Tricks for cutting and saving: How to pickle trout at home
There is no point in talking about the difference in taste between lightly salted trout created in a factory and prepared independently. In the first case, the quality of the product remains on the conscience of the manufacturer, while in the second it is enough to choose fresh fish. There will definitely be no preservatives or other harmful substances in its composition. Knowing how to clean trout yourself and salt it, you can get not only an excellent appetizer, but also a set for making fish soup. You can also save a lot of money when you compare the costs incurred on purchasing ready-made salted fish.
Before mastering the basics of cleaning and preparing fish, I decided to make sure that the game was worth the candle by conducting a little marketing research: if the finished product in stores is sold at a price of 1,200 rubles per kilogram and there is no limit to the beauty, then a whole fish can be bought from 700 rubles for a similar weight. 2 kilograms cost me 1,400 rubles. As a result, 1.3 kilograms of pure fillet came out, 700 grams were spent on the head, bones and other waste, which can easily be used to make at least two pans of fish soup.In total, simple calculations help to see that with this approach, home-made salted trout will cost me a little more than 900 rubles, but not 1200. Closer to the point, how to cut trout for salting?
Usually the fish is sold already gutted, but with the head still on. It must be cut off, as well as all fins on the body must be removed. It is most convenient to cut them with culinary scissors. Then the cleaning period begins. There are several options here. You can use any knife as a scraper, scraping the scales from the tail towards the head. Or take a fish scaler. If you don’t have one at hand, a regular grater with fine teeth will do, which copes with scales no less successfully.
Now comes the fun part. How to cut and salt trout, removing all the bones? First you need to remove the head, it is best to do this at an angle, making an incision on both sides of the carcass along the line of the gills. Then, using a fillet knife, which must first be sharpened, we make a cut from the tail, pressing the flesh tightly to the table and running the cutting part along the spine. We perform a similar operation on the second side. Professionals get a perfectly even and smooth piece; I didn’t get the effect in one movement, but it didn’t cause significant damage to the fish. We remove large bones with tweezers. Well, then we add salt.
There are two options for salting trout at home. The first involves brining, and the second concerns the use of dry ingredients. It's the latter that I use. The proportions are presented per 1 kilogram of fillet:
Mix salt and sugar, pour a third onto the bottom of the form in which we plan to salt the fish.Place a layer of fillet, skin side down, sprinkle pepper on top. I have a mill, I don’t go too hard, since not everyone likes the spiciness, the aroma is more important to me. Another third of the mixture of salt and sugar is placed on top of the layer.
A second sheet of fillet is placed on it, belly to belly, and the remaining salt and sugar are sprinkled on top. And then put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. During this time, the fish gives juice and absorbs the required amount of salt. All that remains is to remove it from the brine, dry it with paper towels, brush off the remaining mixture and leave it to ripen in the cold for another 12 hours. That’s it, an easy way to pickle trout quickly and tasty is in front of you.
Many questions arise on the topic of storage. After all, either a large family or a wide circle of friends can eat 1 kg of trout fillet at once. There are no preservatives, so the fish cannot be stored for long periods of time. But there is a way out: just freeze the pieces that are the right size for your daily portion and place them in the freezer. There they will remain just as tasty for at least 6 months. You just need to defrost the trout directly in the refrigerator, and not at room temperature.
Why is it beneficial?
Before mastering the basics of cleaning and preparing fish, I decided to make sure that the game was worth the candle by conducting a little marketing research: if the finished product in stores is sold at a price of 1,200 rubles per kilogram and there is no limit to the beauty, then a whole fish can be bought from 700 rubles for a similar weight. 2 kilograms cost me 1,400 rubles. As a result, 1.3 kilograms of pure fillet came out, 700 grams were spent on the head, bones and other waste, which can easily be used to make at least two pans of fish soup.In total, simple calculations help to see that with this approach, home-made salted trout will cost me a little more than 900 rubles, but not 1200. Closer to the point, how to cut trout for salting?
Little tricks
Usually the fish is sold already gutted, but with the head still on. It must be cut off, as well as all fins on the body must be removed. It is most convenient to cut them with culinary scissors. Then the cleaning period begins. There are several options here. You can use any knife as a scraper, scraping the scales from the tail towards the head. Or take a fish scaler. If you don’t have one at hand, a regular grater with fine teeth will do, which copes with scales no less successfully.
Now comes the fun part. How to cut and salt trout, removing all the bones? First you need to remove the head, it is best to do this at an angle, making an incision on both sides of the carcass along the line of the gills. Then, using a fillet knife, which must first be sharpened, we make a cut from the tail, pressing the flesh tightly to the table and running the cutting part along the spine. We perform a similar operation on the second side. Professionals get a perfectly even and smooth piece; I didn’t get the effect in one movement, but it didn’t cause significant damage to the fish. We remove large bones with tweezers. Well, then we add salt.
Recipe for lightly salted red fish
There are two options for salting trout at home. The first involves brining, and the second concerns the use of dry ingredients. It's the latter that I use. The proportions are presented per 1 kilogram of fillet:
- 370 g salt;
- 130 g sugar;
- ground black pepper.
Mix salt and sugar, pour a third onto the bottom of the form in which we plan to salt the fish.Place a layer of fillet, skin side down, sprinkle pepper on top. I have a mill, I don’t go too hard, since not everyone likes the spiciness, the aroma is more important to me. Another third of the mixture of salt and sugar is placed on top of the layer.
A second sheet of fillet is placed on it, belly to belly, and the remaining salt and sugar are sprinkled on top. And then put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. During this time, the fish gives juice and absorbs the required amount of salt. All that remains is to remove it from the brine, dry it with paper towels, brush off the remaining mixture and leave it to ripen in the cold for another 12 hours. That’s it, an easy way to pickle trout quickly and tasty is in front of you.
Many questions arise on the topic of storage. After all, either a large family or a wide circle of friends can eat 1 kg of trout fillet at once. There are no preservatives, so the fish cannot be stored for long periods of time. But there is a way out: just freeze the pieces that are the right size for your daily portion and place them in the freezer. There they will remain just as tasty for at least 6 months. You just need to defrost the trout directly in the refrigerator, and not at room temperature.
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