The results deals with studies undertaken on the preparation of smoked catfish (Tachysurus dussumieri). The proximate composition of raw and smoked fillets are given

Joseph, K.G.

Kalaimani, N.

Muraleedharan, V.

Unnikrishnan Nair, T.S.

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1TE 
5rniooke curing of Ca0[1511. o (Tachysurus doss mieri) 
A sizeable quantity of catfish is being lan-
ded annually in India. The Marine Fisher-
ies Information Service (1982) reports that 
in 1981 the landing was 59,390 t, a substan-
tial increase of about 15,600 t (36%) in the 
total catch of catfishes as compared to 1980. 
This constituted about 4.3% of the total 
marine fish landing in India in that 
year. The quantity of catfish landed on 
the Kerala coast in 1981 was 9,562 t (3.4% 
of the total landings in Kerala). The fish 
is mostly underutilized except for a small 
quantity which is processed through salt 
curing. Hot smoking provides a low cost 
technology which is easily adoptable in rural 
conditions. Since it involves a diversifica-
tion in the existing processing practices, it 
has great potentialities for the internal as 
well as overseas marketing. This note 
narrates the results of studies on the prepar-
ation of smoked catfish. 
Fresh catfish collected from the Vellayil 
landing centre was used for the experiments. 
After an initial washing in water, the 
body of the fish was rubbed with coarse salt 
to remove any adhering slime and dirt. It 
was then gutted and cleaned in running 
water. Head and tail were removed and 
the flesh was cut into fillets of the size 15 x 5 
ems. The fillets were then kept immer-
sed in water at room temperature for 15 min 
to remove blood clots. This was found to 
improve the appearance of the smoked pro-
duct. The fish was then brined. The brin-
ing was made as short as possible to minimise 
the development of salt-induced rancidity 
in the smoked product during storage 
(Stansby & Griffiths, 1943). Brining by 
dipping the fillets in an equal amount (w/v) 
of saturated brine for 30 min at room tem-
perature resulted in sufficient penetration 
of salt. The brined fish was drained well, 
placed on wire trays and dried in sun for 
about 45 min. The partial drying was found 
to impart a glossy surface which took even 
smoke and gave a uniform appearance to 
the product. 
The method of smoking was essentially 
the same as reported in the earlier studies 
(Devadasan et al. 1975; Muraleedharan & 
Valsan, 1976; Muraleedharan, et al. 1979; 
Muraleedharan & Valsan, 1980), but with 
slight modifications. The fillets were spread 
on wire trays and were placed in smoke 
kiln at a minimum height of 90 cm from 
the hearth. Smoking was carried out at 
70-80°C for about 5 h till the fish acquired 
the characteristic smoky flavour and colour. 
This smoking time was found to be 
sufficient to impart a mild smoked taste 
and flavour to the fish flesh, natural fish 
flavour was not masked by that of the 
smoke. The smoked fish was finally 
dried to a moisture content of about 30%. 
The product was packed in glass bottles 
and kept in room conditions. It could keep 
well for 30 days without any spoilage. 
Table 1. Proximate composition of raw fillets 
and the smoked fillets 
Raw 
fillets 
Smoked 
fillets 
Moisture % 72.71 33.7 
Sodium 	 chloride 
DWB % 1.95 15.3 
Protein (N x 6.25)%, 
DWB 69.70 66.2 
Fat % DWB 25.65 19.7 
Total ash % DWB 3.24 16.5 
Table 	 2, 
	 Yield at 
	 different 
smoking process 
stages 
	 of 
Yield % 
Dressing and 
	 filleting 60.0 
Brining 58.5 
Partial 
	 drying 55.0 
Smoking 42.5 
Drying (final product) 36.3 
The proximate composition of the raw 
catfish fillets and that of the smoked 
product al e given in Table 1. Table 2 
FISHERY TECHNOLOGY 
SMOKE CURING OF CATFISH 	 107 
gives the yield of the product at different 
stages of processing. 
The authors are grateful to the Director, Central 
Institute of Fisheries Technology, Cochin for the 
permission to publish this note. 
References 
A.O.A.C. (1980) Official Methods of Ana-
lysis, 13th ed. Association of Official 
Agricultural Chemists. Washington 
Devadasan, K., Muraleedharan, V. & George 
Joseph, K. (1975) Fish. Technol. 12, 
77 
MFIST & E. Ser. (1982) No. 41, p. 3, 
Central Marine Fisheries Research Ins-
titute, Cochin 
Muraleedharan, V. & Valsan, A. P. (1976) 
Fish. Technol. 13, 146 
Muraleedharan, V. & Valsan, A. P. (1980) 
Fish. Technol. 17, 99 
Muraleedharan, V., Unnikrishnan Nair, 
T. S. & George Joseph, K. (1979) 
Fish. Technol. 16, 29 
Stansby, M. E. & Griffiths, F. P. (1943) 
Research Report 6; United States 
Department of the Interior. Fish and 
Wildlife service, Washington 
Calicut Research Centre of 
	 V. MURALEEDHARAN, 
Central Institute of 
	 N. KALAIMANI, 
Fisheries Technology, 	 T. S. UNNIKRISHNAN NAIR 
Calicut - 673 005 
	 AND K. GEORGE JOSEPH 
Vol. 23, 1986 


Smoke curing of catfish (Tachysurus dussumieri)

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Smoke curing of catfish (Tachysurus dussumieri)

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