Grayling fish is a coveted trophy for fishermen who specifically go fishing in taiga rivers with clean, cold water. The white fatty meat of the fish has an excellent taste, for which it is highly valued among gourmets. You can prepare grayling using any well-known methods. However, true connoisseurs of fish know that it truly reveals its taste when it is salted. Despite the fact that it is much more convenient to salt grayling at home, if necessary, this can also be done outdoors.
How to salt grayling at home
You can prepare grayling using any well-known methods. However, true connoisseurs of fish know that it truly reveals its taste when it is salted. Despite the fact that it is much more convenient to salt grayling at home, if necessary, this can also be done outdoors.
Dry salting of grayling:
- 1 kg of grayling;
- 2 tbsp. l. salt;
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper;
- 2 onions;
- if you have spices, you can add cloves, bay leaves, etc.
Preparation:
- Like any river fish, grayling is covered with scales. It needs to be cleaned, as well as the head cut off and the entrails removed. Wash the fish, cut into portions, and place in a deep bowl.
- Peel the onion and cut it into rings or half rings. Add onion, salt, spices to the bowl and stir.
- Cover the bowl with cling film, or just a plate, and walk for 20-30 minutes. Yes, small grayling gets salted so quickly. During this time, the onion will release juice, dissolve the salt, and the grayling will be saturated with the aroma of spices, but will not lose its taste.
Some fishermen prefer to pickle grayling in a mixture of sugar and salt, topped with soy sauce. The pickling time is the same, but the taste is specific. Soy sauce “steals” the taste of the fish a little,” but everyone has their own taste.
How to properly prepare fish
The most common method of salting grayling is lightly salted. It is also the fastest and least labor-intensive. And most importantly, in this way the fish can be salted as soon as it is pulled out of the water. There are other methods that are more suitable for salting at home.
It doesn’t matter how exactly you want to salt the grayling, you still need to clean it of its entrails, remove its head and fins. Some techniques even allow you to leave scales. Salted fish will have a richer taste and beautiful appearance if it is first cut into slices.
Advice! Use fresh fish for salting, as grayling quickly begins to spoil.
Freshly frozen fish is also suitable, but it should only be thawed at room temperature.
Salting grayling in brine
It is better to pickle large fish carcasses in brine.
Clean the fish from scales, remove the entrails and head. Using a sharp knife, make a cut along the back line and cut the grayling into two halves. Remove the spine and any large bones. You can remove the skin, but this is only if you later want to use the grayling to make sushi.
Place the grayling fillets in a deep bowl and prepare the brine:
- 1 l. water;
- 2 tbsp. l. salt;
- 2 tbsp. l. Sahara;
- spices: to taste.
Boil water, add salt, sugar and spices. After the brine has cooled, pour it over the fillet and cover it with a bowl to prevent the fish from floating.
Place the fish in the refrigerator. The time for salting grayling in brine is from 1 hour to 12 hours, depending on your preferences.
Salting caviar
If you happen to catch or purchase fish with caviar, then you need to know how to salt caviar at home.
Using a fork, carefully remove all films and rinse under running water. Prepare a saline solution that requires 150 g. salt per 1 liter. water. It is better to salt a lot of eggs with warm brine to make them even more tender. Leave to brew for 5-15 minutes. The liquid is then drained, and the caviar is placed in glass jars. It is important to know that the finished dish will be stored longer if you increase the time spent in the brine, but at the same time the eggs themselves will become tougher.
Advice! Use coarse salt, but not iodized salt.
Salting grayling at home means providing your table with a fresh, prepared according to your own preference, snack. In addition to the fact that the dish will look beautiful and smell fragrant, it will also bring many benefits to the body. Everyone knows how many nutrients and various vitamins fish fillet contains. It would be useful to remember how to salt grayling at home. This representative of salmon fish constantly attracts the attention of fishermen with its appearance, habitats and pleasant delicate taste. Grayling dishes are very popular in Siberia. It will be useful for many to know at least one recipe for salting this fish.
Lazy pickling method with soy sauce and lemon
After adding soy sauce, grayling will acquire sourness and a denser consistency.
You can quickly and deliciously pickle fish using soy sauce or lemon:
- In the first case, the gutted, washed fish is placed in a container and poured with sauce. Readiness is determined by taste, unless indicated on the package.
- Small pieces of grayling are placed in a container and poured with the juice of 1 lemon mixed with 1 tbsp. l. salt, the same amount of sugar and chopped dill.
Pickling for the lazy
Another interesting way to pickle grayling is with lemon or soy sauce. This method can be called “for the lazy”, since it does not require much effort. It is worth noting that as a result the fish will have an excellent taste; lemon perfectly complements the taste of noble grayling.
The processed, cleaned carcass must be cut into small pieces and placed in a glass container. Then prepare the filling. Squeeze the juice of one large lemon into a separate container, add 1 tbsp. l. salt and sugar. Based on your taste, add ground black pepper and fresh herbs - dill is perfect for this method of pickling.
Stir the ingredients and pour over the fish. It takes no more than half an hour to prepare. Ready grayling has a pleasant piquant taste and slight sourness.
By the way, if there is no lemon in the refrigerator, you can safely use citric acid by mixing 1 tbsp. l. water and 0.5 sachet of lemon.
Pickling with soy sauce is also very popular and requires no effort at all. Clean the fish, rinse thoroughly and place in a container. Pour store-bought soy sauce over the fish. Grayling is salted according to the time indicated on the package.
So, we figured out how to salt grayling, but what to do with caviar? If you have accumulated a lot of caviar, we know how to salt it - you will get the best appetizer for all occasions.
Using a small fork, remove the film from grayling eggs. Then, in a small strainer or using gauze, the caviar must be rinsed under running water. Afterwards, for salting, prepare a brine solution of 150 g of salt per liter of water.
To make the caviar tender, it is better to use a warm solution for salting. Pour it over the caviar and leave for 5 to 15 minutes, depending on your taste preferences - the longer you keep the caviar, the saltier it is.
Then drain the liquid and place the caviar in glass jars. You can store caviar for no more than a week. In order for caviar to be stored longer, it must be kept in brine longer, but then the eggs will become tough, although no less tasty.
Thanks to salting grayling, you will provide yourself with a table with fresh, tasty fish, salted according to your favorite recipe. This appetizer is a beautiful decoration for the holiday table and a storehouse of vitamins. Be sure to try salting grayling at home - you will definitely be pleased with the results.
Grayling fish is a coveted trophy for fishermen who specifically go fishing in taiga rivers with clean, cold water. The white fatty meat of the fish has an excellent taste, for which it is highly valued among gourmets. You can prepare grayling using any well-known methods. However, true connoisseurs of fish know that it truly reveals its taste when it is salted. Despite the fact that it is much more convenient to salt grayling at home, if necessary, this can also be done outdoors.
Lightly salted grayling
If you are interested in salted grayling, the marinade recipe is attached below. First you need to clean the fish and cut it into portions. Then layers of grayling are placed in an enamel bowl. The fish is sprinkled with one tbsp on top. l. salt and 1 tsp. Sahara.
All kinds of spices and pepper are used for taste. To make the grayling marinated, sprinkle vinegar diluted with water in equal proportions on top. The pressure is placed on the fish and the container is tightly closed with a lid. After a few hours, the grayling is ready to eat.
Lightly salted ambassador
One of the simplest and most popular salting methods is lightly salted. When wondering how to salt grayling while fishing, pay attention to this recipe. If you are an inexperienced person in this matter, the lightly salted method is just for you.
Gut and wash the fish, cut into pieces, maintaining a thickness of 1.5 cm.
Take the onion and cut it into thin half rings. Place the onion with the fish in a pickling container. Next, the fish must be salted. For 3-4 medium-sized fish, a teaspoon of salt is enough. However, most focus on their taste preferences. You can also add a little pepper or fish seasoning to the fish. Some recipes suggest adding sugar or vinegar to taste.
Mix the ingredients, cover with a lid and hide in a cool place. It takes about half an hour to salt the fish using this method - it all depends on the thickness of the pieces.
As a result, you have delicious fish in an hour.
Grayling salted in lemon and soy sauce
Many people are interested in how to salt grayling in sauce and lemon. To do this, take the fish, cut it into small pieces and pour it with a mixture, the main component of which is lemon. For this purpose, put one lemon in a bowl, squeeze the juice out of it, add a spoonful of sugar and salt to it.
A set of spices, pepper and herbs are added at your discretion.
The mixture must be stirred thoroughly. The fish should simmer in this mixture for about half an hour, then it can be served. If you don’t have lemon on hand, you can dilute 1/2 a pack of citric acid in one spoon of water.
Coarse salt is best; it is better not to use iodized salt for this process.
The simplest type of salting of grayling is considered to be in soy sauce. This recipe will suit even the lazy: buy soy sauce in the supermarket and pour the mixture over the grayling for the time indicated on the package by the manufacturer.
But if you have frozen fish, then you need to defrost it first. Let's figure out how salting grayling will be the best option in your living conditions.
Frozen grayling from the store can be salted in the same way as fresh grayling.
Cooking features
- Fresh or chilled fish is always tastier than frozen, but if you do not have the opportunity to purchase fresh grayling for salting, frozen is also suitable for this purpose. It is important to allow this product to thaw in natural conditions, without exposing it to sudden temperature changes. An attempt to speed up the process of defrosting grayling using a microwave will lead to loss of moisture and disruption of its structure, causing it to become loose and dry. This will negatively affect the organoleptic qualities of the finished delicacy.
- When purchasing fresh grayling, you need to make sure it is fresh enough. The eyes of the fish should be clear, the gills should be bright, and when pressure is applied to the carcass, it should quickly restore its shape. When purchasing frozen fish, they evaluate not only its type, but also the type of packaging. If there is liquid, snow, or pieces of ice inside, this indicates that the product was not stored properly and that it has been defrosted, possibly more than once. This negatively affects not only the taste of the product, but also its safety.
- Grayling is a small fish, and small specimens (weighing up to 0.3-0.4 kg) can be salted whole. However, before salting, the fish must be washed, cleaned and gutted. If you leave the head, remove the gills. More often, grayling is salted in the form of steaks or fillets. The skin is usually not removed from the fillet. It is advisable to remove skin from grayling fillets if they are to be used for making sushi.
- The time for salting grayling depends on the composition of the brine or curing mixture, salting technology, and the desired result. It can range from 20 minutes to 2-3 days. In order to get the expected result, it is advisable to follow the recommendations accompanying the specific recipe.
Salted grayling can be served with potatoes as a main snack, or used for making sandwiches, salads, and other snacks. A good idea would be to include it in fish cuts.
Grayling salted in lemon
Processed and chopped pieces of grayling are poured with a lemon mixture. To prepare the lemon mixture, squeeze out the juice of one lemon and combine it with a spoonful of salt and sugar, add pepper, herbs and various spices. Mix everything well. The fish is kept in this mixture for about half an hour, after which it is eaten.
Instead of lemon, you can use a spoonful of water and half a pack of citric acid. It is better to use coarse salt for salting fish. It is better not to take iodized salt.
Dry pickling
Another tasty way to salt grayling is dry. Fish salted in this way will be ready within a day, so this method is also relevant for fishermen.
So, freshly caught fish is taken for salting, it is cleaned and gutted. For this method, the fish is not washed, but wiped with a dry, clean cloth. After cleaning, the fish must be rubbed with salt and sugar 2 to 1. Mix salt, sugar, and you can also use various spices. Rub the mixture well with the fish inside and out and place it in a bowl with the backs facing down. Cover the fish with a flat dish and place under a press. Hide the workpiece in a cool place.
Marinades before hot smoking
Classical
In this marinade, the fish turns out spicy with a delicate lemon aroma. Ingredients for one liter of water:
- salt - 2 table. spoons;
- bay leaf – 3 leaves;
- onion - 1 onion;
- lemon - half;
- cinnamon – 1 teaspoon;
- granulated sugar – 1 teaspoon;
- pepper – 1 teaspoon;
- thyme, sage and rosemary - a pinch each.
Procedure:
- Place water on the stove, bring to a boil, add salt.
- Coarsely chop the lemon and onion, put in water, add the rest of the ingredients.
- Keep on fire for 7 minutes, then remove and cool.
- Place the fish in the resulting marinade for 10-12 hours.
- Place the fish in a ventilated place, after an hour you can smoke.
With red wine
Cloves will give the finished product a special aroma, and the wine will make it tender and soft.
Ingredients for 1 liter of water:
- wine – 150 ml;
- salt – 2 tablespoons;
- cloves - 4 pieces;
- cumin – ½ teaspoon;
- allspice peas – ½ teaspoon.
Place the water on the stove, add salt and cloves and cook for about ten minutes. Remove from heat, wait until it cools, and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir the prepared brine thoroughly and place the fish in it for 4 hours.