No. 326 Smelts, to fry them.
Select these fishes very fresh, they being so very delicate they must not be kept more than one day in summer or two in winter; their appearance when fresh is very silvery, the eyes are very bright, and they smell like violets or cucumbers, but if the belly looks at all black they are not fresh, and consequently not wholesome; the most common method of dressing them is to fry them; dry them well in a cloth, and dip them in flour; then have half an ounce of butter melted in a stewpan, into which break the yolks of two eggs, with which wash the smelts over with a paste brush, dip them in bread-crumbs, fry in very hot lard, dress them on a napkin, garnish with parsley, and serve with shrimp sauce in a boat.