Dry fish, ways.

Dedicated to all lovers of dried fish. This article will focus on the correct technique and technology for drying fish.

What fish can be dried: list, names, photos

Drying and drying fish are ways to prepare it for later storage. The difference is as follows:

• drying is a preparation process in which fish can be salted or unsalted. The resulting unsalted product is a kind of semi-finished product that requires subsequent preparation. Salted dried fish can be consumed immediately.
• drying - drying of raw materials, which must have been salted beforehand. The meat seems to mature in the process. After drying, the product becomes usable without additional processing.

Usually when we talk about dried fish, we mean exactly dried fish, which is considered perfect snack for beer. Many types of fish are suitable for cooking dried (dried) fish. The main thing is that it is medium in size (no more than 1 kg) and not very fatty, since the thicker the carcass, the more salt will be required, and the longer the drying process will take.

You can use both river and sea fish. The most suitable for these purposes are the following river species:

• rudd
• ram
• roach
• vobla
• sabrefish
• vomer
• perch
• zander
• breeder
• gudgeon
• crucian carp
• blue bream
• carp

Please note that only fresh river fish is suitable for drying, which is no more than a day after the catch. Otherwise, the food may spoil before it is cooked.

Among the diversity sea ​​fish for drying it is preferable to use:

• mackerel
• capelin
• goby
• smelt
• tulka
• herring
• sprat
• samsu
• sea ​​bass
• drum
• scapa
• horse mackerel
• sea ​​ruff

Before using frozen sea fish, it must first be thawed at room temperature.

How to salt and dry fresh fish: preparation for drying, salting recipe

Before drying (drying) fish, it must be properly prepared.

This process includes several stages:

• treatment
• salting
• soaking

Treatment is as follows:

• Select carcasses up to 1 kg. If you have a lot of fish, it is advisable to sort it by size, as it will take different times to cook it.
• Gut the carcasses. On a large fish, it is better to make an incision on the back, in the thickest part of it, and in a small fish, on the abdomen. Some fishermen prefer not to peel the fish, believing that the offal gives it meatiness and fat content. The taste of such a product will be slightly bitter. But on the other hand, in the specimens of the spring catch, there is caviar, which is very desirable in dried fish. However, the one that feeds on vegetation still needs to be cleaned, otherwise the algae inside the carcass will begin to decompose and rot
• If you decide to dry large fish gutted, use a syringe through the mouth opening to pour a strong salt solution into its abdomen
• Cut large specimens along the back to dry quickly.

Salting:

• Before drying the fish, it must be well salted. The purpose of this process is to remove excess moisture from raw materials.
• In this case, oppression is necessarily used (150 g per 1 kg of fish), which is needed in order to prevent the appearance of cavities in the raw material where putrefactive bacteria can develop
• Also, salted raw materials must be kept in the cold so that the parts of the fish that have not yet been salted do not spoil.

Exists different ways salting. The following are considered the most suitable for home conditions:

dry(suitable for large fish):

• gut the carcasses, then rub generously with salt on all sides, pour also into the gills
• prepare a basket or drawer with holes
• cover the bottom with a thick fabric (burlap or canvas)
• stack the fish in layers, be sure to belly up
• Sprinkle the layers generously with salt (for 10 kg of fish, about 1.5 kg of salt)
• put in a cold place for 5 - 7 days
• the resulting liquid will drain through the holes (take this fact into account when installing the box)

• Pour coarse salt on the bottom of a vessel (this salt is absorbed more slowly, but draws moisture out of the fish faster)
• gutted fish rub with salt inside
• fold in layers ("jack" and in such a way that the back of one covers the belly of the other), generously sprinkling each with salt. At the same time, place larger fish on the bottom, and small ones on top.
• the salt should cover the carcasses evenly, but not lay on it in a heap (on average, 20% of the weight of the fish). Each subsequent row of salt should be increased by 15%. And the latter should cover the fish by 0.5 cm
• place a plate or an inverted lid with a load on top. At the same time, carcasses should not fit snugly against the walls of the dishes to maintain the possibility of air flow.
• place in the cold for 3-7 days depending on the size of the fish

tuzuchny(in saline solution) - suitable for small fish (up to 0.5 kg):

• make brine - dissolve so much salt in water that the egg dropped into the container floats to the surface
• dip fresh fish there. In this case, the brine should cover it completely (approximate volume - 1 liter per 3 kg of raw materials). The fish can be immediately strung on ropes and salted right in the bundles
• cover with a net and put oppression on top
• keep so 3 days in a cool place

While salting, you can add a little sugar to taste, Bay leaf, pepper and other spices. The fish is fragrant with horseradish leaves. You can check if the fish is salted like this:

• press your finger on the back. If a hole has formed, then it is ready
• holding the head and tail, stretch the carcass. Salted fish will crunch vertebrae

Soaking:

In order for excess salt to leave the salted fish, it must be soaked in fresh water. In addition, this process will saturate the carcasses with liquid to preserve flavor and desalinate the surface layer so that they are not damp when finished. Do it like this:

• remove the fish from the brine and let it rest for about an hour so that the salt is evenly distributed throughout the meat
• rinse in fresh running water and thoroughly remove mucus
• fill in cold water and leave so, periodically, changing the water (on average, the number of hours is equal to the number of days of salting). It is believed that when the carcasses begin to float, they are ready for drying.
• wipe dry and place on a paper towel so that the glass will have excess moisture

Now the salted and soaked fish can be hung out to dry.

How and where to properly dry river and sea fish at home in summer, spring and winter, and how much to dry?

There are two types of drying process for salted river or sea fish:

• artificial - in special installations in which the required temperature is maintained (60-90 degrees)
• natural - under the influence of air outdoors or in well-ventilated rooms

At home, they use a natural method. In order for the final product to delight you with excellent taste, you need to dry the fish correctly, taking into account some of the subtleties:

• pierce prepared fish (salted and soaked) and string on strong fishing line or twine. You can attach the carcasses to a paper clip by hooking a fish lip with it and hanging it on a rope. On large specimens, for even drying, you can make spacers from toothpicks in the abdomen, and dry small fish on a mesh stretched over slats or a frame
• knead the bundles in a ventilated dry place. Do not expose them to the sun, as while the fish is wet, it can simply "cook" in the heat. In addition, fatty carcasses may run out of fat.
• in spring and summer, it can be dried in the shade or under a canopy, and in winter - on a glazed balcony, kitchen, attic
• the optimum temperature for drying fish is considered to be from 18 to 20 degrees
• note that the fish should hang without touching each other
• do not place your catch near strong-smelling objects (painted walls, etc.), as the fish will very quickly absorb unpleasant odors
• in hot weather it is impossible to dry the product, as it can turn rancid
• during storage, the finished fish loses more and more moisture and becomes drier

The period of drying the fish until cooked depends on its size and conditions:

• in the spring-summer period, in the air with a slight breeze and the absence of wet weather, it will take about 5-8 days, and for very shallow - 2 days
• in winter at frosty temperatures outside - about one and a half months (moisture from the fish will gradually freeze out), and in a heated apartment - 7-15 days

Where, how and how much to dry dried fish?

Some people like very dry salted fish, while others prefer soft, as if under-dried, dried. Drying, in fact, is an incomplete drying process of the product.

The main conditions for drying:

• relatively low temperature
• quite a long period

The best time for drying fish is considered to be autumn and spring (before spawning) for two reasons:

• fish during this period is especially fatty and tasty
• there is no heat in which carcasses can deteriorate during prolonged drying

Features of the process:

• it is best to dry the fish outdoors under a canopy, away from sunlight
• depending on the size of the specimens and weather conditions, the product is ready in 7-15 days
• large specimens take a long time to dry and may deteriorate before they dry out. Therefore, they need to be dried when low temperatures(better in the cellar). The process takes up to 3 weeks
• in winter, the process should take place in a room that needs to be often ventilated, arranging drafts so that the fish is weathered. In addition, it is necessary to periodically spray the room and carcasses with cold water, since during heating the air in the apartment is dry, and the fish will not dry out at low humidity, but dry.
• it should be borne in mind that drying in a warm room is faster, and the fish does not have time to acquire an amber color and transparency, which is so appreciated
• well-dried fish has no smell raw meat while the back remains a little soft
• you need to store the finished delicacy by wrapping it in paper or canvas
• dried fish can be consumed immediately, but amateurs claim that for better taste she needs to "mature" for at least two weeks in the cold and wrapped in parchment

How to dry fish in summer so that flies don't land?

When drying fish in summer, there is a high probability of spoilage of the product by larvae of flies. The aroma that the fermenting fish gives off is very attractive to insects. To prevent this from happening, follow the advice of experienced anglers.

Before hanging the fish carcasses to dry, lightly grease them (optional):

• vinegar solution (3%)
• sunflower oil
• a weak solution of potassium permanganate
• mixture vegetable oil with vinegar in a ratio of 1: 3

Also, dry your catch in this way:

• hang the fish out to dry in the late evening - then there are no flies. During the night, the carcasses will dry out, and their gills will be covered with a dry crust. Insects will no longer be scary
• cover the drying fish with gauze so that there is free space between them (use small spacers for this)
• keep in mind that the longer the fish dries, the less attractive it becomes to flies. Therefore, it is very important to secure the product in the early days.

Many fishermen use special boxes for drying, which are very easy to do on their own:

• make a box out of slats
• cover it with gauze or mesh
• make one side of the box with a lid so that you can get the finished fish as needed

How to dry fish properly: head down or up?

Often a dispute arises between fishermen as to how to string the fish onto a rope: through the tail or through the head? In fact, both methods are correct, and the choice of drying depends on your preferences:

• head down- the fish will dry more evenly and faster, as moisture will drain through the mouth. The final product will turn out to be less fatty, and such a fish will be stored longer. In autumn, it is recommended to hang out in this way, because during this period the fish is very oily and can dry for a long time.
• head up- the fat remains inside the carcass and permeates the meat. It will take a little longer for such a product to dry, but it will turn out to be more aromatic. So it is recommended to dry lean fish... However, if it is not gutted, then the bile in the offal can adversely affect the taste of the finished product, and it will taste bitter.

Can fish be dried without scales?

Usually, when drying fish, scales are not removed for the following reasons:

• it protects the inner tissues of the carcass from deformation and contamination
• when salting, this will save the meat from strong corrosion by salt
• lack of scales will lead to excessive drying of the product

In some cases, fish scales are peeled off. As a rule, they do this with large copies or for the purpose of more convenient use of the finished product. However, experts say that such fish is less tasty, as it turns out to be too dry and unflavored.

How and how much to dry fish in the apartment, on the balcony in the garage?

Quite often city dwellers have to dry their catch indoors, especially in winter. At the same time, there are often cases when the fish turns out to be tasteless or even deteriorates. To prevent this from happening, and your work was not in vain, consider the following features of drying in closed rooms:

• before salting the fish, it is better to get rid of the entrails. In an apartment, gutted fish is guaranteed to be salted and not spoiled
• after salting and soaking, hang the carcasses over the bathtub to glass the liquid
• start the drying process in the evening: hang the fish and open the window at night. So there will be less unpleasant odor in the apartment.
• the balcony on which you dry the fish must be well-ventilated. If it is glazed, then open the windows more often. Be sure to provide insect protection during summer. No matter what floor you live on, the scent of the fish is sure to attract flies.
• in winter you can hang fish in the kitchen above the stove, but not very low (at least 80 cm). So it will dry out after 3-7 days.

• for drying in closed rooms, a fan can be used to circulate the air
• some dry the fish behind the refrigerator by hanging it on the radiator
• keep in mind that moisture and fat will drain from the raw material during the drying process. Therefore, substitute some container or cover the floor.
• be prepared for a specific fishy smell in the room during the first few days of drying
• it is impossible to say exactly how much fish will be dried indoors. This process can take from 3 days to two weeks. Check the readiness of the product by tasting it periodically

How and how much to dry fish in the oven?

Using the oven is a simple way to speed up the drying process of salted fish in an apartment.

To dry properly in the oven in this way:

• gut the fish
• salt and soak the carcasses in the usual way
• turn the oven on convection mode
• set a low temperature (about 40 degrees)
• spread the fish on a baking sheet, after covering it with parchment or foil
• place the baking sheet in the oven, leaving the door ajar about 7 cm
• after a couple of hours, cover the heads of the fish with foil so that they do not burn
• leave to dry for another 3-4 hours depending on the size of your fish
• take them out and string them on a wire or rope
• dry in a well-ventilated room or outdoors (it will take about a day)

You can get a great beer snack by drying too small fish in the oven. This is done simply:

• prepare 500 g of very small fish (smelt, sprat, samsa)
• remove the scales if necessary, the carcasses do not need to be gutted
• rinse well
• dry thoroughly with paper towels
• mix 1 tsp. salt, 0.5 tsp. sugar and 0.5 tsp. lemon juice
• evenly distribute the spices over the fish, rubbing them thoroughly
• cover with a plate and refrigerate to marinate overnight
• grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil
• put the fish in one row so that it fits snugly against each other
• preheat the oven to 200 degrees
• place the baking sheet there for 15 minutes
• after this time, gently turn the fish over to the other side
• bake for another 15 minutes
• cool down

How and how much to dry fish in an electric dryer?

Many people use an electric dryer to speed up the process of drying and drying fish. Such a device is convenient in that elevated temperature and forced ventilation accelerate product dehydration.

Features of this method:

• the fish does not need to be marinated for a long time, 7 hours is enough
• at 50 degrees the fish is dried for about 5-7 hours. At a higher temperature, the carcass can simply be steamed and the meat will separate from the bones. Some people advise not to turn on the heating awning at all, but to put the device in the blowing mode. So the fish will dry longer - about a day.

• to speed up the process, you can dry the fish not entirely, but by cutting it into layers
• very tasty dried fish, pieces of which were marinated in 0.5 cups marinade lemon juice, 5 tsp. salt, 2 tbsp. chopped parsley and 1 chopped onion

How and how much to dry fish on a battery?

In the cold period, when the heating season begins, it is convenient to dry salted fish using hot batteries. Usually, the readiness of the product with this method occurs after 4 to 8 days. There are several options for such drying:

• under the battery - spread the carcasses on the floor on a double layer of paper or cardboard. When one side of the fish is dry, flip it over to the other.
• on the battery - cover the radiator with a rag so as not to get dirty. Hang a bunch of fish on it like a Christmas tree garland. In a couple of days turn the other side
• near the battery - hang the prepared fish on the clothes dryer and place it next to the battery

With this method, you need to ensure that the fish does not dry out. Otherwise, the meat will separate from the bone, and it will not turn out very tasty. If the batteries in your apartment are very hot, place the fish two feet away.

How and how much to dry fish in the microwave?

Microwave fish is difficult to dry. This is due to the fact that for this process, not so much temperature is important as air circulation. And to achieve this in the microwave is almost impossible. In addition, the door of this kitchen appliance must not be opened during operation, as is the case with an oven. And there will be no additional air flow.

Therefore, only a microwave oven with convection can be suitable for drying fish. The temperature should be set low (no more than 40 degrees), and the fish should be laid out in one row. Drying times will depend on the size of the fish and your oven.

In this case, there will always be a high probability that your fish will simply bake and not dry out.

How to dry perch, crucian carp, sabrefish, kutum, roach, bream: tips and recipes

Each fisherman has his own method of salting and drying the catch. In this case, it is assumed that different types fish require their own subtleties of drying. Here are some tips for drying fish from experienced anglers.

Perch- one of the most common fish in our waters. Not everyone likes it, since it has not very fatty, even dryish, meat. However, properly dried perch has a pleasant specific aroma and excellent nutritional properties.

How to dry perch properly:

• carry out the process in spring or autumn, since in the summer heat the scales of this fish turn into a dense crust, and the meat inside begins to deteriorate
• before salting, large specimens are cleaned of offal, small ones are not cleaned
• fold the carcasses in rows, rubbing liberally and sprinkling them with salt and sugar (500 g of salt and 5 tablespoons of sugar for 2 kg of fish)
• keep in the cold under oppression for 3-4 days
• soak in fresh water for about a day
• dry for about a week

Carp- a popular fish that is very tasty when dried. It must be gutted before drying, otherwise it will be bitter. For salting, take 1 kg of salt and 1 tbsp. sugar for 7-10 kg of raw materials. Dried, as a rule, about 6-7 days, head down, placing spacers in the gills.

Chekhon Is a valuable commercial fish that has an elongated shape and resembles a saber. When dried, it tastes great, although not everyone likes its bony texture.

Features of preparation and drying:

• you need to clean the fish from the entrails very carefully, without damaging the film inside the abdomen, because it prevents the fat from flowing out of the meat
• for salting, take about 100 g of salt per 1 medium carcass
• some fishermen do not soak the fish after salting in water, but only wipe it or put it under pressure to remove the moisture
• dry for about 10-14 days, with the first two days - head down, so that the liquid is faster than glass, and then change position

Kutum- a rare Caspian fish, very tasty and valuable. Her meat is tender, without small bones. But it is very difficult to salt and dry it properly because of its high fat content and meatiness. Therefore, when salting, do not spare salt and dry at a low temperature.

Vobla- a kind of roach, belongs to the carp family. It is very often used for salting and drying. It is usually salted for about 3 days, then soaked for about 6 hours. So the fish turns out to be lightly salted and tender. Dry it from 13 to 30 days.

Bream- probably the most popular fish snack for beer in our area. We offer several ways to dry it.

Method 1 - Volga-Akhtubinskiy (suitable for drying on the spot)

• gut the fish
• spread the carcass along the ridge
• roll in salt on both sides
• hang in the sun and wind

At the same time, bream dries very quickly, but special taste and has no aroma.

• gut the carcass, be sure to remove the black strip along the ridge
• rinse the inside thoroughly
• take 250 g of salt per 1 kg of raw material
• salt the carcass well
• put in an enamel bowl, the bottom of which also fill with salt
• set the load on top
• rinse the fish after 2 days
• hang to dry at about 15 degrees for 7-14 days

• gut the carcasses
• make a saline solution (for 2 liters of water, 2 cups of salt)
• put bream in it
• press down with a load from above
• salt so in the cold for at least 2 days
• rinse well in running cool water
• dry in the shade for 2 weeks

Carp- very tasty when dried. However, not everyone knows how to dry it properly:

• remove scales and gut
• cut off the tail with the head
• Salt dry or wet for 10 days
• drain
• mix salt with nitrate (0.5 - 1% by volume of salt)
• rub the fish well
• dry in a ventilated room for at least 2 weeks

Not everyone knows that dried salted fish can be used not only as a beer snack. Try to diversify your menu:

• grind dried carcasses into flour and add the resulting powder to soups, salad dressings, fish cakes
• cook fish soup on the basis of such fish (salt the dish should be done with caution)
• make a paste for sandwiches: mix chopped fish with sour cream, mayonnaise, herbs and a chive
• make a casserole: soak the fish in water for about a day and cut into slices, place on thinly sliced ​​potatoes, fill with a mixture of milk and eggs, bake in the oven

Video: How to salt and dry fish properly?

Dried or dried fish is a special delicacy for any table. Not a single friendly gathering with beer and favorite snacks is complete without such a fish. Properly salted and dried fish has a rich taste and delicate mouth-watering aroma. But what is the difference between dried fish and dried fish? Dried fish are pre-salted carcasses that are subsequently dried. They are ready to eat and can be eaten without further processing. But dried fresh fish is just dried meat that is harvested for the winter. It must be fried or boiled before use. Such meat is often dried in the northern regions in order to preserve useful product for the winter period.

Often people mean drying fish by drying. Dried fish is usually prepared on an industrial scale. Dried fish is called the same process, but at home. Today you will learn how to properly make dried fish to make it tasty, safe and healthy.

Which fish to choose

It is best to dry the fish in the fall and spring. At this time, the fish is the most fatty and tasty. At home, you can salt any fish, but perch, roach, rudd, bream, pike perch, roach are best suited for this. As a rule, after good fishing, the largest fish go to the ear and fry, and the smaller ones go to salting.

It is best to dry fresh fish caught no more than 10 hours ago. In this case, the salting will be of high quality and safe. If you salt yesterday's fish, then it can turn out with a "smell". Large and small fish should be salted in different dishes, since the time for salting them is not the same.

How to dry fish properly

The technique of drying and drying fish differs only in the degree of drying of the meat. That is, in fact, dried fish is an incompletely dried carcass. To make fish meat tasty, salted and aromatic, you need to go through all the stages of its processing.

Training
Fresh fish should be dipped in a small amount of water. Carefully wash off river dirt and silt from the scales. It is very important to rinse the fish with your hands to remove mucus from its surface. The less mucus remains on the fish, the tastier and more appetizing it will turn out.

Then the fish should be gutted. Some fishermen and housewives salt the fish completely, but if the carcasses are medium-sized, it is better to remove all unnecessary ones. Dried with giblets, fish acquires a slight bitterness, which is given to it by bile. Only small fish are dried with giblets.

In advance, you need to choose dishes for salting. It can be a plastic bucket, enamel dishes, a tin basin. Be prepared for the fact that after salting the container will smell like fish for a long time.

Salting

Sprinkle salt on the bottom of the dish with a thin layer. Then we place the fish so that it is not deformed. Try to start stacking fish with large carcasses. Sprinkle the next layer of fish with salt. Thus, you need to sprinkle all the fish with salt. Sprinkle the top layer generously so that the fish is practically invisible.

The container with the fish is covered with gauze and left in a cool place. You can put a bucket of salted fish on a balcony (in cold weather), in a cellar or basement. It is not recommended to put fish in the refrigerator even with a tightly closed lid - all products will smell like fish. In this form, the fish should stand for several days. When the fish gives out juice, which is called brine, it will need to be pressed with oppression so that all the fish are completely covered with brine. Oppression also prevents air from collecting in the belly of the fish. As oppression, you can use a large stone, weight or containers of water. The fish should remain under pressure for another 2-3 days.

After the specified time has elapsed, the fish must be checked. A well-salted carcass has a sunken back and rather firm sides. Take the fish's head and pull its tail. If the spine makes a characteristic sound, the fish is ready. If not, leave the carcasses to salt for another day.

Soaking
The next step is to soak the fish. This is done to rinse off excess salt from the fish. Empty the contents of the bucket into a tub filled with water. Sort the fish immediately. Those that settled at the bottom - salted well, they are suitable for long-term storage... And those that surfaced up are better to use first - they will not last long.

The fish should be kept in water for 4-5 hours. After that, it is carefully washed by hand - both from the outside and from the inside. If the salt and mucus do not wash off, you can rub them with a soft sponge, but be careful not to damage the fish scales. Without it, it cannot be stored for a long time.

Drying
When all the fish has been washed, it must be dried. For drying, you need to prepare large rings of wire, on which the fish is worn sideways, that is, through the eye holes. In this form, the fish will dry out much better.

It is very important to protect your fish from bees, flies, mosquitoes and other insects. Harmful insects can leave an infection on the carcass, which will lead to rotting of the product, it cannot be stored for a long time. In addition, it is much more pleasant to eat a clean fish and be sure that a swarm of flies does not land on it. You can cover the fish hung to dry with gauze or make a gauze frame. Better yet, hang the fish out to dry in the evening, when the flies are gone. By morning, the fish will dry up, and flies will not be afraid of it.

It takes about 5-7 days to dry the fish. It is very important here not to overdry the carcasses, otherwise they will turn out not dried, but dried. You need to dry the fish in a well-ventilated place, away from sunlight. To test the fish for readiness, you just need to taste it. If you smell raw fish- it requires additional drying. Good jerky fish is not completely dry, but rather soft at the back.

When the fish is ready, it should be removed from the wire, transferred to canvas or paper bags and stored in a cool place. The fish dried in this way will be suitable for consumption within six months.

Here are a few more useful tips that will help you when drying and salting fish:

1. When you soak the fish after salting, the water needs to be changed to fresh water several times.
2. Some fishermen dry the fish by hanging it not by the head, but by the tail. This is not worth doing, otherwise the fat will flow out, and the fish will turn out to be dry and tasteless.
3. If you do not have time to dry your fish for a long time, you can use an electric dryer. Conditions with a certain temperature and a special degree of ventilation allow you to bring the fish to readiness in 6-8 hours!
4. In cold regions, fish is stored as follows. After salting, it is not dried, but frozen. After lying in the cold for about a month, the fish becomes very tasty and can be stored for quite a long time.
5. If you are afraid that flies will land on fish, you can grease the carcasses with vinegar solution.
6. In order for the fish to dry well from the inside, toothpicks need to be inserted into the walls of its abdomen.
7. In summer the fish is not dried - the high temperature can cause the fish to rot rather than dry out. In addition, fish dried in hot weather turns out to be bitter.
8. In ancient times, fish was salted in wooden barrels. From this, she received a special woody aroma, which is still considered a special delight to this day. Some dried fish manufacturers still have a similar production procedure.
9. The fish should not be dried in the sun. Otherwise, all the fat will melt, the fish will turn out to be dry and lean.
10. Oven-dried fish is popular in some areas. After rinsing, it is left to dry, not in the air, but in the oven. In this case, the preheated oven must be turned off, the fish will seem to languish. The fish is preliminarily placed in clay pots... The fish prepared in this way is soft and well salted.
11. If stored improperly in bags with dried fish, a sour or musty odor, mold, mucus may appear. You cannot eat such fish.
12. Small fish such as smelt or small perch are easy to dry. Soak the washed fish in salted water for 20 minutes and then hang to dry.

These subtleties and nuances will help you dry the fish so that it can be stored for a long time, and also preserve its taste qualities and benefit.

It's hard to find more a suitable snack to beer than dried or dried fish. If you often go fishing, do not give the extra catch to your neighbors. Fish can be easily preserved if properly dried. And then you can enjoy the aromatic taste of salted fish all year round.

Video: how to properly dry and salt fish

Well, finally, the time has come for summer holidays, which means that for avid fishermen - it's time for a long, one might say, long-term fishing. Although a true lover will always carve out a weekend to bring home the catch in any weather. But in the summer heat it is quite difficult to keep prey. Therefore, many fishermen prefer to salt and dry it. Then, at the first friendly beer drinking, all your friends will be very grateful to you. Salted fish for beer - just what you need, the very thing! But you still need to know how to salt and dry fish, so as not to spoil its smell, color, taste.

Which one to take?

From river and lake, of course, bream, roach, roach, ram, carp. They also traditionally use gobies, pike perch, pelengas. How to dry fish? Any size can be taken. But we advise you not to use too small or large. The small one turns out to be very dry, and there is nothing to eat there. You can't get away with a particularly big trouble, protecting from insects, making sure that it dries properly. And the process itself takes much longer. Do not use too bony for drying, for example, crucian carp. Before drying river fish(especially herbivore), it should be pre-soaked to remove the smell of algae and mud. And so, in general, that caught, then harvest.

Gut or not?

It is not necessary to clean fish from scales for salting and drying. Everyone knows that. Opinions are divided about evisceration. In small and medium-sized fish, the insides do not need to be cleaned. Especially if it is with caviar. However, there is a belief among experienced salters that a herbivorous, non-predatory fish still needs to be gutted. Because the algae eaten by it can give bitterness when harvested. A large one must be gutted! In addition, it is cut before harvesting and small wooden spacers are inserted so that the meat is better salted before drying the fish. Particularly large can be harvested in pieces, pre-cut.

Sequencing

Actually, the process of drying fish itself is divided into four stages: preparation of raw materials, salting, soaking, drying. Everything is clear with the preparation (see above). Let's analyze the salting process. This must be learned first of all before drying the fish. There are three ways: dry, wet and brine.

Wet

We take a large container (for example, a basin), pour food stone salt on the bottom. We lay the prepared fish in rows in several layers, head to tail, in order to improve the action of the press. Sprinkle each layer of the laid fish generously with salt. Above - also to cover our product completely. Then we put a lid from a large saucepan and press down with a heavy stone or weight. Under such pressure, the fish stays for up to three days.

Dry

Used mainly for large specimens. We cut the gutted fish along the back and insert small wooden spacers so that the product is better salted. We put the fish in a wooden box belly up and fill it with salt. Cover with plastic and put in a cool place. Salting lasts about a week.

Tuzluchny

We make a solution of water and salt. We check the consistency: you need to put a raw egg if it does not sink, then the composition is correct. Then we put the fish and salt for three days.

Rinsing and soaking

How to properly dry fish after salting? It is imperative to rinse it out of salt and mucus. The soaking process is usually carried out in running fresh water for 15-20 minutes. Usually fishermen use for this plain water from the tap and a basin where the fish are washed before drying. As a result, grains of salt and mucus are removed, which is released, for example, when wet way blanks.

How to dry fish properly?

The previously soaked product must be hung on a thick fishing line or nylon rope in a draft. Also, make sure that the thread does not break under the weight of the load. V field conditions it is better to stretch it between trees. Avoid direct light rays. It is better to start drying the fish in the evening to protect it from insects as much as possible. At the same time, some craftsmen wrap the carcasses in gauze, with an allowance. So insects will not sit down on future food. It is best to hang the fish by the eye openings. This will absorb all the fat into the meat. However, the autumn fish should be hung by the tail, pierced with a crochet or paper clip at the base. As it dries longer due to more fat. Average drying time is a week.

In the oven

If you are not in nature, but in an apartment, you can dry fish on the balcony (if its size and design allow), or you can use an oven for this. First, we salt the fish (as - see above). We choose any suitable method. Then we rinse in running water. Preheat the oven to a temperature of 180-200 degrees, take baking trays and put foil on them. Place the fish on top, previously dried with a towel. During the drying process, the oven should be slightly open (about five to seven centimeters). Insert the baking sheets into the oven. The process takes up to two hours. After that, cover the fish heads with additional foil, lower the temperature and dry for a couple of hours. Then we take the product out of the oven, string it on a wire or fishing line and hang it in the kitchen or on the balcony, protecting it from flies (they are insidious and can instantly ruin the whole thing by laying their eggs). Here the fish is already completely dry.

Dried (dried) fish can be bought ready-made today. But, if you consider yourself a fisherman, then you must be able to dry fish. After all, sometimes the catch really pleases us, and there are so many fish that you already start to wonder what to do with it. In this case, part of the fish can be dried, and in the future, please yourself and your friends, because it seems to me that nothing is better than dried fish. At least in our country, it is dried fish ranks first among beer snacks.

Salt and dry river fish. Highlights of technology

Which one is right for this? It is best to take fish that is not very oily. A vobla, a perch are good for this, and in addition to these common types of fish, there is also a creeper with pike perch and dace.

How to prepare fish?

First of all, be sure to thoroughly rinse the fish, even though you caught it out of the water, and it seems to be clean. After that, they gut her and remove all the insides. As for the scales, you do not need to peel them off. If you think that the fish that you are going to pickle is rather large, then it will need to be cut along the back. Such an incision is usually made from the head and further, to the very tail. So, it will dry out much faster. When you finish preparing the fish, you can start to salt 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, of the total weight of the whole. If you took coarse salt, it will be absorbed into the fish rather slowly, but it will “draw out” more moisture from it. When salting, black pepper can be added to the fish. The fish in the container is not folded randomly, but they do it in layers, while each of these layers is necessarily sprinkled with salt.

Pouring salt on the fish is not enough, each will still need to be rubbed from the inside, that is, pour a little salt into its abdomen. When you have placed all the fish neatly, place a large flat plate on top of 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, or in another relatively cool place. If you salt small fish, it will be ready in 5 days. If your catch is larger, then soak it for 7 days in brine. Such brine appears in fish rather quickly, practically in 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 is imperative to protect it from them if you do not want to throw your catch away. Flies will not land on your fish if you simply wipe it down with simple means. A solution of vinegar (low concentration, only 3 percent) or unrefined sunflower oil is well suited for this.

How to dry?

The fish is usually hung on a wire, or a thick line is used instead. And the fishing line and wire are passed through the fish's eye. In the case of a 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's lower lip, and then hung out by the second part of the paper clip. If the fish is large enough, it is best to open the abdomen slightly. To do this, insert matches or toothpicks there. Also, gills are also slightly opened for large fish, for this it is quite enough to just twist them a little to the side. So, large fish will dry out much faster.

When you hang the fish, then, to insure yourself against 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 freely "walks". 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 fish, for example, in a barn, or in any attic. In this case, it is imperative to 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 strong enough, but this is what you should be prepared for. You can dry the fish over the stove in three days. If you dry it well, then salt should not protrude 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 should be firm and dark gray in color. 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... they just wrap it in and put it in the refrigerator. 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 salt, roach, silver bream and roach. We look at it too.

P.S. If the article was useful to you, please share it with your friends in in social networks... I would be very grateful to you for that.

Dried product differs from dried product by pre-salting, it is ready to eat without further processing. Dried carcasses are usually bland and require additional preparation - they need to be boiled or fried before serving. Such a product is often prepared by residents of the northern regions, so it is well preserved in the winter. Before drying fish at home, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the main stages of its preparation.

Selection and preparation of fish for salting

The following types of fish are most suitable for cooking dried fish:

• roach;
• zander;
• perch;
• vobla;
• rudd.

We choose small or medium-sized carcasses. Regarding whether it is possible to dry frozen fish - no doubt, but first it must be defrosted. Freshly caught product is best salted within 10 hours so that there are no doubts about its quality and safety.

We try to select carcasses of the same size so that all the fish are well salted. Before salting, it is imperative to wash and clean it. We put the carcasses in the bath, carefully wash off the silt and river mud from the scales, and also try to remove the mucus to make the fish tastier. Next, we remove the insides so that the product does not taste bitter and dries better.

On a note!

If large representatives are selected for drying, we make cuts in the back area so that they do not dry out for too long.

How to salt fish properly

After the product is washed and cleaned of the insides, you need it. This can be done in the following ways:

Dry ambassador

We use it for large carcasses. Dry them thoroughly with paper towels, and then rub them well with coarse salt. We put it in a wooden box or a basket with holes. We cover the bottom with a dense cloth, and lay the fish on it, belly up. We fill the layers well with salt, at the rate of 1.5 kg / 10 kg of product. Cover the box with plastic wrap and place in a cool place with low humidity for 7 days. We put a pallet under the box or lay an oilcloth, because excess moisture and juice will "go away" through the cracks.

Wet ambassador

We fill the bottom of a container of a suitable size with a layer of coarse salt, on which we spread the fish carcasses, previously rubbed with it, with a jack. First, put a larger product, and fill the container with small fish on top. Be sure to sprinkle each layer with salt so that it completely covers the carcasses. We lay out the load on top and put it in cool for 4 days.

Salting in brine

For this method of salting, we prepare a special saline solution, into which the fish will then be placed. Dissolve the salt in water, use the proportions individually. To check if the brine is prepared correctly, we immerse a raw egg in it, which should float. If it is immersed in liquid, add more salt. For soaking, we use carcasses weighing no more than 500 g, leave them in liquid for 3 days.

Preparing the product for drying

After the product is well salted, we proceed to the next stage - soaking. We carry out this procedure to rid the fish of excess salt. We rinse the carcasses for 20 minutes, and then soak for 3-7 hours, at the rate of 1 day of salting = 1 hour of soaking.

To check if the product is ready for drying, we use the following methods:

• press on the back of the carcass, if a hole has formed, then you can proceed to the next stage;
• we take the carcass with one hand by the head, with the other by the tail and stretch it, if the vertebra begins to crunch, then the fish can be dried.

If the product does not "pass" the readiness test, we leave it to salt for another 1 day.

How to dry fish: basic methods

When drying fish, you need to take into account the air temperature outside or indoors, the level of humidity and the availability of air. Each method of drying a product has its own characteristics.

On the balcony / indoors

We place the carcasses away from the sun's rays, on a wire, for this we put them on sideways, through the eye holes. You can also use paper clips, which we then hook onto the string. Fatty fish can be hung upside down to drain excess fat, so the product dries out faster. When drying large representatives, we open their abdomen and insert a match so that the carcasses dry well and do not rot inside. We regularly ventilate the room and leave the windows ajar.

If the balcony is not glazed, be sure to cover the carcasses from insects to prevent decay and damage to the product. To do this, we use gauze, cover the suspended fish with it, or build a frame.

On a note!

The most suitable time for drying is early autumn or late spring, when the outside air temperature does not exceed 20 ° C.

In the oven

To dry the fish in the oven, put the product on the wire rack, place a baking sheet under it. We set the temperature to no more than 80 ° C, otherwise the fish will be baked. The door oven open slightly to provide air access. After 2 hours, cover the heads with foil and return the carcasses for another 4-5 hours. We hang the dried product and dry it for 2-3 days.

In an electric dryer

In an electric dryer, you can quickly dry both small carcasses and large fish, cut into pieces. When drying the product, set the temperature to no more than 50 ° C, otherwise it will steam and the meat will lag behind the bones. It is also possible to completely turn off the heating awning and use only the blowing mode.

We put the fish on the grates, close the lid of the apparatus, set the required temperature, blowing power and cooking time. The finished product can be received within 5 hours, but it all depends on what parameters have been set.

On battery

During the heating season, fish can also be dried on a radiator. To do this, place the carcasses to dry in one of the following ways:

1. Under the battery. We cover the floor with a double layer of thick paper or cardboard and lay out the product. After one side of it dries up, transfer the fish to the other side.
2. On the battery. We cover it with a cloth and hang the product on it. After 2-3 days, turn the fish to the other side.
3. Near the battery. We hang the carcasses on a clothes dryer and place them next to the radiator.

In the microwave

Only a microwave oven with convection function is suitable for preparing food. This is due to the fact that during drying it is necessary to provide air access, which a conventional microwave cannot do.

We set the temperature to no more than 40 ° C, lay out the carcasses in one row and select the required operating time.

Drying time for fish

Drying times for carcasses depend on the chosen cooking method, temperature and humidity:

If the product is dried in winter, the preparation time can be up to 14 days.

To check the readiness of the product, we try it. The presence of the smell of raw fish indicates that the carcasses need to be dried. Additionally, we pay attention to appearance product - the surface of the carcasses should be oily, and the fish itself should be dense and elastic. At the same time, the skin remains strong and lags well.

Storage of dried fish

We recommend wrapping the carcasses in paper or cotton cloth, placing them in a bag and placing the product in the freezer. Keeping the fish in the refrigerator, we regularly check for condensation on the cellophane. If it is found, we update the bag and paper, otherwise the product will become damp.

Another way to store carcasses is in canvas or paper bags in a cool place. The shelf life of the product should not exceed 6 months. It is also possible to store the product in a jar closed with a lid. Under these conditions, it can be stored for up to 5 months.

1. The best time to cook the product is autumn and spring, because during these periods the fish itself is fatter and it turns out much tastier.
2. So that wasps and flies do not sit on carcasses - we hang them out at night. So, they will have time to weather and dry until the morning and will not attract insects. Additionally, you can coat the product with a mixture sunflower oil and vinegar (3: 1).
3. If during the soaking some of the carcasses swam - this "speaks" that they are poorly salted. They should be dried separately and also eaten first.
4. You should not dry the product in the summer, because under the influence of the high temperature, the carcasses turn out to be bitter or even completely rotten.

To properly dry fish at home and get delicious and aromatic product you must follow all the main stages of its preparation, as well as adhere to our recommendations for the preparation of the product, its salting and drying.