Recipe Manuscript

To Pot Charrs

Name: To Pot Charrs
Prep time: PTP1DT30M
Cook time: PTPT6H
Yield: 8
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: 1–2 kg Arctic char (or trout), scaled and gutted; Coarse sea salt (approx. 50 g or to taste); Freshly ground black pepper (10 g); Unsalted butter for clarifying (approx. 500 g); Whole mace (5 g), broken into pieces; Whole cloves (5 g); Freshly grated nutmeg (2 g); Whole allspice (Jamaica pepper) (5 g); Optional: flour and water for a rough pastry lid (replace with foil or baking parchment in modern ovens)

1764

From the treasured pages of Cookbook of Mary Puleston

Written by Mary Puleston

Culinary Enlightenment (1700 - 1800)European Advanced Dinner Lunch Snack Other

Original Recipe • 1764

Original Manuscript(circa Culinary Enlightenment, 1700 - 1800)

As inscribed by the original author's hand, transcribed with care by Lost Kitchen Scrolls

To Pot Charrs

"Take your Charrs & open them, & clean out all of ye guts, cut of ye heads & all of ye fins, then take a clean coarse cloth & rub out all of back bones & blood & dry up all of ye moisture with your cloth, so let them lye two or three hours then take another clean cloth & dry up all of Moisture & so do every two or three hours tile there be no moisture about em wch will be a day or two for when you dry em over so welle they give again but be sure when ever you dry em lay em upon a board single one by one you must not wash em when you perceive there is no moisture left. then will dryd take pepper & salt & rub every one of them with your fingers about ye back bone & all over them with a little pepper & salt when that is done put em close up in your potts with their bellys downwards so lay another row cross over again after ye same manner then melt some sweet butterr over a very slow fire so let it stand a while & take of ye scam & file up your potts of charrs with ye clear butterr & have care that none of ye sower milk that will be in ye bottom of ye pan will go in so cover your potts with a piece of coarse paist & put them in ye oven with ye household bread they must stand in ye Oven at least five hours to disolve ye bones after they are baked take em out of your potts & lay em upon a board one by one yt they may drain & when cold have ready mace & cloves a good quantity a little nutmagg with a little Jamaica pepper if you find ye Charrs not salt enough you may add a little more to this seasoning then take your charrs & file their bellys both well with this seasoning & all about ye necks then take ye reddest of them & put em again in other clear potts with their bellys downwards so strew a little seasoning over em then put more charrs over the first lear tile your potts are full then clarify your butterr as you did before & file up your potts with it & so set em in an Oven again for an hour or two & after they are taken out file your potts very welle with clarifyd butterr to make em keep be sure you dont pour out your butterr too near least ye milk go in also ye white Charrs you may put into other potts & spend as you shall see ocasion the higher you season em with mace & Clovs the better they will keep."

Note on the Original Text

The recipe’s language is direct and instructional, emphasizing the sequence of preparation over precise measurement. Spelling is non-standard (‘ye’ for ‘the’, ‘em’ for ‘them’, ‘wch’ for ‘which’), reflecting regional and early modern English usage. Steps are densely packed, assuming the reader has basic knowledge of kitchen craft, and the directions often serve as a memory guide rather than an exact manual.

Modern Kitchen Interpretation

Recipe's Origin

Cookbook of Mary Puleston - Click to view recipe in book

Title

Cookbook of Mary Puleston (1764)

You can also click the book image above to peruse the original tome

Writer

Mary Puleston

Era

1764

Publisher

Unknown

Background

A tantalizing compilation of 18th-century culinary wisdom, this collection artfully preserves the flavors, techniques, and charms of British cookery before 1764—inviting modern gourmets to savor a taste of history with every recipe.

Kindly made available by

Folger Shakespeare Library

Historical Background of the Recipe

Learn about old traditions

This recipe comes from an English household manuscript compiled before 1764 by Mary Puleston. The method reflects the era’s urgent need for food preservation before refrigeration. Potted fish was a way to extend the keeping time of perishable protein, especially in regions near productive lakes. The use of clarified butter was a classic method for creating an airtight seal, while baking for hours made the bones soft and the flesh deeply infused with spice—a testimony to both necessity and the English love of boldly spiced preserved foods.

Culinary Tools when the Recipe was Crafted

Tools and techniques from kitchens of old

In the eighteenth century, cooks would have used a large wooden board for drying, heavy cloths for wiping, an earthenware or stoneware preserve pot for storing the fish, and a hearth or wood-fired oven for the long, slow baking. A skimmer (often a simple spoon with holes) would have been used to clarify the butter. No thermometers: everything was managed by experience, by hand, and by touch.

Modern Kitchen Adaptation

Ingredients and techniques for today's cooks

ounces, cups, Fahrenheit

Prep Time

P1DT30M

Cook Time

6 hrs

Servings

Ingredients

2–4 lbs Arctic char (or trout), scaled and gutted
Coarse sea salt (approx. 1 3/4 oz or to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper (1/3 oz)
Unsalted butter for clarifying (approx. 18 oz)
Whole mace (0.2 oz), broken into pieces
Whole cloves (0.2 oz)
Freshly grated nutmeg (0.07 oz)
Whole allspice (Jamaica pepper) (0.2 oz)
Optional: flour and water for a rough pastry lid (replace with foil or baking parchment in modern ovens)

Instructions

Begin by sourcing Arctic char (you may substitute with trout if char is unavailable).
Rinse and open the fish, removing all internal organs, heads, and fins.
Using a clean kitchen towel, carefully wipe out the blood and backbones, absorbing as much moisture as possible.
Allow the fish to rest flat in a single layer on a tray in the refrigerator, uncovered, and every few hours, gently blot them dry with clean towels.
Continue this drying process for 24–48 hours, until the flesh is as dry as you can manage without a dehydrator.
Once the fish are fully dried, season their cavities and surfaces thoroughly with a mixture of coarse salt and black pepper.
Place the fish, belly down, in a deep ovenproof pot (such as a Dutch oven or stoneware crock).
Layer them neatly, alternating directions for each layer.
Gently melt unsalted butter, skimming off any white milk solids that rise to the top.
Pour the clear part of the butter (clarified butter) over the fish to just cover them.
Cover the pots with a lid or pastry crust (parchment tightly tied on will do in modern ovens).
Bake in a low oven (250°F) for approximately 5 hours to soften the fish bones.
Carefully lift out the fish and lay them on a tray to drain and cool.
When cold, season liberally with crushed whole mace, cloves, grated nutmeg, and allspice (Jamaica pepper).
If more salt is needed, add it now.
Return the seasoned fish to clean pots, layering with more seasoning.
Pour over more clarified butter, and bake at 250°F for a further 1–2 hours.
When finished, top up the pots with more clarified butter, seal, and cool.
Store refrigerated and consume within a week, or freeze for longer keeping.

Estimated Calories

400 per serving

Cooking Estimates

You will spend about 30 minutes cleaning and prepping the fish, plus 24–48 hours drying them in the fridge. Cooking is done in two stages: about 5 hours for the first bake, and 1–2 hours for the second bake. Each serving contains an estimated 400 calories, and the recipe makes about 8 servings.