“However, a warm savory steam from the kitchen served to belie the apparently cheerless prospect before us. But when that smoking chowder came in, the mystery was delightfully explained. Oh! sweet friends, hearken to me. It was made of small juicy clams, scarcely bigger than hazel nuts, mixed with pounded ship biscuits, and salted pork cut up into little flakes! the whole enriched with butter, and plentifully seasoned with pepper and salt. Our appetites being sharpened by the frosty voyage, and in particular, Queequeg seeing his favourite fishing food before him, and the chowder being surpassingly excellent, we despatched it with great expedition: when leaning back a moment and bethinking me of Mrs. Hussey's clam and cod announcement, I thought I would try a little experiment. Stepping to the kitchen door, I uttered the word "cod" with great emphasis, and resumed my seat. In a few moments the savoury steam came forth again, but with a different flavor, and in good time a fine cod-chowder was placed before us.”
A cook of roughly the same moment, setting down the same dish.
the bottom of a deep sauce-pan and fry it brown; take it out, and put in layers of potatoes, onions and fish sliced, seasoning each layer plentifully with salt and pepper; using about three pounds of fish, and a quart each of potatoes and onions; cover with cold water, bring gradually to a boil, and cook slowly for thirty minutes; then add two pounds of sea-biscuits soaked for five minutes in warm water, and boil five minutes longer and serve. This receipt calls for the addition of half a pint of port wine, and a bottle of champagne to be added to the chowder just before serving; but it is quite good enough without, and far less expensive. 20. =Club House Fish Cakes.=--Wash and boil one quart of potatoes, putting them on the fire in cold water enough to cover them, and a tablespoonful of salt.
Sources: The passage is from Herman Melville, Moby Dick, free to read in full at Project Gutenberg. The recipe is from Corson, The Cooking Manual of Practical Directions for Economical of 1877, also free in full. Both are in the public domain in the United States. The binding above is ours — oxblood cloth, whale stamp.