412 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



brine. The fillets are usually colored with tartrazine and hung over rods in the 

 smokehouse where they are cured in exactly the same way as finnan haddie. In 

 fact smoke fillets are utilized in the same manner. They are perishable, and if 

 stored must be kept frozen. 



Kippered Herring. For a long time a favorite food of the Scotch and English 

 people, kippered herring have become increasingly popular in America and are 

 now being prepared on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. 



Fresh and frozen herring of the larger sizes are preferable for kippering pur- 

 poses. Fall or early winter-caught fish, which are neither too fat nor too lean, are 

 the best. With a small knife the herring are split along the back from head to 

 tail, with the belly remaining intact. The head and backbone are not removed. 

 After the entrails and gills are cleaned out, the split fish are washed thoroughly, 

 especially along the backbone, to remove blood, slime, and loose scales. Brining 

 for 30 to 45 minutes in a 60° Sal. brine is sufficient to give a good flavor. After 

 draining, the fish are hooked on special kipper sticks, and then placed in the 

 smoke oven. A preliminary 6- to 8-hour period with drying fires, followed by 

 smoking fires for about the same length of time, completes the cure. The tempera- 

 ture should be maintained below 85° F (29.4° C). 



The shrinkage from the round weight will average about 40 per cent, but 

 may run as high as 50 per cent in the case of small, lean herring. Flat wooden 

 boxes, containing 10 pounds of the kippers, are used for shipping. Since kippered 

 herring are a highly perishable product, they must be used within a few days 

 after preparation. However, by freezing they can be successfully shipped and 

 stored for extended periods. 



Hot-Smoking or Barbecuing. Kippered Salmon. The hot-smoking or kippering 

 of salmon has had its greatest development in the Pacific Northwest, where this 

 product is a staple article in nearly every butcher-shop and delicatessen store. 

 In recent years its use has spread to other sections of the country. Smokers in 

 many of the larger cities, especially in the Midwest and East, now cure kippered 

 salmon daily. On the Pacific Coast it is customary to use fresh fish during the 

 active fishing season and frozen fish the remainder of the year. In other places 

 the frozen stock is utilized on a year-round basis. Although all species of salmon 

 may be used, the most suitable one, from the standpoint of size and quality, is 

 the king or chinook, with the chum or fall as second choice. It is quite possible that 

 during the inception of this industry the red king salmon was used; but, as the 

 price of this variety increased, attention was tinned to the vitilization of the white 

 king, which commanded a much lower price. In order to obtain the same external 

 appearance it became necessary to dip the pieces of white king in a red coloring 

 solution. However, there is no appreciable difference so far as quality is concerned. 

 Some claim that the white variety is fatter and more tasty than the red, but these 

 factors may be more dependent on place and time of capture than on color. 



Frozen fish must, of course, be thawed out before use; this is usually done in 

 tanks of running water and takes from 8 to 15 hours, depending on the size of the 

 fish and temperature of the water. After removal of the fins the fish are split in 

 half and the backbones are removed, thus making fillets. This splitting operation 

 is quite similar to that described in the section on mild-cured salmon. The back- 

 bone may not be removed when some of the smaller species of salmon are utilized. 

 The sides are thoroughly cleaned and washed, then cut into approximately 



