Herring and mackerel are regulars on Swedish holiday tables, be it New Year, Christmas, Easter or Midsummer. The abundance of fish in the Baltic and North Seas influenced the culture of this country, and the first recipes for pickling and salting appeared in the Middle Ages during the time of the Vikings. There are so many options for preparing salted fish - with onions, mustard, garlic, curry and beets - and this is not a complete list! We invite you to try a very interesting and original recipe for salted mackerel with vodka and dill in Swedish right now!
Ingredients
- - fresh frozen mackerel – 2 pcs.;
- - salt – 2 tbsp;
- - sugar – 2 tbsp;
- - coriander (optional) – 1 tsp;
- - vodka – 50 ml;
- - fresh dill – 1 bunch;
- - vegetable oil.
Cooking time: 24 hours.
Servings: 4-6.
Mackerel pickling recipe
1. Lightly defrost the carcasses of freshly frozen mackerel. It would be better to “under-defrost” them so that it is convenient to cut the fish. Cut off heads, fins and tails.
2. Make a longitudinal cut along the very top of the back and cut through the fish down to the spinal bone. “Open” the mackerel and remove all the insides. Then clean the belly and remove dark films and blood. In this case, the abdomen remains intact.Carefully trim the ridge and remove it along with all the other large and small bones.
3. Sprinkle the cleaned mackerel with vodka. It is believed that any strong alcohol (gin, brandy, whiskey) and not only vodka helps preserve the natural taste of fish.
4. After the vodka, sprinkle with the salting mixture at the rate of 1 tbsp. salt and sugar for 1 large fish.
5. If desired, sprinkle the fish with coriander crushed in a mortar. Swedes use spices to a minimum, as it is believed that they distract attention from the main product - the fish itself.
6. But you can spare no dill and generously sprinkle the fillets with it.
7. Now put the mackerel back to its original state, sprinkle the remaining curing mixture on top. We prepare the second (third, fourth) fish in the same way.
8. When all the mackerel are ready, wrap them tightly in cling film. Place in the refrigerator and leave for about a day.
9. After the time has passed, remove the film from the fish. Cut into portions.
10. For storage, put pieces of salted mackerel in a jar with dill sprigs and pour in a little vegetable oil. In this form, the fish will be stored in the cold for a long time. Salted mackerel is ready!
Bon appetit!
