Kitchen Essential

The herring, which of course is what the kipper is before it is processed, is seldom the quarry of the sea angler in Britain. The Swedes and the Norwegians traditionally fish for herrings with hand lines from small boats at the mouths of their fjords, often making good catches, particularly when night fishing. Nevertheless, although as a British home smoker you are unlikely to catch your own herrings, if you live close to a port where these fish are landed, you may well decide to smoke your own kippers. If so, you will be able to make certain that you only obtain the freshest of fish.

Smoking

The herrings should first be washed well to remove loose scales, then split from the head, right down the back, and the gut and roe should be removed. After splitting, the fish should be washed again to remove any bits of gut or blood.

Well-conditioned, medium-sized fish should be brined for 15 minutes in 70% brine. Extra large herrings require 20 - 30 minutes and if the fish are lean, eg ’spent herrings‘ (fish which have spawned), 10 minutes in the brine will be sufficient.

The best way to hang kippers for their pre-drying period and indeed in the smoke house is by employing ‘tenter sticks’, _which are wooden battens fitted with small hooks. However, these are not essential and here a little human ingenuity can b_e brought in. They should be hung to drip for 1 hour. Longer d_ryi_ng periods are not required, as ’salt gloss‘ does not play _such a large part in the final appearance of the finished product, as gloss in kippers depends to a greater extent on the natural oil within the fish which comes to the surface during smoking.

During smoking, temperatures should be around 80^° F, never more than 85^° F until possibly the last half hour, when the temperature can be increased to 95^° F in order to develop a deeper hue and to bring the oil gloss to the surface of the fish.

Smoking time depends upon the usual factors, i.e. size of fish, quantity in kiln, atmospheric humidity, etc. But as a guideline I can suggest between 6 and 18 hours. As with all cold smoked products, however, weight loss is the surest guide, and from the fresh, split condition the fish should lose 14 - 18% in weight.

Storage

Keeping time is governed by weight loss and varies from 4 to 7 days, bearing in mind that the higher the weight loss, the longer the shelf life.

Smoked cod roes

Cod roes may be processed from either the fresh article or from deep frozen roes. They are extremely delicate to handle, the fine transparent skins rupturing very easily, so their handling is a major part of the technique. They must first be carefully washed in cold water then immersed in 70% brine for about 1 hour.

Smoking

A major problem now is how to suspend the roes for pre- drying and subsequent smoking. If large enough and sufficiently firm, a piece of string can be tied around the bisection of the roe. If you are in any doubt as to whether the roes will stand this treatment, they can be laid on racks, but a disadvantage of this method is that the roes take the imprint of the racks rather heavily and appearance suffers. Whichever method is used, the roes should pre-dry for half an hour before being placed in the kiln, where they should be smoked at 80 - 85°F for between 12 and 24 hours, according to the usual conditions. The final product is firm, easily sliced and is an attractive dark red in colour. Weight loss should be about 25% of the original weight before brining.

Finnan haddock

Fairly small haddock of about 1 lb in weight are ideal for processing into finnan haddock. The fish must be carefully gutted, as small haddock are very tender and tear easily. The heads are removed and the gut cavity is scraped and cleaned. The fish are then split all the way along the inside of the spine, from the neck to the tail fin, care being taken not to cut into the skin of the back. The opened-out fish are then soaked in 80% brine for 7 - 15 minutes, depending on size; a 1-lb fish will require 10 minutes‘ brining.

After brining they are hung on tenter sticks for about 6 or 7 hours as a good salt gloss is important to the finished product. Haddock are particularly subject to case hardening, so they should be protected from strong drying winds during _this period.

Smoking

The finnans should be smoked at 80^° F for a period of from 6 to 12 hours, and should be removed before the full colour is reached as this full colour will develop within a few hours of cooling. Required weight loss is 12 - 14%.

There is a slight variation of the process described for the production of ’straws’. Here smaller haddock are used, not in excess of ³4 lb in weight. The preparation is exactly the same as in the case of finnans until brining, which only takes 4 - 5 minutes in the 80% brine. After drying, the fish are smoked from 4 to 8 hours at 80^° F, and the final product should have a pale straw colour. Weight loss should be 8 - 12%.

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