Photo chomjong, CC BY 2.0

Salting and drying fish

Salt fish the old way: split, salted, and dried in the sun and wind so it keeps without a fridge.

What you need

Head and gut the fish, then split it down the belly and along the backbone so it lies flat. Take out most of the backbone.
Wash away all the blood and the black lining in the belly. Blood left in is what spoils salt fish.
Lay a bed of salt in the tub. Put the fish in flesh side up and cover each one with salt, layer on layer.
Leave it in the salt until the flesh is firm and salted through. Thin fish take days, big fish longer.
Wash off the salt, let the fish drain, and lay it on the flake flesh side up in a dry breeze.
At night, and whenever rain or fog comes in, pile it skin side up under cover.
Keep drying day after day until it is stiff and dry. Store it cool, dry and airy.

Dry on days with a light wind and some sun. Wind does most of the drying.
Use clean coarse salt, never salt that has been used on bait.
Freshen it before cooking. Soak it in cold water in the fridge for a day or so and change the water a few times.

Don't

Do not dry in hot midday sun in summer. The fish cooks on the flake and goes soft. The old word was sunburnt.
Do not let dried fish get damp. It goes slimy and mouldy and has to be thrown out.
Do not pack moist fish airtight in a jar or bag at room temperature.

Danger

Fish that smells off, feels slimy, or shows pink or red patches after salting has spoiled. Throw it out.
Botulism can grow in fish kept warm without air. Salt it, dry it, or keep it cold, nothing in between.
Flies lay eggs on fish drying in warm weather. Dry in spring or fall, or under a screen.

This is how Newfoundland fed itself and traded with the world for four hundred years. A few fish done at home is the same work, smaller.

For the knife work on fresh fish, see Cleaning your catch.

Updated 2026-09-23