Striped robbers? Pike? Good pike perch? It doesn’t matter what you caught, what’s important is that if you decide to take your catch home with you, what should you do with it? Today we will tell you what to do with it, and how to do it without smelling so that your wife doesn’t kick you out of the house.
How to dry fish at home
Friends, first of all, after you have caught perch or other fish for drying, you must not only determine the place where all this action will unfold, but also prepare in advance what will help. Otherwise, you may get not only a low-quality product, but also problems from your wife (since the unpleasant smell will spread at a catastrophic speed).
That is why we have prepared this article in which we will talk about each individual stage. From preparing the “tools” and salting, to checking the readiness of the fish.
How long to keep fish in salt before drying
In order to correctly answer this question, we will first consider step by step the instructions, which are recognized as the simplest and most accessible, without frills, subtleties and super secrets.
So, in fact, we answered the question - how long to salt fish for drying.
How long does it take to dry fish?
First, before you find out the answer to this question, let's take a closer look at the entire process of “cooking” dried fish. From the selection of necessary materials to the right choice of location.
What do we need. First of all, a thin cord or twine. You can even use wire. To pass the selected type of cord through the heads of fish without any problems, you will need either a nail or an awl. By the way, don’t forget about matches or toothpicks, which you can use to open the fish from the inside for better ventilation.
Where will we dry it? This is one of the main points, since this cannot be done everywhere. In general, there are three main requirements for a fish spawning site:
- During the day there should be shade there;
- Most of the time there is a draft;
- The place should be protected from rain and free of flies.
The ideal place is a summer veranda at the dacha. However, if there is no dacha, then as an option you can use a balcony or a non-residential room in the apartment. You can dry it on stretchers, as described above, or you can dry it on a clothes dryer or in a vegetable dryer. You can dry fish in the summer, but drying fish in winter is also not a problem. The main thing is to correctly follow the step-by-step instructions.
Step-by-step instruction. Now let's get down to the process itself.
- Take the carcass and shake off the salt. To make it less salty (this is not for everybody), you can put it in boiling water for a couple of seconds.
- Using a cord or wire, depending on what you choose, we connect the fish through the eye sockets or through the gill slits. The main thing is that the fish is not placed tightly. This is necessary for free air circulation and water evaporation.
- We hang the “garlands” in the place that we have chosen in advance and cover them with gauze to prevent flies. Let me remind you that this is the simplest and most popular method. Some aesthetes spray just a little vinegar so that it repels flies and wasps, which are drawn to salted fish like honey. But this is optional, you can limit yourself to just gauze.
How long to dry? And now to the main question - how long should the fish dry?
If you turn to the Internet, you can come across completely different terms, from 2-3 days to 2-3 weeks... The terms vary due to several parameters, such as size, salting period, fat content, etc. However, the most important parameter, as experts say in this matter, is heat. Drying on it is strictly not recommended. Since the meat will be dry, hard and unpleasantly bitter. That's why they try to find a middle ground.
How to persuade your wife to dry fish in the apartment?
If you don’t have a summer house, don’t have a balcony, but have a lot of perch that you want to dry - dry it! Just make an agreement with your wife in advance. We are not calling for stretching “garlands” throughout the apartment, but you can highlight a corner... A small one... The main thing here is diplomacy. Therefore, here are some pros for drying your fish.
- Dried fish is a rich source of calcium, and many articles have been written about its benefits.
- Omega-3 acid found in fish can lift not only men but also women out of depression.
- According to French scientists, dried fish helps improve memory, still thanks to Omega-3 acid.
- The same scientists published a report that eating dried fish will help avoid the occurrence of many cardiovascular diseases.
- And most importantly, dried fish is a delicious delicacy served with a foamy drink. Many people know about this.
How to check dried fish for doneness?
Did you follow the recipe? Have you checked every step? Now the main thing is to correctly check the degree of readiness. Here are some tips for you.
- The structure of the fish should be visible in the light.
- The salt should not come out.
- The meat should not be excessively dry, but also excessively moist.
Video: How to dry fish at home
What recipes do you know?
It is very possible to prepare dried fish at home; you just need to follow a few rules and you will get a surprisingly tasty product that will add variety to your table. And, of course, this article is also suitable for beer lovers.
You can dry fish in the garden, at the dacha, on the balcony of your apartment if it does not face the main street, or in the attic. Of course, drying at home is not an entirely simple matter, but if you follow the recommendations and as you gain some experience and skills, it will turn out no worse, and maybe many times better, than store-bought dried fish.
What features give dried fish a unique aroma, appetite and taste? When drying fish, the meat matures. The whole secret lies in the amazing changes in adipose and protein tissue, in the impregnation of this tissue with fat, the appearance of a unique and slightly pungent aroma, an amazing elastic consistency, a pleasant, eye-catching amber color and an incredibly piquant, unmistakable taste. The caviar inside and soaked in this aromatic fat is especially delicious. This correspondence of quality to its appearance is obtained due to the fact that the fish is not gutted before drying and is salted sparingly. The correct positioning of the fish during drying is also important. Irradiation by direct sunlight at a not very high temperature (up to 23 degrees) allows you to dry the fish to perfect condition.
Dried fish is good because it does not require additional cooking, is well preserved for a long time and is an excellent snack that can be consumed in any conditions: both on a hike and at the holiday table.
What kind of fish can be dried at home?
You can take both fresh and frozen (thawed) fish. It is recommended to buy sprat, mackerel, herring, herring, sea bass, sprat, flounder, sea crucian carp, barbul, croaker, horse mackerel, scap, sardines, halibut, capelin, Argentina, bessugo, butterfish. Other types of fish are also suitable, for example, hake, hake, but dried fish will not have all the flavor of dried fish. Of the listed fish species, such species as herring, sprat, halibut, horse mackerel, herring, sardines and flounder should not be stored for future use, as they are not durable and can retain high quality at room temperature for 3-5 days and up to 20 - ten days in the refrigerator. The remaining listed types can be stored in a dried state for up to 3 months at room temperature and up to 6 months in the refrigerator.How to select fish for drying
It should not be very large, carcasses up to one kilogram. The exception is small fish - sprat, herring, anchovy, sprat. It is necessary to make sure that the fish is fresh and that there is no smell of oil or medicine. The abdominal walls should be intact and strong. All this is checked by pre-cooking a couple of specimens of the selected fish and then testing it. For drying, fish does not need to be gutted, cut, or cleaned.How to process frozen fish
It needs to be thawed at room temperature so that it is not exposed to sunlight or exposed to a draft for 8-10 hours (it all depends on the size), and be careful not to weaken the abdominal walls. During thawing, the meat will ripen under the action of enzymes, and the subcutaneous glands will completely release mucus to the surface of the skin. After this, the fish is washed under running water, thoroughly cleaning the gill arches from accumulated mucus. Set the fish aside for 20-30 minutes to drain and salt.Salting process
To prepare the solution (the so-called brine), you need to dissolve 350 g of table salt in each liter of water and let it sit for clarity. You can use brine left after salting herring or other fish. It’s a good idea to use brine from jars with specially salted herring in jars. Dishes for placing fish - it can be ceramic, enamel, wood or stainless steel. A strong saline solution is poured into it at the rate of 1 liter per 3 kilograms of fish. The fish are placed in dense rows with their bellies facing up. Additionally sprinkle it with salt. It is better to take coarse salt, and do not use table salt, which can “burn” the fish. The approximate dosage of salt (not counting brine) is 120 g of salt per kilogram of fish. The amount of salt must be increased by 15-20% with each row. I would like to draw the attention of MirSovetov readers that if there are fish of different sizes, then the largest carcasses are placed on the bottom, and the smaller ones are placed on top. Sprinkle the very top with a half-centimeter layer of salt. Close the lid on top and apply pressure at the rate of 150 g per kilogram of fish.
It is necessary to carefully monitor the salting and learn to stop this process in time so as not to spoil the fish. The speed of salting varies significantly and depends on the size, thickness, fat content and degree of permeability of the skin of the fish. First you need to focus on the following parameters:
- herring or mackerel weighing up to 400 g and at a temperature of about 20 degrees is salted in 2-3 days;
- fattier fish, for example, halibut up to 3 kilograms - in 8 days;
- small fish, like sprat or sprat - in just 30-60 minutes.
- When you press your finger on thick parts of the fish, for example on the back, a hole remains if the fish is salted. And the hole is leveled if the fish is undersalted. In addition, when palpating under-salted fish, some springiness of the meat is felt.
- After removing the fish from the brine, try to stretch it by holding its head and tail and listen. In salted fish, the vertebrae will crunch; in under-salted fish, the stretching will occur silently, which means that the salt has not yet penetrated the vertebrae.
When you gain experience, you will be able to pull the fish out of the brine a little earlier than the specified time. During the subsequent aging of the fish between the end of salting and soaking, the salt is leveled, passing from the surface and middle layers deep into the body. At the same time, the fish turns out to be more lightly salted and aromatic.
After the fish is taken out of the brine, it needs to rest for up to half a day. This depends on its size, degree of salinity and ambient temperature. Large and fatty fish, all other things being equal, should be kept a little longer to even out the salt throughout the entire thickness of the carcass.
Soaking process
The next step is soaking in fresh and cold water. The water should completely cover the fish. It is impossible to give the exact timing for soaking salted fish. This requires some experience, which is acquired over time. As a rule, this time ranges from an hour to half a day.Even if, in your opinion, the fish does not contain excess salt, it should still be soaked in fresh water to desalinate the surface layers of the meat, otherwise the finished fish will become damp. If you salted large, fatty fish, then it takes much longer to soak it. In order not to spoil the product, do not soak the carcasses continuously - give it a rest so that the salt from the deep areas can move to the external ones. For example, a fish has been lying in fresh water for about 4 hours, and it needs to be allowed to “rest” for the same amount of time. Repeat this procedure up to 3 times and make sure that the integrity of the abdominal walls is not compromised.
Where and how to dry fish
The salting process is complete and you can now hang the fish for drying. Twine, slats with nails driven in, cleaning rods, and clothesline will do. If the fish is very small, it is dried on a net stretched over a frame. It must be placed at a height of up to one and a half meters above ground level. Where and how to dry fish depends on the time of year, the climate of the area, weather conditions and the size of the fish. The best time is April - early June. For the northern regions and Siberia, this is mid-summer. It is advisable that the air temperature is kept within 20 degrees and the air humidity is not very high. Short rains are not a problem, as you can temporarily put the fish indoors or under a canopy.
If the fish has not yet had time to dry or the fish is still too wet, then it can “cook” in the sun, and especially fatty fish can melt and leak fat. It is best to place such fish under awnings, awnings, in the attic or in the shade of the house. You can recognize the completion of the drying process by the specific aroma emanating and by touch.
If weather conditions (low temperature and high humidity) do not allow hanging the fish in the air, then you can resort to drying the fish indoors, i.e. in the kitchen, glassed-in balcony or attic. It’s good if you can arrange a small draft on the balcony or attic to change the air and air the fish. In winter, fish dry up well near heating devices, in particular near radiators, especially if you connect a running fan to this process. Of course, fish dried in room conditions is very different in aroma and taste, but it is also quite acceptable for lovers of dried fish.
If you are lucky with the weather and humidity, the drying time for fish ranges from 1-2 days for small fish and up to 3-4 weeks for large and fatty fish.
Home-made dried fish should be stored in the cold, well wrapped to protect against changes in temperature and humidity.
There are a huge variety of ways to salt fish before drying it.
Here we provide only general “universal” recommendations for salting and drying various fish. You can also download for reference a selection of 17 books on salting, drying and smoking fish and meat (from the link below).
Drying fish at home
- salting fish;
- soaking fish;
- drying (drying fish).
Salting fish for drying can be done in two ways: wet And dry ambassador.
Salting fish in brine
Small fish are wet salted(weighing up to 200-500 g). In the cool season, the fish need not be gutted; in the warm season, it is necessary to gut it. Clean fish is not washed, but only wiped with a dry towel.
The prepared fish is placed in an enamel bucket, basin or pan, having previously sprinkled salt on the bottom. The fish are placed in dense rows: head to tail, back to belly. Each row is generously salted. Add enough salt to the top row to cover the entire fish. To add a special taste, you can add a little sugar to the salt..
A board in the shape of the dish is placed on top and pressure is applied to it (only to drown the fish in the resulting brine). 4-5 hours after salting, the fish releases the brine on its own. The fish is salted for 2-5 days (depending on the size of the fish). For the entire salting period, the fish must be placed in as cold a place as possible (in the summer heat, preferably in the refrigerator).
Before hanging to dry, fish salted in this way is soaked in a large amount of water for 2-5 hours, depending on the size of the fish and the time it was salted.
Dry salting fish
Dry salting of larger fish. Each fish is cut along the back and flattened. Remove the insides, then wipe with a dry cloth. The inside of the fish is generously sprinkled with salt. Fish carcasses are placed in rows in a wooden box, so that the bellies are directed upward, and salt is also poured on top of the scales. The box is placed in a hole dug in a cool place and covered with plastic wrap on top.
Depending on the size of the fish, salting lasts from 3 to 7 days. During the salting process, the fish also releases its juice, but it immediately flows out of the box through the cracks. This is the meaning of dry salting fish.
You can also salt small, uneviscerated fish using the dry method. A clean rag is spread on a wide board, the fish are laid in rows head to tail, on top of each other, sprinkled with salt and wrapped in the same rag. The top of the “package” is covered with another board and pressure is placed on it. The juices leaking from the fish will seep through the fabric and flow onto the ground.
The salted fish is washed and soaked for 2-14 hours, changing the water 2-3 times. The soaking process ends when the fish begins to float.
Drying fish
After washing, the fish is very wet, so it is hung out overnight to dry it out (flies lay larvae only on a damp surface, but there are no flies at night). In the morning, the fish is sprayed with a solution of table vinegar - its smell repels insects. Then the fish is hung in the shade in a ventilated place.
The ideal place for drying fish is a special ventilated drying cabinet.
Not necessarily, but such fish as vimbe, bluegill, shemaya are hung with their heads down, and sabrefish, bream, ram, pike perch - with their heads up. Why is that? It is not known for certain, and this is just a recommendation. From the point of view of common sense, it is better to hang any uneviscerated fish by the tails in order to prevent bitterness from flowing down from the gall bladder throughout the fish.
Drying lasts from several days to several weeks, depending on the size of the fish.
Dried fish at home turns out much tastier than what is sold in stores and on the market!
A selection of books on salting, drying and smoking fish and meat:
The presented collection of books contains all the necessary information about the methods and technology of smoking, salting, drying meat and fish at home. In addition, this collection contains books on making various types of apparatus for smoking and drying fish and meat from improvised materials!
Books included in the collection:
- Preservation of the catch and methods of preparing fish
- Delicious meat. Drying, smoking, baking
- Homemade lard and smoked meats
- Salting, pickling, drying, smoking
- Summer kitchen, barbecue, smokehouse, pergola
- Canning, smoking, winemaking
- Homemade electric smokehouse
- Smoking and salting meat products
- Proper smoking and drying of fish
- Homemade smoked meats and sausages
- Salted, dried, smoked fish
- Salted, smoked, dried fish
- Smokeless Smoking Basics
- All about smoking products
- Fish. Drying. Smoking
- We smoke, dry, salt
- Country smokehouse
Format: PDF
Size: 97 Mb
Only pre-salted fish are withered (dried).
Use either your own fresh catch or purchased live fish for this preparation.
Salting and drying store-bought dried fish is quite dangerous, especially if the day it was caught is a secret to you. It is quite suitable for heat treatment (frying, baking). But drying does not involve high temperatures, and fish carcasses that have been left in the air for a couple of days may well develop harmful bacteria. Flies can also infect fish with larvae.
Salted fish is a self-sufficient preparation for long-term storage. It's delicious on its own. But further drying gives it new taste qualities, eliminates the wateriness of the meat, changes its structure and, in general, will make your fish a more refined gastronomic product.
First stage: salting
We gut large fish and remove the gills. Small ones can be salted without this procedure.
We select a tray or wooden tub of suitable size. If there is a lot of fish, it is convenient to use a plastic baby bath.
Rub the fish with salt against the scales on all sides.
Pour coarse salt into the bottom of the container. Place the fish on their backs in layers, move them closer, sprinkle with salt. If the fish is of “mixed sizes”, we place the larger carcasses in the first layer.
Cover with a cloth, place a board on top, and place a weight on it. We send it to the cold.
We try the pickles after 3 days.
Now it's time to learn how to dry fish at home.
Second stage: withering
Cord
Let's prepare a thin cord, twine or soft wire. A thin multi-core radio wire in vinyl insulation is suitable.
To easily pass the cord through the fish heads, you will also need an awl or just a long sharp nail to pierce the bones.
Place
Determine the drying location. There are 3 requirements for it:
- during the day – shadow;
- 24/7 – draft;
- protection from rain.
A canopy open to the breeze provides ideal conditions for drying. A wonderful place is a country veranda, a gazebo in the garden.
Natural protection
By the way, if there is an old nut growing on your site, hang the fish on the branches right in the crown.
The leaves will provide shade, and the pungent nutty smell will repel insects. However, if there is rainy weather during the drying days, the mating will need to be removed.
The fish will also take on a nutty aroma, and its meat will be very piquant.
Stringing, hanging
Shake off the salt from the fish.
If we want to make it less salty, put it in boiling water for a few seconds.
In small fish we pass the string through the eye sockets. You can hang it on unbent hooks. Large, heavy specimens will require stronger wire. We pass it through the gill slits.
We place the fish loosely, providing gaps for air circulation and free evaporation of water.
Gauze veil
Care should be taken to protect the drying fish from insects. There are 2 effective ways:
- sprinkle the fish with vinegar;
- cover it with gauze.
To be sure, we’ll do both the first and the second.
We have already mentioned the danger of flies. There is another harmful pest - wasps. They will not infect fish, but they are able to gnaw the best meat out of it down to the bones.
From wide gauze or an old curtain (tulle, muslin) you can sew a bag common to the entire pendant.
Drying time
The duration of the procedure is from 3 days to 1 week. It depends not only on the size of the fish, but also on its fat content and the wateriness of the meat soaked in brine.
Air humidity and temperature are of great importance.
Drying in the apartment in winter
In winter, in a city apartment, fish can be hung over the radiator to dry. The upward flow of heat will dry it perfectly in a couple of days. To avoid staining the battery with dripping grease, place a towel under the line of fish.
There is no need to cover the fish from flies (due to the lack of such in winter). But if a cat or dog lives in the house... Then decide for yourself how to protect the tempting bundle.
Drying means the slow dehydration of fish due to the evaporation of moisture at a temperature not exceeding 35 degrees. The drying process occurs naturally in the air under the influence of sunlight. Roach, bream, ram, asp, barbel, red mullet, sprat and other fish species are sent to produce dried products in industrial conditions.
During the drying process, complex biochemical processes occur in fish meat, as a result of which the fish is not only dehydrated, but also ripened.
For good and rapid ripening of fish, light, fresh air and warmth are necessary.
The best conditions for drying are created in the spring, when the air temperature is low and there is a lot of oxygen and ozone in the air.
But in autumn the fish is fattier and the catches are higher. That is why caravans of cars are now heading to the lower reaches of the Volga.
As an example, consider the scheme for preparing dried roach.
The process consists of the following operations: catching fish, storing it, sorting, washing, salting, washing, stringing fish, hanging, drying, eating, sorting, packaging and storage.
Live or recently caught fish are sorted by size, washed to remove mucus with cold water and sent for salting.
Salting is done using a mixed method. Brine (salt solution) with a density of 1.16-1.20 g per cubic cm is poured into the bottom of the salting container in an amount of 20-30% of the weight of the fish. The fish are placed in a container in rows, sprinkling each subsequent layer with salt.
Less salt is poured onto the lower rows of fish, and more salt onto the upper rows. The topmost row is covered with a layer of salt 1-1.5 cm thick. The total salt consumption is 13-15% of the weight of the fish.
To ensure even salting, stir the fish after a few minutes. The duration of salting a large roach is 3-6 days, and a small one is 2-3 days.
After salting, the fish is washed in fresh, cold water to remove salt from the surface of the body, as well as to remove possible excess salt in the body of the fish.
After this, the fish are threaded onto a string through the eyes using a needle (pin) so that the bellies of all the fish are directed in one direction. It is better to string no more than 15 individuals onto one thread of twine. The strung fish is hung on racks or special hangers.
The duration of drying depends on weather conditions, the size and fat content of the roach. So, a large roach will be ready in 17-30 days, and a small one in 13-15 days.
The readiness of the product is determined organoleptically. The roach meat becomes very dense and acquires an amber color; when pressed, fat appears on the cut. The taste of dried roach is slightly bitter.
After determining the readiness of the product, the fish are removed, disassembled and tied in 40-50 pieces of the same size and variety. After this, the tied roach is packed in gunny bags or wooden boxes.
The finished roach should be stored in a cool, dry place at a temperature not exceeding 10 degrees and a relative humidity of 70-75%.
The technology for preparing dried bream is somewhat different from preparing roach (roach).
Fish up to 25-28 cm in size are salted uncut; larger specimens are pre-gutted. Before salting, the fish is thoroughly washed to remove mucus; large fish are pre-cooled to zero degrees.
Salting of bream is done using a mixed method, that is, using brine and dry salt. The duration of salting depends on the size of the fish.
Large, cut bream and small uncut bream are salted for 4-5 days, and medium uncut bream - 5-6 days. After salting, the fish is removed from the brine and kept in a separate container with water to equalize the salt concentration in the meat. After this, the fish is washed.
The washed fish is strung on string and hung on racks. Further, the entire drying process is similar to the process of drying roach.
Drying small fish
Fresh, small fish such as smelt, small perch, roach and bream are washed in water. Salting is carried out in brine with a density of 1.2 g per cubic meter. cm. The duration of salting is 7-15 minutes.
After salting, the fines are washed to remove brine. Dry small fish on floors or nets. The fish is scattered on a net in one layer. The duration of drying is 2-7 days.
Drying perch and small pike
Dried perch and small pike are a true delicacy for many fish lovers. Although many do not like their fibrous, lean and relatively dry meat. It is better to dry perch in a way that is similar to the method of preparing small fish.
There is only one subtlety, which is that it is better to hang the fish upside down so that the dripping fat does not disappear, but remains in the fish. The same applies to drying other types of relatively low-fat fish.
Preparation of dried balyk products
Dried balyk products are made from large and plump fish: sturgeon, nelma, salmon or catfish.
The technological scheme consists of the following operations: cutting, washing, salting, soaking, washing, tying with twine, drying, sorting, packaging and storage.
The fish is cut into balyk and tesha. This type of cutting is used in the preparation of smoked and dried products from sturgeon and large salmon fish, as well as in the production of smoked and dried products from other types of fish (perch, whitefish, asp, large herring, carp and catfish).
The fish is cut along the belly and all entrails are removed. The head is then cut off and the dorsal fin is completely removed without exposing the dorsal fat deposits. After this, the ventral part (carcass) is separated from the back by a cut from the head to the beginning or end of the anal fin at a level slightly below the spine.
The back and carcass, separated in this way, are cleaned of any remaining entrails, abdominal membrane, or blood clots.
Sturgeon and Pacific salmon can also be cut for flanking. The fish is cut in the middle of the abdomen, the entrails, abdominal membrane, and blood clots are removed. The head and all fins are separated, after which the carcass is cut along the back into two identical halves (sides), removing the spine. After this, you can divide the sides into balyk and tesha.
If the bala fish is frozen, then it is cut in a frozen state.
The fish is washed in cold water, rubbed with salt and placed in rows in a salting container with their backs down. A layer of salt 2-3 cm thick is poured onto the bottom of the container and between the rows of fish.
Tesha is salted separately. The total salt consumption is about 40% of the weight of the fish. It is very good if it is possible to add crushed ice to the fish covered with salt, in an amount of about 15% of the weight of the fish.
After a day and a half, cold brine is poured into the salting container. After this, the duration of salting of balyks ranges from 17 to 30 days, depending on the size of the fish and temperature. At the end of salting, the fish is washed in brine and left for 2-3 days in a cold room to distribute the salt in the body of the fish.
To soak, the fish is placed in a bath and filled with fresh water at a temperature of 4-6 degrees. Soaking is carried out to desalinize the surface layer of fish in order to avoid the formation of “brine”, that is, a deposit of salt on the surface of the fish during drying.
The duration of soaking ranges from five hours to two days. The soaked fish is tied with twine and left for 2-3 days to drain the water. A wooden spacer is inserted into the upper part of the meat across the body to prevent the meat from curling up during drying.
Industrial drying of balyk products is carried out on special towers 6-10 m high with a roof and walls in the form of blinds. The beams are hung on hooks driven into the beams.
The duration of drying of balyks is 10-30 days, depending on the ambient temperature and humidity. The duration of drying the meat is no more than 10 days. In winter, the process of natural drying is combined with artificial drying in a chamber at a temperature of 6-8 degrees. In this case, the duration of drying increases to 1.5 months.
The readiness of the product is determined organoleptically: the cut meat should be light yellow, elastic in consistency, soaked in fat and have a pleasant, delicate smell and taste.
Finished balyk products are packaged in clean wooden boxes lined with parchment inside. Ready-made products should be stored in a dry, well-ventilated area at a temperature not exceeding 10 degrees and a relative humidity of not more than 75%.
In such conditions, balyk can be stored for about three months without loss of quality.
In industrial conditions, tunnel installations are used for drying fish. The drying process in this installation lasts 96 hours in all weather conditions. It is important not only to cook the fish. But also preserve its taste and nutritional qualities.
The defects of dried fish include high humidity, subcutaneous oxidation of fat, sour smell of meat, dampness, mustiness and saponification.
Increased humidity of fish occurs due to violation of storage conditions in rooms with high humidity. With this defect, the abdomen becomes limp, and the muscle tissue swells and weakens. The defect is eliminated by drying the fish.
Subcutaneous fat oxidation occurs when fish that has been stored for a long time is used to prepare dried goods. The vice cannot be eliminated. And most of the “roach”, which is sold in Moscow, suffers from this defect.
The sour smell of meat appears as a result of violation of the fish salting regime, as well as when the fish is excessively desalinated during soaking and washing.
Dampness is characterized by the presence of the taste and smell of raw fish, which manifests itself when the fish has not been sufficiently salted or dried. The disadvantage is eliminated by additional drying of the fish.
Mustiness and saponification are characterized by the presence of a whitish, slippery coating and musty odor, usually on the surface of the balyk product. These defects arise when storing fish in poorly ventilated areas and are eliminated after washing the fish in a weak brine and drying it.
