Atlantic Canadians never thought they would see the day when the cod ran out. It used to be that fish was cod, and cod was fish. Cod was delicious in chowder. It was the tastiest fish to go with chips. It did well in casseroles, and some say there was nothing better than corned beef with cod added.
And no self-respecting Atlantic Canadian would dream of making fishcakes from fish other than salt cod. Malcolm "Mac" MacMillan, of Halifax, used to make fishcakes from scratch. In his case, scratch meant first you had to catch your fish.
"When I was a young boy, living near St. Margaret's Bay during the Great Depression, we used to go out in the boat and jig for codfish. We'd bring them ashore, clean them (saving the cod liver to make cod liver oil), split them open so they would lie flat, and remove the backbone. We would then put them in a pickle of coarse salt and water for probably a couple of months," he says.
{sidebar id=2}After the fish were removed from the brine, with skins still on, they would be thrown on the woodpile to dry in the sun and wind. The dried "flakes" would then be stored in the cellar or barn until needed.
Before it could be eaten, the salt cod had to be soaked in three changes of fresh cold water. "Around supper time I would put the salt codfish to soak. Then before going to bed, I'd pour the water off, and cover with fresh cold water to soak overnight. In the morning, after the skin was removed and the fish cut up for easy handling, each piece was closely examined to make sure there were no bones or cod worms. People who did not grow up with these fish were quite finicky about the worms, which were just small things that mostly turned brown after the salting and drying," Mac chuckles.
In those days, before fat and salt became nasty words, salt fat pork was used extensively. Today, Mac is still making fishcakes, but a slab of fat bacon or bacon scraps usually replaces the salt fat pork. And a pound (454 g) of salt cod bits costs between $4 and $5. Things have changed from the days when Mac could sell a wheelbarrow full of salt cod flakes for 25 cents.