Forcemeat for Baked Pike is a traditional British recipe, based on Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic stuffing or breadcrumbs, herbs, oysters, anchovies and suet moistened with cream and bound with egg yolks that's typically used for pike. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Forcemeat for Baked 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
FORCEMEAT FOR BAKED PIKE.
418. INGREDIENTS.—3 oz. of bread crumbs, 1 teaspoonful of minced savoury herbs, 8 oysters, 2 anchovies (these may be dispensed with), 2 oz. of suet; salt, pepper, and pounded mace to taste; 6 tablespoonfuls of cream or milk, the yolks of 2 eggs.
Mode.—Beard and mince the oysters, prepare and mix the other ingredients by recipe No. 416, and blend the whole thoroughly together. Moisten with the cream and eggs, put all into a stewpan, and stir it over the fire till it thickens, when put it into the fish, which should have previously been cut open, and sew it up.
Time.—4 or 6 minutes to thicken.
Average cost, 10d.
Sufficient for a moderate-sized pike.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
90g breadcrumbs
1 tsp savoury herbs, finely minced
8 oysters
4 anchovy fillets
60g suet
salt, freshly-ground black pepper and ground mace, to taste
6 tbsp cream or milk
2 egg yolks
Method:
Shuck, beard and mince the oysters. Mince all the remaining ingredients as finely as you can before placing in a mortar (do not add the eggs). Pound well to combine and break the meats down.
In the meantime, whisk together the eggs. Pour into the mortar and work into the meat mass. Combine thoroughly and use as the stuffing for two your pike or any strong-flavoured fish.
