After the fish is caught, it is cleaned and hung up
to dry in the smoke house. When the skin is dry enough, the fish is cut open
and sliced into fillets and salted, then hung up to dry in the smoke some more.
After a few more days it gets strung up into bunches and moved to another part
of the smoke house. When it is completely dry, we put it into big boxes and
store it in the smoke house to eat all winter long. It takes about a week to
completely dry the fish in the smokehouse, depending on the weather.
Why do we smoke the fish? We like the taste and it was the best way of preserving fish & meat. We still prefer it to canning and freezing. Poplar
is the best wood for smoking, because it produces the best tasting fish. The
smoke also keeps the bugs away from the meat while it is drying. Without the
smoke, the wasps carry off chunks of the meat while it is hanging to dry, and
the flies lay their eggs in it. The smoke keeps all these thieves away.
These are pictures from inside my sister's
smokehouse. Bernie still smokes salmon in the traditional way. Every fall she
smokes fish and meat and shares it with relatives and friends. We
smoke all kinds of fishes and meat, including deer, moose, bear, beaver meat.
She also teaches younger people about the traditional art of smoking and
storing meat for winter.
After the fish is caught, it is cleaned and hung up
to dry in the smoke house. When the skin is dry enough, the fish is cut open
and sliced into fillets and salted, then hung up to dry in the smoke some more.
After a few more days it gets strung up into bunches and moved to another part
of the smoke house. When it is completely dry, we put it into big boxes and
store it in the smoke house to eat all winter long. It takes about a week to
completely dry the fish in the smokehouse, depending on the weather.
Why do we smoke the fish? We like the taste and it was the best way of preserving fish & meat. We still prefer it to canning and freezing. Poplar
is the best wood for smoking, because it produces the best tasting fish. The
smoke also keeps the bugs away from the meat while it is drying. Without the
smoke, the wasps carry off chunks of the meat while it is hanging to dry, and
the flies lay their eggs in it. The smoke keeps all these thieves away.
These are pictures from inside my sister's
smokehouse. Bernie still smokes salmon in the traditional way. Every fall she
smokes fish and meat and shares it with relatives and friends. We
smoke all kinds of fishes and meat, including deer, moose, bear, beaver meat.
She also teaches younger people about the traditional art of smoking and
storing meat for winter.