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How to dry fish: a recipe with a video
Dried fish is a very common dish and a favorite beer snack for Russians. Unfortunately, modern manufacturers do not always offer a quality product with good taste. But you can dry the fish you bought or caught yourself, and as a result you can get a wonderful and useful product.
Which fish are suitable for drying?
Prefer medium-sized fish. At home, you should not salt huge pikes whole or the smallest roach. Also, very fatty fish is not suitable, for which a lot of salt is required to dry, as a result of which the product may lose its taste.
It is better to send large specimens for frying or dry them cut into separate pieces.
The following representatives of the river world are considered ideal for drying: – vobla; – pilaf; – carp; – ram; – crucian carp; – ruff and others.
Prepare fish for drying correctly
First, clean and gut the fish well. These processes are very important, as unremoved insides (intestines or mucus) can give the product an unpleasant bitter taste.
Fish weighing from 300 grams to 1 kilogram is considered the most optimal for drying.
Experienced fishermen and cooks recommend cutting small fish from the side of the abdomen, since this measure allows you not to overdry or oversalt the fish, as well as to preserve its taste. Large specimens, on the other hand, need to be cut from the side of the fleshy back. So the fish will dry out and salted better.
Salting fish
Take a large saucepan or tub and put a layer of salt 2-3 centimeters on the bottom of the container, put a layer of fish on it, sprinkle it with a little salt on top. An important rule in the dosage of the second layer of salt is its uniformity. Salt should not be in a heap, as in this case, the fish may turn out to be oversalted and unusable.
Prefer coarse salt to absorb excess moisture in the fish. Fine salt will not be able to support this process, as a result of which the product will deteriorate or mold.
Then place a lid on the fish and press it down with a heavy press. For this, dumbbells, weights or pancakes from a barbell are perfect for this. Do not be alarmed if a cloudy liquid appears in the container after a few hours. This is a kind of fish brine, which will be completely absorbed by the salt in the future.
Determine the readiness of dried fish by its appearance and consistency. It should be tight, firm and dark gray on the back side.
It is also allowed to add to the container with fish not only salt, but also other spices that add aroma and taste to the product. These are bay leaves, peppercorns or coarsely ground and other fish spices.
But the drying process does not end there. Pour a lot of water into a container with a little vinegar (3%) or sunflower oil. Place the fish in it, which, after going through this, in fact, the reverse drying process, will get rid of excess salt and mucus. After the fish has emerged, remove it from the container and hang it up to dry in a well-ventilated area. After 7-8 days, the fish is ready.
In order to protect the product in winter and summer from the penetration of larvae of flies and other insects into it, at the last stage of drying, build a kind of cover or tent made of gauze or mosquito net around the fish.
