REFRIGERATION AND FREEZING OF FISH 339 



blood removed by hand, sometimes with the help of brushes. If the salmon are fat, 

 running water is imperative to prevent the smearing of the fish with the ac- 

 cumulated bits of fat. In any fish the use of running water has been shown to be 

 very important. Halibut, after being laid on the floor, white sides up, and with 

 head ends in one direction, are washed by means of a hose. They may also be 

 washed by turning a hose into the belly cavity or by being placed in water tanks. 

 Smaller fish to be panned are washed in a long tank. Fresh water is most com- 

 monly used. Care should be exercised to get pure, wholesome drinking water, or 

 pure sea water. Harbor water is unsafe as the fish are to be eaten. 



Swordfish and sturgeon are butchered and cut into pieces of convenient size, 

 usually about 2 feet long. Halibut and salmon go to the sharp freezer from the 

 washing. Nearly all smaller fish are panned. 



The panning tables are located adjacent to the washing tank. Often the tables 

 are small shelves attached to the washing tank or to a draining trough. 



The pans are of 20- to 22-gauge galvanized iron; the commonest size is 

 16 inches X 26 inches X 3 inches deep, holding from 25 to 40 pounds each. In 

 any event they should produce cakes which will fit the final packing box. Some 

 pans have a few holes in the bottom to permit drainage of water, slime, and blood. 

 Usually the pans have sloping sides to facilitate removal of the frozen cake. How- 

 ever, if the pans have lids, the sides of the pans and lids are straight. Lids help to 

 prevent the evaporation of moisture in the sharp freezer. The fish are placed in 

 regular arrangement in the pans, the arrangement depending on the size and shape 

 of the fish. It is a good plan to pack fish with their bellies exposed at least on one 

 side; the belly side most readily indicates the condition of the fish. If the bellies are 

 gassy, it is best to pack them inward so that the glaze does not come off readily. 

 In order to make firm cakes it is desirable to pack the fish in the pans so that 

 they press firmly together. Too close packing, however, makes separation of the 

 cakes impossible. 



The character of the skin has much to do with the solidity of the cake. Fish 

 which have soft slimy skin, like catfish, eels, lake trout, etc., make substantial 

 cakes, while fish with rough, stiff skin, like the blue and yellow pikes, make cakes 

 that break up rather more readily. Skilled panners require from 1% to 2% minutes 

 to pan Spanish mackerel in pans of the size described. 



Pans used for freezing fish should be cleaned occasionally by scrubbing with 

 hot water and a good scouring powder. 



When the pans are packed, they are placed on trucks and carted to the sharp 

 freezers. 



Fillets and Steaks 



In 1921 Dana Ward started filleting fish and packaging them for sale in the 

 New England market. Haddock and cod fillets, being substantially boneless and 

 free from waste, immediately became very popular. Other fillets which are now 

 produced on a large scale include flounder, sole, pollock, rosefish or red perch, 

 rockfish, whiting, dabs, hake, and cusk. 



Fillets are obtained by cutting the flesh from one side of the backbone the 

 length of the fish starting just behind the head, then turning the fish over and 

 cutting a similar strip of flesh from the other side of the backbone. Some fillets 

 are skinned, others marketed without skinning. 



