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.