How to Salt Fish

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MICROFICHEREFERENCEA project of Volunteers in Asia

. .Bow is saJLl.J&by: R. GuillouPublished by:Volunteers in Technical Assistance1815 North Lynn St. Suite 200P.O. Box 12438Arlington, VA 22209 USA

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Volunteers in Technical Assistance1815 North Lynn St. Suite 200P.O. Box 12438Arlington, VA 22209 USAReproduced by permission of Volunteers inTechnical Assistance.Reproduction of this microfiche document in anyfo:m is subject to the same restrictions as thoseof the original document.


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Village Technology HandbookFood SectionChapter 24

HOWTO SALT FISH

VTH-P324-11-66


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The Village Technolop;y Handbook is a project ofVITA (Volunteers for International Technical As-sistance) to provide a central source dbasic tech-nical information on devices and methods useful invillage improvement programs.The Food Section of the handbook is being preparedby members of the Sub-Committee for InternationalTechnical Assistance of the Institute of Food Tech-nologists.

Volunteera for International TechnicalAssistance (VITA)230 State StreetSchenectady, New York 123051966


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Village Technology HandbookFood Section

Chapter 24: H

I INTRODUCTIONA* Expez%?nce. salting) one uf the oldes-ods of preserving food, is an ara science e The process of walti fish is influ-enced by weather, size ecies of fithe quality of salt usei~p needed to adapt the process outPitied here toyour situation, Start by salting small lots ofdifferent varieties of the available fish, Bysalting small amaunts of fish at first, you willlearn how IP;IZ~ time is required for each step.Salted fish, if pr0perPy packed to protect itfrom excessive moisture, will not spoil.B. * Of special i.ElQOP-tance are :1. the quality of the fish to be saLted - frhefish must be top quality; salting w-L11 not helpoor quality, old or r fish; and2. cleanliness in al erations - alll waterused must be unpollute ;aLL waste must be remov-ed from working and dryi areas ; whatever comesin contact with the fs * ncLud.ing akL the equi.p-ment , must be kept clec, _u____aution. One word ok caution:Starting non-fatty,white-me ted varieties of fish,The salting of fatty fish 9 up probrancidity, rusting ge whichhandled better after you have experienceing.

*Product Manager, Seabrook Pame Co,, SU.S.A. Graduated from the Unive~sin 1953, Mr. Casper has also Wgrkcries and BDonneil-Usen, bothMassachusetts,


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2II EQUIPMENT

A clean sharp knife.Salt: the amount varies with local conditions,but figure about 20 pounds for 100 pounds ofraw, prepared fish.Clean containers for washing fish.Clean, flat working surfaces; e.g. tables.Clean containers for removing waste.Waterproof vats: one or more, depending on theamount of fish to be salted. The dimensions arenot too important; a good size is 6 feet long by5 feet wide by 3 feet deep. But fish can besalted in a container as small as a wide-mouthedglass jar. Metals other than stainless steelshould not be used. Wooden boards will work be-cause moisture will swell the wood and seal iteffectively.Clean boards and weights (for pressing).Clean slats or lines for hanging fish (see para-graph III D 3).Portable thatch-roof shelters or small roofedshec$s (see paragraph III D 4).

XXX PROCEDUREThe procesri of salting fish has four operations:A, Preparing the fish.B. Salting.c. Washing and drying to remove excess salt,P. Air drying.


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3A. Preparing the Fish

1. Beheading and Guttia. Fish should begutted and beheaded ap r,--.& as possibleafter catching.2. Beheadinp;. Remove the head by cuttingit off on a slanted line following thegills. Sharks can Be beheaded at the lastline of gill slits, (Only the "wings" ofrays or skates are usually considered ale).Fish which weigh a half pound or less do nothave +r+ be beheaded but they should generallybe gutted. Local custom will determinewhether or not they should be beheaded.3. Gutting. In gutting a fish, cut from thegill cavity along the ventral fold to tlxanal vent (see Fig. 1). All the guts mustbe removed, It is also good commercial prac-tice to remove the black membrane located inthe visceral cavity of many species.

gill anal ,ventFig. 1. To gut fish, cut from gill cavityalong ventral fold to anal vent.4. Bleeding. All species of fish must bethoroughly bled:if the head has not beenremoved, cut the throat; remove the gillsand all blood vessels. Blood clot


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4discoloration, as well as bacterial infectionwhich would make the fish unfit for eating.5. cutting. The shape into which the fish

is cut depends on local custom. But,for a rule of thumb: under a pound, the fishmay be left whole; from I to 10 pounds itshould be split Jn half from head to &ail(see Pig. 2); over 10 pounds, split the fishin two again from head to tail. The collarbone behind the gills should be left intactwhen a fish is sp1,i.t in half.

tail fin

spinal columnFig. 2, One to 10 pound fish.

B. Salting,1. Sprinkle a thin layer of salt, just enoughto completely cover the bottom of awaterproof vat.2. Place a layer of fish, flesh side up,with enough room for each fieh to enroidover-lapping. Try for a neat pattern, alter-nating head to tail and tail to head.3. Cover the fish with salt - a thin layer,but with no open spaces.4, Kepeat Steps 2 & 3 up to two or threelayers of fish from the top of the vat.


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55. Reverse th2 fish, packing them SKIN sidehe top of the vat, alternatingwith layers of salt, The top layer must besalt.4. The salt will extract moisture from thefish, forming a brine, Use boards andweights to keep all. the fish under the salt.7. e brine must be kept saturated (90linometer- or when no-more salt can bedissolved) at all times. As moisture is ex-tracted, more salt must be added to keep thebrine saturated. Too little salt will car.~ethe fish to spoil. Too much will detractfrom the flavor and cause rehydration.8, As moisture is extracted from the fish,the level of fish in the vat will fall,re fish can be added,skin side up - alter-ting a layer of fish with a layer of salt,the top layer always being s It, Continue toadd salt .to keep the brine s9. Length of Cure. The fish are "struckthrough," or thoroughly impregnated withsalt, in 12 to 14 daye in warm weather. Incold weather, the fish should stay in thebrine for 21 day8 or more; in the tropics,15 days may be a good limit. The higher thetemperature, the quicker the fish will bestruck through. When properly salted, theflesh of the fish is translucent, It is firmbut yieldru to gentle pressure. It has awhitish salt cover. An odor of fishand brineshould prevail. There should be no spoilageodors.

c. Washim amd Drvins to Remove Excess Salt.1, When the fish are struck through, theyare removed from the vat and washunpolluted sea water or fresh brine to removeexcess salt.


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2. Then place the fLsh on flat surfaces,using any arrawent of boards andweights to press them as flat as possible:a. to remove exceaa moisture; and b. tomake the fish thinaet, which will reduce thelength of the air dr]ring process and improvethe appearance of thb fish for marketing.Air Drying,1. The final drying mn be done either bysunlight and netmel air currents or byartificial heat and dr currents generatedby fans, In moat seas, in the properseason, drying can be done outdoors in thesun and fresh air. Choose an open area toget the moet sunl5gh~ and wind. Avoid swampyareas, locations w human or animal wasteand, especially, flpbreedfng areas.2. When freshly 6alDcd fish is first brougttout to dry, them is danger of sunburn,If fish is exposed at this bzage to the di-rect rays of the M, it may harden on theoutside and turn yerbw. This will keep theinside from dryi- peperly. To avoid this,keep the fish under rlbade or semi-shade forizhe first day.3. After the firrt dry, expose the fish toas much sunlight and wind as possible.One method is to w the fish on triangularslate - eo that it Wte on the least possi-ble amount of arrtfr#r - flesh side fadngthesun (see Fig. 3). IIDther method is to hangthe fish by the Uil.(ree Fig. 4).4. Protect the dm fish against dampness,The fish can b tiltered by portablethatch roofs (I#- H& 5) or moved intomdlroofed shade butlt -by for protection &XXIIrainfall and aim-t&3 dumpnesa. The fbhshould be free of Ylcoloration, mold or


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I Fig. 3 Fish drying..on triangular slats.,r a0

I Fi& 4 FQh hanging to dry.The height and etrengthof the forked etakes and crow poles depends on thesize and weight of the fish. The crocm poles couldbe carried to a shelter where permanent forkedstakes are set up,


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other defects, Split fi shauld motragged edges *

Fig, 5 Portable thatch roof shelter, Lean-tos could be used Ln pair fcx easier carsy-ing if built large, or lasa single roof if built smmore appropriate as protection fortular slats, whfle shedsracks for larger fiiih 01: ere the graunif:-damp (see Fig, 4). i .:,

Generally,more than three rn~~csvent spoiling in storageed the fish is properly packed to,, rom exce si,~+ moisture.

POXNTS O ER1, Use only to quality fish *2,3, ork fast.


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94. Keep the brine in the salting vats saturated- when in doubt, add more salt.5. Try to follow local custom in style andlength of cure.6. All water used must be unpolluted.

V WING SALTED FISHUsually salted fish is soaked overnight, with atleast one change of water, to remove most of thesalt before it is eaten, The longer it is soak-ed, the more salt is removed. Then it is usedin the same way as fresh fish, except that it isnot good for frying.

VI GLOSSARYVisceral Cavity: the hollow in the body of thefish which contains the guts.

If you need further information on the materialin this chapter, VITA (Volunteers for InternationalTechnical Assistance) can send you more information.If you have specffic questions,VPTA can put you incontact with an expert who can answer them. VITA isan international association of scientists, engin=%technicians and businessmen who volunteer theirspare time to consult on questions from pmsons indeveloping areas.Simply send your request to:

VITA230 State Street, Schenectady, N.Y. 12305To help the VITA volunteer who answers your request,you should:


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1. Be quantitative -- give mexurements, costs,materials available, sketches when possible.2. Describe the best solution, if any, foundnearby and any limiting cultural factors.3. Indicate a deadline for action. You willhear directly from the VITA volunteer; maintaincontact with him; inform the VITA office ifcorrespondence stops.

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How to Salt Fish