The Daily Alaska empire., 1943-05-20

of the knife against the skin, hold ing it flat to the board The skin is not generally removed except when pieces are to be breaded or ground or made into chowder
 Cuts of Fish
 Drawn fish have the heads and tails on but entrails removed. Pan- dressed fish have heads, fins, tails and entrails removed. Steaks are crosswise sections cut through back bone. A steak is sometimes cut from two cross sections held to- gether by uncut skin.
 Fillets are the meaty side of fish cut lengthwise away from the back bone. Butterfly fillets are two fillets held together by the uncut belly of the fish.
 Sticks are portions of uniform size cut from larger fillets.
 Halibut cheeks contain choice portion of halibut.
 Fish heads, back bones, are util- ized for chowder and fish soup
 Care of Fish
 Fresh fish should be chilled as soon as caught and the cleaned fish kept in coldest part of refrig- orator until used.
 To keep fish fresh several days without refrigeration, clean and dress the fish into fillets not more than % inch thick. Cover the sur face with as much salt as will cling to it, about cup fine salt to Is pounds of fish. Pack in a deep vessel for 4 to 6 hours. Remove from the brine and rinse off any excess salt. Wipe dry and keep in a cool place. Will keep for ? or 3 days.
 Frozen fish should be cooked as soon as thawed Prethawing gives a more uniform cooked product. and is not so apt to be overcooked as if it is cooked without prethawing.
 Cooked fish to be kept should be cooled rapidly after cooking and stored in cool place. Store cooled product in glass jar or double waxed paper (bread wrappers to avoid odor of fish in the icebox.
 Buying Fishery Products
 Allow 113 to F pound per serving.
 Use the kinds available locally and all the varieties the market affords = fresh, canned, smoked, frozen.
 Signs of freshness: bright bulging eyes, firm elastic skin, scales that cling to the skin, gills reddish pink and a fresh odor.
 GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR
 COOKING FISH
 Fish lends itself to a variety of methods of cooking but in every case the product should be tender, juicy, and attractive in appearance. A dry tough product is the result of cooking for too long time or at too high a temperature. Gen. eral objections to fish such as smoky fish odor in the house, sticky kettles, monotony of flavor, can be overcome by the right method of cooking whether it be broiling, boiling" frying, baking, and by the use of variety in kind of sauce or dressing used with the fish
 Seasonings
 Salt is most important and must be added in the cooking or before to be tasty. It hardens the tissue slightly, making fish easier to handle as well as acting as a pre- servative if fish is not to be used immediately A good practice is to sprinkle fish with salt and allow it to stand 10 minutes until salt is absorbed before cooking.
 Lemon or acid makes fish white and firm-Not to be used on sal mon before cooking but may be used as a garnish.
 Parsley, pimiento, greenpeppers, onion, dill pickle, cucumbers, toma- toes, and celery are flayors that combine with fish, and are the basis of most fish sauces.
 In general fat fish needs an acid sauce, while lean fish tastes best with butter or oil dressing, or white sauce.
 There are no best ways of pre- pairing the different kinds of fish, All may be prepared in a variety of ways
 METHODS OF COOKING FISH
 Kettle Cooked Fish
 Fish should never be boiled but sinmered like egg white until it is heated through and loses its transparency. Cooked too long it becomes dry and hard to swallow. Keep the fish from falling apart by tying it in cooking parchment which is preferred as it saves the juice, keeps the odor in, helps to absorb the seasoning, and elimin- ates fishy utensils to wash. The following methods improve flavor and texture: