Dried carp: how to cook

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Drying fish consists of three stages - s alting, soaking and drying. It should not be forgotten that without heat treatment it can be hazardous to he alth, so it is important to comply with the deadlines. In order for the parasites in the fish to die, it is necessary to keep it in brine for 9 to 14 days.

Carp is a popular fish among the people, and more often they make fish soup or fry it, but you can also make dried carp.

Preparing fish

Before s alting, the carcass must be properly prepared. It is desirable that the carp be fresh, ideally caught with your own hands. Large carp must be gutted, head, gills and tail removed, scaled and washed out of mucus. When removing the viscera, it is important not to damage the gallbladder.

Cutting fish caught with one's own hands in the summer should be done immediately. To prevent the carp from spoiling while the fishing process is in progress, you need to put nettles in a container with fish. In winter, it is butchered upon arrival home with the catch.

Dry s alting

For s alting you will need coarse s alt or sea s alt. Small and iodizedfits. Grind 3 is best, grind 1 as a last resort.

In addition to s alt, you can use other seasonings, such as a mixture of peppers and bay leaves.

For dry, choose a container that has slots so that the liquid can drain. It can be a wooden box, a barrel or a basket. The bottom of the container is covered with burlap or cotton cloth. The fish is laid in rows - head to tail, bellies up - and each layer wakes up with s alt. S alt is not put inside the gutted carcasses, otherwise you can overs alt. Carps are covered with a wooden lid, a load (stone) is placed on top so that there are no cavities with air in the fish pulp, and they are cleaned in a cold place. For 10 kg of fish, one and a half kilograms of s alt will be required. S alting time depends on the weight of the carp. Readiness can be determined by the elasticity of the pulp. On average, it will take about 10 days. This method is used mainly in the warm season.

Fishermen came up with the idea of s alting fish in bags buried in the ground to a depth of a meter.

Wet s alting

Utensils for wet s alting fish should not oxidize. It can be a glass or plastic container: a tank, a saucepan, a bucket, etc. A container made of technical plastic is not suitable. Carps are placed in a container with their bellies up, sprinkled with s alt at the rate of 1 kg of s alt per 10 kg of fish. S alt can be mixed with a tablespoon of sugar to make the fish taste more tender. A wooden circle is placed on the fish, a load is placed on it. As a lid, you can use a flat plate, a lid from a pan, etc. A brine begins to form in the container - brine,and in one or two days it completely covers the fish carcasses.

You can s alt carp in a wet way in another way. Prepare brine from water and s alt, pour the carcasses with this brine, cover with a lid on top and set oppression. This option is better for smaller fish than big carp.

Washing and soaking

After s alting, rinse with cold tap water, then soak for several hours to rid the fish of excess s alt. The time is determined as follows: for one day of s alting - an hour of soaking. Depending on personal taste, the time can be changed.

After the fish has been thoroughly rinsed under running water, it is rinsed in the sink. The water after each rinse is changed until it is clean.

When the fish is soaked for several hours, the water must be changed periodically. The more fish, the more water should be.

After washing, you can roll the fish in s alt mixed with aspirin, the amount of which is 2% of the s alt.

How to dry fish at home

After the fish has been soaked, it is hung up to dry in the shade in a draft. It is better to dry the carp in the open air, protecting it from flies and other insects with a net or gauze. Carcasses should hang under a canopy so that precipitation does not fall on them. The best time to dry outdoors is spring and autumn when there are no flies.

In winter, you can dry fish in the apartment by equipping a special place in the kitchen for this.

At different times of the year, carp will dry differently.

In the summer, you can equip a dryer in the garage by pulling the ropes and hanging the carcasses. Draft can be provided with a fan. If the fish is to be dried outdoors, it is best to hang it up in the evening when the flies are gone. In the morning, the fish will “grab” and the insects will no longer sit on it.

It is impossible to dry the fish outside in winter, so you have to do it at home. It is best to choose a place near the window and the radiator. Carcasses are hung by the tail (so that excess s alt is in the head) on paper clips with insulation. They should not be in contact with each other, otherwise they will not dry well.

Duration of carp drying depends on many things: time of year, conditions (indoors, outdoors), climate, weather conditions, fish size.

To what condition to bring the fish depends on individual taste. Some people like it drier, others underdone, so the surest way to determine readiness is to take samples. On average, carp takes two to three weeks to dry.

How to store

You need to know not only how to dry fish at home, but also how to store it.

Dried carp should be ventilated during storage. It is removed in boxes with holes or chips are laid between the carcasses.

Humidity in the room should not be higher than 80%, otherwise the carp will be covered with mold, and below 65% - in this case the fish will be too dry.

You can save dried carp in other ways: in the freezer in a plastic bag, in paper inrefrigerator on the bottom shelf. In the freezer in a bag without air access, the fish is stored for a very long time - up to 6-12 months.

Dried carp is a great snack for beer or an ingredient for cooking other dishes.