kerescan - Sep 30th, 2015

Home-salted river fish is undoubtedly an excellent delicacy and an excellent decoration for every table. In addition, preparing a delicious delicacy is not at all difficult or expensive; even a novice cook can handle the pickling process without any problems.

We offer a recipe for salting ordinary fish that is simple in composition and easy to execute. It could be asp, pike, ide or chub.

For one kilogram of fish you need to prepare about two hundred grams of the so-called dry pickling mixture.

For dry pickling, you will need a set of spices, which is definitely available in every home: two parts salt, one part sugar, a pinch of black pepper. If desired, you can add a little coriander and any other favorite spices.

We take 1 kilogram of pike, asp, chub or ide and open the fish along its entire length. To make the preparation truly tasty and aromatic, the fish does not need to be washed; it is better to simply wipe it with a clean kitchen towel.

The head and fins must first be cut off; you can leave them for preparing fish soup.

Sprinkle the fish evenly inside and outside with the pre-prepared pickling mixture. It's best to do this in moderation so as not to overdo it.

After this, you need to place the potential salty dish in a pan of suitable size under moderate pressure. After which the container needs to be placed in a cool place - in the refrigerator, cellar, or simply taken out onto the balcony.

The good news is that you don’t have to wait long for the salted fish to reach the desired condition. After just a couple of days, you can safely put it on the table and enjoy it.

Home-made dry salted fish is very similar in taste and appearance to salmon.

See also video: Salting large river fish. How to preserve and not stew!

Video: How to salt bream (spicy salting).

Asp is a freshwater fish that lives mainly in rivers. It is a great success for a fisherman to catch such a representative of the waters. After all, it makes a wonderful balyk, suitable for any feast.

Asp balyk will surprise all guests with its delicate taste and magnificent aroma. There are several ways to prepare such a treat.

Carcass preparation

First of all, the fish should be thoroughly washed to remove mucus in cool water, preferably running water. Then you can start cutting.

1. Conveniently place the asp on a cutting board and remove the scales, holding it by the tail. After this, make a cut along the ridge from the tail to the head.
2. Separate the meat from the bones of the ridge on one side and try not to damage the abdomen.
3. Lay the carcass out like an open book and carefully remove all the insides with the backbone and bones.
4. Remove the gills with eyes from the head and rinse again in cold water.
5. After it has dried, you can start cooking.

Fish caught in summer and autumn are best suited for making balyk. This is due to the fact that in winter and spring its meat does not have enough fat and is dietary.

Salting the carcass

Every fisherman and housewife has their own salting secrets. But how to make balyk from asp without knowing them? However, it's quite simple. It is enough to know 2 methods of salting, they are the main ones.

1. Dry salting method. You need to take coarse rock salt and generously rub the prepared asp on all sides. You need to rub the carcass so that the salt penetrates into each fold and is fixed in it. After this, the fish must be placed under oppression for 12 hours. Then they can be taken out and cleaned of excess salt by rinsing and soaking in clean water.
2. Salt in brine (brine). This method requires a saucepan. You need to pour the required amount of water with salt into it and boil it. You can use peeled potatoes to check the concentration. If it floats up, then there is enough salt. After the brine has cooled, the prepared carcasses are immersed in it and left in the refrigerator for 12 - 14 hours. Afterwards, the asps are taken out and then soaked in plain water.

By the way, you can add spices to the brine, so the taste will acquire new notes and become more piquant.

After completing all the steps of salting and soaking, they proceed to the drying process.

Drying asp

Each balyk must be straightened and all liquid allowed to drain. Afterwards, you need to straighten the bellies on the carcasses and insert spacers (it is best to use wooden sticks) and wrap them in gauze. This way insects will not be able to spoil the future delicacy. If you have a special mesh dryer, you can use it.

After this, you should choose the most suitable place for hanging. It should be cool and well ventilated. In this state, the balychki dry for 2–3 days. It is better to put them in the refrigerator at night.

In order to give the meat a golden hue, after drying, the carcasses should be laid out in the sun for 60 - 90 minutes. The fat that appears on the meat will give the desired and incomparable appearance. After this, the balyk is ready.

Recipes for cooking balyk

Asp balyk can be quickly prepared at home using popular recipes.

Asp in Astrakhan

This treat should be made from the following products:

• 2.5 kg asp;
• 250 g coarse salt.

1. Take a fish carcass weighing at least 2.5 kg and prepare it for use.
2. Soak in ice water for 25 - 35 minutes and then dry.
3. In areas where there is most meat, make shallow cuts.
4. Rub the carcass with salt on each side and make sure that the salt gets into the cuts.
5. Place the semi-finished product in an enamel container of suitable depth, place a dish on the carcass and apply pressure.
6. Remove everything from the refrigerator for 12 - 15 hours.
7. After the time has passed, take out the salted balyk and soak it in cold water for 45 - 60 minutes.
8. After this, prepare for drying and hang in a suitable place.

Don't forget to brown the asp in the sun to give it an appetizing appearance with a golden hue.

"Sugar" balyk

This balyk recipe is slightly different from the previous method due to the use of sugar in it.

For preparation you will need the following ingredients:

• 2.5 kg asp;
• 120 – 130 g sugar (sand);
• 250 g coarse rock salt.

You can prepare the treat according to these instructions.

1. Prepare the carcass for use. Afterwards it can be left whole or cut into small slices.
2. Rub generously with a mixture of salt and sugar on all sides, not overlooking even small folds and hard-to-reach places.
3. Place the carcass or slices in a glass container of the required depth, sprinkle with the rest of the mixture, and place pressure on top.
4. Place the workpiece in the refrigerator for 4–6 days, and then remove it and rinse well or soak in water (about 4–5 hours).
5. Blot the asp and wrap it in gauze, and then dry it in a suitable place.

After drying, the fish is laid out in the sun to separate the fat, and then put into the refrigerator for 24 hours. Now you can serve the treat on the table.

This fish goes best with potatoes (in any form) and beer. You can supplement it with lemon slices and olives, but this is not for everyone.

Asp balyk will surprise friends and family with its appearance, magnificent aroma and delicate taste. You can store such a product in the refrigerator for quite a long time, but this is not necessary, since such a delicacy is eaten very quickly.

This topic is not new to fishing connoisseurs. They know a lot about incredibly tasty asp balyk and, of course, have an idea how to cook it. And for those who encountered this fish for the first time and are ready to prepare a real fish delicacy from it, we will tell you how to properly salt asp for balyk, and we will also reveal the intricacies of preliminary preparation of the fish, drying it and nuances. You are presented with two options for preparing balyk from asp, each of which is good in its own way and gives excellent results.

How to make balyk from asp in Astrakhan - a recipe at home

Ingredients:

• asp – 2-2.5 kg;
• coarse salt – 250 g.

Preparation

To prepare balyk from asp, it is advisable to take fish carcasses weighing at least two kilograms. First, rinse the fish under running water and remove the scales. After this, use a sharp knife or special culinary scissors to make a cut on the top of the back and carefully unfold the fish like a book, removing the insides and bones in the process, being careful not to damage them. Now we wash the fillet again and soak it in cold water for about thirty minutes, after which we let the fish dry and proceed to salting. In the most fleshy sections we make cuts, not cutting a little to the skin, and rub the asp on all sides with coarse salt, making sure to touch all hard-to-reach places.

Place the workpiece in an enamel or glass container and leave it on the refrigerator shelf for at least a night, and a maximum of a day, after which we wash off all the salt crystals and immerse the fillet in clean water for an hour and a half, refreshing it periodically. Now we blot the fish from moisture with napkins or a clean piece of fabric and hang it to dry, straightening the belly and securing them in the open position with skewers or toothpicks. Be sure to protect the carcasses from flies and other insects by covering them with gauze or a clean thin cloth. Depending on the room temperature, it will take four to seven days for the fish to dry thoroughly.

As time passes, we place the dried carcasses in the sun or place them in a warm place and, as soon as droplets of fat appear on the surface of the balyk, fold it in half, place it in a bag and place it on a shelf for a day to evenly redistribute moisture. After this, you can try the finished asp balyk.

Balyk from asp - recipe with sugar

Ingredients:

• asp – 2-2.5 kg;
• granulated sugar – 125 g;
• coarse salt – 250 g.

Preparation

We remove the scales from a large asp carcass, cut it from the top from the back and, gradually moving towards the tail, begin to remove the fillet, removing the backbone and entrails in the process. We wash the resulting fillet, dry it, cut it into slices or leave it whole, if desired, and season it with a mixture of salt and granulated sugar, thoroughly rubbing it into the fish meat over the entire surface. Now place the fish in a suitable glass or enamel container, Having also sprinkled a little salt on the bottom and top, press it down with something heavy and put it on the refrigerator shelf to salt. After five to seven days, we wash the asp and soak it for five to seven hours, periodically changing the water to fresh water (every hour).

We blot the soaked workpiece with a towel or napkins and hang it in a ventilated place to dry and dry for several days. Before eating, you must first keep the fish in the sun for several hours to separate the fat, then wrap it in paper and put it in the refrigerator for a day. Now you can try the asp balyk. Bon appetit!

Greetings, dear guests of my homemade recipes!

If you have looked at this page, then, most likely, you are looking for the answer to the question: how to pickle caviar. The task is not difficult and quite doable. You can pickle caviar at home quickly and easily, the main thing is to know the rules.

Here and now you will find out the answers to all the questions - how to salt caviar.

Of course, I’m not a fisherman, but I managed to “catch” an excellent fish simply at the market. There is this stuff for every taste - take it, I don’t want it! This time the asp caught my attention. There was such a handsome guy that it was simply impossible to pass by. Its weight turned out to be almost 4 kg and, on top of that, the seller assured that the fish contained caviar. Well, how can you not take it!

I would like to note that the asp fish, when small, is quite bony. I don’t like this kind, so I always buy the big one. The seeds in it are large and you can easily remove them without putting yourself in danger.

So, after cutting the fish, I actually found a decent amount of caviar inside. I weighed it and it turned out that there was not a lot of it, not a little, but half a kilogram. Great catch! We will make ambassador of asp caviar!

For this we need:

Ingredients

• Caviar – 0.5 kg
• Kitchen salt (non-iodized) – 8 teaspoons
• Vegetable oil (unflavored) – 2-3 tablespoons

HOW TO SALTE CAVIAR AT HOME

Let's begin our actions by putting a saucepan of water on the fire; we will soon need boiling water. While the water is warming up, let's start with the caviar.

It is usually located in such film bags and in order to get it out of there you need to do the following operation. We cut the film with a sharp knife and carefully separate it from the caviar.

We perform this action until we release all the available caviar. If there are small pieces of film left somewhere, don’t worry, you will remove them during further preparation of salting the asp caviar.

Our next mandatory action will be heat treatment. It should not be neglected in any way, so as not to expose yourself to the danger of poisoning.

And so, we put the caviar, already freed from the film, into a saucepan with boiling water. Remove from heat and continuously stir the contents of the saucepan with a fork, so that all the caviar is treated with boiling water. In this case, missing pieces of film may remain on the fork, which just need to be thrown away.

As soon as you see (after about 5-7 minutes) that all the caviar has already separated from the lumps and has become a homogeneous mass, you can drain the water. We do this through a colander, having previously covered it with two layers of gauze.

I would like to note that in this recipe my goal is to tell you how to properly pickle caviar in order to end up with a quality product and not have to worry about your health. Therefore, we continue to act in the following order.

Before salting caviar for complete and high-quality cleaning, we will need to rinse it thoroughly. We proceed as follows: take a 2 or 3 liter jar, pour cold water into it (about 2/3 full) and load our caviar into it.

Using a fork, stir the contents of the jar clockwise (about a minute). Next, let the caviar settle to the bottom and drain the water (filter through cheesecloth). We do this procedure 6-7 times.

We put the well-cleaned, washed asp caviar into a deep container and, using a fork, begin to beat it until we see that the consistency of the caviar has not become “fluffy”.

Now it’s time to salt the caviar, that is, we will add salt. For half a kilogram I put 8 teaspoons of regular coarse table salt. You can add more if you like it saltier or decide to store it longer.

I got moderately salted caviar.

Add salt and mix well again. Then add vegetable oil and stir again.

The salting of asp caviar is completed. Close the container with a lid and place it in the refrigerator.

My caviar sat overnight and was ready for use in the morning.

All that remains is to brew aromatic tea, take a loaf, spread it lightly with butter and cover it with delicious caviar. A great healthy breakfast is ready! Let's start tasting.

With this, I completed my task and shared with you a recipe for how to pickle caviar. She turned out simply amazing! Be sure to try it!

With love for you Lyudmila.

P.S. I made an excellent fish roll from asp fillet, the recipe for which I will also share.