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Dried fish is dry: what to do and how to soften the product?
Quite often, lovers of dried fish, not being able to prepare the product themselves, are forced to purchase it in a store or market. At the same time, the buyer constantly runs the risk of encountering a serious problem - the fish dries out so much that it cannot be softened by the usual blows on the table.
Most often, even under strong mechanical stress, the overdried product does not change its characteristics for the better, remaining the same dry, and the meat does not separate from the bones. But there are several popular ways to soften dried fish.
Soaking
There is another popular method used if the dried fish is dry. What to do and how to solve the problem? First, excess salt must be washed off the carcass. After this, the product is placed in a deep container and filled with water or milk.
If the fish is too large, it should first be cut into smaller pieces. Leave the container in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. If the taste of dried fish has become very strong due to drying, soaking can last all night. After the procedure, the product should be washed in running water.
Where to store dried fish
It is best to store ram at home in special packaging, since at low humidity it loses weight, and at high humidity it becomes moldy. If salted fish is stored in the open air for a long time, the fish oil contained in it will begin to oxidize, giving the ram an unpleasant taste.
For long-term storage of the battering ram, it must be kept in a cool place with a temperature of 3-8 degrees and a relative humidity of 70-80%. In special packaging, fish can be stored for almost a year.
It is best to use corrugated cardboard, wooden boxes, matting, and craft packaging as special packaging for proper storage of dried fish. You need to understand that thin fabric or paper can be pierced by the sharp protrusions of the fish. One of the best packaging is considered to be kraft paper coated on one side with polyethylene. In it, salted dried fish is stored for 8-10 months without losing its consumer qualities. In a bag of matting, the shelf life is reduced to 2-3 months.
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You can store dried fish at home in the refrigerator. It is well preserved in areas with temperatures up to +4, but in order for the ram to be preserved longer, it is greased with oil, preferably olive oil, placed in glass jars and stored in the refrigerator. You can simply wrap the fish in thick paper and wrap it in plastic wrap.
Dried ram requires storage at a relative humidity of 70-80% and at a temperature of no more than 8°C.
Steaming
This scheme is somewhat more complicated to implement, but is successfully used in situations where dried fish has dried out. What to do is described in the following instructions: you need to boil water in an enamel pan, after which you should place the fish in it for 20 minutes. After time, the carcass is wrapped in a towel so that it absorbs excess moisture. Next, the product is placed in a plastic bag and left for an hour in a warm place.
This method can also be done using a double boiler. Its bottom must be covered with several layers of gauze, on which the fish, previously cut into smaller pieces, is placed. The product is covered with several more layers of gauze. After adding water, the fish is steamed for about an hour. If everything worked out for you, you can now read how to properly dry fish by following the link: https://www.syl.ru/article/152226/new_kak-sushit-ryibu-protsess-i-podgotovka.
Salted and smoked fish
- You can try it like in the cartoon “Well, wait a minute!” bend the dried fish or tap it on the table , but this is unlikely to bring the desired result. Therefore, we try the most common method among lovers of dried fish: you need to wrap the dried fish in a damp cloth, add milk and let it stand for several hours in the refrigerator.
- To prevent dried and dried fish from losing their taste and at the same time becoming soft, you need to do the following:
- Boil water in a saucepan
- Place the fish there for 15-20 minutes
- Remove from water
- Wrap in a kitchen towel and a plastic bag
- Place on a hot radiator or in a warm place for 1-1.5 hours
The towel in which the fish was wrapped will absorb excess moisture and the carcass will become softer.
If these manipulations are done with several fish, they can later also be wrapped in cloth and cellophane and placed in the freezer. After a week, the fish will become even softer, and at the same time remain edible.
- There is an option using a double boiler. To turn a fish from a piece of wood back into a fish, you need to cut it into portioned pieces. Lay gauze in several layers on a mesh for a steamer, and place the fish on it, also cover with gauze on top. Steam for an hour. After this, the fish will become not only soft, but also very tasty.
- An oven will also work to revive dried fish . First, you need to rinse the fish, then wrap it in foil, adding a small amount of water, and put it in the oven for 30-40 minutes. The fish will be steamed a little and it will turn out soft.
- Another interesting option for softening a wooden fish. For this you will need wet rice. You need to bury the dried fish in it and leave it in a cool place, maybe in the refrigerator, overnight. The fish will absorb moisture from the rice and soften it.
- You can not only replenish dried fish with moisture, but also give it a new taste. First you need to cut it into small pieces 1 cm thick . Next, prepare the so-called marinade: 50-100 grams of vinegar per 1 liter of boiled water, add 10 black peppercorns and 2-3 tablespoons of mustard. After coating the fish with marinade, you need to put it in the refrigerator for a couple of days. After this procedure, the fish will become not just soft, but juicy and aromatic.
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Eating wooden ram or pike is a dubious pleasure. To give it a second life, you can use the above methods, or experiment and invent your own, unique way!
The towel in which the fish was wrapped will absorb excess moisture and the carcass will become softer.
Male territory: jerky resuscitation
00:24, April 23, 2021, PAI Do you love dried fish as much as I love it? In fact, I very much doubt that there is anyone even close to the level of fanaticism I have for this product, not to mention an even greater level of addiction. It doesn’t matter whether it’s with “foam”, with kvass or even gol, but I can eat as much dried fish as many people can’t even imagine. In fact, many of those who by chance happened to witness my “dried meal” remained impressed for a long time. After all, it doesn’t cost me anything to “destroy” a couple of kilos of my favorite fish in a sitting. I, of course, understand how harmful this product is due to its high salt content. And I admit, now I eat dried fish much less often and less. But I just can’t give it up completely.
So recently I was overcome by the desire to taste the gifts of Russian rivers and lakes. Alas, despite all my passion for fishing, I rarely do it myself, and I don’t do any preparation at all. So there is only one way out - to purchase this product in the store. True, the product that manufacturers offer to urban consumers is often far from its original design and ideal condition. Therefore, there is nothing better than buying dried fish from familiar fishermen or, in the absence of such, at the market. Moreover, I remember that at the “New Market” behind Rokossovsky Street there used to be simply gorgeous, selected dried milk on sale. And then, by the way, my mother asked me to take her to this market for groceries.
Entering the market, the first thing I did was go to the fish row. There stood two women who smiled welcomingly. Planning to buy half a kilo for testing, I was tricked into buying a kilo of each. Although the price was astronomical, the fish was so good in appearance that I couldn’t refuse. With full confidence that I had made a good deal and purchased a first-class product, I threw the bag of fish into the car and began purchasing everything else.
And then evening came, all the work was done, there were no plans. I went into the pantry and, anticipating a great meal, grabbed the seductively rustling bag of fish by the handles and went with it to the kitchen. I poured foamy kvass into a healthy mug, turned on my favorite channel and took out the first salty beauty. Imagine my surprise when the fish in the bag turned out to be completely different from the one I bought. Besides her unattractive appearance, she looked more like a piece of wood than a delicacy. That is, it turned out to be not just a little hard or dry, but actually a wooden monolith. Well, I think I got one of those. I take out the second, third, fifth, tenth... No! Indeed, all 2 kg of fish purchased are simply disgusting. I have never eaten such inedible dried fish in my life. When trying to soften it by bending and hitting the table, it simply broke like the same mentioned sliver. The scales are not separated from the meat under any circumstances, and the meat is not separated from the bones under any force. Horror! If it had died a natural death and dried up on the shore, it would obviously have been more edible.
The market was already closed; somehow there was no desire to take the fish back and cause a scandal. Well, I think there is some way to eliminate its shortcomings and turn it from a stale salty mass into a delicacy. I went online and tried to find the necessary information. Oddly enough, the great and mighty Internet turned out to be empty and was completely unaware of this issue. I found only a couple of lines of advice on the forums. In the end, there was nothing left to do but experiment. So how to soften overdried fish?
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It is quite logical to assume that dried fish can be soaked in water. This is exactly what unknown citizens advised to do on the forums. The conditions varied: some suggested putting the fish in the water for half an hour, some for an hour or two, some for a day. Trust but check. I filled a pan with water, threw a few fish into it and set the time periods mentioned on the alarm clock. I poured the same water into another pan, put the same few fish, but added a tablespoon of vinegar. Why did I do this? Yes, somehow intuitively. I just remember that when marinating fish, or soaking it for cooking on coals, vinegar very well softens bones, which could later interfere with a pleasant meal. Moreover, trying is not torture.
After half an hour, nothing happened to the fish at all. Neither the expected softening, nor even partial softening, occurred. An hour later the picture is the same. I had to wait some more. The stupid situation and the bowls with roaches swimming in them placed around the kitchen couldn’t help but smile. Two hours passed. All that happened during this time is that if you take the fish in your hands, the scales treacherously peel off from the experimental samples and stick to your hands. Otherwise there are no changes. A day later from the beginning of the experiment, the fish still did not acquire the desired consistency, but it completely lost its attractive appearance. Fish out, the journal entry says “the vaccine doesn’t work.” Even if vinegar helped, it would still be impossible to eat fish. The smell is pungent.
“Water didn’t help, but it will help in the “gas” state,” I thought and took out a double boiler. Moreover, someone on the Internet in forums spoke about this. I filled it with water, plugged it in, filled it with fish and turned it on. There was such a smell throughout the apartment, and with such strength - just “wow.” It seems to me that even the neighbors’ faces were distorted. After half an hour of exposure to steam, the result was the same as after two hours of soaking in water. And the experiment no longer made sense. But the nauseating smell remained for a long time in every corner of the apartment.
I don’t really understand the logic of the forum member who suggested this method. But it was still necessary to check it. The recipe is very simple - put the dried fish in the freezer for a couple of days, then let it thaw and enjoy. After the allotted period of time, I took out the same chips, only cold ones. Nothing changed. The freezer is not an option.
How it works? In very simple terms, a microwave oven, or rather its waves, causes water molecules in food to move. Due to the friction of these same molecules, heating occurs, even if at first glance there is no water in these products at all. Moreover, this method is very good for softening baked goods, maybe the fish will then become softer? Fearing that these little fish would explode in the microwave, I set the timer for a minute and walked away. Under the aromas of burnt herring, the stove announced that it was time to open the door and finally understand “what’s in the black box.” The result was interesting. The fish, already from an extremely dehydrated state, dried out even more and now resembled pumice or other abrasive. It browned a little and stank thoroughly, but it did not become softer.
Several forum posts said that wrapping the fish in a damp cloth will help soften the fish. But where can I get this rag? It’s a shame to use T-shirts for such a thing. I didn’t want to mess with a floor rag, or as some “experts” advised, with socks or foot wraps - what if the method works, then how can I eat foot wraps? The search was difficult, but ended in success. But this time too, alas. The wrap did not bring any positive results.
Taking into account the fact that many hours of searching for information on the Internet suggested only these options, we can say with confidence that it is impossible to soften dried fish to its normal state and appearance and at the same time maintain the original intent of the product. You can soak the fish and bake it in milk or cream according to Thai recipes, you can soften it and grind it for animal feed, but you won’t be able to enjoy soft dried fish. As they say in science programs: “And remember, we do these experiments for you so you don’t have to do them yourself.” Believe me, it's not worth it. So now know that you need to check the fish without leaving the cash register, choose meticulously and control the seller for each fish.
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And in the end, a few days later, I passed through a village on Lake Peipsi and bought from a fisherman a bag of dried roach of such quality that I had never seen before. She was flawless and flew away in one evening. I wish the same for you.
Entering the market, the first thing I did was go to the fish row. There stood two women who smiled welcomingly. Planning to buy half a kilo for testing, I was tricked into buying a kilo of each. Although the price was astronomical, the fish was so good in appearance that I couldn’t refuse. With full confidence that I had made a good deal and purchased a first-class product, I threw the bag of fish into the car and began purchasing everything else.
