Last week we described how to prepare fish by cleaning and salting them. Now, the next steps.
This is the VOA Special English Development Report.
Today we have the second of two reports explaining how to prepare fish by drying or smoking them.
We talked last week about the first steps of cleaning and salting freshly caught fish. The directions can be found on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com.
To dry fish, you will need either a drying table or a place to hang them. If a table is used, you should have a top made of wire screen or thin pieces of wood with space between each piece.
Lay the cleaned and salted fish, still wet, on the table. Do not let them touch each other. Be sure that air can flow around the fish from all sides, including the top and bottom.
Build a small smoky fire under the drying table for the first day to keep the flies away. After that, you can keep the flies away by covering the fish with a thin cloth. Do not let the cloth touch the fish.
Fish taste better if they are out of bright sunlight while they are being dried. For best results, put the drying table under a tree. Turn the fish over every other day. Small fish will dry in about 3 days if the air is dry. Large fish will take a week or 10 days to dry.
After the fish have dried, place them in a basket. Cover them with clean paper or large leaves. Then put the basket in a cool, dry place off the ground.
Make sure as much of the saltwater as possible is removed before you smoke the fish.
The smoking can be done in a large, round metal container. Remove the top of the drum and cut a small opening on one side at the bottom.
Cover the top with a strong wire screen. This is where you put the fish. Build a small fire in the drum by reaching in through the opening at the bottom.
Wood from fruit trees makes good fuel for your fire. The wood will give the smoked fish good color and taste. Hardwoods such as hickory, oak and ash also burn well.
It is important to keep the fire small, so it does not burn the fish. You want a lot of smoke but very little flame. One way to get a lot of smoke is to use green wood, not dried wood.
You should smoke the fish for 5 days or longer if you plan to store them for a long time. After you finish smoking the fish, remove them and let them cool. Then wrap them in clean paper. Put the fish in baskets and keep them in a cool, dry place off the ground. Dried fish must be kept completely dry until they are eaten.
And that's the VOA Special English Development Report. Transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our reports are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.
