were quite popular. Today, these types of dishes are considered appropriate to most vegetarian diets. Notice that the second version calls for meat stock.

Butter kneaded in browned flour is a brown beurre manié, an influence of French cuisine. Browned flour and beurre manié are explained on the other side of this sheet. Catsup was originally an eastern sauce based on fish brine, that had become commercially available in Europe and North America. Receipts also appeared in early cookery books. The European version was a base of walnuts, oysters or mushrooms (the most common), combined with spices and vinegar. Very similar in intense flavour, colour and texture is worcesteshire sauce. Muscles are mussels.

Mistress Margaret Dods was the pseudonym of Christine Isabel Johnstone (1781-1857). She adopted the name from the innkeeper in Sir Walter Scott's novel St. Ronan's Well (1824). Mrs. Johnstone was a fine Scots cook, but her affinity for fine French cooking is found throughout her receipts.


OUR MODERN EQUIVALENT

A beurre manié is a simple, quick and informal method of thickening a sauce. It’s an uncooked paste of equal amount so butter and flour, in this case browned flour for darkening the sauce.

Browned flour: Mistress Dods provides instructions on how to brown your own white flour: “When browning or brown thickening is required for any dish, browned flour may be employed with much advantage. It is easily prpared by laying a quantity of flour on a plate, and placing it in an oven, or before the fire, till it takes the shade desired; for it may be of any tint, from that of cinnamon to the deepness of coffee. Turn it occasionally, that it may colour equally, and keep it for use.” (page 198) Browned flour keeps indefinitely in an airtight container.

In Mistress Dods receipt for Haddocks in Brown-Sauce, so similar to her receipt for Scotch Fish and Sauce, she suggested “put[ting] in a quarter-hundred of oysters”. She also remarks that the sauce should be “brown, smooth and thick”.

No salt is needed because the sauce is already strongly flavoured. Short of making your own mushroom or walnut catsup, worcestershire is an excellent readily-available substitute.

OR

Combine: fish heads and parts with green onions, parsley, chives, peppercorns and celery

Simmer: for about 30 minutes without a lid, until reduced by half, so “all the substance is obtained”

Yield: about 1 L (4 cups) fish stock

Fry: pieces of haddock in butter over high heat until brown on both sides; set aside

Strain: stock through sieve lined with cheesecloth; discard cheesecloth

Return: clear stock to cleaned pot

Knead : butter into browned flour to form a beurre manié

Whisk: beurre manié into hot stock until thoroughly absorbed, 15 mL (1 Tbsp.) at a time

Boil: sauce briefly until “brown, smooth and thick”

Blend in: spices and worceseshire sauce

Add: haddock “cut in three or divided” and oysters, shrimps or mussels if using

Cook: fish until tender, about10 minutes

Serve: in a tureen with toast triangles, called “sippets”

Yield: 6 servings

February 1998

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Published with the permission of Heritage Toronto. Jessup Food & Heritage acknowledges the excellent research and experimentation performed in the historic kitchens of Heritage Toronto at Fort York, Spadina House, MacKenzie House and Colborne Lodge under the leadership of Curator Fiona Lucas. Our thanks go to Fiona and her expert staff in allowing us to share with you their work.

Jessup Food & Heritage, Limited
P.O. Box 446, 356 East Street
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This page was last updated: Sunday, December 01, 2002