Personal dossier
Latin name bonito – Sarda sarda, Mackerel family. That is, according to systematics, it is a relative of tuna and mackerel. Those who attribute bonito to small tuna prefer to use its other name, bonito. Since this fish is really close to tuna in taste, its current price of 140-150 rubles per kilogram seems to be quite democratic.
Pelamida reaches a length of 80 cm with a weight of 12 kg, and individuals with a length of 45-60 cm and 1,5-5 kg (if you trust market weights) are now on sale, respectively. Larger specimens are tastier.
Jack the ripper
Pelamidou it is better to cut not in the usual way, through the stomach, but from the back – like most predators (for example, pike perch, salmon, tuna or, say, swordfish), since fat is deposited in them mainly along the abdominal wall. Therefore, in such fish, gutted through the stomach, fat is melted through the incision during heat treatment – and that is why fried pike perch seems a little dry to many.
First, the bonito must be slightly thawed – so that you can start cutting it.
Then we cut off the tail just behind the anus
Then the head is behind the pectoral fins; so we immediately remove the large bones of the shoulder girdle
After that, we make a cut along the spine of the carcass.
It opens into a layer of 2 halves united by the abdomen.
On it are the stomach, intestines and internal organs in an ugly, but gratifyingly compact heap.
We pick them up with a paper napkin and remove them until they defrost and flow. This is an additional advantage of eviscerating through the back: the insides are not damaged by a knife and do not stain the fish.
We cut out the spine, remove the gills from the head, and my head itself. Then we throw our head, ridge and tail into boiling water. As a result, we will get a fragrant and at the same time low-fat soup.
Salt and eat
Pelamida good on charcoal grate, collapsed lengthwise. And in a frying pan – chopped across with washers. But first of all, the Creator created it for slicing, salting a half carcass in a piece and for quick salting in slices.
Before the ambassador, we wipe the fish with a paper napkin (but not wash it – the fish becomes limp from fresh water).
A piece of fish is salted in a clean cloth. Like lard, only less salt is needed. It will lie for several hours in the refrigerator in a container – you can put it in the freezer.
And the quick salt is done like this: cut the fillet into slices, add it on both sides, put it on a dish or on a flat plate, cover it with cling film or foil and put it in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
Before serving, salted bonito can be slightly pepper, and some connoisseurs squeeze a little lemon juice onto the fish, or dip it in soy sauce.
Fish slices can be placed on fresh, white bread and butter. Better yet, just snack on vodka with it, maybe even wash it down with beer.
And of course, the subtlety of taste is well set off by well-chosen chilled dry white wine. Maybe also nutmeg varieties. Tasty so that you can eat your mind.