Red fish is not a frequent guest on our tables. Still, its cost is high for everyday use. But sometimes everyone is still ready to be generous with a piece of the delicacy. Unfortunately, already salted fish often does not please with either quality or taste. Therefore, if possible, housewives strive to buy “clean” salmon, sockeye salmon or chum salmon and cook it on their own. Connoisseurs especially recommend salted salmon. With it, the fish turns out tender, but not spreading, without the taste of everyone’s unloved fish oil and very beautiful.
Tricks and subtleties
Salmon salting red fish requires some theoretical knowledge. Not every one of us is an experienced fisherman. Therefore, cleaning a carcass is hard labor for many. Meanwhile, the scales will come off without any problems if you first rub the fish with table vinegar and leave to rest. To ensure that there is no smell of vinegar left, the carcass is washed and dried, after which pre-treatment can begin. And if the fish tries to “escape” from your fingers, periodically dip them in salt.
If possible, buy fresh or at least chilled fish for salmon salting. When frozen, the tissue structure is disrupted during thawing. Therefore, firstly, the fish absorbs a lot of salt. It is extremely difficult to seize the moment when it is ready and not let it become too salty. And secondly, the pulp will be less elastic and more loose. The only thing you don’t have to worry about is fatty specimens: they contain little water, so the carcass won’t take up too much salt. You can even store it directly in brine.
When salted salmon fish is completely salted, it must be put in the refrigerator. Moreover, it is advisable to coat each piece with vegetable oil: upon contact with air, fish oil oxidizes, losing its usefulness. And the fish loses its appetizing pinkness, acquiring a suspicious yellow-orange color.
What kind of fish to take
Usually, a person far from the habitat of red fish does not have a very large choice. But if there is one, give preference to winter and spring specimens. Before spawning, their meat is fattier, more tender and tasty.
Another subtle point is the choice between farmed and “wild” fish (again, if available). On the one hand, salmon caught in the wild is dangerous due to parasites, among which helminths are not the worst. On the other hand, it is less tasty when grown on a fish farm. And in addition, to enhance the natural pink color of the meat, the fish are fed feed with dyes that contain cadmium, which is categorically incompatible with the needs of the body. Therefore, fishing professionals recommend choosing “free” fish and preparing it according to special rules.
However, city dwellers rarely have to face the problem of such a choice: what is on the counter is what they take.
How to salt pink salmon at home
Red fish is a popular delicacy in many countries, which is included in the daily diet and served on holidays. A very common way to prepare red fish is to salt it, and in our article we will talk about how to salt pink salmon at home.
Salting pink salmon at home is a quick and inexpensive method of preparing fish, thanks to which the final product can be stored in the refrigerator for some time and served in various ways. For example, salted pink salmon can be an ingredient for sandwiches, canapés, appetizer rolls, stuffed pancakes, salads, or simply served as an appetizer and addition to side dishes. So, sandwiches with salted pink salmon are an excellent way to satisfy the hunger of unexpected guests or capricious children with poor appetite. There are also many recipes for pickling pink salmon, and all of them are simple to execute. Salting fish at home is not difficult or time consuming. You just need to buy quality fish and follow our recommendations below.
Of course, the most delicious salted pink salmon comes from fresh fish, but if you can’t buy it, then frozen will do. If you buy fresh fish, pay attention to its smell and appearance. Fresh pink salmon smells quite pleasant, and its flesh is a bit like the pulp of a cucumber. Fresh fish is very dense and quickly returns to its original shape if you press it with your fingers. The skin of quality fish is also smooth and elastic. If you are using a frozen product, it must be thawed before cooking. It is best to place the fish on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, but never use a microwave or hot water for this.
To salt pink salmon, you can use either the whole fish or individual pieces of fillet. Alternatively, the fish can be cut into very thin slices. With this method, pink salmon is salted very quickly (literally in a few hours), and due to the fact that it does not need to be cut, the fish is very convenient to use for preparing snacks, for example, sandwiches. Before salting, fish must be thoroughly washed, scaled, tail, fins and head removed, gutted (if required), cut and bones removed. Rinse the prepared fish again outside and inside, dry thoroughly with paper towels and cut into portions, if necessary. The fish can be left with the skin on or removed, depending on your preference. Pink salmon can be salted in two ways - dry, which uses salt and spices, and wet, which uses various marinades and brines.
Salted red salmon fish: “wet” recipe
There are quite a few options for salting precious fish. You can try a version using brine. The salmon is filleted and placed in a large container. The brine is being prepared; The approximate amount of salt is three level spoons per liter. To check the strength of the brine, a raw egg is dropped into it - it should float. A spoonful of sugar is added and the fillet is poured with brine. It should be completely covered with liquid. The bowl is placed in the refrigerator for two weeks; As the layer of brine decreases, it is topped up. If the test shows readiness, the fish is transferred to a storage container and returned to its place (or eaten immediately).
How to pickle pink salmon in spicy brine
Thanks to the spices, pink salmon will be even more aromatic.
Ingredients
- 1½ liters of water;
- 2–3 dried bay leaves;
- 1 teaspoon peppercorn mixture;
- 6 tablespoons salt;
- 3 tablespoons sugar;
- 1 pink salmon.
Preparation
Pour boiling water over bay leaf, pepper, salt and sugar, stir well to dissolve the crystals, and cool.
Cut off the head of the fish and gut the carcass. Cut it into large pieces and put it in a jar. Pour the cooled brine over the pink salmon, close the jar and shake. Place in the refrigerator for at least a day.
Dry method
The following recipe for salted salmon, on the one hand, seems faster. On the other hand, for safety you will still have to endure the same amount.
The fillet is cut into layers, washed, but not dried. A mixture of salt and sugar is prepared in a 2:1 ratio. Ground pepper or a mixture of them is also added here; The quantity is not regulated, as it depends on your tastes.
The fish is stacked. The bottom piece is sprinkled with the composition on all sides. After placement, a couple of laurel leaves are placed on it. The manipulations are repeated with each layer. A weight is placed on the top one, the structure is covered with foil - and in the cold. After two days, the layers are rearranged so that the top ones are at the bottom, and salmon salting continues for another day. In principle, the fish is ready. However, taking care of family health requires wrapping all the records separately and carefully placing them in the freezer for two weeks. Parasites will definitely be exterminated, and the taste of the fish will only improve.
Ambassador in Sakhalin
In the Far East, not a single ambassador is recognized as salmon, which includes anything other than fish, salt and sugar. In addition, Sakhalin residents insist that the fish must be cut meticulously. Up to the removal of bones. The pieces are rubbed with a mixture of salt and sugar. The starting proportions are 3:1, but can be adjusted after the first experiment. The fish is wrapped either in gauze or parchment and put in the refrigerator. The bag needs to be turned over daily. Salmon will become lightly salted after three days, but experts advise waiting a week.
By the way, if the fish was fresh, then the packages with it are sent to the freezer for three days, where the temperature is set as low as possible - all for the same fight against possible parasites. Then the packages are moved to the refrigerator, and further actions correspond to the main algorithm.
How to pickle pink salmon with salt and sugar
The classic salting method will take several days, but the result is worth it.
Ingredients
- 1 pink salmon;
- 3 tablespoons salt;
- 1 tablespoon sugar.
Preparation
Remove the head and giblets from the pink salmon. Cut the carcass in half lengthwise and remove the bones. Mix salt and sugar. Rub the fish thoroughly with the resulting mixture and place in a wide container.
Press down with a weight and leave for half an hour at room temperature. Remove the weight and place the container in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Turn the fish 1-2 times a day to better salt it. Remove the skin from the finished pink salmon and pat the fish dry with a paper towel.
Long version
Salmon ambassador in jars seems very interesting. It allows you to make only one approach to cooking and store the product for an almost unlimited time (though only in the cold). The preparatory work includes, in addition to removing bones, also removing the skin. And for the pickling mixture, salt and sugar are combined equally. One side of the fish is dipped into the mixture and placed side down in a sterilized or pasteurized jar. Each layer is sprinkled with quality oil. Every third one is sprinkled with ground pepper and decorated with a bay leaf. If you plan to store the fish for a long time, the jars are sealed. If you plan to look into them often, choose containers with a screw-on lid. In this case, the sample can be taken no earlier than after 10 days: due to the presence of oil, salting proceeds more slowly.
Alternative option
It is considered the fastest, but only farmed fish are suitable for it. Or, for the first three days, the salted fillet is again kept in the freezer. For the curing mixture, combine sugar, salt, vodka and chopped dill in equal parts. They say that for a kilo of fish it is enough to take a spoonful of each component, but experienced chefs recommend making the mixture with a reserve, so as not to fuss in the process, finding out that the composition is not enough.
Here you also need to remove the skin from the fillet and cut it into two halves (no need to make it smaller: there is a risk of over-salting). Each of them is lubricated with the resulting gruel on all sides. The plates are placed in a vessel with fairly high sides - the juice will be released. A lightly salted version will be available in just a day. Fans of strong salting can wait another 24 hours. You don’t need any longer, you might ruin the delicacy. When the degree of readiness satisfies you, the resulting brine is decanted from the fish, and it is put into a glass or enamel container.
I would also like to say something about spices. Red fish has a delicate flavor of its own that can easily be overpowered by seasonings. Therefore, chefs recommend categorically abandoning ready-made sets. If you like spicy fish, you can add natural herbs (dill is ideal) or a little garlic. If you think this is not enough, try the spices on a small piece so as not to tear your hair out later and not to scold yourself for being too culinaryly bold.
When the New Year begins to approach inexorably, shake out your fish egg, decide which salmon salmon you prefer, and please your loved ones with the delicious fish put on the table.
Salting caviar
If you encounter caviar during the process of cutting fish, you can also salt it yourself; this is very simple to do. You need to carefully remove it from the abdomen, place it in a separate container, carefully, so as not to crush the eggs, separate it from the films manually. Some people know how to do this with a mixer, but such a procedure requires experience. The mixer is immersed at low speed into the container with caviar for just a few seconds. The films are wound onto the whipping device, and the caviar remains intact.
If you have to salt the caviar for the first time, it is better to spend more time, but separate the films with your hands.
Then they prepare the brine to make it perfect by throwing one raw small potato into boiling water with salt. If it floats to the top, the brine is perfect. When the water has cooled, pour it over the caviar, let it sit for 5 minutes, and then transfer the caviar to a colander so that all excess liquid drains well. After this, the caviar is ready to eat.
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