Salted fish is one of the most popular delicacies among Russians. Fish is generally very valuable and useful product, and if you salt it, it acquires a richer and spicy taste. Many housewives use salted fish both as a main dish and as an additional ingredient that can be added to salads. You can easily salt fish at home, while saving money. However, a procedure such as salting takes a lot of time; in this case, lovers of salted fish go to the store.
Of course, any supermarket always has a large selection of salted fish for every taste. The most popular types of fish that are commercially available are salmon, mackerel, pink salmon, herring and sprat. Each of these fish is affordable and does not require additional processing. The only disadvantage of purchased salted fish may be that it is not always possible to guess the degree of salting of the product.
There are times when a buyer purchased salted fish, but it turned out to be so salty that it is simply impossible to eat. In such cases, it is not necessary to throw away the product, because there are quite popular and simple ways, how to make fish less salty.
If you need to prepare a dish from a lightly salted product? Who might be interested in such questions? For what category of fish would soaking be most helpful?
Methods for removing excess salt are suitable for fish that were salted at home, but something went wrong and the salt won, making the taste of the fish unnoticeable. When eating unsuccessfully salted fish, in addition to the taste, which few people may like, the salt content in it can have dangerous consequences for the body of someone who dares to eat a piece of over-salted product.
The question of how to soak fish often arises for fishing enthusiasts who want to taste their own caught fish and beer. For these people, the question of how to soak salted fish before drying is especially relevant. Many salads and cold appetizers include lightly salted fish, because the strong taste of salt would necessarily make the salad simply an inedible set of foods.
It turns out that there are actually many situations in which it would be useful to know about recipes and some of the nuances of properly ridding a product of excess salt by soaking it. So today we will figure out whether it is possible to soak salted fish and how to do it in a more correct way.
It is possible and even necessary to rid fish of excess salt. This way you will save your health. This seasoning is quite harmful and even dangerous if you do not use it in moderation for human nutrition. Here's how salt negatively affects the organs and condition of those who neglect caution:
And this is not the entire list of possible problems. Therefore, returning to the question of how to soak salted fish, let’s proceed straight to the recipes.
To carry out the soaking procedure comfortably, let’s first make sure that these tools and their complementary elements are available:
It is better to cut a large fish carcass into pieces: this is how it will turn out more salt.
Before soaking salted fish, decide on the solution in which you will soak it. What is more preferable for you - water, tea or milk? Or maybe you would prefer fish soaked in marinade? This method is good for removing excess salt from more refined, red fish.
But we will start with the simplest and accessible way for those who are puzzled by the question of how to quickly soak salted fish. Water is what will help make the very salty fish more enjoyable and healthy. There is an opinion that you need to soak fish for exactly the same amount of time as it was salted. But, probably, rarely does anyone know the exact number of hours or days during which the fish remained in salt before coming to us for processing. Therefore, we use classical technology.
First of all, let's rinse our fish in cold water. Then put it in a suitable container and fill it with cold water. During the process, it is better if the dishes with the fish are in the refrigerator. It is necessary to change the water to fresh water every two hours. Do not neglect this small rule, then the fish will have a more pleasant taste. Salted fish is very heavy, which is why it will initially sit at the bottom of the bowl with cold liquid. After some time, when salt begins to come out of it, the fish will feel better and will rush to the surface. When the soaked fish floats to the surface, it means the process was successful.
However, there are times when you need to soak a lot of fish. In this case, a large tank and cold water from a well or pump will do (if the process takes place in conditions close to natural). The container must be installed in a cool place so that the sun's rays never find your fish stock. For five kilograms of salted fish, use ten liters of water. Change the water every two hours. And to lower its temperature, pour ice into the bowl with the fish.
You can fix fish that has been over-salted in a spicy brine using water and vinegar. Please do not confuse vinegar and vinegar essence. Before preparing the solution, make sure that you have table vinegar.
For 10 parts water you need one part vinegar. Add some fish spices and place the salted, spicy-salted fish into the prepared marinade. Do not cut the carcasses, leave them whole. Place the dish with fish in the refrigerator for several hours. Usually five to six hours is enough. After this time, the fish becomes less salty.
Sometimes it may be necessary to remove excess salt from finished smoked fish. How to quickly soak smoked salted fish in such a situation?
Step one. Place the fish in a small container (with a lid). Prepare a solution to rid it of excess salt. You need to take equal quantities of cold water and cold fresh milk.
Step two. Pour this mixture over the fish and put it in the refrigerator for half an hour. In thirty minutes you will have a wonderful, not very salty smoked fish. Be sure to rinse it with cold water and pat dry with paper kitchen towels.
The question of whether it is possible to soak dry salted fish will have a positive answer. Of course, dry fish is in most cases used as nice snack to beer, however, a huge amount of salt can spoil the entire impression of such a snack. How to rid such a fish of a large amount of salt if necessary? Most often, such fish are soaked in water to loosen its meat. Then, when the fish is saturated with water, it is placed in cold milk for several hours. The degree of salinity is easy to check. Just remove the fish from the milk, rinse and taste. If the amount of salt has reached the standards that suit you, feel free to remove all the remaining fish from the container and, after rinsing with water, you can use it for its intended purpose.
Soaked, lightly salted fish cannot be stored for long. Therefore, you need to use it as soon as possible - eat it or prepare some dish from it (and again eat this dish). Do not leave processed fish in the refrigerator for more than two days.
But how to soak fish that is more noble - red? Below are recipes for two ways to rid it of excess salt. One of the ways is more noble. The other method is simpler, but is famous for its effectiveness.
Red fish must be pre-prepared. Remove the head, fins and other inedible parts. Cut it into pieces. You can only use the removed fillet.
Add suitable spices to the container for soaking the fish. Their number is a purely individual matter. It is also recommended to add to the marinade cherry syrup to taste and vinegar (not essence). The marinade without salt should be boiled and cooled slightly. Pour the hot liquid into the bowl with the fish.
The cooled marinade is drained from the fish and filtered. The fish is washed in cold water and placed again in a clean container. Pour in the resulting and strained marinade. In a few hours, a wonderful lightly salted red fish is ready for your table.
If you have over-salted red fish in your house, use this recipe to rid it of excess harmful salt.
So, how to soak very salty fish?
Place the fish fillets or pieces in a container. Pour cold kefir over the fish. Please note that kefir should be taken as fresh as possible. Place the fish in kefir in the refrigerator overnight (8 hours). In the morning, it will be enough to rinse it and you can use it for its intended purpose.
Sometimes, instead of kefir, it is recommended to fill red fish with whey. Housewives believe that kefir and whey remove salt from this fish more effectively. And there’s less fuss - you put it in, pour it in, take it out, rinse it and enjoy!
Choose your recipe
Before you do fish less salted, it must be washed to remove excess salt from the skin. If it is small, like sprat, then it can be soaked whole. Cut large herring into portions so that the salt leaves the fish faster and more evenly.
Pre-prepared fish Place in a deep bowl. Use regular milk if soaking fish in it, then it will be more tender and juicy, and pour it over the pulp so that the liquid completely covers all the pieces. If there is no milk, you can soak it fish in brewed black tea or plain water. Some housewives use vegetable oil to improve the taste of slightly salted fish.
Place the dishes along with the fish in the refrigerator if you leave them to soak for room temperature, then it might just go bad. The soaking time depends on the degree of salinity of the fish. If it is not too salty, then two or three hours is enough. In the case where the taste is too strong, it is advisable to leave the soaked fish in the refrigerator overnight.
After the specified time has passed, remove fish from the liquid in which it was soaked, rinse it thoroughly under running water. The composition in which the fish was soaked will absorb excess salt, after which it will be less salty.
Please note
In some cases, the degree of salinity is determined by excessive storage time, which needs to be taken into account. Health is more important than saving money on fresh fish. This is especially true for those who have problems with the kidneys or blood vessels: excess sodium is harmful even for healthy people, and with existing diseases it can worsen their health.
Useful advice
If even after soaking the taste of the fish remains too salty, it is necessary to choose a combination with products that will absorb salt and not add it additionally to the finished dish. Boiled potatoes are ideal for this.
... If you bought a whole carcass, then the easiest way to cut it is slightly frozen: in this case, the bones separate a little faster, and the fillet remains undamaged.
... Brine allows you to salt fish faster, and its taste is more intense.
... To prepare 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 add a spicy aroma to the fish, you can add a little mustard, ready-made or in powder, to the brine - salting fish at home will be reduced by one and a half times.
... The brine can be boiled, or it can be used either 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 consumption.
... If you salt fish at home in the form of fillets, it will be ready in 5-8 hours, depending on the size of the pieces.
Well, now for the recipes themselves!
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 over-salted.
Lightly salted mackerel is an exquisite delicacy!
This wonderful lightly salted mackerel is perfect for potatoes! Let's try to cook according to the recipe on the site recipe com.
1 mackerel weighing 0.5 kg
salt - 1 tbsp
.water - 0.5 l
bay leaf - 3 pcs.
allspice - 6 peas
red paprika - 1 pc.
vegetable oil
Boil water, add bay leaf, salt and allspice. Cool the marinade.
Clean the mackerel and completely fill it with the chilled marinade. Leave to soak overnight at room temperature.
In the morning, cut the fish into pieces, add sweet pepper, cut into slices, pour vegetable oil and put in the refrigerator for a day. Now you can taste it.
Herring at home
Salting herring at home is not difficult, and there are many different recipes.
You should buy fish with a thick back (fatty). If it is frozen, then it should be completely defrosted before salting. And it's better not to wash it. And now a few recipes:
*Marinade: boiled water (1 glass), vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. l., black peppercorns, bay leaf or several, salt to taste. Boil it all, cool it and add a little vinegar. Place the herring, cover tightly with a lid and leave in the room for 4-5 hours, then in the refrigerator for another 5 hours, or better yet, leave it overnight.
*Marinade: for 1 liter of water - 1.5 tbsp. spoons of salt, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sugar, bay leaf, black peppercorns, cardamom, garlic, 1-2 flowers (dried) cloves. Bring all this to a boil and cool. Pour over the herring so that it is completely covered with marinade. Place the container in the refrigerator immediately (in winter, you can put it on the balcony). After two days you can eat.
*Brine: 4 tbsp. spoons of salt and 2 tbsp. spoons of sugar per 1 liter of water (this is about 2-3 herring). Place the fish in the cooled brine for 1 day. Basically, no hassle.
This method can be used to salt not only herring, but also mackerel.
*Brine: 2 tbsp. spoons of salt, 1 tbsp. Dissolve a spoonful of sugar in 0.5 liters of hot boiled water, add bay leaf, allspice and coriander (bunches). Sue everything. Cut the herring into medium pieces, place in a bowl on its side, pour over the chilled marinade. Cover with a plate and place a jar of water on top like a press. Leave in a cool place for 1 day.
*Second recipe:
6 table. spoons of salt, 1 table. spoon of sugar, same seasonings for 1 liter of water. The rest is done the same way.
*Place the ungutted fish in a three-liter jar and fill it with brine: for 1 liter of boiled chilled water you need 5 tablespoons of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2-3 bay leaves, 1 teaspoon of allspice peas. When the brine has already been poured into the jar, place 1 tablespoon of dry mustard on top.
Quick salting of any red fish
Option #1
Prepare brine from 1 liter of cold water, 4 tbsp. spoons of salt and 3 tbsp. spoons of sugar. Pour this brine over the fish pieces (the pieces should be small), leave for 3 hours, and drain the brine.
Option No. 2
Cut 1 kg of red fish fillet into 5x5 pieces, put in a container and salt each piece thoroughly, then add spices to taste (peppercorns, coriander, bay leaf) and pour cold water so that it covers the fish. Place in the refrigerator overnight and you can eat the fish in the morning.
Option #3
Prepare a brine from 1 liter of water and 1 cup of salt. The brine should be very salty. Place the fish in it, skin side down, press down so that the entire piece is in the brine. After 4 hours, remove from the brine, rinse, wrap in any paper, but not in foil (salted foods are not wrapped in it, much less stored in it) and place in the refrigerator, but not in the freezer.
Option No. 4
Cut pink salmon (chum salmon, salmon) along the ridge, cut off the ridge. Using a very sharp knife, cut the layers of fish (crosswise), holding the knife at approximately a 45 degree angle.
Sprinkle the bottom of the container for salting fish with salt and sugar (“by eye,” depending on the amount of fish). Lay out the sliced layers of fish, sprinkle again with salt and sugar, and repeat the layers. After 2 layers, add black peppercorns and bay leaves. Drizzle with sunflower oil. Close and refrigerate. After a day, the fish is ready to eat.
Option #5
Rub the prepared pieces of fish with a mixture of coarse salt and sugar, sprinkle with spices if desired, and the very 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 need to be salted. The fish can be kept in this form 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. Don't rush to throw them in the trash. All this can be used to make excellent fish soup. And the bones can be salted separately - it will make an excellent snack for beer.
Pink salmon (salmon or other red fish) home-salted
You will need: 1 kg of fish, 2 tbsp. spoons of salt, 1 tbsp. spoon of sugar.
Wash the fish, remove the skin and remove the backbone and bones so that you get 2 halves of a clean fillet.
Mix salt and sugar in a separate bowl and rub both halves of the fish fillet on all sides with this mixture. Then connect the two halves together, wrap them in a canvas cloth and put them in the refrigerator. The fish is ready to eat within 24 hours.
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 No. 1
Defrost pink salmon, but not completely, gut it, wash and wipe dry. Cut off the head (useful for fish soup or fish broth, as a base for lean borscht).
Rub well with salt, outside and inside (about 3-3.5 tablespoons of salt per 1 medium pink salmon carcass), wrap the fish in cellophane, then in several layers of newspaper, put it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, after a day turn it over to the other side and leave for another day. Then wipe with a dry cloth, wrap in it and eat.
The fish is evenly salted and turns out very tasty and juicy.
You can salt chum salmon and salmon in the same way.
Method No. 2
Defrost pink salmon, prepare the fillet and rub it with salt, adding some spices (there are special seasonings for fish) and always white mustard beans. Leave the fish in this state in a warm place for 3 hours, then cut into pieces and pour in vegetable oil. Place in the 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.
Home-salted salmon or trout
Option #1
For 2 kg of fish you will need: 5-6 tbsp. spoons of coarse salt and 1-2 tbsp. spoons of sugar.
Prepare a pickling mixture of salt and sugar.
Remove the skin from the frozen salmon (it comes off like a stocking) and wash it. Cut into thin pieces. Rub each piece with the pickling mixture and place it close, one to one, in a low jar. Place in the refrigerator for 8 hours and the fish is ready.
So do trout. Clean and wash the carcass. You don’t have to cut it, just rub it with the pickling mixture and fold it tightly, one to one. You just need to rub not only the outside, but also the inside.
Or you can cut it into portions and rub each piece with salt.
Option No. 2
For 1 kg of fish you will need: 3 teaspoons of salt and ½ cup of sunflower oil.
Wash the fish, remove the skin and remove the bones so that you get 2 halves of clean fillet.
After this, cut the resulting fish fillet crosswise into 0.5 cm thick slices. Place the slices in a bowl, add salt and mix. Pour in sunflower oil and mix again.
Transfer to a jar and refrigerate. After 10 hours, lightly salted fish is ready to eat.
Option #3
For 0.5 kg of fish you will need: 3 teaspoons of salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar, vegetable oil.
Rub the prepared fish fillet with the pickling mixture and keep in the refrigerator for 12 hours, no more. Then rinse, cut into pieces, put in a jar, pour in a little vegetable oil and put in the refrigerator.
You can salt mackerel and anchovies in the same way.
Option No. 4
Prepare brine at the rate of: 0.5 liters of water - 4 tbsp. spoons of salt (without a slide) and 2 tbsp. spoons of honey.
Cut the fish fillet into thin slices. Pour brine over the fish slices and leave for 40-45 minutes. Then dry the fish with a napkin, grease the slices with sunflower oil and put them in the refrigerator. If it sits in the cold for an hour or two, it will taste even better.
Option #5
Prepare a pickling mixture from 1 tbsp. spoons of salt, 1 tbsp. spoons of sugar, ½ teaspoon of curry and 2 tbsp. spoons of olive oil (sunflower oil is also possible).
Cut salmon fillet (trout or other red fish) into thin slices, brush with pickling mixture and leave for a while at room temperature. Then put it in the refrigerator.
If you need to salt the fish as soon as possible, for example, before guests arrive, then you can place pieces about 2 cm thick and wide in the brine, and the fish will be ready to eat in 2-3 hours - this time is enough to serve it table or use for making salads.
If you need, for example, herring for the “Herring under a Fur Coat” salad, then 1.5 hours is enough, you just need to first cut it into the pieces that they should be in the dish.
Salted fish
Herring, Baltic herring, mackerel, and flounder are especially successful using this salting method, but it is also suitable for other types of fish.
Option #1
For 1 kg of fish you will need: up to 200 grams of salt, up to 40 grams of sugar.
Cut the fish into fillets, but leave the skin on, salt and sugar it. Place a layer of fish, skin side down, on baking paper, place a layer of chopped herbs on it (dill is best), cover with a layer of fillet (skin side up). Wrap the fish in baking paper, put it under a press and put it in the refrigerator.
Small fish will be ready in a few hours. Large fish will ripen the next day.
Option No. 2
Frozen fish (so it is easily separated from the skin and bones and cut thinly - 2 mm thick) cut and fold into layers in a plastic container, sprinkle the layers with ½ teaspoon of salt and sugar, sprinkle olive oil and lemon juice.
When the container is full, cover with cling film or foil and leave at room temperature for 3-4 hours. Lightly salted fish is ready!
It is advisable to salt the fish in small containers, and store the rest in the freezer, salting the next portion as needed.
You can also prepare lightly salted caviar.
Northern Stroganina
Of course, this is an amateur recipe, but raw fish you need to get used to it.
Salmon and trout are very delicate varieties of fish and do not require such a long salting; 3 to 5 hours are enough for them. Otherwise, they lose their taste and juiciness.
Cut frozen salmon, trout, and sterlet into thin slices, place on a dish, add salt, pepper, sprinkle with lemon juice and eat immediately before it melts.
Salted fish in Nanai style
Prepare the pickling mixture by taking salt and sugar in a 1:1 ratio.
Remove the skin from the fish, rub with the pickling mixture and leave for 6 hours.
Then separate the fillet from the bones, cut into portions, rinse with cold water and put in a jar. Pour in vegetable oil and leave for 20 days in a cool place.
You can add spices (bay leaf, pepper) to taste.
And finally, a few more recipes for home-salted fish.
Method No. 1
Prepare a not very strong brine. Place raw peeled potatoes in it. The potatoes will drown in the brine. Then add salt to the brine until the potatoes float. Place fish slices in brine for 2-3 days. If the fish is very salty, you need to soak it in water. Place the fish slices in a glass jar and add vegetable oil. Store it in a cool place
Method No. 2.
You can salt any fish this way, but herring, herring and mackerel are especially tasty using this recipe.
Gut the herring. Gut the herring and mackerel, cut off the heads, tails and fins, and then proceed as desired. You can prepare the fillet by removing the skin, freeing the fish from bones and ridges (add them to the rest of the waste and leave them on the ear). Cut the fillet into pieces.
You can simply cut the fish into portions without removing the skin.
Salt the prepared pieces to taste, mix with chopped rings or half rings onions, if desired, add fish seasonings and season everything with vegetable oil. Place tightly in a jar and put in the refrigerator.
Method No. 3
Defrost the fish, cut the fillet on both sides with a thin knife, rub the inside with a mixture of salt and pepper, fold the halves together and wrap tightly in a bag. Place in the refrigerator for a day. Then hang dry the fillet for 12 hours and you are ready to eat.
Snack “Five Minute”
This snack is especially suitable outdoors, at a picnic or at the cottage.
Peel the herring, wash it, cut the fillets. Cover the fillet with salt and leave for twenty minutes, during which time we build a fire.
Then rinse the fillet a little with water, place fresh poplar branches with leaves on the fire, and place pieces of fillet on the smoke coming from under the leaves.
We must try to ensure that the flame does not escape from under the leaves. Turn the fillet pieces several times over the course of 20-30 minutes.
Readiness is determined by color: if the fillet turns light brown, it is ready.
I really hope that you will definitely find recipes for homemade fish salting for yourself. This will be especially useful on the eve of the Nativity Fast and the upcoming New Year holidays.
Good luck in the kitchen and bon appetit!
Many people like the taste of salted fish, but the problem is that it is simply impossible to guess the degree of salting of the fish when buying it. Sometimes too salted fish simply seems unfit for consumption. There are several ways to correct the situation.
You will need
Empty container;
- milk, water or tea leaves.
Posting sponsor P&G Articles on the topic "How to make fish less salty" How to salt trout at home How to salt ram How to store salted fish
Instructions
Salted fish is one of the most popular delicacies among Russians. Fish is generally a very valuable and healthy product, and if you salt it, it acquires a richer and spicy taste. Many housewives use salted fish both as a main dish and as an additional ingredient that can be added to salads. You can easily salt fish at home, while saving money. However, a procedure such as salting takes a lot of time; in this case, lovers of salted fish go to the store.
Of course, any supermarket always has a large selection of salted fish for every taste. The most popular types of fish that are commercially available are salmon, mackerel, pink salmon, herring and sprat. Each of these fish is affordable and does not require additional processing. The only disadvantage of purchased salted fish may be that it is not always possible to guess the degree of salting of the product.
There are times when a buyer purchased salted fish, but it turned out to be so salty that it is simply impossible to eat. In such cases, it is not necessary to throw away the product, because there are quite popular and simple ways to how to make fish less salty.
Spicy-cured fish has its own unique flavor, but when you buy it at the store you can never predict whether it will be evenly salted or extremely salty. The latter can happen not only when the manufacturer uses a very large amount of salt, but even in this case, if the fish is on sale for a very long time. You can completely improve the situation and make the fish less salty by using products that can be easily found in the kitchen.
Before soaking the fish, wash the carcass under running water to remove excess salt from the skin. If the fish is large, for example herring or mackerel, gut it, remove the fins, head and tail, then cut it into portions. You can also fillet the fish, so the salt will leave it faster. Small fish are soaked completely. The caviar and milt of fish are usually even more salty than the fish itself, so if their future introduction is planned, the insides will also have to be soaked.
Place the cooked fish in a glass bowl and pour milk of any degree of fat content on top so that the very salty fish is completely covered on top. Milk will not only remove excess salt from the fish, but will also make it more tender. The type of fish does not affect the duration of the process.
If there is no milk, you can soak the salted fish in water or in a strong brew of dark tea, but this process will take longer than when using milk. In addition, the introduction of water, although it makes the fish less salty, also changes the taste itself, not for the better.
Place the container with the fish filled with liquid in the refrigerator for several hours. The saltier the fish, the longer the soaking period should be. You can leave the jar in the refrigerator overnight, then in the morning the fish will be free of excess salt. Do not soak the fish at room temperature, otherwise it may spoil.
If the fish has a very salty taste, a couple of hours after you start soaking it, drain the milk that has already absorbed the salt, wash the fish again and fill it with fresh milk.
At the end of the process, you need to remove the fish from the milk, wash it under water and place it on a paper napkin, which will collect excess water. The fish is ready to eat; to improve the taste, you can add a little vegetable oil to it when serving.
