Salting horse mackerel small fish at home. Salted horse mackerel at home, recipe with photo

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To begin with, I will give you a recipe for dried (correctly dried) Black Sea horse mackerel, because due to its small size, the absence of falling large scales, marine origin and belonging to the Perciformes order, it has a body that is convenient for cleaning from scales, a specific spicy taste and special aroma. According to “Commodity Research of Foodstuffs” (N.D. Kudentsov, Publishing House “Economics”, Moscow, 1968, p. 115), “dried fish is called a fish that has undergone a preliminary salting process using a chilled brine method or a dry salting method, and then dried on hangers to remove moisture to the state of readiness at a humidity of not more than 38%”.

For drying, it is better to take Black Sea horse mackerel of approximately the same size, at least 10 and up to 15 cm long. For salting and subsequent drying of low-fat and medium-fat marine fish of pelagic species, it is better to use the dry salting method.

First, the horse mackerel must be washed and dried to remove excess moisture. Then you should choose dishes for salting.

Personally, I like ordinary household ten-liter pots that can be placed without any problems in the refrigerator. Before salting, it is necessary to pour a layer of coarsely ground salt (necessarily non-iodized) of 0.5 mm on the bottom of the pan (or any other utensil). Next, you should lay out the horse mackerel in layers, abundantly sprinkling each layer of fish with salt, so that a distance of about 5 cm remains to the upper edge of the container.

The top layer of fish is also sprinkled with salt 1.0 - 1.5 cm thick. Salts must be used for dry salting of horse mackerel, at least 12-15% by weight of the fish. A wooden circle (a plate, an enameled lid, etc.) is placed on top of the last layer of horse mackerel, on which oppression (load) weighing at least 10-15% of the mass of the fish is placed.

After about 3-4 hours, under the influence of salt, natural brine (intercellular juice containing proteins and minerals) begins to stand out from the fish.

It is at the very moment that the dishes with fish should be placed in the refrigerator with a temperature regime of + 3-5 degrees for 2-3 days. After salting, the horse mackerel should be carefully rinsed under running cold water, removing excess brine (you can do this in a large colander, and then leave the fish in it to drain the water).

The question of how to hook the horse mackerel correctly, by the tail or by the head, is decided arbitrarily. For example, I like to hang a horse mackerel, hooking it by the lower jaw with an ordinary paper clip, on the balcony of a high-rise building (6-10 floors), where there is good and stable air circulation.

You can also hang horse mackerel on hangers with flyers in the courtyard of a private house, having previously determined where the breeze constantly blows.

In the latter version, I categorically recommend that you cover the horse mackerel hooked through the eye with gauze soaked in 9% vinegar to protect against cheese flies. After 4-5 days, at a temperature of 20-26 degrees and a humidity of not more than 80%, the horse mackerel is well dried. The readiness of horse mackerel is determined as follows: the back of the finished dried fish is shrunken, the meat is resiliently rigid, on the cut it has an even grayish-yellow color, and the caviar is orange-red.

Dried horse mackerel I like to use exclusively according to the Astrakhan classic method, dipping its peeled pulp into a bowl filled with mustard or unrefined sunflower oil.

The Black Sea horse mackerel belongs to the order Perciformes (Perciformes) of the horse mackerel family. Due to the very special structure and arrangement of its scales, this fish is very convenient to clean. The fish has a small size, which also makes it convenient for processing at home. Gourmets will certainly enjoy its special aroma and slightly specific spicy taste.

Choose fish for drying of the same size, which should not exceed 15 cm. To begin with, the fish is salted, and then dried. For these purposes, medium-fat sea and low-fat fish are usually used. Dry salting should be used to prepare the fish for smoking. To remove excess moisture from the fish, before salting it, it is necessary to rinse and dry the horse mackerel.

After that, dishes for salting are selected. An ordinary ten-liter pan may be suitable for this. This pot fits well in the fridge. The bottom of the pan is sprinkled with coarse salt. Salt should not be iodized. The salt layer should be 0.5 mm. The fish is laid out in layers, each layer of fish is sprinkled with salt. You should not lay out the fish to the top edge, be sure to leave a distance of 5 cm to the top. The top layer of fish is sprinkled with salt. The layer thickness should be approximately 1.0 - 1.5 cm.

On top of the last layer of horse mackerel, it is necessary to put a plank (and, if possible, a circle) made of wood. For these purposes, you can use a plate or a lid from a small saucepan. A load is placed on the circle. Its weight should be at least 10-15% of the weight of the fish in the pan. After 3-4 hours, the fish begins to secrete intercellular juice under the influence of salt. It is at this point that the pan is placed in the refrigerator. The temperature in the refrigerator should be + 3-5 degrees. The pan should stay in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. After salting, the fish is washed under a tap. The water must be cold. You can wash the fish in a colander, which is fixed over the sink to drain the remaining water.

Many do not know how to properly hang a fish, by the tail or by the head. It is best to hang the fish by the lower jaw. To do this, use a regular paper clip. The clip needs to be straightened. However, there are no clear rules for hanging fish, everyone chooses a method convenient for him. It is better to hang fish on the balcony. The balcony must be necessarily closed so that flies do not sit on the fish, dust does not fly. On the balcony, air circulation will be much better than in the room.

You can also hang fish on hangers through the eye. If you have to dry the fish on the street, wipe it with gauze soaked in a solution of 9% vinegar. This is necessary to protect the horse mackerel from flies. After 4-5 days the fish will be ready. Humidity should be no more than 80%, and the temperature should be 20-26 degrees.

Add salt, sugar and a bay leaf broken into several pieces into the container to the horse mackerel. Stir and leave for a day, during which time the fish will salt well.

The next day, we prepare the marinade - for this we boil a liter of water, add 2 tablespoons of salt, one - sugar and sweet peas. Let the marinade cool, add 3 tablespoons of vinegar to it.

We clean the onion and cut it into thin half rings.

We spread the horse mackerel in a container for pickling (I have a plastic box with a lid from mayonnaise), add onions, fill the whole thing with marinade.

We leave the fish for 2-3 days to marinate (the original recipe indicated 10 days for marinating, but I thought that they tried a lot of fish on the 3rd day, it was absolutely ready).

We throw back the Black Sea horse mackerel of spicy salting in a colander, fill it with unrefined sunflower oil and proceed to the meal.

Stavridka turned out very tasty, with potatoes it was just a fairy tale.

Bon appetit!

Cooking time: PT00H30M 30 min.