Mackerel is one of the most delicious fish. Due fatty mackerel meat is ideal for pickling. And the cooking process is so simple that it is practically impossible to spoil the product. Knowing how salted mackerel in the home, the owner can not only save money from the family budget, but also to please their home tasty and healthy dishes.

How to choose the right fish for salting

Popularity of mackerel due to its tender and juicy meat, containing high amounts of vitamins Vitamins for everyone Minerals and unsaturated fatty acids. Mackerel can be cooked in different ways, and salting - one of the most popular ways of cooking.

For the pickling solution to both fresh and frozen mackerel. Fresh mackerel should be light fishy smell. The main indicator of its freshness are bright, uncomplicated, slightly bulging eyes, so it is better to buy fish from the head. The body of the fish must be resilient: after pressing a finger dent should disappear quickly. Skin fresh mackerel gray What color goes gray: a diverse and versatile   no yellowing and no damage. The fins are pressed to the body.

By the appearance of frozen mackerel same requirements as for fresh fish. In addition, the body of frozen mackerel should be smooth, without distortion, and a layer of ice - evenly, as a glaze, cover the entire carcass.

Classical methods of salting

Before salted mackerel in the home, it must be gut, remove the head with scissors to cut off the fins and tail. At the same time it is easier to cut frozen fish if you do not defrost it to the end. Be sure to remove the dark film lining the abdominal cavity of the fish. If you do not, then after cooking mackerel will taste bitter. In order to keep the fat on the abdomen, it is possible to cut back on Mackerel rather than the abdomen.

At home, use a dry and tuzluchny (in brine) ambassador. In the dry salting prepared fish is placed in a glass or enamel bowl, pour salt and put under the yoke. It is necessary to remove excess air from the fish meat and give a higher density.

Two or three hours salted fish should stand at room temperature to rapidly absorb salt. Then clean it in the refrigerator for several days. Fish secrete fluid must be drained periodically.

When tuzluchnom brining prepare brine consisting of water, sugar and salt. Sugar is needed to give a mild taste of mackerel. Its amount should be about half the amount of salt. Cold brine, pour the fish stacked in a glass or enamel container and put them in the refrigerator for several days. If the brine does not cover the carcass completely, several times a day to roll over their uniform salting.

What you need to know about the salted mackerel

Salting process is that the salt pulls mackerel excess water and impregnates the body of the fish. The whole process should take place at a reduced temperature - less than twenty degrees centigrade. This is because at high temperatures the fish can become rancid. So after salting it is removed in a cool place. In the context of the city - in the refrigerator, in the countryside is well suited cellar.

Use only the dishes are not susceptible to oxidation - glass, plastic or enamel. If there is nothing suitable, it can be used for salting in brine, even plastic bottle of sufficient width to cut the neck.

For home salting is better to use non-iodized salt is normal. This is due to the fact that the presence of iodides in salt mackerel may darken. The taste of fish presence of iodine will not be affected, but the appearance is spoiled.

Dry salting salt can be used as small and large salting. The difference is that the dissolution of coarse salt requires a large amount of water, it is advantageously extends from the body mackerel. But due to greater dehydration fish stored longer. Salt finely ground to cope with the function of dehydration worse. The presence of water in the tissues can lead to rapid decay of fish, mackerel, so this can be stored as well as saline via coarse salt.

Salted mackerel is possible as whole carcasses and fillets or pieces. Salting principle remains the same, but reduced the time required to complete salting. So, if the whole fish will be ready in two or three days, the qualitative salting fillet required day, and the fish, pickled slices, you can try to just five hours.

Keep salty mackerel should be in the refrigerator, the bay its sunflower oil, no more than five days. If long storage is not planned, the carcass may simply coat with butter and wrap in greaseproof paper. It is not recommended to store salted mackerel in the freezer, because the consistency of the subsequent thawing meat becomes soft and watery.

The secret to a variety of tastes

For a stronger flavor and taste of the disclosure in pickling of mackerel in the home add a bay leaf, black pepper. For more piquant spicy flavor add peas allspice, cloves, coriander. You can add a pickle sliced ​​onions.

To get the desired color of smoked mackerel in brine add onion peel and black tea. Onion skin can be replaced by turmeric. It will also give the fish a golden yellow color What color is combined yellow: Armed and Fabulous . And if you add in brine smoked prunes, the fish will become a light smoked flavor.

Also, to achieve the smoked flavor seasoning can be used "liquid smoke." You must know that it is not very useful for the organism due to harmful substances. But the content of carcinogens in liquid smoke is several times less than is contained in this smoke for smoking. Therefore, every woman for herself must decide whether to use liquid smoke or not.

Maria Bykov

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