[thechat] lox, smoked salmon (was Re: SQL, gif, e-mail... (was Re: who thought *this* was a good idea?)

[Erika Meyer]

Judah wrote:

>Here at the Pacific coast (where we have real salmon) we call it smoked
>salmon.

Cha-lin Napooi (in Yurok)
http://www.seastorm.com/photos/brook/napooi.jpg
(that's my baby)

Cha-lin Napooi is actually "dried salmon."  What you do, you take it,
you filet it, you cut out the belly bones, salt it if you want, you
cut it into long strips, you drape it out on carved redwood stakes
(or lay it on a a screen) in the smokehouse.  You build your fire
with aged alderwood ("all smoke, no heat") and when it begins to dry,
you tie string around the end and hang it from the stakes.  Keep the
smoke on it constantly if possible (no heat!) until the moisture is
gone & it's just greasy chewy delicious.  It will lasts several weeks.

Another way to cook with just a little smoke is is to cut it in
chunks, skewer it on redwood stakes, and cook it over a long
alderwood fire (coals) in the sand.  That way it gets the alder
flavor, but it's still fresh.  This is great for parties & feasts.
You are limited only by the number of fish (alder & redwood are
everywhere, right?)  Lamprey eels can be cooked this way, also.

Dried lampreys are "ka-win."  They are REALLY greasy and really delicious.

In olden times, you could just hang strips fish over the fire pit.
http://www.humboldt1.com/~popenoe/scenes/inside.htm

woah.

I have to return to Portland now.

Erika

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