PRESERVATION OF FISHERY PRODUCTS FOR FOOD. 
411 
DRIED AND DRY-SALTED SALMON. 
On tlie Alaskan coast the Indians dry many salmon for their home use during the 
winter, and also at times prepare cod and other fish, the work being performed mostly 
by the women. As soon as the salmon is caught the backbone is broken just back of 
the head, so as to kill the fish at once and iirevent its thrashing about and bruising the 
tlesh. The fish is dressed by slivering the two sides from the head and backbone, but 
leaving them connected at the tail, the knife being inserted just below the nape bone 
and drawn closely along the backbone to witliin 2 or 3 inches of the tail, when 
a similar cut is made on the other side and a stroke of the knife severs the backbone 
close to the tail. Freijueutly the large fish are marked by a number of transverse 
cuts in the thick portion of the tlesh to facilitate the drying. The fish are then sus- 
pended from a pole or frame a few feet from the ground with the flesh outward, where 
they remain until (piite dry. Sometimes when ])oles are not conveniently obtainable 
the two sides of the fish are separated and laid face up on the beach. 
The process of drying requires from ten days to two weeks in ordinary weather. 
During rainy or cloudy weather the fish are ])laced under cover or turned with the 
skin outward. After being thoroughly dried these fish are stored under cover out of 
reach of dogs and children and form the principal food supplies of the natives during 
the winter, especially in the villages somewhat i.solated from the trading stations. 
Salmon when salted are commonly held in pickle in tight barrels, but a few are 
dry-salted for especially choice trade, in the following manner: The fresh fish is placed 
iu a cool place until the flesh is firmly set, when it is eviscerated and split down the 
back, so as to layout fiat, and the head and three-fourths of the backbone are removed. 
If desired, the flesh may then be smeared with blood of the fish to impart a reddish 
color in the cured produet; otherwise it is wiped clean and placed skin down in a 
salting tub having a layer of salt in the bottom and a layer of Ho. 2 salt spread 
evenly over the fish. Other fish similarly salted maybe placed in the salting tub, but 
not so many as to compress the bottom layers too much. The flavor is im])roved by 
adding sugar or saltpeter to the salt, about an ounce of either for each fish, and 
crushed peppers may also be added if desired. The fish remain in the salt from l.J to 
3 days, when they are removed, trussed in the manner so usual in smoking (see 
page 494), in order to keep them out fiat, and suspended in a shady but windy place 
until dry. The fish should be kept in a cool, dry place uutil used, which need not be 
for 2 or 3 months, according to the extent of the salting and the adaptability of the 
place where it is stored. Some persons pour a glass of cognac over the dry fish and 
allow it to soak iu to improve the flavor, but this is a matter of taste. The prepara- 
tion of salmon in the above manner is of very small extent, and none of the product 
goes upon the general market. 
The first volume of the Transactions of the Highland Society of Scotland describes 
the method of drying salmon in vogue in Scotland a century ago as follows: 
Kippered salmon are prepared by cutting them smoothly along the back from the tail to the 
head. The chine, or backbone, is then cutout and all the blood and garbage cleared away. The 
fishes are then salted and laid above each other, with the fleshy sides in contact, in a trough, commonly 
scooped out of a solid piece of beech, placed in a cool situation. A lid which exactly fits the aperture 
is placed above them and pressed down by heavy weights. After the fishes have imbibed a sufficient 
fxuantity of the pickle they are stretched upon small spars of wood and hung up to dry where there 
is a current of air. Sometimes they are hung in the smoke of a kitchen lire, which preserves, indeed, 
but conveys a bad flavor. Some, iu order to communicate a ijarticular flavor, mix 8i>ices with the' 
salt, or they rub the fish with spices before they are hung up to dry. 
