MILD CURING OF SALMON IN CALIFORNIA 



CLEANING LOSS 



The loss in weight in preparing the round fish for curing is from 

 30 to 35 per cent. Roughly, 1,130 pounds of round salmon will make 

 an 800-pound tierce of sides, a loss of 330 pounds. 



There are three steps in the preparation of the fish: (1) Heading 

 (removing head and gills), (2) cleaning or gutting (removing en- 

 trails), and (3) splitting (removing backbone). For a given size 

 of fish the loss from heading and splitting is fairly constant, but in 

 cleaning (removing entrails) the loss varies in different localities 

 and at different times of the year because of variation in size of the 

 eggs or milt and in stomach contents. There is also variation in the 

 percentage of loss due to size of fish, large fish suffering relatively 

 smaller loss than small fish. 



Fish under 16 pounds in the round, or about 32 inches in length, 

 seldom are split, as that size is necessary to make the smallest side 

 accepted — 6 pounds. Fish under 16 pounds are either sold to fresh 

 markets or canned. 



HEADING AND CLEANING 



The fish in the round are thrown onto the long table (serving for 

 heading, cleaning, splitting, and sliming) and are headed before 

 cleaning, the gills being removed with the head. A diagonal cut is 

 made through the head, beginning at a point on the top of the head 

 1 or 2 inches from the back and slanting backward through the car- 

 tilage of the head but only partially through the " cheek plates " 

 (opercle). Two flips of the knife cut the cheek plates free from the 

 head, and a semicircular stroke of the knife frees the gills and the 

 tip of flesh on the lower side. Part of the cartilage of the back 

 of the head thus remains on the fish for the purpose of holding the 

 flesh of the " side " together more firmly. 



The headed fish is opened with one knife stroke, beginning at the 

 anal opening. Entrails are then removed and two cuts made in the 

 kidney, which lies at the top of the body cavity next to the back- 

 bone. The knife point is then used to scrape out the kidney. 



SCORING 



When the round fish go onto the cleaning table, either just before 

 or just after being headed, the sides are "scored;" that is, gashes 

 are cut in the skin to allow a more ready penetration of the salt. 

 The fat or oil of the fish tends to exclude the brine, and it is there- 

 fore more difficult to cure the fat oily regions of the side. The base 

 of the dorsal fin and just back of the " collar " are particularly oily 

 spotSj and are frequently the first to show taint in curing. Down 

 the top of the back is another oily region, but splitting exposes this 

 so that it cures readily. There is a fat layer under the skin, 

 especially along the lateral line. Under this line there is a triangular 

 strip of dark meat that is apt to sour in curing, and for this reason 

 the scoring should be along the lateral line. If done with an 

 ordinary knife, the gashes are apt to be too deep and may cut 

 through the fat into the red meat. A notch is usually filed in the 



