CHRISTMAS COD FISH BALLS

From 1889:

The favorite breakfast dish in the chief justices family on a Christmas morning are cod fish balls. They will be made in a way undreamed of. Mrs Fuller learned the art when a bride visiting the chief justice’s Maine home. Two of his old aunts taught her. She prefaces the recipe
with an injunction that the cod fish should be carefully picked. Here it is:

Equal parts of cod fish and mashed potatoes, thoroughly mixed with cooked red beets chopped fine. Mold into balls, brown in the fat of salt pork and garnish with the crisp bits of fried pork.