Dried silver carp - a gourmet dish

Silver carp balyk at home: recipes

Not every dried fish can be called balyk. Large representatives of the aquatic depths, which have fewer bones and more meat, are suitable for this dish. Today we will prepare balyk from silver carp at home. It's simple: we salt the fish and then dry it, and as a result we get a delicacy. Ready?

How to make balyk from silver carp at home? In fact, there is nothing complicated about this, if, of course, you know the intricacies of such a culinary process. And experienced housewives will tell us about this:

• The middle of a fish carcass is suitable for balyk, since it contains more meat.
• Fish can be cut in different ways: only fillet or along with the ridge. In the latter case, you need to cut the silver carp crosswise.
• If the fish pieces are too thick, then they will not dry out enough inside, and this is already dangerous for our health. But remember that very small pieces are also undesirable, since they will dry out and the silver carp will not be juicy.
• Fish balyk can be prepared with or without skin. Who likes it how?
• Experienced chefs advise not to use sea and iodized salt for salting silver carp, as this does not have the best effect on the taste of the carp.
• Silver carp is salted in a mixture of table salt and granulated sugar. Based on the following proportions: 1 kg of fish – 10 tbsp. l. salt and 3 tbsp. l. granulated sugar.
• You can also use your favorite spices for pickling.

And yet, the taste of balyk is affected not only by the salting and soaking processes, but also by the drying time of the fish. The longer the silver carp is dried, the drier it will turn out.

We clean silver carp according to the rules

The taste and aesthetic appearance of the balyk also depend on how correctly the silver carp was cut. Follow this algorithm:

1. First you need to clean the scales from the fish. If you plan to remove the skin later, skip this step.
2. Then we cut off the silver carp's head, tail and fins. By the way, you can cook delicious fish soup from them.
3. Carefully cut the belly and take out the insides. To prevent silver carp balyk from becoming bitter, you need to carefully clean the dark-colored film.
4. Now wash the fish and dry it.
5. Using a sharp knife, remove the fish fillet. This is not difficult to do: we cut the fish near the ridge and separate it from the bones using short cutting movements. You need to move from the head towards the tail. We remove the fillet from the other side in the same way.
6. If you want to remove the skin, turn the fish over, meat side up, and remove the fillets.
7. Cut the fish crosswise into pieces about three centimeters thick.

Dry-cured silver carp balyk

There is nothing complicated in preparing dry-cured balyk from fish. We just need to stock up on the necessary spices and be patient, because this process is long. However, the result will definitely impress you.

Compound:

• 2 kg of silver carp;
• laurel leaves;
• 3 tbsp. l. coriander;
• 20 tbsp. l. table salt;
• 6 tbsp. l. granulated sugar;
• 2 tsp. ground black pepper;
• 100 g of mountain celery seeds.

Preparation:

1. First, prepare the fish as described above, rinse it with running water and cut it.
2. Let's prepare a mixture for salting silver carp: mix salt, granulated sugar, ground black pepper and coriander.
3. Chop the laurel leaves and add to the rest of the ingredients.
4. We will also send mountain celery seeds there. Mix everything well.
5. Divide the resulting mixture into three parts.
6. Place the first part in a deep container.
7. On top of it we distribute half of the fish pieces in one layer.
8. Now evenly lay out the second part of the salting mass, and on top - the remaining silver carp.
9. Cover the fish with the last of the salt and spice mixture.
10. Cover the container tightly with a lid and place the press. Place the fish in the refrigerator and wait six days.
11. After the specified period, remove the silver carp and clean it of spices and salt using a knife.
12. Place the fish in cold water for six hours and then dry it.
13. We pierce each piece of fish and pull a strong thread through the resulting hole.
14. We hang the silver carp over the sink and wait a day.
15. Then we move the fish to a cool, well-ventilated room for four days.
16. That's all: our silver carp balyk is ready.

Marinated fish - a delicious appetizer

Homemade marinated silver carp balyk, the recipe for which we will now look at, will be a real holiday appetizer. Of course, experienced chefs claim that real balyk must be dried, but we will not argue with them, because the main thing is the result. And believe me, he will exceed all your expectations.

Helpful Tips:

• You can salt a lot of fish and use only part of it for drying. This way you will always have fresh balyk for the table. Just remember that you can keep fish in dry brine for no longer than three weeks, and soaking it will take more time.
• To prevent dried silver carp from drying out, store it in the freezer. Before serving, defrost the fish in natural conditions.
• You can make delicious smoked fish balyk, but then the silver carp needs to be soaked longer so that it doesn’t turn out over-salted.

Source: https://LadySpecial.ru/kulinariya/kulinarnye-recepty/zakuski/balyk-iz-tolstolobika-v-domashnikh-usloviyakh-retsepty

Preparing spices

Before drying the flesh of the fish, it should be thoroughly marinated. To do this, the prepared pieces need to be sprinkled with salt and a mixture of spices. It is important that the mixture is dry, since during the marinating process the fish itself will release juice and form a natural brine.

Preparation of the mixture depends on the selected set of ingredients, options for which are suggested below. In any case, salt and sugar are mixed in a dry bowl. To add piquancy, it is recommended to prepare silver carp balyk with the addition of black peppercorns, crushed bay leaf and coriander. The latter spice gives a special taste and aroma to fish, so it is often used in many recipes.

Silver carp balyk

Silver carp is perfect for preparing balyk, a dish that is the salted and dried back part of a large fish. This appetizer turns out tender, moderately fatty and very appetizing.

This dish is not cheap in stores, so it is better to prepare silver carp balyk at home.

This process is quite complicated, however, if you follow the cooking technology and use useful tips, a delicious delicacy will definitely appear on your table.

Preparing the fish

How to make balyk from silver carp to please your family and surprise your guests with a delicious dish? The quality of the finished snack depends on the choice of the main product. For balyk, the most fresh and large silver carp is suitable. The carcass should not smell like mud.

Fish for balyk can be used either peeled or with skin. In the first case, it is enough to clean off the scales. The head, tail, and fins of the silver carp are cut off. These parts are put in the freezer to later prepare fish soup from them. Next, the abdomen is cut and completely gutted. It is important to remove the gallbladder intact, otherwise the contents will get on the meat and spoil it.

The dark film inside the belly, which can cause the fish to taste bitter, should also be removed.

All bones are removed from the cleaned silver carp. The carcass is washed and dried with napkins. The fish flesh is cut into large pieces. You can divide the silver carp into parts with skin and ridge, making transverse cuts. To cut especially large fish, it is more convenient to use a hatchet instead of a knife.

The chopped parts should not be too small, as during drying they will shrink and the silver carp balyk will turn out dry

Required:

• 3 kg of silver carp carcass;
• 100 g sugar;
• 700 g coarse salt;
• 3 bay leaves;
• 20 peas of allspice;
• 10 g coriander.

How to prepare salted fish

Step by step instructions.

1. Place half of the mixture of ingredients for pickling: sugar, salt and prepared spices at the bottom of a deep enamel, ceramic or glass dish.
2. Next, pieces of silver carp are placed.
3. The fish is covered with the remaining spices, distributing them evenly, and pressed down with pressure (for example, a board with a stone or a weight).
4. The container with silver carp is put in a cold place for 5 days.
5. After this time, the resulting liquid is drained.
6. The fish is washed by pouring cooled boiled water and leaving in a cool place for 5 hours. This should be done to remove excess salt from the pieces being cooked. You can place the fish under a thin stream of running water for 2-3 hours.

If you prefer saltier fish, the soaking time can be reduced to 3 hours

Drying silver carp

The soaked fish is dried with a paper towel and strung on a strong cord. If the room is cool in winter, you can hang silver carp at home. During warm periods, it is better to use a balcony for these purposes. Fish drys out most quickly in a draft.

To prevent insects from spoiling the product during the warm season, the silver carp must be covered with gauze and sprinkled with vinegar from a spray bottle on top. For this purpose, you can use nylon nets by placing the pieces inside. You should not hang fish in the hot sun, as it will quickly become too dry.

The recipe for silver carp requires drying for 3 days. After 2.5 days, you should check the readiness of the fish: if, when you press a finger on a piece, a greasy film remains on the skin, but the liquid does not flow out, you can try the delicacy. To get a drier snack, this period needs to be extended by 2 days.

Smoked balyk

If you have access to a smoking chamber, you can easily prepare delicious balyk. To do this, you will need a silver carp weighing 7 kg, 1.5 kg of salt and 150 g of granulated sugar.

The gutted fish is cut, placed in an enamel pan, sprinkled with a mixture of salt and sugar, placed under pressure and put in the refrigerator for 3 days. The salted pieces are soaked in water for 3 hours, then strung on wooden skewers and placed in a smokehouse or hung on a thick thread. The cooking temperature should not exceed 35 degrees.

The readiness of smoked balyk can be easily determined by its pleasant golden brown hue.

The following recommendations will help you prepare delicious silver carp balyk the first time. 1. The most delicious and tender balyk is obtained from large (more than 3 kg) fish.

2. To prepare balyk, it is better to take the central part of the carcass: this is where the most meat is.

3. If you come across a fish with the smell of mud, you can easily get rid of it by soaking the carcass in a vinegar solution (20 ml of vinegar per 1 liter of water). This measure will also remove parasites that may be contained in the abdomen of the silver carp.

4. The optimal size of pieces cut for salting is from 3 to 7 cm in thickness. Slices that are too thin will turn out dry and tasteless, and slices that are too thick will not be salted and may spoil.

5.To give the balyk a beautiful golden hue, as in the photo, you can add a tablespoon of turmeric or saffron to the salting container.

6. For salting, you should not use sea and iodized salt, as the taste of the finished product may deteriorate.

7.For drying, take as many pieces as you plan to eat in 4 days. This is how long you can store the finished balyk, pre-wrapped in parchment paper.

8. The remaining salted silver carp can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. This product can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.

9.The composition of spices can be changed at will, adding, for example, dry parsley, fennel, cumin.

If you prepare silver carp balyk correctly, it will be easy to cut into even slices. The dish is served on a flat plate, garnished with herbs and fresh vegetables.

Source: https://intellifishing.ru/kuhnya/balyk-tolstolobika

Preparing for baling

After thoroughly salting the fish for the specified time, remove the container from the refrigerator. The recipe for silver carp balyk at home involves washing pieces of pulp from brine under running water, but this procedure is not enough to effectively get rid of excess salt. It is recommended to leave the fish pieces in clean cold water for 4-6 hours, and the liquid needs to be changed from time to time. If silver carp is soaked for 4 hours, then the water must be drained from it at least twice.

After thoroughly soaking the fish, dry it and wipe it with a towel. You can leave the pieces suspended above the container for a while to drain excess water.

When the fish is completely ready, its pieces need to be strung on a fishing line or strong thread and hung to dry in a well-ventilated place. It is advisable that this room should not be too hot; depending on the weather, a balcony will work well. It is important to remember that in summer such a product must be protected from flies, so hanging pieces must be covered with several layers of loose, breathable fabric so that insects cannot lay larvae there and ruin many days of work.

The recipe for silver carp balyk provides for such drying for 2-3 days, but if the fish seems too wet, you can leave it in the air for some more time. It is important that the room is ventilated; if there is no natural draft, you will need to install a fan.

Silver carp balyk at home recipe

Not everyone knows how to make silver carp balyk. In this regard, we decided to devote this article to this culinary topic.

General information about the fish dish

Before I tell you how to prepare silver carp balyk (dry-cured), we should tell you what kind of dish it is. After all, not everyone has tried it, much less done it on their own.

Balyk is a dish consisting of the back of large fish that is salted and then air-dried.

As a rule, such a snack is made from valuable species of sea and river inhabitants (for example, beluga, chum salmon, stellate sturgeon, pink salmon and others).

Silver carp, the photo of which is presented in this article, is also excellent for homemade balyk. The appetizer made from it is very tender, with a pleasant specific aroma and taste.

Step-by-step video recipe

It should also be noted that some producers of smoked meat also call the meat along the spine of the animal balyk. This is due to the visual similarity of the product to a real fish snack.

Silver carp balyk: recipe for a flavorful snack

To make real balyk at home, there is no need to purchase a lot of spices and use expensive varieties of fish. All you need is:

• large fresh silver carp – approximately 3-5 kilograms;
• crushed rock salt - use at personal discretion.

Selection and processing of large fish

Silver carp balyk, the recipe for which we are considering, turns out very tasty and aromatic. This appetizer can be safely served at a festive table with alcoholic drinks. But before preparing this dish, you should choose the right main product. It should be as fresh and large as possible.

The purchased silver carp (you can see a photo of the finished dried snack below) must be cleared of scales, then the belly should be cut and completely gutted. In this case, it is highly recommended not to damage the gallbladder. Otherwise, the fish meat will be irrevocably spoiled.

After the ingredient is cleared of its entrails, all fins, tail and head must be cut off. Next, you need to peel off the skin of the silver carp and remove all the bones. As for the remaining pulp, it should be cut into pieces. Moreover, they should not be too small, since subsequently the fish will dry in the open air and noticeably decrease in size.

Pickling process

How to make balyk from silver carp? To do this, you need to take a glass, ceramic or enamel container, and then put the processed fillet into it in layers, alternating with crushed rock salt.

After all the components are in the container, they should be covered with a regular plate of smaller diameter, and then a jar of water or some other weight should be placed on it. In this form, the fish should remain in the refrigerator for about a week.

This time is enough for the silver carp to be well salted.

Product drying process

As mentioned above, silver carp balyk is a salted and subsequently dried snack that has a delicate texture, pleasant taste and aroma.

After the fish is salted, it must be removed from the general container and soaked in cold (preferably spring or filtered) water. Moreover, you should take as many pieces as you plan to eat.

The rest of the salted fillet can be safely placed back in the refrigerator. It can be stored in this form for up to 3 weeks.

After the fish has been soaked in water (for six to seven hours) and some of the salt has been removed, it must be dried with paper towels and hung in a ventilated area. A tasty and aromatic silver carp balyk will be ready in about three or four days. If you want to get a more dried snack, then the drying time can be increased by another 1-2 days.

How should it be served correctly?

The prepared silver carp balyk must be cut into thin pieces and placed on a flat plate. In this form, the appetizer should be immediately presented to guests.

If the dish is left over after a feast, it is recommended to wrap it in cling film and store it in the refrigerator for no longer than 3 days. By the way, some housewives cannot correctly calculate the amount of snacks and make too much of it. In this case, the balyk should be placed in a bag and frozen. As needed, fillet pieces can be removed and thawed at room temperature.

Silver carp fish: recipes for various dishes

If you purchased such fish, but would not like to make balyk out of it, then we offer several other recipes. For example, smoked silver carp or baked with potatoes and other vegetables are very tasty. We will tell you how to make the mentioned snack and a full hot lunch right now.

How to smoke silver carp?

If you are the happy owner of a smoking chamber, then you can easily make delicious smoked fish at home. For this you will need:

• large fresh silver carp – approximately five to seven kilograms;
• fine granulated sugar – use as desired;
• crushed rock salt – use as desired.

Product processing

How to cook silver carp deliciously? To do this, you just need to smoke it. But before subjecting the fish to such treatment, it must be cleaned of scales, entrails, fins, and the tail and head removed. Next, the silver carp needs to be washed and cut into transverse pieces along with the skin.

Ingredient marinating

To make smoked fish as tasty and aromatic as possible, it should be marinated beforehand. To do this, the processed pieces need to be placed in an enamel or glass container, and then seasoned with salt and sugar. Finally, the fish must be placed under pressure and kept in the refrigerator for about 3 days.

Drying silver carp

After the product has been pickled, it must be soaked in cold water (for 3 hours) so that all excess salt is removed. If necessary, you can taste the snack. Next, the pieces of fish need to be placed on skewers and placed in a well-ventilated room (possibly above a fan). In this form, silver carp should be dried for 72 hours.

Fish smoking process

Having achieved partial drying of the silver carp, the pieces of fish need to be placed in the smokehouse. The temperature in this device should not be higher than 30-35 degrees. The smoking time for the snack depends on your personal desire. So, some cooks hold the fish until it acquires a light golden color. Although you can cook it until it turns light brown.

After the silver carp is completely prepared, it must be removed, cooled and immediately presented to the table along with the bread. Enjoy your meal!

Bake fish in the oven

Silver carp baked with vegetables will serve as an excellent hot dish for any holiday table. To make sure of this, we suggest making such a lunch yourself. For this you will need:

• small silver carp - 1-2 kilograms;
• medium potatoes - 4 pieces;
• carrots and leeks - use as desired;
• fresh lemon – 1 small;
• salt and other aromatic spices - use at discretion;
• mayonnaise is not very fatty - about 100 grams.

Preparing Ingredients

To make such a dish, you should alternately process the fish and all the vegetables.

First you need to remove the scales, entrails, head and fins of the silver carp, and then wash it thoroughly and cut it into steaks (you can cut it in half lengthwise). Next you need to start preparing the vegetables.

They should be peeled and then cut into not very thick circles. You need to do the same with lemon.

Forming the dish correctly

After processing the ingredients, you should immediately begin to formulate lunch. To do this, you need to grease the pieces of fish with mayonnaise in advance, and also season them with salt and other spices.

As for vegetables, they must be placed on thick cooking foil in the following sequence: carrots, potatoes and leeks. Next, the ingredients need to be sprinkled with salt and covered with a layer of fish pieces. Finally, it is recommended to place thin slices of fresh lemon on the silver carp.

After this, all products should be wrapped in culinary foil and the resulting package should be placed in a baking dish.

Heat treatment process in the oven

After the dish is formed, it must be placed in a hot oven. It is recommended to bake silver carp with vegetables for 45-48 minutes at a temperature of 210 degrees. During this short period of time, the fish, potatoes, carrots and onions should be well cooked, soft and very tasty.

We present it correctly to the festive table

Silver carp baked with vegetables turns out incredibly aromatic, tender and tasty. After heat treatment, the dish should be removed from the oven and then placed on a plate. It is recommended to serve ready-made lunch to the table with slices of bread, as well as plenty of fresh herbs.

Let's sum it up

As you can see, silver carp can be prepared in different ways. Some people make balyk out of it, some smoke it, and some even bake it in the oven along with vegetables. Among other things, you can safely make rich fish soup from such fish, or you can fry it in a frying pan. In any case, dishes made from fresh silver carp turn out very tasty, aromatic and satisfying.

If you decide to stew or fry such a product with oil, then it is recommended to serve it along with a side dish of buckwheat porridge, boiled rice or mashed potatoes.

Source: https://gcook.ru/balyk-iz-tolstolobika-v-domashnih-usloviyah-recept.html

Product sets

Detailed instructions on how to make balyk from silver carp at home are described above; all that remains is to list the possible sets of products for this process and their required quantity for a certain weight of fish. For example, it is best to take 2 carcasses of 3 kg each. After cutting the fish, approximately 4 kg of pure pulp will remain, from which balyk will be prepared.

The simplest recipe involves salting this amount of fish with only 1 kilogram of salt and 200 grams of sugar. Before hanging, it is recommended to grease fish marinated with this brine with vegetable oil, but not too much.

Of course, the recipe is the simplest, but the taste of such balyk will be dull. The best recipes always contain spicy spices, thanks to the addition of which the amount of salt and sugar is reduced. So, for a similar amount of fish you can take:

• sugar – 120 g;
• salt – 750 g;
• turmeric – 4 tbsp. l.;
• coriander – 2 tbsp. l.;
• allspice and black peppercorns, 2 tsp each;
• medium sized bay leaves - 4 pieces.

You can also prepare balyk without adding turmeric, which will certainly give the final product a characteristic color. To do this you will need:

• sugar – 20 g;
• bay leaf – 2 pieces;
• salt – 125 g;
• black peppercorns – 5 pieces;
• coriander – 1.5 teaspoons.

Silver carp balyk at home: recipes for dry-dried and marinated fish

You are here: » Cooking » Snacks » Silver carp balyk at home: recipes for dry-cured and marinated fish

Not every dried fish can be called balyk. Large representatives of the aquatic depths, which have fewer bones and more meat, are suitable for this dish. Today we will prepare balyk from silver carp at home. It's simple: we salt the fish and then dry it, and as a result we get a delicacy. Ready?

Let's learn the subtleties of culinary art

How to make balyk from silver carp at home? In fact, there is nothing complicated about this, if, of course, you know the intricacies of such a culinary process. And experienced housewives will tell us about this:

• The middle of a fish carcass is suitable for balyk, since it contains more meat.
• Fish can be cut in different ways: only fillet or along with the ridge. In the latter case, you need to cut the silver carp crosswise.
• If the fish pieces are too thick, then they will not dry out enough inside, and this is already dangerous for our health. But remember that very small pieces are also undesirable, since they will dry out and the silver carp will not be juicy.
• Fish balyk can be prepared with or without skin. Who likes it how?
• Experienced chefs advise not to use sea and iodized salt for salting silver carp, as this does not have the best effect on the taste of the carp.
• Silver carp is salted in a mixture of table salt and granulated sugar. Based on the following proportions: 1 kg of fish - 10 tbsp. l. salt and 3 tbsp. l. granulated sugar.
• You can also use your favorite spices for pickling.

And yet, the taste of balyk is affected not only by the salting and soaking processes, but also by the drying time of the fish. The longer the silver carp is dried, the drier it will turn out.

Preparing the fish

The preparation of this delicious dish should begin with the selection of the main ingredient. The best carcass for balyk is a fish weighing 2-3 kg. Before making balyk from silver carp, you can purchase or catch several fish yourself at once, since they will be stored for a long time after cooking. There is also no point in being afraid that such a delicacy will spoil because the product will not leave anyone indifferent and will be an ideal addition to potatoes or just a snack to go with foam.

So, fresh fish must be gutted, freed from films, fins and heads. Silver carp balyk is prepared in pieces, so the carcasses should also be deboned and chopped.

The fish pulp remaining on the bones and fins after separation should not be thrown away. This will be an excellent basis for the fish soup along with the previously cut off head. The fatty belly of the fish should also be included here, after cutting it off. If desired, you can prepare balyk from silver carp without skin, but it is not necessary to cut it off; it will not spoil the taste of the final dish.

Silver carp balyk at home

You can easily prepare excellent fish balyk, which is often unreasonably expensive in stores, at home in just 8 days. These two recipes will serve as your basis, and your imagination in using spices will make this product even tastier.

How to make dry-dried balyk from silver carp at home - recipe

Ingredients:

• silver carp – 6 kg;
• water – 4 l;
• salt – 250 g;
• bay leaf – 4 leaves;
• allspice – 7 peas;
• peppercorns – 10 peas.

Preparation

It is better to choose larger fish weighing from 3 kg, since up to this weight the silver carp practically does not gain fat and the balyk will turn out to be very dry. The second main question in choosing a silver carp for balyk is to check its smell, not for freshness, but in general for foreign odor, since it often smells like mud, and such silver carp is not suitable for balyk.

Wash the fish well and remove scales, cut off all the fins, tail and head. Afterwards, carefully make an incision along the belly and pull out the insides, being careful not to tear them until they are completely removed from the fish.

Then, unfolding the fish from the inside, cut the ribs at the junction with the ridge with a sharp small hatchet.

Turn the fish over and, using a sharp knife along the ridge on both sides, separate the back from the upper bones of the ridge, then carefully use a knife to separate both halves of the silver carp in the place of the previously chopped ribs. Thus, you have two halves with ribs and a separate silver carp backbone.

Weigh both halves of the fish, add to the weight of the water used for the brine and now you can accurately determine how much salt you need. For every kilogram of total weight of fish and water, you should put 35 g of salt in the brine. After this, combine spices and salt in water, then boil the brine and, after cooling, pour in the future balyk.

In this mixture, silver carp should stand for 4 to 6 days in the refrigerator. After this, the fish must be dried and hung to dry overnight with the fan turned on. And by the morning the balyk will be covered with a light crust, so to speak, it will set. After this, it will be possible to dry it for another 3 days without a fan.

Indicators of readiness are a good crust, the appearance of droplets of fat on the crust and the amber color of the balyk when viewed through the light.

Delicious homemade salted balyk made from silver carp

Ingredients:

• silver carp – 3 kg;
• granulated sugar – 90 g;
• salt – 700 g;
• bay leaf - 3 leaves;
• allspice – 10 peas;
• peppercorns – 15 peas;
• turmeric – 3 tbsp. spoons;
• coriander – 1 tbsp. spoon.

Preparation

Completely prepare the fish by washing, cleaning and cutting the silver carp so that you have two pieces of fillet. These two pieces can be divided in half, but this is just for convenience when salting. Mix all other ingredients and sprinkle this mixture onto the bottom of the container in which the salting will take place.

Place the fillet on top and cover it again with salt and spices; you can do it in several layers, making sure to sprinkle each one. Set the pressure and leave it in the coolest place for 5 days. Afterwards, wash the fish and soak it in cold water for 6 hours, after which you can dry it and hang it out to dry.

Source: https://womanadvice.ru/balyk-iz-tolstolobika-v-domashnih-usloviyah

Delicious salted fish with your own hands

• Cleaning.

We deal with fish in the standard way - we clean it of scales and entrails. You need to clean thoroughly so that no trace of blood or films remains.

• Cutting.

Now we need to separate the fillet from the bones. Cut off the fish's head, tail and fins. Using a sharp knife, make an incision along the back along the dorsal fin. Pressing the knife against the bones, carefully cut the meat from the bones (you can cook fish soup from the head and spine).

Next, remove the skin from the fillet; to do this, we undermine the edge from the side of the head and pull the skin towards the tail with our right hand, holding the fillet with our left hand. With a little practice, this can be done in one motion. We cut off the thin meat on the tummy; it can be used for other purposes, but we need the meatiest part. Salt. For salting we use a mixture of salt (plain rock salt, not iodized) and sugar; for 1 kg of fish we need a mixture of 10 tbsp. salt and 2 tbsp. Sahara.

At the bottom of the container (not aluminum, I salt in plastic tightly closed containers that do not allow the fishy smell to linger in the refrigerator) in which we will salt, pour salt to cover the bottom, put the fish and sprinkle salt on top. If you salt a lot of fish, you can layer the fish and salt.

The fish is salted for 5-6 days in the refrigerator. During this time, brine is formed - a strong salt solution formed due to the hygroscopicity of salt and moisture released from the fish. We don’t drain it; our balyk will be salted in it.

• Soaking

After this time, we take out our balyk and rinse it with water. Then we put it in clean and cold water for as many hours as the number of days it was salted. But here it is also important how much salted fish you like, I soaked it less than normal.

Drying. After soaking, squeeze the balyk from the water, dry it with a napkin and hang it in a well-ventilated place for 3-4 days.

The time depends on the temperature and humidity of the room, as well as on the thickness of the meat and the desired dryness of the balyk. So here you need to observe for yourself... I dried it in the kitchen opposite the window, it is always slightly open, due to which there are constant flows of air, warm from the kitchen, and cold from the balcony.

Cooking features

This species differs from other representatives of the cyprinid family by its rather wide upper part of the head, which is how the fish got its name. Silver carp lives in fresh water and can reach a length of up to a meter and a weight of 5 kilograms or more. Its meat not only has a pleasant taste, but also contains a lot of useful components.

Advice

When salting fish, most vitamins and microelements are preserved, however, this product should not be overused. If you are bothered by the smell characteristic of river fish, then you can eliminate it by first soaking the silver carp in a solution with the ratio: 1 tbsp. salt or vinegar per 1 liter of water.

Give preference to large carcasses. Use regular, non-iodized coarse salt. It is better if the container used for cooking is enamel or glass. You can also take plastic containers. The product perfectly retains its beneficial properties and taste and can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 60 days.

Note to the hostess

• If you have salted a lot of fish, take out as many pieces for drying as you can eat in the near future. Keep the rest in the refrigerator, but no more than three weeks. Please note that such fish will need to be soaked much longer.
• To prevent the finished balyk from drying out, it can be stored in the freezer. Before using, simply defrost it at room temperature.
• Pieces of fish fully prepared for drying make delicious smoked balyk. But fish for smoking must be well soaked, otherwise it will be over-salted.
• Before serving silver carp balyk, it is cut into thin slices and beautifully laid out on a plate.