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To Plank a Fish
Cut off the head of the fish and clean by splitting it through the back, in place of the usual way of splitting up the belly. To salt red meat before you cook it is to make it dry and tough, but the fish should be salted while it is damp with its own juices.
Heat the plank in front of the fire and then spread your fish out flat on the hot puncheon or plank, and with your hunting knife press upon it, make slit holes through the fish ([Fig. 145]) with the grain of the wood; tack your fish on with wooden pegs cut wedge shape and driven in the slits made by your knife blade ([Figs. 143] and [144]). Prop the puncheon up in front of a fire which has a good back-log and plenty of hot coals to send out heat ([Fig. 146]).[E]
Heating Water
Water may be boiled in a birch bark vessel made by folding up a more or less square piece of bark, bending in the corner ([Fig. 157]) folds and holding them in place by thorns or slivers ([Fig. 156]). Or the stomach of a large animal or piece of green hide may be filled with water and the latter made hot by throwing in it hot stones ([Fig. 158]). Dig a hole in the ground, fit the rawhide in the hole, bringing the edges up so as to overlap the sod, weigh down the edges with stones, fill the hide with water and heat with hot stones. [Figs. 159] and [160] show how to make tongs with which to handle the stones.
FOOTNOTE:
[E] The best plank is made from the oaks grown on the hammocks of Southern Florida and the peculiar flavor this plank gives to shad has made Planked Shad famous.