314 COOKING OF SALMON, &c. 



throw away the entrails and gills; also wash the fish 

 well, removing and pressing out every bloody particle 

 from the inside. Take out the eyes and insert a pinch 

 or two of salt in their place, also cut away the vent. 

 This done, sprinkle a handful or two of brown sugar 

 over the inside, and above it, the same quantity or 

 rather more of common salt. The latter will occasion 

 the sugar to penetrate and help to improve the flavour 

 of the salmon better than if the materials had been 

 previously mixed up together. Some recommend the 

 rubbing in of salt and sugar, by means of the hand, 

 against the scales of the fish externally, as well as over 

 the inside ; but this is not at all necessary. After the 

 application in question has been made, lay the salmon 

 flat upon a board, the inside turned uppermost; cover 

 with a cloth and allow it to remain twenty-four hours, 

 or if preferred saltish, thirty-six hours in a cool place ; 

 after which, give it a slight wash, in order to improve 

 its appearance, and arrange two or three wooden pegs 

 or skewers along the interior from flank to flank, to 

 keep it stretched; then hang it up to dry in a place 

 neither too hot nor too cool. Should the weather 

 prove fine, an hour or two of exposure to the sun and 

 air will conduce to accelerate the curing process, and 

 render it less liable to be injured by dust and smoke. 

 Salmon, on being kippered, are subject to a consider- 

 able loss of weight ; for instance, a fish that originally 

 weighed sixteen pounds will, when cured, not exceecj 

 eleven. In broiling kipper, it is a great improvement 

 to wrap up the cuts, which ought not to be made too 

 thin, in white paper. This will prevent them being 

 smoked or becoming too hard externally. Fresh sal- 

 mon broiled in the same manner is delicious, and made 

 to retain its flavour in full perfection. 



