A Cod’s Head and Shoulders

A poached cod’s head and shoulders was a very popular dish on both the 18th- and 19th-century dinner table. It was practical, as it used a cut which would otherwise be used for soup or stock, but which held quite a bit of flesh. It also had the advantage of having several types of texture and flavour: meaty tongue, delicate cheeks and, of course, the firm cod steaks themselves (the shoulders). It would have been cooked in a fish kettle, but the original recipe also advises that you can stea