Balyk from fish: how to cook it correctly at home

The cost of smoked products that can be found in the store depends on the type of meat: fish, chicken or pork, each with its own price range. Both smoked capelin and sturgeon can be on the table as a cold appetizer. Another important parameter is the part of the cut carcass. This is especially true for pork.

Traditionally, it is believed that the most expensive type of meat is balyk. In our understanding, as in the understanding of many sellers or suppliers, balyk is a meat cut in which there are no bones, greasy streaks, or elements of fat. However, if you take a strict approach to this issue, you will find that balyk is related only to fish.

The word “balyk” comes from the Turkic language and is reliably translated as “fish”. In modern vocabulary, balyk is the name given to the dorsal part of valuable fish species. The meat, removed along the ridge, is salted and then dried. It is understood that pink salmon or chum salmon meat can be used as balyk. Prominent representatives of salmon are sockeye salmon and trout. They all have meat similar in consistency and taste. Often, an inexperienced consumer cannot even distinguish what type of fish is presented to him.

Trout balyk recipe

To pamper yourself with trout balyk, all means are good, which means don’t be lazy – get your feet in your hands and go to the store for trout. For balyk you can use not only trout.

Salmon is also perfect. But it is better not to use pink salmon and similar less fatty species of red fish - the balyk will turn out dry. But in principle, you can use any fatty or medium fatty fish (and not just red ones!). Let me remind you that balyk is not the whole fish, but only its backbone part, which is first salted and then dried. I dry the whole fish - well, so that the good stuff doesn’t go to waste, the principle is the same. Well, as a last resort, for those who are especially demanding, you can always cut out the dorsal part from the finished fish. The peculiarity of this fish is that it can be eaten without additional cooking - with potatoes, made into sandwiches and, finally, simply served with beer. It keeps well and for a long time.

I dry trout - or rather halves of it. Because whole fish is quite large (3 to 8 kg) and the drying process takes a long time and requires more space.

So, wash the trout (without the head), cut it lengthwise into two equal parts and dry it with a towel. Then sprinkle each half very generously with coarse salt and set to salt. The best option is if you have a long enamel or glass form with a lid, where the fish will lie along its entire length; if not, then you can simply put it on a plate and cover it with cling film on top. The trout will be salted in the refrigerator for 2 days. During this time, under the influence of salt, excess moisture will be released from the fish. Then we rinse the trout halves under cold running water and let the water drain. If desired, you can sprinkle the fish with spices.

Salting meat with dry marinade

Pork balyk is prepared using a similar technology, only each stage takes much longer. This is due to the specific structure of the fibers. The salt must penetrate throughout the entire depth, otherwise the cold smoked balyk will be tough.

First of all, you need to cut the meat so that you get layers no more than 4 cm thick. Then salt and pepper are poured onto the cutting board. The meat is not only dipped into the mixture, but also pressed into it, as if preparing dough. This will allow the salt to penetrate the fibers more effectively. The finished pieces are placed under pressure. They must be completely salted, and for this you will have to wait 3 days.
After salting, the meat is soaked in cold water for about an hour. Wet meat should not be sent to the smokehouse. It is pre-dried in a well-ventilated area. As with fish, the real preparation of balyk is determined only by the cold method. In the absence of heat treatment, the meat does not lose its structure, which means it will remain elastic. But if you salt it incorrectly, it will become tough. Many people try to avoid such troubles by hot smoking the balyk. Indeed, the effect of this will be amazing, but the taste of real freshly smoked meat will change.

Fish balyk

Balyk is the name of a dish and the name of a specific method of preparing dried fish. Balyk differs from the usual drying process in that the fish is cut in a special way. Balyks are prepared from large and fatty fish of different breeds - salmon, sturgeon and less valuable ones (a list of such fish and the preparation of balyks from them is presented below).

It is best to fish fish caught in the fall, as it has gained fat over the summer and becomes especially tasty. In summer it is unsafe to dry fish - in hot weather the fish may turn out to be melted or have an unpleasant odor.

If you master one good recipe for fish balyk, you can process fish of different varieties in the same way. Almost all fish are cooked in the same way - there are few differences in preparation, except perhaps the plating and the use of special spices that are more suitable for a particular type of fish.

Cold smoking

To smoke balyk, you need to have a smokehouse on hand, in which smoke cooled to a temperature of 25°C degrees processes the product in a special box. This processing method is called cold smoking. At the same time, the structure of the meat fibers does not change significantly. The balyk turns out elastic, slightly moist with a pronounced smell of smoke and taste of fish. The product retains its calorie content and all useful elements.

The material used is fruit tree chips. The process itself lasts more than a day. The exact duration cannot be given, as it depends on the size of the pieces. The finished product should not only have a golden crust. The meat will be uniform in color when cut, and moisture will no longer be released.

Raw fish has different shades of fibers, but they all resemble a glassy mass. Smoked meat acquires an opaque color, by which one can judge the degree of readiness of the balyk.

How to prepare fish balyk at home

The store-bought delicacy is not cheap. It’s easy to make balyk from fish at home; it’s better to make it from fresh or salted fish, but you can use well-thawed fish. Usually the dish is prepared without heat treatment.

The process of preparing balyk from fish at home consists of certain stages:

Mixed salting is often used. First, cover the fish with dry salt for a day, then fill it with brine and leave for several weeks. You can keep fish in a strong brine for a long time, take it out and use it as needed.

Look through different options for preparing balyk from certain types of fish and try their preparation at home.

Calorie content

The calorie content of 100 grams of balyk is 194 kcal. The product contains 20.4 g of protein, 12.5 g of fat and 0 g of carbohydrates. At the same time, the ratio of BJU and calorie content may vary depending on the breed of fish used, as well as on the cooking method.

This ingredient is rich in vitamins and minerals. 100 grams of fish balyk contain a huge amount of nutrients. During heat treatment, vitamins in the product are destroyed, but when salted and dried, they are preserved.

Compound:

vitamins: A, B1, B2, E, PP;
macroelements: sodium, calcium, potassium, selenium, magnesium;
trace elements: iron, zinc, fluorine, molybdenum, nickel;
cholesterol – 92 mg;
water – 57.2 g;
ash – 9.9 g;
fatty acids – 2.8 g.

Balyk is a dietary food product, because it does not contain carbohydrates, but only proteins and fats. Therefore, experts recommend adding it to the menu for those who adhere to diets.