How to salt fresh fish at home. Salting fish of different types at home

23.06.2020 Fish dishes

Salt fish at home? No problem. It is much cheaper than buying such fish in the store. And you can always cook it to your liking.

The question is, what kind of fish can be salted. At home, you can salt both fresh and frozen fish of any breed, except for sturgeon, the salting of which requires special refrigeration equipment and professional skills. Imagine how for dinner you serve boiled potatoes with fish, which you yourself pickled. And what will be the surprise of the guests who tasted your fish at the festive table!

So, ! This process is not as complicated as it might seem at first glance. The main thing here is to observe the measure of the salt taken for this. Well, even if the fish turns out to be oversalted, then this does not matter. It can always be brought to the desired condition by soaking for a few minutes in water.

But before you start salting fish at home, you and I should still heed the advice of experts.

Salt fish in two ways: the so-called dry, using a pickling mixture, and using brine.

For the pickling mixture, approximately the same amount of salt and sugar is taken, if desired, spices can be added to taste. A little salting mixture is poured into the salting container, you can also put a few peas of black and allspice and a bay leaf there. Then lay out the fillet pieces, which are also sprinkled with the mixture, and then the layers are repeated. No oppression is needed - the fish will be salted and so on.

In this way, you can salt any marine fish.

If you bought a whole carcass, then it is easiest to cut it slightly frozen: in this case, the bones are separated somewhat faster, and the fillet remains undamaged.

Brine allows you to make the salting of fish faster, and its taste is more intense.

To prepare a brine for fish, you need to take 3 tbsp. tablespoons of salt, a little sugar (optional), a few peas of black and allspice, 1-2 bay leaves.

To speed up the salting process and give a spicy flavor to the fish, you can add a little mustard to the brine, ready-made or in powder - salting fish at home will be reduced by one and a half times.

The brine can be boiled, or you can use it that way - depending on how quickly you plan to use the finished product.

If boiled brine is used, then it is better to add mustard after it has cooled to 40-50 degrees.

Fish carcasses are placed in brine at room temperature for 2-3 days, and after that they are completely ready for use.

If you salt the fish at home in the form of a fillet, then it will be ready in 5-8 hours, depending on the size of the pieces.

Well, now for the recipes!

When salted, red fish turns out to be especially tender, tasty and beautiful, and due to its high fat content, it absorbs very little salt and therefore is never oversalted.

Quick salting of any red fish

Option number 1

Prepare a brine from 1 liter of cold water, 4 tbsp. spoons of salt and 3 tbsp. spoons of sugar. Pour the pieces of fish with this brine (the pieces should be small), soak for 3 hours, drain the brine.

Option number 2

Cut 1 kg of red fish fillet into pieces 5x5, put in a container and salt each piece steeply, then add spices to taste (peppercorns, coriander, bay leaf) and pour cold water so that it covers the fish. Put in the refrigerator overnight, and in the morning you can eat the fish.

Option number 3

Prepare a brine from 1 liter of water and 1 cup of salt. The brine should be very salty. Put the fish in it, skin down, press down so that the whole piece is in the brine. After 4 hours, remove from the brine, rinse, wrap in any paper, but not in foil (salty foods are not wrapped in it, and even more so they are not stored in it) and placed in, but not in the freezer.

Option number 4

Cut pink salmon (salmon, salmon) along the ridge, cut off the ridge. With a very sharp knife, cut the layers of fish (across), hold the knife at an angle of about 45 degrees.

Sprinkle the bottom of the container for salting fish with salt, sugar (“by eye”, depending on the number of fish). Lay out sliced ​​layers of fish in layers, sprinkle with salt and sugar again, and repeat the layers in this way. After 2 layers, add black peppercorns and bay leaf. Drizzle with sunflower oil. Close and refrigerate. A day later, the fish is ready to eat.

Option number 5

Grate the prepared pieces of fish with a mixture of coarse salt and sugar, sprinkle with spices if desired, and the next day you can start tasting it, but if patience allows, it is better to wait the recommended two days. The thicker the pieces, the longer they should be salted. In this form, the fish can be kept for about a week, and then you need to hide it in the refrigerator.

When cutting fish, waste remains: heads, tails, fins, ridges and bones. Do not rush to throw them in the trash. From all this you can cook. And the bones can be salted separately - you get an excellent snack for beer.

Pink salmon (salmon or other red fish) salted at home

Would need: 1 kg of fish, 2 tbsp. spoons of salt, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sugar.

Rinse the fish, remove the skin and remove the spine and bones to make 2 halves of a clean fillet.

Separately, mix salt and sugar in a bowl, rub both halves of the fish fillet with this mixture on all sides. Then connect the two halves together, wrap in a canvas cloth and put in the refrigerator. The fish is ready to eat in a day.

Salted fish cannot be stored in the refrigerator for a long time, so it is better to store it in the freezer.

Salted pink salmon

Method number 1

Defrost pink salmon, but not completely, gut, wash and wipe dry. Cut off the head (useful for fish soup or fish broth, as a base for lean borscht).

Grate well with salt, inside and out (about 3-3.5 tablespoons of salt per 1 medium carcass of pink salmon), wrap the fish in cellophane, then in several layers of newspapers, put it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, turn it on the other side in a day and leave for another day. Then wipe with a dry cloth, wrap in it and eat.

The fish is evenly salted, it turns out very tasty and juicy.

In the same way, you can pickle salmon and salmon.

Method number 2

Defrost pink salmon, cook the fillet and rub it with salt, adding a little spice (there are special seasonings for fish) and always white in grains. Leave the fish in this state, warm for 3 hours, then cut into pieces and pour vegetable oil. Put in refrigerator. After 12 hours the fish is ready.

When mustard is added, the fish becomes dense, does not fall apart when cut and does not lose its taste.

Few people know how to salt red fish at home. After all, most of us use such a product only on holidays. Moreover, many believe that it is not necessary to know how to properly salt red fish, since it can always be purchased ready-made at the supermarket. However, it should be noted that such a delicacy in a package is much more expensive than a semi-finished product. In this regard, we recommend that you purchase fresh fish and salt it yourself.

General product information

Before talking about how to salt red fish at home, it should be recalled that such a product saturates well, contains a huge amount of useful elements and has an unsurpassed taste. Having properly prepared salmon, trout or pink salmon, you can serve it to any holiday table. Believe me, none of the invited guests will refuse such a delicacy.

How to choose?

Before salting red fish at home, you should choose the right one. If you want to cook an incredibly tasty dish, then you need to pay special attention to the freshness of the product. Thus, the eyes of the fish should not be cloudy, the belly should not be yellow, the gills should not be dark brown, and the flesh should not be sprawling. If these qualities are observed, then the product is stale, and it is better not to purchase it.

How to salt red fish at home? We will talk about this a little further. It should be especially noted that for salting such a delicacy, it is necessary to purchase only whole fish. A product without a head, tail, fins and completely gutted will not work for you. You should clean it, as well as prepare for salting only on your own.

Purchased fish must be chilled, live or first frozen. To prepare a delicious delicacy, you should take trout or salmon. You can also use chum salmon, pink salmon or salmon.

By the way, even caviar or milk can be in the purchased fish. They are also recommended to pickle and serve.

Salting red fish at home

Salmon is the most suitable fish for salting. It has good fat content and juiciness, which makes the delicacy especially tasty. The most popular and easiest way to salt such a product is dry. It should also be noted that in the case of salmon, salt can be added as much as you wish. After all, it is quite difficult to oversalt it.

So, to prepare a delicious and fragrant delicacy at home, we need:

  • fresh salmon - 0.5 kg (it is advisable to take a piece for such a dish from the middle of the carcass);
  • freshly ground black pepper - add to taste;
  • iodized salt (it is desirable to take coarse grinding) - add to taste;
  • fine granulated sugar - add to taste.

Preparation of the main ingredient

If the fish was purchased by you in advance, then it should be thawed. To do this, you need to put a piece in a plastic container, close it tightly and place it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Next, the thawed product must be thoroughly washed, dried with paper towels and a towel. From the inside, a piece should be cut along the ridge, and then removed, cut off the ribs and carefully separate them from the meat with the tip of a sharp knife.

salting process

So, salt the red fish at home. To do this, the processed salmon fillet must be laid out on a cutting board with the skin down. Next, you need to take about 2 small spoons of salt (without a slide) and 1 - granulated sugar. The named ingredients should be mixed with a dessert spoon of black ground pepper and grate the fish (meat and skin) with them. After that, the salty piece must be folded in half and tightly wrapped with a piece of clean gauze or cotton fabric. At the end, you need to put the salmon fillet in a container (preferably ceramic), close the lid and put it in the refrigerator. In two days the fish will be completely ready.

How to properly serve?

Now you know how to salt red fish at home. After the specified time, the product must be removed from the refrigerator, unfolded and cut into very thin pieces. Next, they need to be laid out on a saucer, alternating with slices of fresh lemon. It is desirable to serve such a delicacy to the table along with white sandwich bread. Enjoy your meal!

Delicious salted trout: a detailed recipe

Salting red fish from such a product is a pleasure. After all, a delicacy made at home will be fully usable the very next day after it is abundantly smeared with fragrant spices.

So, we need:

  • a piece of fresh trout - about 400-600 g;
  • granulated sugar - add to taste;
  • fine sea salt - add to taste;

Fish processing

Trout is a very tasty and healthy fish. Unlike salmon, it is not too oily. Moreover, many lovers of such a product note that trout is much more tender and tastier than the aforementioned species.

So how and how much to salt red fish? We will talk about this a little further. After all, before flavoring the trout with spices, it should be carefully processed. To do this, you need to take a fresh piece of fish, wash it well, and then carefully remove the backbone and all adjacent bones. You don't have to take the skin off.

Cooking process

After the piece of trout has been processed, it must be sprinkled with salt, sugar and pepper. Moreover, the last two ingredients should be added in small quantities.

Thus, having smeared all the fish with spices, it must be put in a container, and then sent to the refrigerator for 24 hours. The next day, the delicacy will be fully usable.

Proper serving at the festive table

Now you also know how and how much to salt red fish at home. After its preparation, the trout should be removed from the container, remove all excess salt, and then cut the fillet into thin slices, sprinkle with freshly squeezed lemon juice and put on a plate or on a piece of bread. Enjoy your meal!

Delicious salt salmon

Salted fish is the most favorite snack of most residents of not only our country, but also other countries. It should be noted that the mere sight of such a dish excites the appetite.

You already know how to salt salmon and trout. However, there are still many red fish from which you can cook a delicacy at home. One of them is pink salmon. This is a relatively inexpensive fish. That is why it is especially popular with those who like to enjoy a delicious dish, but are not ready to part with a lot of money.

So, salt the red fish in brine. For this we need:

  • pink salmon of small size frozen - 2 pcs.;
  • any fine salt - add at your discretion;
  • granulated sugar - a couple of pinches;
  • fresh lemon - 1 pc.;
  • drinking water - 2 glasses;
  • ground allspice - apply to taste.

Processing of the main ingredient

Before salting red fish in pieces, it should be carefully processed. To do this, pink salmon must be completely thawed at room temperature, and then washed well, cleaned of unnecessary elements and cut into portioned pieces 2-4 centimeters thick. It is also required to squeeze the juice from a fresh lemon into a separate bowl and chop the fruit into small pieces.

Salting process in brine

After the pink salmon has been processed, it must be placed in a non-oxidizing container (for example, in an enamel or plastic dish). Next, you need to add salt, freshly squeezed lemon juice, ground pepper, pieces of squeezed fruit and granulated sugar to the fish. In conclusion, all the ingredients must be poured with 2 glasses of water, mixed thoroughly (so that the spices are evenly distributed), tightly covered with a lid and left at room temperature for 4-6 hours. After the specified period, the fish in brine should be placed in a refrigerator. After 30-32 hours, a tasty and fragrant snack will be completely ready for consumption.

Serve right to the table

After the pink salmon is properly salted, it needs to be removed from the brine, and then put on a plate and served with bread. This delicacy is very tasty, juicy and tender. It is recommended to use it with boiled potatoes or any other side dish. Enjoy your meal!

The fastest and easiest way to salt fish

If you do not want to mess around with such a product for a long time due to its specific smell, we suggest using the simplest and fastest salting method. To do this, you need to purchase an already processed piece of fresh salmon or trout, and then wash it thoroughly and put it in a wide container. Next, red fish should be coated on all sides with fine iodized salt, close the lid well and leave at room temperature for 5-8 hours. During this time, warm salmon or trout will completely absorb the spices. After that, the semi-finished fish must be turned over and placed in the same container in the refrigerator. After keeping the delicacy in the cold for a similar amount of time, it must be removed from the container, placed on a cutting board and cut into very thin slices. Serve the finished dish to the table along with a sandwich or any other bread. Enjoy your meal!

To make red salted fish as tasty and tender as possible, we recommend using the following tips:

  1. Salt such a product should be only after it is completely thawed and becomes room temperature.
  2. To give red fish a special aroma and taste, it must be served at the table along with thin slices of lemon.
  3. It will be much easier to cut salmon or trout into thin pieces if the product is kept in the freezer for a short time before that.
  4. It is advisable to serve such a delicacy to the table only with fresh white bread.

Salted red fish is a product that can decorate any everyday and festive table. You can use this delicious dish in various ways: as an independent snack or as an addition to boiled or stewed potatoes.

Nowadays, most housewives are increasingly choosing the option of self-salting red fish. To buy a finished product, you will have to pay a lot of money, and the quality of the product wants to be better. Moreover, it is possible to purchase a damaged product, which is not uncommon in our time. As for home cooking, there are a huge number of recipes and there is an opportunity to cook exactly the dish that you like. Plus, homemade salted fish is always a fresh dish if chosen correctly.

Any fish of this family is suitable for home cooking, for example:

  • chum salmon;
  • trout;
  • whitefish;
  • salmon;
  • red salmon;
  • pink salmon;
  • nelma.

The list includes the most famous types of red fish, which are great for cooking unique dishes, including haute cuisine. Dishes from red fish are fashionable for any restaurant. Therefore, there is a choice of fish, depending on the preferences of a single family. Any of them will delight family members with tasty, tender, meat without any impurities, if you cook it yourself.

First, you should responsibly approach the process of choosing fish carcasses. A lot about a fish can be told by its eyes: if they are red and clean, then the fish is fresh. The presence of cloudy eyes in the carcass indicates the staleness of the product. Appearance is also important. If the fish has been frozen several times, then a yellowish tint, similar to rust, may appear in bright places. As a rule, stale fish, if you look at it more closely, does not have a very attractive appearance, which immediately catches your eye.

If fish carcasses are packed in polyethylene, then they should also not be purchased, since it is very difficult to determine the freshness of the product, especially if there are several layers.

Those who cook fish at home are advised to buy whole carcasses of red fish. Inside it you can find caviar, which costs a lot of money. By the way, you can also cook caviar yourself, and this exotic product will cost much less than buying it at a retail outlet.

Cutting fish is not such a simple operation as it seems at first glance. To cut the fish qualitatively, you need to have a sharp knife, the same sharp scissors and special rubber gloves so that the carcasses of the fish do not slip out of your hands.

  • To begin with, the fish is cleaned of scales and washed well in running water.
  • After that, the fish is decapitated with the tail and fins trimmed and the entrails removed.
  • An incision is made along the entire back for a more uniform impregnation of the fish with salt.

This is the case when the whole red fish is planned for salting. If you want to salt the fish fillet, then the actions will be somewhat different.

  • The fish is cut from the back.
  • A deep incision is made across the back.
  • After that, the meat of the fish is separated from the ridge.
  • The ventral and dorsal fins are then removed.
  • Finally, with the help of hands, the bones and skin are separated from the meat. As a result, two pieces of red fish fillet are obtained.

Advice! It is recommended to cut the fish in conditions when it has not yet completely thawed. Then all the cuts will be even and neat. Parts such as the head, tail and fins will fit to prepare a very tasty and healthy fish soup.


First of all, you should prepare the right dishes. For this, either glass or enameled containers are suitable. Do not salt fish in metal bowls. Alternatively, plastic food containers are suitable.

As a rule, coarse salt is used for salting, then red fish meat will turn out juicy, tasty and not oversalted. Excess salt remains on the surface. Thanks to large fragments of salt, the meat is held in space and does not slip. Coarse salt burns the meat more, making it more dense than fine salt. The result is a quality finished product.

This is the easiest, most affordable and fastest way. The meaning of this technology lies in the fact that red fish meat is rubbed on all sides with a mixture of salt and sugar, taken in equal proportions. If there is a desire, then various spices can be added to this composition, such as mustard, peppercorns, coriander, bay leaf and others. Although these will already be more complex cooking methods, the simplest is a mixture of salt and sugar.

Interesting to know! For every kilogram of fish meat, one tablespoon of salt and one tablespoon of sugar should be taken.

After enveloping the fish in a dry salt solution with sugar, it is wrapped in a dry dense cloth and placed in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 days. The more it stays in the refrigerator, the saltier it will be. It all depends on how salty the fish you want to get.

Another option involves laying grated fish in a dish, after which a lid with a load is placed on it. Fish, under the influence of salt and sugar, will release juice and will cook in its own juice. If there is a desire to add various seasonings, then they are sprinkled with fish after rubbing with salt and sugar.

After the fish has passed through this stage of salting, it is cut into pieces of the optimal size and placed, for example, in a jar. Pieces of fish are laid in layers, and each of the layers is shifted with onion rings. In conclusion, fish meat is poured with vegetable oil.

Wet salting is the preparation of red fish meat in brine. The simplest and fastest recipe is as follows: 1.5 liters of water are taken, as well as 0.5 kg of salt and 0.4 kg of sugar with seasonings, the amount of which is selected to taste. Small pieces of red fish are poured with this brine and placed in the refrigerator for 12 hours. After this time, the fish can be taken and eaten. Some lovers of homemade fish products add honey instead of sugar. For this, 0.5 kg of red fish is taken and poured with brine, consisting of 1 liter of water, 5 tbsp. spoons of salt and 1 tbsp. spoons of honey. After 4 hours, the fish can be served at the table, pre-filled with vegetable oil.

A real marinade consists of sugar, spices and vinegar (or citric acid). Very often, vegetable oil, mustard powder or ready-made purchased are added to the marinade. The principle of preparing the marinade is classic, as in the case of pouring brine. Although there is some difference in the use of seasonings, which makes the finished product more varied in taste.

Very good results can be obtained if you use two cooking methods at once: first marinate in brine, and then pour the marinade. For example, if you take meat prepared in brine, then it is cut into pieces and placed in layers in a bowl. Each layer is shifted with onion half rings, sprinkled with pepper and irrigated with lemon juice. In conclusion, the dish is poured with sunflower oil. The finished dish is placed in the refrigerator overnight.

How useful is red fish

Since ancient times, red fish was considered a favorite dish of kings and pharaohs. Moreover, it was valued not only for its tender and tasty meat, but also for the mass of useful elements that were in its meat. The most valuable and significant is the fish that inhabits the cold seas, rivers and oceans.

Red fish is useful because:

  • Her meat contains a large amount of omega-3 (and 6) fatty acids. This acid optimizes the work of the human body, lowering cholesterol and strengthening blood vessels.
  • Eating the meat of red fish, you can prevent the appearance of malignant neoplasms, prevent depression.
  • If you eat red fish, you can help improve metabolism, promote normal blood circulation, strengthen the nervous system, and ensure the normal functioning of the liver.
  • By regularly eating meat, you can get rid of shortness of breath, arrhythmias and chronic fatigue syndrome.
  • Due to the calcium content, there is a high probability of strengthening bone tissue.

It is quite natural that there are much more options for cooking red fish, so you can choose any of them as the most acceptable. Home salting has a number of advantages and cannot be compared with factory-prepared fish, due to the fact that there are not so many options for factory salting and there is nothing to choose from. At home, the hostess will be able to put exactly those ingredients that make red fish the most delicious.

How to salt fish yourself? With a strong rise in the price of imported trout in vacuum packs, this issue is more relevant than ever. Moreover, the domestic product has solid pluses, while the foreign one has minuses. See for yourself: the Norwegian, and the fish from the Faroe Islands is too oily, grown in captivity. Although it is beautiful (we remember the white stripes - this is fat), it is not at all as useful and tasty as wild Murmansk salmon or Far Eastern sockeye salmon.

You know what you put in your fish, but what you watered and how you salted salmon from the store is better not to even know. It should be remembered that salting can serve as one of the ways to sell second-fresh fish.

The only disadvantage of homemade salted fish: you have to cut it yourself. But it only takes 15-20 minutes.

Advice. It is better not to buy chilled fish. Most likely, this is the same frozen one. The fact is that our anglers usually freeze it right on the ship.

What kind of fish to take

Almost any red fish is suitable for salting. Coho salmon and chum salmon perform well, but for stewing and frying they are a bit dry. Trout, salmon, sockeye are just wonderful fish. You can take larger fish, salt only a part, and put the second on steaks or fry fillets, you can stew them in sauce ... Yes, even pink salmon is very tasty in salty form, and by the way, very cheap. Only now her appearance is the most modest of all salmon. Pink salmon meat is rather gray and holds its shape worst of all when slicing.

cutting

Tip: It is very convenient to cut the fish with scissors. They are all very easy to cut. A knife can be taken of medium length, it will help to clean the meat from the ribs.

Another tip: it is more convenient to cut the fish if it is not completely defrosted.

Cut off the tail and head, if any. A lot of fish is sold gutted, it is more convenient and easier to cut it.

Remove the scales and then wash the fish. It does not always need to be cleaned, but if there are a lot of scales on the skin, you will not get rid of it later.

Cut the skin along the ridge, bypassing on one or both sides. With your fingers, separate the ridge from one side, reach the spine with your hand and separate all the back meat from the bones.

Cut out the pelvic fins with scissors.

Turn the fish over so that the part to be separated is on the bottom and the bones are on top. Helping yourself with a knife, separate the ribs from the meat, then the tail of the ridge.

If there are films left in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe insides, remove them. But the main film leaves along with the ribs.

Separate the dorsal fin and also cut the fin from the bottom of the tail.

And separate the ridge from the second half of the fish with a knife. It is also better to start from the top, and then tear off the ribs.

And you got two halves of a red fish fillet.

If you wanted to put some of it into steaks, then, of course, you first had to cut them off, and then cut the fish into fillets.

salting

Mix 2 tbsp. sugar and 1 tbsp. salt (per 1 kg fillet). Sprinkle the meat in a thick layer. Fold the fish so that the skin is out. Put in a bowl with a lid. Cover with foil. If the fish is fat, then you can put a small load. Not more than half a kilo. Usually I salt 2-3 kilogram fish and do not put a load.

The fish itself gives juice and perfectly salted in it.

What to add

Dill harmonizes perfectly with fish. They can be sprinkled on fish during salting or after.

A few pinches of lemon zest will go with red fish, it must be added to the salting mixture. If you want to put a lemon already when serving, then garnish the sliced ​​\u200b\u200bfish with thin slices.

To make the fish salted and more tender, you can lubricate it with odorless oil during salting.

It happens that pepper, spices, bay leaf, garlic are added to the fish during salting. The taste is interesting, but it is very different from what we are used to.

How much to salt

Lightly salted fish will turn out in just 8-10 hours. But this is not the safest option, as other life can lurk in the fish. Therefore, it is better to salt for a day or two. It will be saltier, but safer.

To stop the salting process, you need to drain the juice that the fish gave. For reliability, cut it into pieces.

How to cut

It is convenient to cut, putting the fillet skin down. I would not recommend turning the meat on the board when it comes to our fish. It is very soft and will fall apart quickly.

Cut with a sharp knife, slightly obliquely, so that the pieces are wider. With the remaining skin, you can cover the fish in the tray from winding.

Important! Before slicing, check if you have removed all the bones when cutting.

Wondering what else to put on your holiday table? Home-salted red fish will be a great addition to it. Learn all the intricacies of this process and salt the fish for everyone to eat.

Salted fish of the salmon family, or simply salmon, is perhaps the best treat for any table. How to salt red fish at home? Secrets, little tricks, the most delicious - you can read about all this in this article.

How to choose

A delicious dish can only be made from fresh fillets. How can you determine the freshness of a product? First, you need to buy a whole carcass. The presence of the head allows you to see additional signs that determine the suitability of the product (more on that below). Whole entrails can guarantee the presence of caviar.

Secondly, in order for the finished dish to be tasty, red fish must be live, chilled or initially frozen. If you can buy live salmon, go for the liveliest one. To determine the freshness of a chilled carcass, press it with your finger. After pressing, the skin should recover quickly, then the product is fresh.

The third indicator of the freshness of chilled salmon is the eyes and gills. If the eyes are sunken, cloudy, bloodshot or completely absent, this means that the product has already been lying down or stored incorrectly. The gills should be red, firm and even. But, if red fish is not harvested in your city, most likely the purchased product will have similar defects. This is not terrible, but it is advisable to choose salmon without them.

With a frozen product, everything is a little more complicated. Pay attention to the carcass and scales. They must be undamaged, with a thin layer of ice not exceeding 5 mm. The shape itself should be smooth, if the carcass has an angular shape, it means that the fish has been frozen again. The eyes should be whole and transparent, the gills should be red, the fin should be pressed against the body. If there are yellow spots or stains on the carcass, this is the oxidation of fish oil, then the product is stale.

How to prepare the product for salting

After you have purchased salmon, you need to prepare it. If you chose the frozen option, let the fish thaw on its own. Thawing in the microwave or under water can ruin the flavor, color, and texture of the fillets.

Next, the carcass needs to be cut. We open the abdomen, carefully remove the intestines, trying not to crush the bile. If you accidentally crush it, wash all the insides thoroughly immediately. Separate the eggs or milk.

For salting, we need only the sirloin, so we need to separate the backbone. To do this, take a very sharp knife, make an incision near the head. When you feel that you are resting on the ridge, turn the knife horizontally. Slowly and carefully separate the meat from the bones, on both sides. The head, spine, tail and fins will remain on the board - they can be used in the ear.

Prepare the sirloin by cutting off the rib bones. Cut the extreme fin and fatty parts along the edges with a knife or scissors. If you wish, remove the skin. Blot the fish with a napkin - the fillet is ready.

How to pickle red fish at home

First you need to prepare a container where our future salmon will be salted. It can be a plastic container, enamelware, glass containers, or something similar. Avoid aluminum surfaces, otherwise the fillets will taste like metal.

Pour a little salt into the selected container, lay the fillet, skin down. Salt and pepper. To give the fish a more beautiful color and easy preservation properties, add a few drops of vodka. If you like some specific spices, such as dill or bay leaf, you can add them. But do not put them in large quantities, they can overpower the taste of red fish.

Attention! Don't salt too much. Forget once and for all the expression that a fish will take as much salt as it needs. Red fish take as much as you add! Better not to salt. After 12-18 hours, try the fillet, if there is not enough salt, add more salt. This is especially true for coho salmon and sockeye salmon, they should turn out slightly salted. Otherwise, it will not be possible to soak such a fillet, it is too tender.

We take the second part of the salmon, lightly sprinkle it with salt and lay it on the first, with the skin out. If you are salting large red fish, cut it into several pieces so that it is better salted. We cover the container, but do not close it completely, and put it in the refrigerator.

Recipe for salting sockeye salmon, trout and salmon

Prepare the mixture for salting, after weighing the finished fillet. Based on 1 kg of red fish, take 2 tbsp. salt, 1 tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp ground pepper and dry ground herbs. In a large bowl, pour the mixture, add the bay leaf. We lay the first layer of fillet. Add a few drops of lemon, green spices. Then lay the second layer, skin side up.

These types of red fish are large in size, and you can get several layers, each of which be sure to sprinkle with a salting mixture. Salmon up to a kilogram is salted for a day. The greater the weight of red fish, the longer the salting process takes. But, the first sample should be taken after 15 hours to salt or soak the fillets. When the dish is ready, you need to pull it out, shake off excess spices from it with a dry brush or sponge. Remove moisture with a napkin or waffle towel.

For a delicious salting, you need coarse salt, stone or first grinding. Extra salt can give bitterness.

If you use enameled dishes for salting, make sure that there are no chips on it. Access to an exposed iron can add an unpleasant taste.

When cooking chum salmon or pink salmon, you can additionally grease the fillet with a little olive oil. The proportions of sugar and salt must be taken equal. Sugar will give softness. It is better not to add vodka, it will make the fillet more solid. Even more recipes.

When salting, you will get a brine, do not drain it until the end of the whole process. Only after the fillet has acquired a pleasant salty taste, the brine should be removed. Such fish will be stored for a maximum of 1 week.

If the dish is too salty, it is soaked in plain water for about 15-30 minutes. Periodically, the fillet should be tasted so that all the salt does not come out.

Use the already prepared salted product for making sandwiches or as a cut. To do this, cut the fillet into portions. Sprinkle it with lemon juice, add greens or onions. Snack is ready - bon appetit!

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