Salty fish is considered a delicious and healthy dish for the whole family. Buying a finished product now is not difficult, but it is not always fresh. It is much better to cook mackerel at home, using simple recipes.
A dish always turns out to be moderately salty and aromatic. If you use the method with husk or tea, then the pieces will have a beautiful shade. It is ideal to serve such an appetizer to boiled potatoes with brown bread and herbs.
Fish is considered not only tasty, but also healthy food. It contains a huge amount of phosphorus, fluorine, vitamins B and D, as well as other trace elements necessary for humans. Salted mackerel at home always turns out delicious, if you adhere to traditional recipes and cutting rules. Sometimes there is no time to cook a dish for a long time, so you need to pay attention to several options for quick salting. Prepared in brine or without it, with various spices and spices. Fragrant is a salty fish with garlic or mustard.
How to carve and prepare a carcass
It is necessary to choose the right mackerel to make the dish delicious. Only fresh fish with a pleasant smell will do. The spoiled carcass has a coating on the surface of the skin, various spots (they are somewhat reminiscent of rust) and dents. Freshness can be checked by eyes, which should not be sunken and cloudy. The gills have a reddish tint, but there is no mucus or blood. Another quality control method is to place the product in cold water. Missing or frozen carcass will not sink, unlike fresh.
You should not choose large specimens for whole salting, otherwise they simply will not have time to prepare. It is best to choose a fish, whose weight is about 350-700 grams. Too small also do not fit – their meat, on the contrary, will quickly salt and be tasteless.
For the process, choose glass or enameled dishes (sometimes made in a jar), plastic can not be used. It is recommended to salt the mackerel whole at home, this is how it will turn out more aromatic with a rich taste. However, if the carcass is too large, then it must be made into slices in brine. Prepare the fish in the following order: cut off the head and tail, carefully cut the gills, open the belly and remove the entrails. Next, rinse it under running water and dry it slightly with napkins. Only after this can you start salting.
Simple and quick recipes
If you really want fish, and there is no time and desire to wait long, then you need to stop the choice on this simple recipe. It allows you to cook delicious dishes quickly in 2 hours.
Ingredients for 2 Mackerels:
- onions – 2 pcs.;
- filtered water – 1000 ml;
- salt – 3-3.5 tbsp. l;
- sugar – 1.5 tbsp. l;
- vinegar – 30 ml;
- vegetable oil – 40 ml;
- black peas and allspice – 3 pcs.;
- a few bay leaves.
Peel the onion, chop in half rings and set aside. To prepare the solution, take water and add dry ingredients, as well as spices (it is recommended to take coriander for spicy salting). Bring to a boil, remove from heat and allow time to cool. Pour vinegar into a cold liquid. Put the fish prepared in advance in a container (for example, in a jar), distribute the onion on top and pour everything with brine. Close with a plate or lid, set oppression. Keep in a cool place for 2 to 5 hours, depending on the desired strength of the salted mackerel salted with onions.
Before serving, clean the fish, cut into pieces and pat them dry with napkins. Put on a plate with onions and pour a small amount of vegetable oil.
At home, you can quickly cook salted fish in another way. It turns out to be more piquant and aromatic, as the list of ingredients includes various spices with mustard.
It is required to prepare the following products for spicy salting:
- carcass – 1 kg;
- cold water – 0.7 l;
- salt – 3 tbsp. l;
- sugar – 1.5 tbsp. l;
- cloves – 3-5 pcs.;
- fresh dill – a few twigs;
- peas and allspice – 4 pcs.;
- grain mustard – 1-2 pinches.
It is advisable to salt the mackerel in pieces, so the fish should be washed and butchered. Rinse the slices under running water and put in a container with a lid. Pour salt with sugar, pepper, mustard, and favorite spices into the water. Put on medium heat, bring to a boil and remove after 3-5 minutes. Be sure to cool the liquid to room temperature, otherwise the fish may deteriorate. Pour the pieces with brine, add dill, cover and place the load. Remove slices in brine with slices in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours, then serve.
Salted mackerel will be cooked in just 2 hours at home, and you do not need to cook a brine.
Ingredients:
- fish – 700 g;
- salt and sugar – 1.5 tbsp. l;
- two bay leaves;
- cloves and peppercorns – 10 pcs.;
- cooled boiled water – 2 tbsp. l;
- lean oil – 4 tbsp.
Cut fresh or thawed mackerel, cut into small pieces (thickness about 1.5-2 cm). Put in a metal or glass dish evenly, pour salt, sugar, pepper and cloves. Lavrushka needs to be broken into several small parts and sprinkled with fish. Pour a few tablespoons of water so that the salt and sugar get wet. Sprinkle oil on top, mix and leave at room temperature for 2-3 hours. It is important to mix the pieces several times over the entire time so that they are evenly salted. If the container with the product is left for a longer period, then it must be removed in the refrigerator.
Some interesting options
If the usual salting methods are tired, then you can always try other incomparable recipes. They are much tastier, although they require a little more time to prepare the dishes. The first option is a mackerel in onion peel, which turns out to be a pleasant golden hue.
Salted fish recipe and how to cook:
- mackerel – 800 g;
- salt – 3 tbsp. l;
- sugar – no more than 2 tbsp. l;
- husk from onions – a small plate;
- tea leaves (only black tea is suitable) – 40 ml;
- drinking water – 1500 ml;
- bay leaves – 2-3 pcs.
It is allowed to salt the fish in whole or in pieces, but first you need to prepare it with the above method. Soak the onion peel in water for at least 15 minutes, then transfer to a pickling container and pour clean water. Add sugar, salt, selected spices and lavrushka. Bring to a boil, then remove from heat and cool. Pour the prepared mackerel with cold liquid, close the lid and put in the refrigerator for 3 days. Once a day, fish should be turned over (if whole ones are used) so that they are evenly salted. Before serving, the carcasses are washed under the tap, dried with napkins and watered with oil.
It is not necessary to cut the carcass before salting into slices, the whole salted one is no less tasty. This method can be considered the simplest and relatively fast (in terms of the preparatory stage), but it is required to withstand the fish in brine with salt for at least 24 hours. Take fresh or frozen product, but the latter must be thawed in advance.
Products that are needed for delicious salted mackerel:
- carcass – 1 pc. (about 700 g);
- water – 500 ml;
- salt – 1.5 tbsp. l;
- cloves and peppercorns – 7 pcs.;
- bay leaf – 2 pcs.
Pre-boil the water, dissolve the salt in it and cool to room temperature. Add pepper, cloves, bay leaves and lay out a whole fish. This excellent recipe in brine does not require complete butchering of the carcass, you only need to make an incision on the abdomen and remove the insides. The head and tail are left, they are cut off only before serving.
Smoked mackerel at home is equally tasty. Such a dish is good for the human body, as it contains many useful elements. 100 grams of finished fish contains only 225 kcal. At home, it is better to use a special liquid, which gives the smoked taste. They call it liquid smoke, but such a substance is not always at hand.
Ingredients:
- fish – 1 kg;
- onion peel – 3-4 glasses;
- water – 0,5 l;
- brewed black tea – 2 bags;
- salt – 3 tbsp. l;
- sugar – 1.5 tbsp. l;
- bay leaves, peppercorns and coriander.
Pour onion peel with water (1.5 cups) and boil for 15-20 minutes, then remove from heat and leave for 15 minutes. Strain the resulting liquid and discard the husk. Brew tea in the remaining water, leave for 7-10 minutes and pour the tea leaves into the onion broth. Add spices, salt and sugar, mix well. Cut the mackerel in any way (you can leave the whole, but be sure to remove the entrails), rinse and transfer to the marinade. Cover, install oppression and put in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Sometimes you can turn the fish over so that the color is uniform. Remove from brine, cut into pieces and serve the fish, cooked with onions at home, to the table.
For lovers of savory dishes, salted mackerel with garlic without brine is suitable. It is not very sharp, so you can add some more spices to your taste (it will be very tasty with mustard). The amount of salt is also allowed to decrease or increase, relying on your own preferences.
what will be required from products for dry cooking at home:
- shower – 2-3 pcs. (approx. 800 g);
- garlic – 4 cloves;
- salt – 3 tsp;
- sacchar – ½ č. l;
- black pepper, coriander – ½ tsp.
Mix the dry products together and prepare the fish. The carcass must be cut: remove the head, tail and internal organs. Then it is cut in half, the bones are removed and rubbed well with a mixture of salt, sugar and spices. Cut the garlic into thin slices and put on the meat, combine the two halves together. Wrap tightly with cling film and refrigerate for three hours. Next, you need to remove the fish with garlic in a film in the freezer for another 15-18 hours. Remove from the chamber, remove the polyethylene and leave at room temperature for 20 minutes. Cut into pieces, pour oil, garnish with fresh herbs and serve.
