2 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



dry or hard salt being used in such quantities that much free, undis- 

 solved salt surrounds the flesh in the brine that is formed by the 

 moisture in the fish. The products of various combinations of dry- 

 ing, salting, and smoking are often confused with mild-cured salmon 

 when sold in local markets. 



Kippered salmon is the chief rival of the mild-cured product as a 

 delicac3^ In kippering, the meat is cooked rather than cured, and is 

 more approj^riately called " barbecued " salmon. In this process the 

 fish is cut into 1-pound chunks and cured for only about three hours 

 in an 80 per cent brine. It is then washed and dried, either by air 

 blast or over a small fire, after being strung on wares or placed, 

 skin down, on wire netting of about one-half-inch mesh. It is then 

 ready for the principal step in its preparation — the broiling or bar- 

 becuing over a hot fire or bed of coals until thoroughly cooked. It 

 is best when served warm from the barbecue, but is good the next 

 day. Thrte days after the cooking it is not usable. Salmon prepared 

 in this way is sometimes served in local restaurants after reheating in 

 the oven. 



HISTORY OF MILD CURE 



The process of mild curing salmon is of comparatively recent 

 origin. A number of years ago, particularly at Halifax, the Atlan- 

 tic salmon, which is a small fish usually not over 12 or 15 pounds in 

 weight, was given a brine cure preparatory to smoking, but the 

 process M^as crude and far inferior to the present method. The fine 

 quality curing was developed on the Pacific coast. 



The first mild cure of king salmon was tried on the Columbia 

 River about 1889, the curing being done in whisky casks. The 

 product w^as shipped to Germany, but as there were no cold-storage 

 facilities about half the fish soured during the voyage. About five 

 years later another attempt was more successful, but extensive cur- 

 ing on the Columbia River was not practiced until 1896. Salmon 

 were cured in 400-pound barrels, but this method was not satis- 

 factory, as large fish often w^ere broken by being crowded into the 

 barrels. Finke Bros., a cooperage firm in Portland, Oreg., is cred- 

 ited with making the first salmon tierces, or large-diameter, 800- 

 pound barrels, that have become the standard container. About 

 1897 or 1898 mild curing started on Puget Sound, but it was not well 

 established until 1901. The abundance of salmon in Alaska at- 

 tracted packers, and in 1902 the curing began, starting at Taku Inlet. 

 By 1904 several stations in Alaska were mild curing, the price to 

 fishermen that year being $1 for three large fish. Salmon under 22 

 pounds in weight were counted two for one, but the fish are said to 

 have averaged 30 to 35 pounds, with very few small fish. The cured 

 fish sold at 714 cents per pound. 



In California mild curing was developed later than in the north, 

 the start being made in about 1900 on the Sacramento River, which 

 is also accredited with the first salmon cannery in the United States. 

 About 1901 mild curing started at Monterey and became the chief 

 fishery industry of that bay, but recently the sardine-canning busi- 

 ness has left it far behind. For several years Monterey was the only 

 place in California where ocean-caught salmon were cured, the fish, 

 being taken by trolling. 



