Dry salted capelin
Salting fish is a simple matter, sprinkle it with salt, that’s all the wisdom. If we consider the salting of a specific fish, for example, something as small as capelin, and delve into the process in more detail, we can identify many interesting cooking options, for which the result of the whole action will be different.
Of course, the easiest way is to salt the whole capelin, without bothering with the labor-intensive gutting of the fish. But then be prepared to peel it right at the dinner table, while the boiled potatoes are getting cold and pickles are waiting. Or you can prepare yourself a pleasant and relaxing meal in advance, with an aesthetically pleasing presentation - all you need to do is prick a capelin fillet onto a fork and put it in your mouth. In order to make such a holiday of the stomach for your family, you definitely need to learn how to salt capelin with dry salting, and also find out in our recipe how to clean filleted capelin. We assure you - nothing complicated!
Ingredients
- - fresh frozen capelin – 1 kg;
- - salt – 1 tbsp;
- - sugar – 1 tbsp;
- - spices: sweet peas, cloves – 2-4 pcs.
Recipe
1. Preparing capelin for salting is as easy as shelling pears - preparation only involves rinsing the defrosted fish in water.At the same time, we recommend that you review all the fish and, based on their appearance, determine which ones to keep and which ones should be thrown away immediately. This could be a damaged fish, with its head torn off (when it is impossible to determine what condition the fish was in before freezing) or suspicious for some other reason. Remember that your health and the health of your loved ones comes first.
2. As stated earlier, we will gut the capelin before salting, and therefore it is necessary to fillet each fish. At first it will seem to you that this is too difficult and burdensome, but once you get the hang of it, after the fifth or seventh fish, cutting 1 capelin will take you no more than a minute. Here's what you need to do to get delicious fillets of this fish: take washed capelin, cut off the head from the top, not reaching the end 2-3 mm. Now pull the head and pull out all the insides of the fish along with it. You can immediately cut off the tail, or you can leave it.
3. Cut the belly lengthwise with a sharp knife and clean out the black films along the inner cavity. Unfold the fish like a book.
4. Run your finger along the outside of the capelin along the entire back from head to tail, bending the fish into a ring. This movement will cause the spinal bone to bend and make it easy to remove from the fillet. Our preparation is ready! If necessary, rinse it again under running water.
5. When the capelin is gutted, you can start salting! Sprinkle the bottom of the container with a small portion of a mixture of salt and sugar. We lay the blanks on them as the first layer.
6. Sprinkle the fish with salt and sugar again. Arrange sweet peas and clove buds randomly. In this way we transfer all the fish, evenly distributing all the salt, sugar and spices over all layers.
7. Place in the refrigerator for a day. In 24 hours, the salted capelin will be ready!
It can be placed in a jar, sprinkled with oil or apple cider vinegar, used to make sandwiches and canapés, or eaten plain, with black bread and tomatoes. In general, as your heart desires, and most importantly, your hands remain clean, there is no need to get dirty - nothing distracts you from a delicious meal!
Bon appetit!