Mr Yarell's Recipe for Barbecued Sea-bream is a traditional British recipe, based on a note in Mrs Beeton's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of sea-bream that's seasoned and dusted with flour before being cooked over hot coals in a barbecue. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Mr Yarell's Recipe for Barbecued Sea-bream.
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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. This recipe is given as a footnote to the recipe for baked sea-bream and is a method for barbecuing bream.
Original Recipe
MR. YARRELL'S RECIPE.
"When thoroughly cleansed, the fish should be wiped dry, but none of the scales should be taken off. In this state it should be broiled, turning it often, and if the skin cracks, flour it a little to keep the outer case entire. When on table, the whole skin and scales turn off without difficulty, and the muscle beneath, saturated in its own natural juices, which the outside covering has retained, will be of good flavour."
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
1 sea bream
salt and freshly-ground black pepper
flour to dust
Method:
Wash and gut the bream (but do not remove the scales) then wipe completely dry with a clean cloth or kitchen paper. Season both inside and out with salt and black pepper then dust with flour.
Pre-heat your barbecue and when hot add the fish. Cook, turning frequently, until the fish is golden and cooked through. The aim is to keep the fish skin whole, so the fish effectively poaches in its own skin. If you tear the skin or the skin cracks then dust with flour to keep the juices inside.
When cooked in this manner you should be easily able to peel off the skin prior to serving the fish.
