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Poached Pikeperch

4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pcs pikeperch
• salt (a little)
• vinegar (for blue-cooked pikeperch) (a little)
• boiled potatoes (as needed)
• parsley, chopped (a little)
• melted butter or remoulade, mayonnaise, anchovy, oyster, or mushroom sauce (as needed)

Instructions

1. Scale and gut the pikeperch, score it lightly and closely on the back, rub with salt inside and out, and let stand for an hour.
2. You can cook it whole or cut into pieces; if it's to remain whole, it's best cooked in a fish kettle with a lifter.
3. Otherwise, thread a string through its tail and eyes with a packing needle, tie it, and place the curved fish back down in water until cooked.
4. If you want to cook blue pikeperch, do not scale it, only gut it, pour cold vinegar over it, and let it stand covered for about half an hour, which will turn it blue.
5. When serving, place the fish on a warmed platter and carefully remove the string so it doesn't fall apart.
6. For blue pikeperch, serve hot boiled potatoes tossed with chopped parsley and melted butter or remoulade, mayonnaise, anchovy, oyster, or mushroom sauce.

Modernized from a treasured 19th-century German cookbook.