Salting meat and fish

One of the most common ways to cook fish and meat is the salting. Thanks to this cooking method, the food becomes resistant to bacteria. In addition, there is a delay in enzymatic processes, due to the partial dehydration of meat and fish. The shelf life of products depends on the percentage of salt in the finished product.

The best choice for salting is fish that has few small bones, which prevents injury when eating salted fish, and it is better to choose meat that is not too fatty. Otherwise, it will increase the cooking time.

Salting fish and meat

Fish and meat ambassador is divided into two types: dry and wet. Dry salting is a method of cooking meat and fish dishes, in which the product is covered with a layer of salt. In this case, the salt picks up moisture from the surface and penetrates inside. As for wet salting, it consists in keeping fish and meat in brine, which these products release during the salting process.

Fish ambassador

In order for the fish to be ready for salting, it must be cleaned of scales and entrails. After all the preliminary preparations are complete, it’s time to start salting.

Salted fish can be lightly salted if it contains about 10 percent salt, and highly salted if it contains more than 20 percent salt. The wet method is usually salted roach, perch, rudd, podleschik, small pike and other fish weighing up to 0,5 kilograms. The dry method is suitable for larger fish weighing more than 1 kilogram.

Wet fish salting: the fish is placed in dense rows in a container in layers. Each layer is well sprinkled with salt and spices. Then a special circle or lid is placed on top of the fish, and on top is oppression, for example, a stone thoroughly washed and doused with boiling water. In the cold, the fish is salted for 3 days. Then it is soaked and dried.

For subsequent drying or drying, fish are chosen such as ram, pike perch, roach, yaz, salmon, eel, bream and other species in which the amount of fat should be such that when dried the fish becomes amber-transparent.

The ambassador consists in keeping the fish in brine. The brine is made at the rate of 100 grams of salt per liter of water. Soaking lasts from 3 to 10 hours, depending on the size of the fish. Then the fish is removed from the solution, wiped, tied with a string and hung to dry.

In order for the fish to dry out as soon as possible, and retain all its useful properties, it is necessary that it dry in the wind. This can be achieved either by hanging the fish at a height of 2 meters somewhere in a hot draft, or by creating such a draft yourself. To do this, the fish must be placed in a kind of wind tunnel, at one end of which a powerful fan with the function of a hair dryer should be placed. In this case, the time required for drying will be significantly reduced.

During the drying process, moisture in deep layers gradually rises to the surface, while salt, on the contrary, penetrates into the depths. If you dry the fish in the first way – in the wind, then it will be necessary to protect it from flies and wasps. The former can lay eggs on the fish, while the latter will simply eat your fish, leaving only bones covered with skin.

Meat ambassador

Salted meat is especially popular in the countries of Central Asia, although in the villages people also remember these old recipes. The most common dishes include basturma, sujuk and corned beef, as well as dry meat (for hiking).

Corned beef is prepared as follows: The meat is cut into small pieces and sprinkled well with salt and spices, then it is placed in a prepared container and kept in the cold for about three weeks, mixed periodically. Then the meat is hung to dry and kept in the air for about a week.

For salting meat with subsequent drying, the product is cut into plates 1,5-2 cm thick. Then each piece is placed, by analogy with fish, carefully salted. Often, when salting meat, spices are added to the salt, which, as a result of salting, penetrate the meat. As a result, it acquires a more sophisticated taste and aroma than just salted meat. After the meat is sufficiently salted, you can start drying.

To do this, you can use grates similar to those of a barbecue. Before the meat is laid out on the grates, it must be soaked with excess liquid. It is better to place the grilles inside a metal cabinet equipped with an air heater and a hood. Thanks to this, the meat will not undergo insemination and will dry much faster. Dry meat is good because it can be stored for a long time without losing its taste and nutritional qualities.

After the meat is dry enough to sound like a blow to cardboard when hitting it, you can put it away for storage. It is better to store dried meat, as well as fish, in tightly closed glass jars. It is better to choose a dark, dry place for storing food. In this form, dried fish and meat can retain their nutritional quality for 2,5-3 years.