Dried fish is a product created by mother nature and human ingenuity. handful of salt raw carcass and favorable weather is all that is needed to get a mouth-watering preparation. This technology will give the fish meat a delicate taste and a pleasant amber color, and the consumer - a gastronomic gift without an expiration date.
The essence of the process is slow drying under the influence of heat, light and air. Such a leisurely method leads to an even distribution of fat and even partially changes the composition of the product - it acquires a rich color and dense texture. Before drying the fish, salting should be done - the main stage of preparation.
Ingredients:
- fish;
- salt - 150-250 g.
Cooking
- Sort the carcasses. Large - gut, and leave the small in its original form.
- Rinse, dry slightly and proceed to salting.
- For a mild taste, use 150 g of salt per 1 kg of pulp, if desired, increase the amount of the first.
- Sprinkling with salt, lay the carcasses in layers in a convenient container.
- Put the workpiece under oppression in the cold from 3 to 14 days, guided by the weight of the product.
- String the carcasses on the twine, passing the needle through the eye sockets.
- Form into bundles of 6 units, rinse and hang in a cool and ventilated place, covered with gauze.
- Dried fish is prepared no more than 14 days.
Dried fish in the oven
Dried fish - a recipe involving various techniques drying. The natural way of harvesting in open space is ideal for suburban residents. artificial way implies special production smokehouses. Simple and universal tips will tell you how to properly dry fish, paying attention to the weight and type of product.
Ingredients:
- fish;
- salt.
Cooking
- If you are the owner of a small fish, then cook it whole, large fish should be gutted.
- Lay out the fish in layers, carefully sprinkle with salt and put under oppression.
- After a short daily salting, rinse the carcasses, make cuts over the entire surface and secure them with toothpicks so that the fish is not steamed and ventilated.
- Set the oven temperature to no higher than 40 degrees, turn on convection and open the door.
- Spread the product on a baking sheet previously covered with parchment and put in the oven for 7 hours.
- The slightly open door allows ventilation of the workpiece, and the low temperature regime- uniformity.
- Hold the dried fish in the air for a day, then take a sample.
Dried fish sabrefish
An inhabitant of the carp family is extremely in demand by anglers and, therefore, is listed in the Red Book. Juicy meat, dense subcutaneous fat and optimal size makes it an attractive product. Dried fish, the recipe for which has two salting options, requires strict adherence to the preparatory steps.
Ingredients:
- fish;
- water;
- salt.
Cooking
- When starting salting, choose a method in advance.
- When dry, the product is placed in a wooden container and, abundantly sprinkled with salt, is put under pressure.
- Wet - involves brine for dried fish, at the rate of 1 kg of salt per 3 liters of water. After 5 days, check for readiness, rinse and do daily soaking, then dry and traditionally hang the workpiece in the right place.
Dried red fish at home is a great opportunity to pamper loved ones at any time of the year. You don't need to have fishing gear to prepare a delicacy - the assortment of shops is quite suitable. Use fatty fish such as salmon and trout, and homemade stays juicy and flavorful for a long time.
Ingredients:
- trout;
- salt.
Cooking
- Large trout are gutted, cut off the head and divided into two halves for convenience.
- You can’t do without preliminary salting, so the carcass is rubbed abundantly and, covered with a film, placed in the refrigerator for two days.
- Washed, dried and hung upside down for 5-10 days.
- The readiness of dried fish is determined by taste preferences.
Experienced fishermen often face big catches. The most common river inhabitants small sizes- vobla, goby and roach are suitable for instant salting, and then for drying. Fresh fish does not require gutting, is quickly soaked and unpretentious in storage. Such an appetizer will harmoniously complement the foamy drink and diversify the menu.
Ingredients:
- fresh roach or gobies;
- salt.
Cooking
- Dry the fresh catch with a towel.
- Sprinkle salt on the bottom of a deep enameled dish and lay out the first layer.
- Salt each row abundantly, then close it with a plate, place a load and put it in the cold.
- After 3 days, hang the soaked product in a ventilated room.
- Cooking dried fish is a process that requires a week of drying.
Dried fish in a vegetable dryer
The urban rhythm of life does not leave time for culinary delights; multi-day drying technology is not relevant. A modern gadget will help you get a fish treat in a day -. It is enough to decide on your favorite variety, marinate it correctly, arrange it in tiers and choose the temperature, invite guests for a tasting.
Ingredients:
- fish;
- salt.
Cooking
- Before cooking dried fish in a dryer, marinate the pieces or the whole product for 8 hours according to the first stage of preparation.
- Soak in cold water, let it drain and lay it on the dryer nets.
- By choosing optimal temperature at 59 degrees, cook during the day.
For real fishing enthusiasts, severe frosts are not a hindrance, but to cope with technology when sub-zero temperature not everyone can do it. The old Ural harvesting method will help you use the winter degrees to your advantage and get an evenly cooked product.
Ingredients:
- fish;
- salt.
Cooking
- Before drying the fish in winter, remove the dirt from the carcass without washing it.
- Using large salt crystals, sprinkle the fish thickly and place under oppression for several days.
- After drying, the fish is left suspended in the cold for 7 days.
- Dried fish in the cold is the most delicious delicacy. Frosty air draws out moisture and speeds up the cooking process. A weekly carcass can be safely sent for storage.
Storage of blanks - important point, which allows to protect not only the prepared product from spoilage, but also the health of the consumer. Being a perishable product, aquatic inhabitants are especially susceptible to the influence of bacteria, and as a result, rotting. Simple and affordable rules will help increase the shelf life up to six months without losing taste and quality.
- Before at home, inspect it and check the smell. Wrap the finished quality stock immediately in paper and place in the freezer.
- Storage in paper is one of the most affordable options.
- tightly closed can recognized as the most in a quality way, and the presence of a cool and dry space allows storage in cardboard boxes, baskets or cloth bags.
Wash the fish cold running water. It is not necessary to gut the fish before salting. At the bottom of a wooden box (or an enameled pan) we pour a layer of salt about 0.5 cm. We put one layer of fish on it, we fill it with salt with a layer of 0.5 cm on top. After that we put the second layer of fish and again we fill it with salt, etc.
Salting fish at home
When all the fish is completely laid down, we fill in the last layer of salt and put a load on the fish. You can use the lid smaller or a plate and a 3-liter jar of water (as a load). After that, the fish should be salted in a cool place, if possible in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. After the expiration of this time, we take out the fish from the brine and rinse it with running water from salt and put it back in a clean pan. Fill the fish with fresh water so that excess salt comes out of it. AT clean water leave the salted fish for 1 hour.
Then we take the fish out of the water and lay it on a paper towel so that it dries a little. After that, we hang each fish (by the eyes or by the hook by the lip) to dry. Leave the fish to dry (dry) for 5 - 10 days. The duration of drying (drying) of fish depends on the ambient temperature and the size of the fish.
SEVERAL WAYS TO SALT FISH.
A lot has been written about salting fish.
But everyone is striving for one thing: how would it be tastier to do it so that the fish does not lose
their palatability, was transparent, oily and hard.
It should be noted that salting fish is considered a national delicacy, such as cabbage soup or porridge.
First you need to decide for what purpose you salt the fish.
If you want to eat it immediately after cooking, spicy salting is more suitable;
if you want to stock up on it in dried form, salt it like “vobla”.
If you intend to store the fish for a long time, it is better to cook it like salmon, etc.
Traditional and most in a simple way preservation of fish is its salting.
When salted, the fish can be stored for a very long time.
If the fish is being prepared for drying, it is not cleaned or gutted before salting,
just wash well.
True, you can also dry balyk, but this already requires professional training.
Coarse salt is used for salting. Its main purpose is to
remove moisture from the fish, and not to give it taste or provide
preservative effect. Coarse salt dissolves at low temperature
slowly and she needs moisture, which she just pulls out of the fish.
With fine salt, this effect does not work, it seems to “burn” the meat of the fish,
quickly salts out, but does not dehydrate it.
The fish is salted in different ways, depending on the size of the carcass, salting time
its desired duration of storage and its further use.
So.
1. DRY AMBASSADOR
In the picture: 1 - box, 2 - canvas, 3 - lid, 4 - fish.
Spread a clean canvas or burlap on the bottom of a basket or wooden box. Prepared fish is laid on it in dense rows, head to tail,
belly up and sprinkle with salt.
The total salt consumption is 1.5 kilograms per 10 kilograms of fish.
A lid made of wood is placed on top of the fish and a heavy oppression (stone) is placed on it.
It is absolutely necessary, as it prevents the formation of air cavities,
in which putrefactive bacteria can develop, and, in addition, makes fish meat
denser.
After a while, juice is released from the fish, it flows out through the cracks between
basket rods or drawer boards. On the 5th - 10th day, the fish is salted.
All this time it should be in a cool place (refrigerator, cellar).
In this way, fish is salted mainly in summer in hot weather.
2. SALTING IN BRINE OR WET AMBASSADOR
The fish is laid in layers in a non-oxidizing dish (bucket, pan, tank, barrel) also with the belly up and sprinkled with salt at the rate of 1 kilogram per 10 kilograms of fish.
To give the fish a special, delicate taste, a tablespoon of granulated sugar is added to the salt.
A circle is placed on the fish, knocked down from boards or sawn from a single piece of wood,
better from linden or aspen (a circle of wood of these species does not emit resin or
tannins and does not deform in brine).
Depending on the dishes, you can use any suitable cover for example:
from a pan or a flat plate, the main thing is that it enters the container freely
and covered all the fish. And pressed down by oppression (load).
After a day or two, the resulting brine (brine) covers all the fish.
At first, you need to make sure that the excess brine does not overflow over the edges of the dish.
The fish is kept in salt until the abundant juice runs out - excretion.
Usually the fish is salted for 3-10 days, depending on the size of the carcasses.
and will be ready for use.
With this type of salting, fish can be kept in containers for up to several months in
cool place.
Before use, the carcasses are washed with water, it is advisable to soak for
days and is eaten as a "herring" or dried: air dry
then put in wooden box or storage basket.
Practice shows that fish does not absorb excess salt.
After use, the brine is usually discarded.
But if the brine is light, then it can be reused for salting "strengthening"
an additional amount of salt.
So, for example, in the old days they took care of salt, and merchants, having sold fish, for example, in
Rybne (Rybinsk), barges with brine were floated down the Volga back to Astrakhan.
Here it was "strengthened" with salt and reused.
You can also cook fresh brine by dissolving a kilogram of salt in three liters of water.
The resulting solution is poured into the fish placed in the container.
This method is also called wet and is used when salting small fish.
It keeps well in a cool place.
3. SPICE AMBASSADOR
The fish is salted as in salting in brine, only with the addition of spices.
Bay leaf, black peppercorns (can be fragrant), you can add
horseradish leaf, coriander grains or ground. Also add some sugar
sand to taste. All this fits between the layers of fish.
After a few days, the fish is ready to eat.
If the fish seems a little damp to someone, you can still dry it, although,
for example, with herring or red fish, you are unlikely to do this.
After spicy salting, the fish becomes reddish - pink color and pleasant
fresh scent. You can salt not only sea and river fish weighing from 200
grams to 1 kilogram. Use it as a cold appetizer.
Such fish with hot potatoes is especially good, and with beer.
It is stored for a very long time in a cold room, in the refrigerator, in the freezer.
4. HANGING AMBASSADOR
For fatty fish, a hanging salt is used. (see pic)
The fish are hung on transverse rods in saline so that the carcasses do not press against each other.
The density of the solution is determined using a raw potato: it should not sink.
After 5-7 days the fish can be eaten.
5. SEMUNY AMBASSADOR OF FRESH FISH
Red fish, mackerel, herring, whitefish are suitable for this method.
Sprinkle the flattened fish with salt inside and in the section on the back, adding to the salt
a teaspoon of sugar, put pepper, bay leaf inside.
Wrap the fish in a clean cloth and refrigerate.
After a day you can eat. (details on the next page)
6. DRYING FISH
For drying use medium and small salted fish.
It must first be soaked in cold water for one to two hours,
and then hang in the shade in the wind, preferably head down.
In this position, moisture flows out through the mouth, and the fish dries faster and more evenly.
On wooden board with a knife they pierce the fish near the tail and, using a large straightened paper clip or special hooks made of stainless wire, hang them on a string. If flies have already appeared, then to protect against them, a gauze canopy with a neck is needed, which must be tied after hanging.
Drying lasts from four to ten days. Ready fish is stored in a basket or
bag, in a cool place, protected from sunlight.
7. BALYKOV AMBASSADOR
A. Large fish weighing from 1 kg is suitable for this method.
To salt the fish must be prepared as follows.
Rinse off all the mucus in cold water, carefully open the belly, gut.
Cut off the head just behind the gills, then the tail to the very base, but so,
so as not to harm the fish.
Cut off the tesha with scissors ( Bottom part abdomen to ribs) - it must be salted separately,
otherwise it may oversalt. Dry the carcass with a clean towel.
If the fish weighs more than 2 kg, then be sure to cut it along the spine,
without cutting the skin on the back.
Pickling mixture: 10 tbsp. spoons of salt, 4 tbsp. spoons of sugar, ground cinnamon
tip of a knife and the same amount of coriander and pepper.
Mix the spices well and rub the mixture thoroughly under the scales, sprinkle generously
the abdomen from the inside, and if the fish is layered, then between the layers.
Wrap each carcass separately in gauze, canvas, cloth, tightly bandage it along
the entire length with twine or thick fishing line and, putting the fish on the tray at the very bottom
refrigerator, leave for 7-10 days.
Drain the brine as it appears.
At the end of the salting, release the fish from the tissue, rinse it cold water and
wipe dry immediately. Such fish can be stored in the refrigerator for a very long time,
if it is periodically wiped with vegetable oil.
It is better to serve fish to the table by cutting into thin wide plates, as they are cut
sturgeon balyk.
B. BALYK, backs, teshi and sidewalls of valuable commercial fish, cured by salting, then dried or cold smoked.
Delicious product with high taste qualities.
For the preparation of balyk, large fleshy fatty fish are used.
Especially tasty balyk is obtained from sturgeon, salmon, herring fish, as well as
from oceanic - notothenia, sea bass, halibut, catfish, etc.
Balyk contains up to 45–55% moisture, 10–20% fat, and up to 20% protein.
Balyk is used in the form of cold appetizers, for sandwiches.
At home, balyk can be stored in the refrigerator uncut piece
no more than 7 days, and in slices - no more than 1-3 days.
8. PICKLE FISH
Marinated fish in vinegar brine, usually with the addition of sugar and spices.
This is an old way of cooking herring and herring.
Other types of fish, such as perch and roach, are also tasty in marinated form.
For pickling, both fresh and frozen or salted fish are suitable.
The possibility of fairly long storage of marinated fish is based on
the action of vinegar and salt, slowing down and preventing the development of bacteria.
But since the content acetic acid and salt cannot be increased without
loss of taste of pickled fish, then it cannot be fully
considered canned.
You can store pickled fish for only a few months and be sure to
cold place.
DIFFERENT WAYS OF MARINING
The fish is placed raw in the marinade.
Boiled marinated fish.
The fish is boiled until cooked in water with the addition of vinegar, salt and spices.
Then it is placed in jelly seasoned with vinegar.
Fried marinated fish.
The fish is fried vegetable oil and put in a chilled marinade.
Cold marinated fish
Preparing fish for marinating.
Fish is marinated only gutted or cut into fillets.
The fish must be fresh, it must be processed in compliance with the rules of hygiene.
Marinade. Wine vinegar (10 percent) 500 g, coarse salt 100 g, sugar 200 g,
onion 60 g, dill 1 g, allspice 3 g, bay leaf 1 g
mustard seed 1.5 g, water.
Cooking method. Salt is dissolved in boiling water.
Add sugar and cool the water. Pour vinegar and add water so much
to get 1 liter of marinade. Then spices are dipped into the solution and stirred.
Cooking fish in a marinade.
Weigh the fish and put it in a dish intended for marinating.
The fish is poured with the prepared marinade. The amount of marinade by weight should
equal to the weight of the fish. The fish in the marinade is thoroughly mixed daily.
The fish is ready for consumption in 3-5 days at a marinating temperature of 10-12°C.
Processing of marinated fish for storage.
The finished fish is removed from the marinade and shifted into sliced \u200b\u200bin fillets or pieces
in storage containers (glass or plastic jars).
Then the fish is poured with marinade, the jars are tightly closed with lids and transferred to
cool place for storage.
Storage. Marinated fish is stored in a cool place, at 2-10°C.
A good storage place is the refrigerator. The maximum storage period is 3-6 months.
Dried (dried) fish today can be bought in already ready-made. But, if you consider yourself a fisherman, then you must be able to dry fish. Indeed, sometimes the catch really pleases us, and there are so many fish that you already begin to think about what to do with it. In this case, part of the fish can be dried, and in the future to please yourself and your friends, because it seems to me that nothing is better than dried fish. At least in our country dried fish ranks first among beer snacks.
Salt and dry river fish. Technology Highlights
Which one is suitable for this? It is best to take fish not very oily. Vobla, perch are well suited for this, and in addition to these common types of fish, there is also a scavenger with pike perch and dace.
How to prepare fish?
First of all, be sure to thoroughly rinse the fish, even though you caught it from the water, and it seems that it should be clean. After that, it is gutted and all the insides are removed. As for the scales, it does not need to be cleaned off. If you think that the fish you are going to pickle is quite large, then it will need to be cut along the back. Such an incision is usually made from the head and further, all the way to the tail. Yes, it will dry out much faster. When you are done with preparing the fish, you can start salting it. It is best to take enameled dishes for this, and coarse salt.
How to salt?
How much salt you need can be calculated. Usually it should be about 20 percent, from total weight all If you took coarse salt, then it will be absorbed into the fish rather slowly, but it will “pull out” more moisture from it. When salting, it is quite possible to add black pepper to the fish. The fish is not put into the container randomly, but they do it in layers, and each of these layers is necessarily sprinkled with salt.
Sprinkling the fish with salt is not enough, each one will also need to be rubbed from the inside, that is, pour a little salt into her abdomen. When you have carefully laid all the fish, then put a large flat plate on it. Already on it, you will need to install a load, that is, the fish will have to stand under your yoke for several days. It is best to put it in the refrigerator for this, well, or in another relatively cool place. If you salt small fish, then in 5 days it will be ready. If your catch is larger, then keep it for 7 days in brine. Such a brine in the fish appears quickly enough, almost after a few hours.
When the time for salting the fish comes to an end, you need to get it. Be sure to rinse it with cold water, then wipe it off, and you can hang it to dry. Often on fish or other insects. It must be protected from them if you do not want to throw away your catch. Flies will not land on your fish if you just rub it simple means. For this, a vinegar solution (low concentration, only 3 percent) or unrefined sunflower oil is well suited.
How to dry?
Fish are usually hung on a wire, or thick fishing line is used instead. Both fishing line and wire are passed through the eye of the fish. In the case of fishing line, you cannot do without a needle. You can use paper clips to hang the fish. To do this, such a paper clip is simply hooked to the fish by its lower lip, and then it is hung out by the second part of the paper clip. If the fish is large enough, it is best to slightly open the abdomen. To do this, insert matches or toothpicks there. Also, gills are slightly opened for large fish, for this it is quite enough to just bend them a little to the side. So, large fish will dry out much faster.
When you hang the fish, then, in order to insure yourself from the same flies and wasps, cover your fish "garland" with gauze, or other similar fabric, for example, the same tulle. The fish does not need to be dried in direct sun, it is best to place it in any room where the air "walks" freely. A balcony is well suited for this (or a loggia) if you live in an apartment. In the village or in the country, you can dry the fish, for example, in a barn, or in any attic. In this case, you must definitely hang it higher so that the cats do not spoil your catch.
It usually takes about a week to dry in the fresh air. If this is a long time for you, then you can dry the fish faster if you hang it over. Of course, the smell will be quite strong, but this is what you should be prepared for. For three days, you can dry the fish over the stove. If you dry it well, then salt should not appear on it. And when you remove the skin along with the scales, you will see a small shiny layer of very fragrant fat. At the same time, the meat should not be dry, but it must be elastic and in color, dark gray. If you managed to dry the fish according to all the rules, then when you pull it by the tail or by the head, it will creak slightly.
How to store dried fish?
As for storing already dried fish, it is best to use parchment paper for this. just wrap it up and put it in the fridge. A clean cloth will also work, instead of parchment paper.
But in this video you will be taught to salt, perhaps, the most common fish - crucian carp. We look.
And one more video. Here we will already salt, roach, bream and roach. Let's see him too.
P.S. If the article was useful to you, please share it with your friends in social networks. I will be very grateful to you for this.
Drying is one of the oldest ways of processing fish and harvesting it for future use. On the one hand, it seems that any fisherman knows how to properly dry fish, however, in this matter, as in any other, there are some nuances.
Immediately you need to introduce a distinction between the concepts of "drying" and "drying". At its core, drying is the same drying, but subject to two indispensable conditions:
- slow drying at relatively low air temperatures;
- not bringing the drying process to the end, the completion of the drying process while maintaining the softness of the fabrics.
That is, dried bream is not just a slightly dried product, but cooked under certain conditions.
Drying objects
Almost all types of fish can be used to prepare your favorite delicacy for a foamy drink. Even species such as pike or carp can be dried, but the undoubted leaders among such snacks are bream and roach.
In addition to them, they are dried:
- bream;
- sopa;
- crucian;
- rudd;
- bleak;
- sabrefish;
- shemayu;
- fish;
- podusta;
- chub;
- perch;
- and many other representatives of the ichthyofauna.
Cooking steps
To understand how to dry fish at home, you need to carefully read the procedure and follow them clearly at all stages of its preparation. There are three cooking stages in total:
- Salting.
- Soaking.
- Drying.
Each of the stages is important in its own way, so we will talk about them in detail. We missed one stage here, namely the capture of drying objects. You can learn about this in great detail in the numerous materials of our site.
salting
Before drying the fish, it should be properly salted and soaked. It must be said that best time for the preparation of dried snacks - spring and autumn. Firstly, the fish at this time is fatty and tasty, and secondly, it is easy to save it during transportation.
In the summer, the fish quickly deteriorates, and if you really want to pickle it, you need to do it directly on the pond in a container dug into the ground, and at the same time carefully gut the bream and other caught fish.
In addition, in summer it is difficult to choose the right temperature for good wilting - it is very hot, and it is advisable to carry out this process in a cool place.
Winter trophies are also suitable for salting, but there are some difficulties in properly drying the fish.
A little about salt. For salting for drying, salt of exceptionally coarse grinding is used, since it is necessary not only for salting, but also to remove excess moisture.
Salting is carried out in one of three ways:
- dry;
- wet;
- brine.
Dry way(it can also be called "old Russian") is used for salting trophies weighing over a kilogram. This method can be used in the preparation of bream, carp, pike and other large fish.
The sequence of actions for dry salting:
- We wipe the catch from mucus and dirt (not mine).
- We cut the carcasses along the ridge and spread them.
- We remove the insides.
- Sprinkle the inside with salt.
- We put in a wooden box with the bellies up.
- Sprinkle with salt.
- Cover with foil and put oppression.
- We put the box in a cellar, a dug hole or other cool place.
With this method, the juice released during salting flows through the cracks in the box. If desired, in a dry way, you can also salt small, ungutted river fish: silver bream, scavengers, roach. Depending on the size of the carcasses, dry salting lasts from three to seven days.
wet way salting is the most common of the others. With such salting, large containers made of enameled iron or food-grade plastic are used.
The whole process can be divided into the following stages:
- Cleaning the fish with a dry cloth.
- Laying at the bottom of the selected container a layer of salt of at least one centimeter.
- Layer-by-layer laying of carcasses in a container with pouring coarse salt.
- Laying the lid on the top layer sprinkled with salt.
- Installation of oppression.
The laying of the fish is done so that the back of one lies on the abdomen of the other. Each new layer should be laid perpendicular to the previous one. Salt should be poured as much as is required to create an even layer.
After a few hours, juice will stand out from the carcasses, and the container should be removed to a cold place - a refrigerator or cellar. In this respect, the autumn weather itself gives us an advantage. How much to salt in time depends on the size of the catch and the air temperature. A well-salted fish has a firm, hollow back, and if stretched along, you can feel the movement of the vertebrae.
Tuzluchny way pickles are used when salting low-fat fish, which gives little juice, different kind small fish. With this method, fish carcasses cooked and strung on a cord are dipped into a saline solution - brine, and kept in it for 2-3 days. Salts in water dissolve as much as it takes for the egg to float in the solution.
soaking
A responsible operation, which many cooks, before withering any bleak or sabre, neglect. However, this stage of preparation is very important, as excess salt is removed from the carcass of bream or roach.
At this stage, salted fish is first thoroughly washed in running water, and then filled with water, which should be changed every hour. Usually everyone recommends soaking for as many hours as it has been salted for days. And a sure sign of soaked fish is the moment when the carcasses begin to float.
Drying
Now let's talk about how to properly dry the fish, so that you get not a dried, but a dried product.
Dried vobla and bream in the following places:
- in cool cellars or sheds;
- on outdoors in the shade of trees;
- on balconies and loggias;
- in attics;
- in the room.
To begin with, the fish is strung on a cord or wire, then hung out in a shaded, cool place. Some advise hanging by the head, others by the tail - try both, then decide what you like best.
If you do not have a cellar or other suitable premises, then it is better to do this at night. At night, there are no flies, and slightly dried carcasses are no longer under the power of insects to attack. In addition, to protect against insects, fish carcasses are covered with gauze or nets, and special mesh dryers are commercially available in fishing stores.
You should not hang threads with strung carcasses near a freshly painted fence or other strong-smelling object. Otherwise, you run the risk of tasting such a fence in your mouth - the fish will quickly absorb the chemical smell.
If you are going to dry the catch in a city apartment, it is appropriate to use a fan directed at the hanging strings with trophies to reduce the temperature and ventilate the product.
Features of winter drying
When preparing dried fish in winter, other nuances must be taken into account. Of course, it is easier to bring it home from a reservoir, with salting, issues are also easily resolved, the whole problem is drying.
In winter, in our apartments, in addition to increased, in terms of drying, temperature, there is also low humidity. Therefore, you need to constantly spray the room, or at least the dryer with cold water, otherwise it will turn out not dried, but dried.
If you hang threads with fish on a loggia or balcony, then there is a chance to freeze it, and not dry it. It will help here glazed balcony, and if the temperature here in winter drops below zero, it is worth using some kind of heating means.
Dried fish is an excellent delicacy for people of all ages. It is not difficult to cook it yourself, knowing: how to dry fish at home.
Preparation
To dry, it is better to take a medium one (not ˃ 1 kg), but cut a large one into pieces, rinse with running water. Do not clean off the scales, just take out the offal. There are lovers to dry a trifle with them. Such fish acquires a spicy bitterness. And it is better to carefully gut it, trying not to damage the gallbladder. All fish are incised in the area of the peritoneum, large ones - from the side of the back, again thoroughly washed. 
salting
Before drying fish , she is salted. Take freshly caught or freshly frozen, thawed at room temperature. If in doubt: how to salt correctly, the optimal method is chosen:
| Without brine | With fish juice | Pickled |
|---|---|---|
| Put a layer of coarsely ground salt on the bottom of the container and on top of the fish, cover, put in a cool place. | ||
| Sprinkle each carcass with salt inside and out. Place belly up in a wooden box with holes between the boards to let the juice flow out. Remove with cargo for 7 days in the cellar. | Lay the carcasses in layers, starting with large ones. Sprinkle each row with seasonings and salt. Wait for the release of juice and set the load for 3 days. | Prepare for 2 kg of raw materials a supersaturated saline solution - brine - 1 liter. Put the carcasses, completely fill with brine for 4 days. |
Tip: as you salt, you will get such a taste, although it is better to slightly oversalt. How long it will take depends on the total number, carcass size, temperature. On average - 4-7 days. Readiness check: we pull the tail, head, we hear a creak. The back should be elastic, sunken, the sides are firm, the flesh is dark gray. With the brine method, the solution is saturated if raw ones do not sink in it: an egg or a piece of potato.
soaking
After salting, the product is soaked. Salted fish is transferred to a bath and poured with liquid. They keep hours for as long as the day the carcasses were salted, often changing the water. (You can take kvass, beer, even hot milk). With the brine method, the fish is immersed in liquid for half an hour (every 10 minutes it is changed). When it starts to float, salting is over. Those that float well - it is better to eat quickly, and those that remain at the bottom can be stored.
Drying or curing
At first glance, the difference between dried or dried fish comes down only to the length of exposure. This is not entirely true. When drying, a fatty, semi-fat fish is taken, and it is better to dry a lean one. Carcasses when cooked at home become dried, being under indirect sunlight for a week. The sun, acting on raw materials, leads to a change in the composition of the pulp, introducing a special taste. When preparing dried fish in the winter, in an apartment, one must take into account the temperature of heating and the dryness of the air. It is recommended to irrigate the room with cold water to increase humidity, otherwise the fish will simply dry.
It is better to dry in a ventilated place, where it is dry and dark. Can be strung on wire, twine, hooks from paper clips. If you need to dry the fish in winter or in a city apartment, you can hang it at a height of 80 cm above the stove. For air circulation, even distribution of heat, it is necessary to dry by pointing the fan at the suspended fish. 
Tip: if you want a fatter fish, then it is recommended to dry it by hanging it by the eye or lower lip, less oily fish - head down. For drying in the open air, in order to avoid damage by insects, you need to make a protection: sprinkle with a solution of unrefined oil with vinegar (3: 1). Can be covered with gauze, mosquito net or tulle curtain. It is better to hang out in the evening, at night the top will dry out and will not attract insects. The inhabitants of the north have a method of one and a half months of "frosty" street drying of fish by freezing. In other latitudes, this method should be carried out in the freezer.
Dry in the oven
You can dry the product at home in the absence of an electric dryer with an oven:
- Line baking sheets with foil.
- Lay out the carcasses in one direction.
- Preheat the oven, place the product, open the door 5 cm and keep it that way.
- After 2 hours, cover the top of the fish heads with foil, continuing the process for another 4 hours.
The fish dried in this way is fixed and finally dried in the coolness (on the balcony) for another 2 days.
What gadgets will help
To reduce the time, it is convenient to dry the semi-finished product with an electric dryer or air grill. Ventilation and heating do this efficiently. At t + 55⁰, the fish must be dried for 7 hours. Small-sized fish or fillet pieces are laid out on the air grill grates in one layer. A heat-resistant skewer is inserted between the flask and the lid to release moisture. At a low blowing speed and high t (+80⁰), a dried product is obtained in 4 hours of drying, and then a dried product.
Can I dry store-bought fish? It turns out that you can take any, for example, hake. Fresh or thawed, it is cut along the ridge into 5 cm pieces. They are sprinkled with a mixture (1: 2 sugar and salt) and kept at room temperature for about 3 hours. In the heat, put them in the refrigerator. Then the raw material is washed, cleaned of skin and seeds. The fish pulp is divided into strips (1 cm) with a knife. Dryer baskets are covered with parchment (to remove grease, smell and facilitate washing), pieces are laid out. Merluza (hake), prepared in this way, does not differ in taste from purchased dried tuna.
Storage
So that the dried product does not lose its softness, it is necessary to wrap it with a newspaper, place it in a bag and send it to the freezer.
After learning how to properly dry fish, you can always taste a popular snack.
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