=353. Broiled Boned Smelts à la Béarnaise.=--Split twelve good-sized or eighteen medium-sized smelts up the back, remove the backbone, rub them with one tablespoonful of oil, and season with half a pinch of salt and a third of a pinch of pepper. Broil them in a double broiler for two minutes on each side; pour a little more than a gill of good Béarnaise sauce (No. 166) on a dish, arrange the smelts carefully on top, and serve, finishing with a very little demi-glace sauce (No. 185) around the dish.
=354. Smelts à la Toulouse.=--Take twelve large or eighteen medium-sized smelts, bone them as for the above, and then close them up again. Put them in a stewpan, with half a glassful of white wine and three tablespoonfuls of mushroom liquor; season with half a pinch of salt and the third of a pinch of pepper, and cook on a moderate fire for six minutes. Arrange the smelts on a dish, add to the sauce twelve mushroom buttons, two sliced truffles, six fish quenelles (No. 227), and moisten with half a pint of Allemande sauce (No. 210). Thicken with a tablespoonful of butter sufficiently, and throw the sauce over the smelts. Neatly dress the garnishing around the dish, and serve with six heart-shaped croûtons (No. 133). (Smelts are all prepared the same way, only adding different garnishings.)
=355. Stuffed Smelts.=--Cut off the fins, wash, and dry well with a towel, eighteen fine, fresh, medium-sized, Long Island smelts; remove the eggs without splitting the stomachs open, then fill them with a fish forcemeat (No. 227), using a paper cornet for the purpose. Lay the smelts on a well-buttered silver baking-dish (if possible), and cover them with a pint of sauce Italienne (No. 188). Put them in a hot oven and let bake for eight minutes; remove them, squeeze the juice of a good lemon over, and lay the silver dish on top of another to avoid soiling the table-cloth; then serve.
=356. Smelts au Gratin.=--Clean eighteen smelts, wipe them very dry, and put them on a baking-dish with two tablespoonfuls of cooked fine herbs (No. 143), half a glassful of white wine, half a pinch of salt, and a third of a pinch of pepper. Cover with six whole mushrooms and half a pint of Espagnole sauce (No. 151). Besprinkle lightly with fresh bread-crumbs and six drops of melted butter; place it in a hot oven for ten minutes, and serve with the juice of half a lemon, also a teaspoonful of chopped parsley sprinkled over. (The smelts can be boned if so desired).