Salting fish at home is a simple task and does not require any exotic ingredients. However, novice housewives are worried before the process - which fish is safer to take (sea or river), whether to prefer fresh or frozen, how many days to salt it and how to do it correctly...
The general rules for properly salting fish are:
- You can salt both sea and river fish, which are quite “plump” and fatty, the nuances are only in the details of salting - river fish is usually additionally dried or dried, and sea fish can be consumed immediately;
- Do not use metal utensils in the process, because the fish in it will have an unpleasant aftertaste;
- fish weighing up to 1 kg can be salted whole; larger fish will have to be filleted in any case;
- salt for salting fish should be as coarse as possible and must not be iodized;
- salting of fish can be dry (it is rolled in spices) or wet/brine (the fish is poured with brine or marinade).
It is undesirable to eat river and lake fish without sufficient heat treatment or long-term salting (from 2 to 6 weeks, depending on size) - there is a high risk of becoming infected with dangerous parasites. Freshwater fish (except sturgeon) are especially dangerous for humans in this regard, while sea fish, especially red fish, have much fewer parasites (with the exception of cod). But it is advisable to freeze sea fish well before cooking.
As for proven recipes for salting fish, we offer you several very tasty, but easy-to-prepare options. Choose!
A simple classic recipe for salted red fish
You will need : red fish (salmon, pink salmon, sockeye salmon, Atlantic trout), salt, sugar, vodka.
Cooking . Mix salt and sugar in a 2:1 ratio.
Clean the fish, remove the heads, rinse well and dry with paper towels.
Cut the carcasses into large pieces, sprinkle generously with vodka and place in a plastic bag. Shake the bag well and leave at room temperature for 4 hours, then seal and put in the refrigerator.
Lightly salted fish will be ready in 16-18 hours - during this time, try to remove and shake the bag at least a couple of times for better distribution of the sugar-salt mixture.
Serve with black bread, herbs and lemon.
You can make this fish not in a bag, but simply in a glass container. To do this, the fish is first sprinkled with vodka and then rubbed with salt and sugar.
Classic recipe: lightly salted salmon at home
Traditional preparation of an appetizing dish will take a short period of time. The recipe includes simple ingredients. The result will certainly delight your household and guests.
Required Products:
- — fresh salmon — 1.5 kg;
- - table salt - 2 tbsp. l.;
- - sugar - 1 tbsp. l.
Cooking steps:
1. Rinse the carcass thoroughly and cut off the belly. You can leave the scales: they will prevent the evaporation of moisture, and the fish will last longer.
2. Remove all small bones from the fish. To make it faster, you need to do this using tweezers or any other available tool.
3. Pour bulk spices, including salt and sugar, into a container and mix together.
4. Roll the fillet in the dry mixture, making sure there are no missing areas.
5. Transfer the fish fillet to an enamel container, cover with cling film.
6. Press the top with a weight or tie the pieces of fish with culinary thread, pressing them tightly together.
7. Place the prepared fish meat in a cool place. Cooking time depends on the thickness of the fish pieces. Small ones will pickle quickly, but large ones need to be allowed to brew properly. The minimum time for salting is half a day. Cut the finished fish into thin strips and eat with fresh herbs or a vegetable side dish.
Red fish salted with oranges
You will need : red fish fillet without skin, coarse non-iodized salt, sugar, oranges.
Cooking . Mix salt and sugar in a 2:1 ratio. Rub the fish fillet thoroughly with this mixture on all sides.
Wash the oranges, remove the skin, cut into thin “washers”.
Place a layer of orange slices on the bottom of a wide, shallow glass or enamel bowl, then a thin layer of fish fillet and again a layer of oranges.
Wrap the container with all contents tightly in cling film and place in the freezer.
This is a recipe for very quick salting of red fish. After 5-7 hours it is ready for use.
Before serving, such lightly salted red fish must be defrosted in the refrigerator, and not at room temperature!
General shelf life
High-quality factory-salted red fish can successfully retain its quality if stored in airtight packaging for 45 days. In this case, the temperature regime must be observed - 8-4 degrees, this condition indicates that the product is stored in the refrigerator.
After opening the package and breaking its seal, the product must be consumed within 1 day. This time it should be in the refrigerator. The same storage conditions must be observed for salads, as well as other dishes that contain salted pink salmon, trout or salmon. After a day, it undergoes irreversible oxidative reactions, the process of its decomposition starts and it becomes dangerous to the human body.
Fresh fish salted at home can be stored for a long time when kept in a salt solution. The shelf life of lightly salted salmon in the refrigerator (and other red fish) is about 1 week, but the exact norms vary depending on the concentration of the preservative in the brine.
| Salting level | Recommended storage period |
| Strong | About 30 days |
| Average | 2 weeks |
| Weak | 1 Week |
It must be taken into account that the solution of the required concentration must be prepared immediately. It is unacceptable to increase the salt content in the liquid during storage. This may cause food poisoning.
Fresh fish, salted with the addition of vegetable oil, can retain its taste and beneficial properties for a month. It is not recommended to keep salted products at room temperature for more than 2 hours. It quickly loses its freshness.
By freezing in the freezer, the shelf life of the product can be significantly increased, to a maximum of 6 months, but this method is used only in extreme cases when it is impossible to consume the entire volume of fish. After defrosting, the products lose the bulk of nutrients and vitamins and are inferior in taste to fresh ones.
Spicy marinated mackerel
You will need : 3-4 mackerel, 3 onions, 3 tbsp. oils, 3-4 bay leaves, black peppercorns; for marinade – 1 liter of water, 160 ml of 9% vinegar, 2.5 tbsp. salt.
Cooking . Peel the onions and cut into rings of medium thickness.
Clean the fish, remove the heads, rinse well and dry with paper towels.
Cut the carcasses into large pieces and place them in a bowl where the fish will be marinated (if the mackerel is small, it can be marinated in carcasses).
Place onion rings on the prepared fish, add peppercorns and bay leaves.
For the marinade, mix water, salt, and 9% vinegar in a separate container. Stir thoroughly until the salt is completely dissolved.
Pour the marinade over the fish with onions and spices, add 3-4 tbsp. odorless vegetable oil. As a result, the marinade should completely cover the contents of the bowl.
Cover the bowl with a lid or cling film and put it in the refrigerator for a day.
Salted fish in a jar (bottle)
You will need : small whole herring or mackerel, coarse non-iodized salt, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf, water.
Cooking . Wash the fish, but do not gut it or cut off the head.
Prepare the brine - mix water with salt (take about 4 tablespoons of salt for 1 liter of water) and spices, boil, cool completely.
Carefully place whole fish into a jar or wide-neck bottle and fill with brine until it completely covers them.
Leave for a couple of hours at room temperature, then close the jar (bottle) with a lid and refrigerate for three days.
Such fish are cleaned and gutted after salting.
How to cook fish quickly and tasty
The tender and elastic texture of pink salmon meat allows it to quickly absorb salt. Cooking pink salmon at home can take no more than 24 hours. Start cooking the fish immediately after defrosting it.
It is recommended to buy fish that are missing the insides and head. Fresh pink salmon have a clear pink belly and a non-curved tail.
It should be noted that 85 grams of lightly salted pink salmon contains 10 grams of good fish oil.
Secrets of taste
Fish meat is not very bitter and this factor must be taken into account at any time during salting. The presence of salt will minimize bitterness, and sugar and spices will give the fish meat a subtle taste.
The following seasonings can be added to pink salmon meat:
- Dill;
- Parsley;
- Dark pepper;
- White pepper;
- Peppercorns;
- Rosemary;
- Mustard;
- Garlic;
- Bay leaf.
There are a couple of options for home-salted pink salmon:
- The sugar present in the brine can give the dish a piquant taste;
- For making with oil, it is better to use simple vegetable oil;
- If, during the preparation of pink salmon, it is covered with a weight, it will begin to secrete juice;
- Using powdered sugar will give you a more gentle taste;
- For salting, only rock (large) or sea salt is suitable;
- Pink salmon should be cooked in glass, ceramic or plastic containers.
Very interesting! 100 grams of salted meat contains 19% vitamin A.
How to properly prepare pink salmon for salting
You need to defrost a frozen fish carcass naturally, without forcing this stage. It is possible to remove the skin of the fish before cooking, despite the fact that most recipes are based on salting with the skin.
Salted pink salmon is considered a delicacy, so the salting process must be taken with the utmost seriousness. Before preparing it, the head, fins and bones are removed. Based on this, only the flesh of the incredibly tasty pink salmon meat can be salted. Upon completion of proper cutting, there should be two pieces of fish meat, which are called fillets. Other recipes call for smaller pieces of fish.
Manufacturing technique
As already mentioned, there are a couple of ways to make salted pink salmon. Here are some of them:
- Lightly salted pink salmon. This method involves keeping pink salmon meat for a short time in a salt solution.
- Spicy salted pink salmon. All kinds of spices and aromatic herbs are added to the salt solution.
- Dry salted pink salmon. Fish with salt or salt with sugar, without using water.
- Pink salmon salted in oil. The marinade base for making pink salmon meat is vegetable oil.
Swedish beetroot gravlax
You will need : 700 g salmon fillet with skin, 300 g beets, 150 g coarse rock salt, 50 g sugar, 50 g fresh horseradish, 50 ml vodka or schnapps, a large bunch of dill, zest of one lemon.
Cooking . Wash, peel, finely chop or grate fresh horseradish. Wash the dill, dry and chop. Grate the lemon zest.
Wash the beets, peel them, cut into medium-sized slices.
Place the fish fillet in one piece, skin side down, on a tray or board and sprinkle evenly with salt, then with sugar, grated horseradish and chopped beets. Sprinkle vodka over the top and sprinkle with chopped dill and lemon zest.
Wrap the fish and all its contents tightly in cling film directly on the board. Place an even weight on top and place in the refrigerator for two days.
After 48 hours, remove the tray with the fish, remove the weight, carefully unwind the film and, holding the fish with your hand, drain the resulting juice.
Then remove the marinade and pat the fish dry with paper towels.
After this, remove the skin with a sharp knife. The finished fillet can be cut into slices and served immediately with sour cream and mustard sauce, or it can be stored in the refrigerator, first wrapped in cling film.
There are options for making gravlax without beets, but with plenty of dill and pepper.
Homemade herring or mackerel rollmops
You will need : herring or mackerel, pickled gherkins, salt, mustard; for the marinade - carrots, onions, water, apple or white wine vinegar, sugar and spices to taste - cloves, bay leaves, different types of peppercorns.
Cooking . Peel the onions and cut into rings of medium thickness. Wash the carrots, peel them, cut into thin circles or strips.
Prepare the marinade - place all ingredients in a saucepan (about 150 ml of vinegar and 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and spices to taste per 0.5 liter of water), bring to a boil, remove from heat and cool slightly.
Clean raw or frozen fish, fillet it and remove the bones. Cut the pickled cucumbers into thin strips or small cubes.
Season each piece of fillet generously with salt, then spread soft mustard over the entire surface, then sprinkle with sliced cucumbers and carefully roll into rolls. To prevent them from falling apart, fasten each one (pierce it through) with a thin, sharp wooden skewer or toothpick.
In addition to lightly salted gherkins, you can optionally add capers or pieces of fresh chili pepper to the “stuffing” of rollmops.
Place the rolls quite tightly in a glass container and pour in a well-warm marinade, generously layering the layers with onions and carrots. The marinade should cover all the rolls.
Cool the jars and place them in the refrigerator for two to three days. They are stored for at least two weeks - over time the taste even improves.
Serve rollomps cold with hot mashed potatoes, garlic sour cream sauce, or simply with brown bread and pickled red onions.
If you are preparing rollomps based on ready-made fillets of lightly salted herring, you, of course, do not need to salt it, and the marinade should be cold when pouring - this will make the rollomps denser and will hold their shape better when slicing.
