Dried Mackerel

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Full recipe

Balyk from mackerel is one of my culinary discoveries of recent years. The minimum of ingredients allows to create an unusually delicious product that is ideal for a festive table, for daily consumption or as a snack for beer.

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It all starts with buying fish. In our shop, mackerel is sold only freshly frozen, so I will cook with it. If you have an option with fresh fish, it is better to buy it! We let the mackerel completely defrost.

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It is best to defrost the fish in the fridge. In this process, you lose the least amount of their own liquid. Never try to defrost fish in the microwave or under hot water.

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Cut off the mackerel head. Wash fish and gut it. We need to perfectly clean the fish from the black inner films, which can give bitterness to our dried mackerel. Now we must cut the mackerel on the fillet. To do this, make an incision in the area of the back, clearly along the line of the fin, all the way to the ridge.

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We carefully begin to separate the halves so that one of them has a fish ridge. The mackerel separates quite well, especially if it has not been severely frozen. Near the tail, we cut the skin from the ridge to release the fillet. If you wish, you can cut off the tail even before cutting.

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Our main ingredient, for cooking dried mackerel at home, ready. We put the mackerel in a container, where we will marinate it.

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For this, grease the mackerel with mustard and sprinkle salt and sugar. For a more uniform distribution of mustard, you can use mustard powder, although it has almost no effect on the final taste.

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I pour a small part of salt to the bottom of the container, so that the bottom side of the fish also salts.

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We leave the tray for a day in the refrigerator. After a day, mackerel is sufficiently marinated. We take the fish out of the fridge and rinse it under water to wash off any excess salt and sugar. Wipe the fillet well with paper towels, you can also use a piece of cloth.

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Remains the final stage of cooking – drying. To do this, plant fish on wooden sticks, wire, fishing line or any other handy tool with which you can hang a mackerel. In my case, these are long culinary skewers.

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I slip the fish in such a place that when hanging it does not lie on the bottom.

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I will leave the fish to dry in the fridge, in a high pot, so I expect by its height.

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In this form we leave the mackerel for 2 days. During this time it will be transformed into a chic delicacy.

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Now you are sure that the dried mackerel strips is an incredibly simple recipe that makes a delicious and fragrant fish, which is much better and healthier than the store version.

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The presence of mustard makes it possible to achieve an amber color, which also beckons you to try the fish faster.

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Bon appetit! Don’t starve 😋