A Sauce for a Carp

The conversation soon turned upon fishing, and she heard Mr Darcy invite him, with the greatest civility, to fish there as often as he chose while he continued in the neighbourhood, offering at the same time to supply him with fishing tackle, and pointing out those parts of the stream where there was usually most sport.

Pride and Prejudice

One can readily call to mind Mr. Darcy’s kind offer of fishing tackle to Elizabeth’s Uncle, but what was to be done with all the fish caught on the grounds of Pemberley? Undoubtedly, some of them made their way to the dining room. Jane Austen’s dear friend Martha Lloyd enjoyed this recipe for Carp because of its excellent sauce. The directions are easily adapted for today’s cooks.

Sauce for a Carp--and to cook your Carp

Put into a quarter of a pint of good gravy an anchovy shred’d small, a race [root] of ginger bruised, a bit of thyme, a bit of breadcrumbs small, and let this boil a little while. Then put in near a lb of butter, some of which must be mix’d with flour to make the sauce thick, and when it has just boiled as butter does, put in a spoonful of catchup, the blood of the carp and half a lemon squeez’d. Take out the thyme and ginger. The carp must be bled in two or three spoonfuls of red wine in a pewter plate, kept stirring all the time they bleed. They must not be boiled in much more water than will cover them. You must put in about ½ a pint of vinegar in the water—you put them in and add a bunch of sweet herbs, an onion, a race of ginger, some boiled lemon peel and a piece of lemon. Martha Lloyd's Household Book

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