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Crimped Skate

Crimped Skate is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of poached, rolled skate wings served with a sauce suitable for fish. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Crimped Skate.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

20 minutes

Total Time:

40 minutes

Serves:

2

Rating:

Tags : British Recipes

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

315. INGREDIENTS — 1/8 lb. of salt to each gallon of water.

Mode.–Clean, skin, and cut the fish into slices, which roll and tie round with string. Have ready some water highly salted, put in the fish, and boil till it is done. Drain well, remove the string, dish on a hot napkin, and serve with the same sauces as above. Skate should never be eaten out of season, as it is liable to produce diarrhoea and other diseases. It may be dished without a napkin, and the sauce poured over.

Time.–About 20 minutes. Average cost, 4d. per lb.

Seasonable from August to April.

TO CHOOSE SKATE.–This fish should be chosen for its firmness, breadth, and thickness, and should have a creamy appearance. When crimped, it should not be kept longer than a day or two, as all kinds of crimped fish soon become sour.

THE SKATE.–This is one of the ray tribe, and is extremely abundant and cheap in the fishing towns of England. The flesh is white, thick, and nourishing; but, we suppose, from its being so plentiful, it is esteemed less than it ought to be on account of its nutritive properties, and the ease with which it is digested. It is much improved by crimping; in which state it is usually sold in London. The THORNBACK differs from the true skate by having large spines in its back, of which the other is destitute. It is taken in great abundance during the spring and summer months, but its flesh is not so good as it is in November. It is, in regard to quality, inferior to that of the true skate.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

skate (or thornback ray)
salt (55g per 500ml boiling water)

Method:

Clean, skin and cut the skate wings into slices. Roll these and tie securely with string. Bring a pan of water to a boil and add 55g salt per 500ml water. Add the fish and boil until done (about 20 minutes).

Drain well then remove the string, arrange the fish on a serving plate and serve with shrimp sauce, crab sauce, lobster sauce or caper sauce.

Find more Mrs Beeton Recipes Hereand more Traditional Victorian Recipes Here