492 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
Some markets prefer the herring well smoked on tlie inside, and to accomplish 
this the sides of the abdominal cavity are stretched open by means of small wooden 
sticks or toothpicks, either one or two sticks to each fish. This permits the smoke to 
permeate the stomach cavity better and results in a more durable article. In general, 
the Western trade prefers the stomach cavity stretched open, while the Eastern markets 
prefer them without the sticks; but there are exceptions. The smoked lake herring- 
sold in Washington are mostly extended by means of a small stick, or, in case of large 
fish, by two small sticks. 
The fish attached to the sticks are dipped in fresh water to remove surplus or 
undissolved salt, loose scales, etc., unless they have been rinsed before stringing, 
drained, and suspended in the smokehouse 4 to 8 feet above the floor, and subjected 
to a gentle smoke for 4 or 5 hours. The door or damiier is then closed, the fires spread 
or built up and the fish cooked for 1 or 2 hours according to the amount of fire, the 
height of the fish, and the particular cure desired. After cooling, which is accom- 
plished either by opening the doors of the sjnokehouse or by removing the fish to the 
outside, they are ready for the trade. 100 pounds of round fish, or 85 iiounds dressed, 
yield about 65 pounds smoked. Ordinarily these fish keep one or two weeks, and even 
longer, and the wholesale price ranges from 6 to 12 cents per pound, according to the 
locality and the season, the former being the jirice for the Great Lakes and the latter 
for New York City. In New York about 100,000 pounds of these fish are smoked 
annually and they sell throughout the year, being known usually as ciscoette, competing 
with pickling or biickling. In Washington the smoked lake herring are usually sold 
by the number, averaging about 50 cents per dozen wholesale. 
In some of the north European countries the sea herring are smoked in a manner 
similar to the lake herring in this country. Tbe following description of a smoke- 
house in Holbek, Denmark, and the methods used therein, is from Fiskeritidende, No. 
41, Copenhagen, October 7, 1884: 
As soon as the herring are brought in from the l)oat, they are placed in strong brine for 3 or 4 
hours, or they are left over night in a weaker brine. Some people also use the dry-salting method. 
The fish are then washed and strung on round, wooden sticks, three-fourths of an inch thick and 
3 feet long. This stick is stuck through the gills and comes out at the mouth. According to the 
size, from 18 to 21 lish are strung on every stick, always in such a manner as not to touch each 
other. They are then hung in the open air and dried in the sunshine, if possible, and then put in the 
oven for smoking. The smokehouse has four ovens, built from time to time as the demands of the 
trade re(iuired. From 16,000 to 24,000 herring can be smoked per day. In one of three large ovens 
1,600 herring can be smoked at the same time. The chimney itself should not be less than one yard 
scpiare on the inside, as otherwise it is not capable of receiving the steam from the fish when they are 
dried in the oven. The top should be covered with a thin plate of cast iron, so that the rain can not 
fall on the fish. For supporting the front part of the oven it is best and cheapest to use an old iron 
rail; any other bar will scarcely be strong enough. The oven can easily be only half the size of one 
of the larger ones, but the larger it is the more profitable it will be as regards the quantity of fuel 
consumed. In front of the oven iron plates are hung on an iron pipe, and these plates are taken off 
when shavings are put on the fire. From these plates and up to the iron bar the opening is covered by 
a piece of linen cloth, as it is necessary to look into the oven frequently in order to see that the flames 
do not rise too high and burn the tails of the fish. If this should be the case, the flames must at once 
be quenched by moist sawdust. The fuel used is exclusively oak and beech shavings, particularly 
from coopers who make large barrels, as the shavings must not lie too fine; beech and oak sawdust 
are also used, but shavings and sawdust of pine wood should never be employed, as it is apt to give 
to the fish a resinous flavor. The smoking process may take from 3 to 6 hours, according to the 
drying which the lish have undergone in the air. After the fish have been smoked they are generally 
allowed to hang one night to cool off, and are in the morning packed in boxes holding 80 fish each. 
