And it doesn’t matter whether it’s herring or herring, sprat or mackerel, pink salmon or salmon. The main thing is to have something to make delicious sandwiches from or something to serve with boiled or baked potatoes. And if you are also a fan of this product, then perhaps a recipe for salted mackerel will not be superfluous in your notebook as a smart housewife (or owner). This fish will come in handy not only as an appetizer or as an addition to a potato side dish, but also for preparing mincemeat and various salads (“Herring under a fur coat,” for example, or “Vinaigrette with herring”). By the way, you will need much less time to clean mackerel, since it is less bony, unlike herring.
For salting, choose elastic fish carcasses of the same size without yellow spots and an unpleasant pungent odor. Thaw the mackerel naturally (by leaving it on the counter), but not in a container of water.
Ingredients:
- fresh frozen mackerel – 3 medium-sized carcasses weighing about 1.3 kg;
- coarse salt – 60 gr. (2 tbsp.);
- granulated sugar – 30 gr. (1 heaped tbsp);
- purified water (that is, drinking water) – 1 liter;
- ground coriander - coffee spoon;
- cloves - 5-6 buds;
- allspice and black pepper – 12 peas each;
- bay leaf – 4 pcs.
In addition, you can expand the list of ingredients by adding a cinnamon stick (or use the spice in the form of ground powder), lemon juice, dill greens (both fresh and dried), mustard seeds.
Preparation time is generally 3 days. The salting process itself takes no more than 30 minutes.
How to pickle mackerel at home:
First of all, boil water, throw all the spices into it, stir, leave to cool and infuse. To make the hot water cool faster, pour it (along with the spices, of course) into a wide plate with sides and place it on the windowsill or take it out to the balcony.
Clean each mackerel carcass from the insides, cut off the tails and heads, rinse thoroughly under running water (cold, of course) and wipe thoroughly (paper napkins are ideal helpers in this matter). When cleaned, the weight of 3 fish will decrease by about 300 g.
Place the fish carcasses in a convenient container (it can be a glass dish with high sides or an enamel pan) and pour in the marinade that has cooled by then (or is barely warm).
Place a flat plate turned upside down on top, and place a pressure on it in the form of a seven-hundred-gram or liter jar filled with water. Place the resulting structure in the refrigerator for three days.
After three days, remove the fish from the marinade and blot off any remaining liquid with napkins. Remove the skin from the carcasses, remove the spine and small bones.
Now all that remains is to cut the fillet of lightly salted mackerel into pieces and use it for its intended purpose (just put it on the table, spread it on a plate and sprinkle it with onions, or assemble sandwiches from it).
Bon appetit!
