Recipe for how to properly dry pike at home

How to store dried fish?

Store fish in a wooden box, paper or rag bag, or wicker baskets. If you come across large specimens, you can wrap them in oiled paper and put them in a cool place. So dried or dried fish can retain all its beneficial and tasteful qualities for up to 4 months. Can be stored in foil in the refrigerator. If you want to preserve dried and dried fish longer, then it is regularly lubricated with vegetable oil to prevent drying. This way it lasts up to 10 months. However, during this time it may lose some of its taste. We recommend storing dried fish in glass jars with vacuum sealed lids.

What are the benefits of dried fish?

Dried and dried fish contains many vitamins and important micro and macroelements for humans.

Vitamins: PP, A, A (RE), B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), C, E, PP. Macroelements: Calcium, Magnesium, Sodium, Potassium, Phosphorus, Chlorine, Sulfur. Microelements: Iron, nickel, molybdenum, fluorine, chromium.

If we talk about the taste of dried or dried pike and crucian carp, then the opinions of “fish lovers” are very different. Some argue that these fish are too skinny and bony, and that their meat is tasteless. Others, on the contrary, love to savor the tender and sweetish meat of crucian carp, which is on the bones. Connoisseurs of dried fish claim that the back is the most delicious of dried crucian carp, and the ribs with small bones will be especially loved by those who love to savor dried fish. As for pike, many people eat it freshly dried and do not like it dried. Other people just like it dry. They cut it into thin slices and simply wash it down with beer, savoring it, saying that the taste of dried pike is unique, it sets off the beer aroma.

Traditionally, dried and dried fish are usually consumed as a snack with beer. However, if overdried specimens remain during the drying process, then various dishes can be prepared from them. So, dried fish is ground into flour and various sauces are prepared on its basis, which are perfect for baked or fried fish. This powder can be added to fish soups and cutlets.

In Karelia, soup is made from dried fish. To do this, pour dried fish with cold water for 10 minutes to get rid of excess salt. Then cook for about 15 minutes. Add finely chopped potatoes and cook until tender. Turn off the heat and leave to steep for another 10 minutes. This soup is served with sour cream, which perfectly complements the taste of dried fish, making it velvety.

Drying fish is one of the most ancient ways of preserving the product. It was invented by the Scandinavian Vikings, and then adopted by Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Today, fish is dried in all countries of the world. In Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, dried fish is considered a traditional snack for beer. After all, how wonderful it is to gather friends at the table and treat them to your own dried or cured fish, which will highlight the taste and aroma of an intoxicating foamy drink. Of course, today stores provide a wide selection of a wide variety of dried snacks, but how much more pleasant would it be to show off your product of drying or drying, the taste of which is much better than that of a purchased product.

Many salted fish lovers have no idea how to salt pike themselves. To make its taste delicate, you need to know some tricks for salting it.

Dried pike in an electric dryer

Large specimens are very fatty, and it is very difficult to dry them entirely, and there is no need to, if you can prepare a delicious snack for beer.

Clean the pike from scales, cut off the head and gut it. Take it apart into fillets and cut the fillets into thin strips.

Heat until the salt dissolves. Add spices to taste to the warm marinade and soak the prepared pike strips for 5 hours.

Drain the marinade, cover the tray of the electric dryer with parchment paper, and place the fish pieces in it.

The Ezidri electric dryer sets the temperature at 60 degrees, and the drying time for pike is about 10 hours.

Taste it, keep in mind that you won’t eat it all at once, and it will dry out even more on its own.

For more information about drying pike in an electric dryer, watch the video:

Drying fish: crucian carp and pike

Detailed salting process

First you need to prepare the fish for salting, rinse it thoroughly and trim off the excess parts. These include the head, tail and fins. The pike's entrails are also removed. When doing this, be careful not to damage the gallbladder. After this, the carcass is cut up by removing the ridge through a cut on the back.

To remove any remaining entrails from the carcass, use a napkin. It is better not to wash the inside of the fish with water.

Required ingredients:

carnation;
black or red pepper;
Bay leaf;
7 tablespoons of coarse salt per 1.5 kg of pike;
rosemary.

Before salting pike, you need to mix all the prepared ingredients, namely salt and seasonings. The carcass needs to be rubbed with spices inside and out. If you cut it into pieces, the salting process will go faster.

The fish is placed in a prepared container, pressed with a weight on top. Don't forget to add bay leaf. If the pressure is heavy, the pike will turn out drier. The pike is kept for 2 days at room temperature, after which the load is removed and the brine is drained.

If you can’t wait to eat salted pike, after two days, remove it from the brine and soak it in cool water. Then you need to remove the skin from the carcass and cut it into pieces, if you have not done this before. The fillet is sprinkled with lemon juice and sprinkled with herbs. Leave the fish to soak for 20 minutes and add pieces of pickled onion.

Salting pike caviar

To salt pike caviar at home, you must first remember one rule: to separate the eggs from the chaff, you should use only an enamel colander.

Kitchen utensils made from other materials can ruin the initially round shape of the caviar.

The second important rule is this: for salting you must use only fresh fish eggs.

And before you start salting it, prepare:

the product itself;
salt;
a mixture of peppers (red, black, white);
Bay leaf;
cold water.

Delicious recipe! Cook salmon in the oven in cream

In addition, stock up on gauze and an enamel saucepan.

What to do? Fill a saucepan with water and place it on the fire.

Place bay leaves and spices into boiling water.
Turn off the gas and immerse the eggs in boiling water.
Stir.
Close the lid.
Let everything sit for 15-20 minutes.
Carefully drain the water through cheesecloth.

Such a valuable product should be stored in the refrigerator.

How to salt pike for drying

For the salting process, use dishes that do not oxidize. An enamel pan is suitable for this, as well as a plastic or glass container of a suitable size.

If you want to learn how to salt pike for drying so that the dried fish turns out tasty, then take note of these simple tips. It is important to prepare the fish correctly and not make a mistake with the required salt concentration.

Let's start the cooking process:

After 2 weeks, the next stage of salting pike at home begins, the recipes for which we provide in this article. After salting, the fish is soaked for 2 days in cold water.

This process occurs as follows:

The already salted pike is removed from under the load and washed thoroughly.
After this, it must be lowered into a container with cool water.
After two days, the fish is taken out and hung to drain off excess liquid. This completes its preparation for drying.

Classic recipe for dried pike

Before drying pike, it must first be gutted and washed thoroughly. Of course, do not touch the scales, but be sure to remove the gills.
If the pike is large, you can make a longitudinal cut on its back so that the drying process occurs evenly.
It is important to salt the carcass generously, both outside and inside. It is customary to dry several pieces at a time with the expectation that they can be eaten in a short time.
After this, they are placed in a bucket, pan or cauldron, generously sprinkled with salt, and covered with a wooden board (for example, a cutting board). Oppression is installed on top, and the entire “structure” is sent to a dark, cool room. Moreover, the more fish fit in the container, the heavier the pressure required.
The salting stage can last from 3-4 days to a week or more, it depends on the volume of fish being prepared.
When the salting is finished, it is important to rinse the pike well with cold water or soak it for several hours.
Next, the carcasses need to be strung on hooks individually or all together on one rope through holes that need to be made in the tail of each fish. It is better to dry pike upside down.
It is important to find a ventilated place to hang fish. The fish will be ready in a few days. This will become clear from the pointed, elastic back, delicate taste and smell typical of dried fish.

At the same time, the very process of cleaning fish from scales is considered a special “relish” - unhurried, accompanied by table stories and fishing exploits. However, it is quite possible to “get confused” and clean the pike of scales and bones before serving by cutting its fillet into strips. It won't turn out any worse.

Read also: Flower monoecious and dioecious plants

Every spinner has caught pike at least once. Pike is widespread throughout Russia. It reaches sizes of 6-10 kg, but significantly heavier specimens are also found. How to dry pike at home? Very simple, and most importantly tasty and safe.

How to pickle pike for smoking

There is another option for salting pike - for a smokehouse. In this case, the process of preparing the fish is slightly different.

The following steps must be followed:

Using a sharp knife, separate the head and make a cut on the back.
Let's start preparing the saline solution. To do this, pour water into the selected container and send it to the stove. You will need to add a fairly large amount of salt to the liquid.
Bring the brine to a boil; there is no need to cool it. Then put the fish in a pan with hot liquid and leave it for 3 hours.
We take out the pike and rinse it in cold water.
This completes the preparation of fish for smoking.

Before salting pike for smoking, here is some important advice. To test the strength of the brine solution, take raw peeled potatoes and place them in a pan of water. If the potatoes float, then you have added enough salt.

If you follow all the necessary recommendations, the fish will turn out aromatic and piquant. Use these simple recipes when you don't want to spend a lot of time salting pike at home, but want to enjoy its delicate flavor. You can present this treat to your family or friends at the holiday table, or simply prepare fish for dinner with any side dish. We wish you bon appetit!

“Cooking Together” magazine of gourmet travelers

I know how to cook this fish deliciously, how to boil fish soup, how to pickle pike. There are simply tons of recipes in my cookbook.

Pike is the brightest representative of the family of predators. Its meat is highly valued due to its beneficial properties. Since ancient times, this fish was considered an exquisite delicacy not only for ordinary fishermen, but also for persons of high government rank. Pike meat was especially valued in France, since its low calorie content and excellent taste distinguished it from a number of other similar food products. You can prepare a huge number of amazingly tasty dishes from pike: fry, stew or steam - it’s up to the chef, but all culinary creations from this predator turn out equally tasty and impressive.

I am a hereditary fisherman and cooking from pike meat is my passion. I know how to cook this fish deliciously, how to boil fish soup, how to pickle pike. There are simply tons of recipes in my cookbook. However, there are favorite culinary masterpieces that have been collected for centuries, passed from generation to generation, from mother to daughter, and have become a traditional family attraction of our family.

How to properly salt pike - several recipes

Dry method of salting pike

Wet method of salting pike

1. I will tell you further how to salt pike at home using the wet method. And we will salt it using two recipes. Which one is tastier and healthier is up to you to decide. So, the recipe for salted pike using the wet method is quite simple and easy. To do this, we first prepare a special saline solution - brine. This solution should be as salty as possible, I take 6 tbsp. spoons of salt per 1 liter of water.

I stir everything well, heat it up a little and pour the fish into containers. Useful advice! – use a glass or enamel container for this purpose; iron utensils will not withstand this torture. We leave our pike to marinate and salt in brine for 2-3 days. If, after the required time has passed, you take out the fish and it seems too salty, soak it in ordinary water for an hour or two and everything will be fine. After soaking, you can pour lemon juice and olive or sunflower oil on it. The taste will be divine!

So, let's prepare the brine for our pike. Take water, pour it into a saucepan and put it on the fire. Add salt and sugar and mix everything. Add spices there: ground black pepper, allspice, coriander, cloves and bay leaf. Finely chop the garlic and place it in the pan. As soon as everything boils, add vinegar.

We do this very carefully so as not to get burned by the evaporation. Fill our fish with this marinade in a plastic or glass container and leave for 3-4 hours. In principle, during this time the pike will be sufficiently salted and imbued with an exquisite taste and aroma, but ideally, normal salting will require at least 1 day. Then you take the fish out of the container, pour it with sunflower oil, sprinkle it with onion, cut into rings and serve it with vodka and fresh potatoes.

Preparation

The most suitable fish for drying will weigh no more than 1 kg; such pike will be salted well and quickly, and will also dry evenly. In larger specimens, it is advisable to remove the gills during processing; it is advisable to remove the entrails from fish of all sizes. But the scales are not touched during processing.

Dry the fish a little with paper towels, transfer it to a deep plastic, glass or enamel container for salting and cover thoroughly with salt, as shown in the photo. This salt also needs to be carefully hammered into the gills, mouth, belly and rubbed with salt under the fins. In this state, leave the pike for 2 days in a cold place.

After two days, you need to take out the fish, wash off all the salt from it and soak in cool water for 120 minutes. During this time, it is necessary to periodically change the water to fresh and cool water.

After soaking the pikes, they must be thoroughly wiped with napkins so that there is absolutely no moisture left anywhere. Wrap well-dried carcasses tightly with a piece of gauze and rewind tightly with thread (see photo), then hang them in a well-ventilated area without direct sunlight. You can hang the fish either by the tail or by the head; in both options, drying will occur correctly.

After 1-1.5 weeks (depending on weather conditions, if the fish was dried outdoors), delicious dried pike, prepared at home according to our simple recipe, will be ready. As you can see, making dried fish with your own hands is not at all difficult. Low-alcohol carbonated drinks and kvass are perfect for this delicacy. Bon appetit!

KBJU and composition for the entire dish

Dialogues about fishing in +34…

But because It’s already one o’clock in the morning, and tomorrow I have to go to work, then I’ll quack. I mean short. We arrived at the place, it was my first time on this reservoir. Consists of 2 “bowls” connected by a narrow passage in the reeds...

In general, the place is not very beautiful, but quite positive...

It’s warm outside, to put it mildly... We’re sorting out the gear, rocking the boat...

We treat the area with an anti-tick solution from a spray bottle (must have!) - because nuihnah. We are setting up temporary housing. Pesdes, of course, I wouldn’t wish such a home in such heat on my enemy. At night we froze like dogs, but during the day I decided to lie down “in the shade” - it was a shame I didn’t take a broom with me... Well, for some reason I don’t like sleeping in the car.

We suffered through crap for half a day, alternating whining with a shower from a canister. Fortunately, there was plenty of ice-cold beer, and we slowly began to go out on the water in order to be in place by 7-8 pm, because... For some reason the engine didn’t fit into the car this time (because the refrigerator and other persimmons fit in...)

The sun has set. The heat subsided a little and let's go...

It is worth noting that neither in the morning nor, naturally, during the day did the fish refuse to come out to people and there were real fears that we might smoke reeds again. Still, the weather is the weather... In general, we almost left without fish. A few perches and that’s it... But just before sunset we found an interesting creek with a water lily plantation - we took two “pencils”. AT LEAST! This is the catch:

It was already dark in the evening when we got out of the water and it was too much to bother with fish. We decided to postpone it until home. But at home, laziness and selfishness took over again and I decided to dry the fish! Moreover, she herself asked me about it...

Although maybe she was just muttering, like “suuuho...” or “suuuuka”?.. I’m not much of a fish, to be honest. I brought a bouquet of berries to Baba (it sounds good, by the way - “a bouquet of berries”) and there, please, without puns or wit - I was fishing!

We gut the pike and perch and... Ahh, why am I so lazy - cleaning the fish! Just gut it and start a cool salt solution

. I freaked out and it turned out almost like a mess. But it is convenient for her to coat the fish both inside and outside:

Add salt on top...

...and because the solution (“ointment”) was cool - it didn’t take much time. The heat on the balcony was terrible and I was afraid to shake off the salt. The fish will take as much as it sees fit. However, this is an emergency method to relieve fatigue and save time. Still, the classic soaking in a liquid saline solution is more adequate. We stick wooden skewers into the eyes of the fish and place them in a convenient place...

Be sure to cover the top with something. Gauze, paper - just so that the flies don't get to you! People over there are making special boxes, but I’m probably not old enough to have such gadgets yet. As you understand, it was Sunday, and here comes the long-awaited Friday!

We calmly shake off the excess salt, pour a cold beer and, squinting from the evening sun, we devour pike and perch in the company of a couple of friends...

The boys really liked the fish (I was really embarrassed that I had used too much salt) and it ran out pretty quickly. A fresh one is still really different from one that has been lying around for who knows where and for how long! I, as usual, liked the perch more than the pike, but these bastards left me only a pike and half a perch while I went to the store for half a liter (because beer without vodka... yeah) - so I’m thinking of repeating this process from beginning to end. In more suitable weather...

And then allow me to take my leave... Your Polkovneg.

Pike is a very tasty fish, especially when dried. But it is important to know how to dry pike correctly. The wrong approach in this matter can simply ruin the catch. Poorly prepared fish may have an unpleasant aftertaste or even begin to rot inside.

If you prepare and dry the pike correctly, the result will be an excellent snack with a unique taste.

“Dry” method of drying pike

Is it possible to get dried fish without spending months preparing it or using brine? Of course you can.

And to dry pike like this, you need:

prepare the fish;
cut the large carcass into pieces, and make long side slits on the small one;
rub the pike with salt on all sides, including the inside;
place in a plastic container;

By the way, if you carefully watch the videos that clearly demonstrate how to properly dry pike, you can see one interesting detail. Namely: many famous chefs use parchment paper instead of a container.

install oppression on top;
put in the refrigerator;
wait 72 hours;
drain liquid from the container if any appears;
put the fish in the freezer for 72 hours.

This is how easy it is to prepare an excellent snack at home without any dryers or unnecessary movements.

So, in fact, drying, wilting or salting pike is not difficult. It is enough to have a little free time, patience and coarse rock salt on hand, because it is best suited for drying fish.

Preparing the fish

In order to dry pike at home, you need to properly prepare it. First of all, you need to take the fish and gut it, but you do not need to remove the scales, this is not necessary.

Salting

Then the gutted pike needs to be salted. The dry method is best suited for this, since it allows you to remove a certain amount of liquid from the pike already at this stage. You need to take enamel or plastic containers. Cover the bottom with a layer of coarse salt, place the fish and cover it again with a layer of salt. Salt should be placed evenly so that there is no accumulation of large amounts in one place. After this, you need to cover the product with a plate of suitable diameter and press it down with a heavy object to create a press.

After some time, liquid will begin to come out of the fish. There are several opinions about it. Some people advise constantly draining the liquid to ensure greater dehydration of the fish, while some, on the contrary, recommend leaving the product in the brine so that it is better salted.

The fish should be salted for 3-7 days, depending on the size of the individual. Professionals advise drying medium-sized specimens - this is the only criterion for selection. The weight of the fish before drying should be around a kilogram. Pike of this size will be well salted and dry optimally and will delight dry fish lovers throughout the winter.

Soaking

After the salted pike is removed from the brine, it should be washed in water with several tablespoons of acetic acid, and then soaked in water so that it releases excess salt. After the pike floats to the surface, it can be removed from the water and dried. In general, it is recommended to soak the product for as many hours as the days it was salted. Only after this can you start drying.

Drying the fish

How to properly dry caught pike? First of all, it is important to protect the product from insects; the main problem is flies. There is an opinion that for this it is better to hang the pike in the evening, when the flies are no longer active. By morning, the liquid on the surface of the fish and in the abdominal cavity will evaporate, and the flies will become uninterested in it. Other experts advise coating the carcass with vegetable oil or a vinegar solution; these measures will also get rid of unnecessary attention from insects. Subsequently, you will get dried pike without the larvae of annoying flies.

The product should be dried by hanging it in a dry place with good ventilation at a temperature of 18 to 25 degrees. They hang the fish by the head, but you can also hang it by the tail, there is no big difference. The belly of the pike should be expanded by inserting toothpicks or twigs across it that can hold the edges. Dried pike will be obtained after 2-3 weeks, depending on the size. You need to dry the fish in the shade, avoiding direct sunlight. In the fall, the fish may not be completely dried outside and requires the process to be completed indoors near the radiator.

You can dry the fish by placing it in the oven. This method allows you to speed up the process and get results in less than a day. To dry the product in the oven, you need to put it in straw, this is done so that the fish does not burn on the baking sheet, otherwise it will spoil the taste of the pike. The straw needs to be periodically replaced with fresh straw. The main thing is to make sure that the pike’s head does not burn; to do this, you can wrap it in foil.

Dried fish can be stored for a very long time and will delight fish lovers in winter. The product does not require special conditions for storage and will lie perfectly in a cool, dark place.