How to pickle catfish at home. Homemade catfish balyk recipe

Catfish balyk is prepared in production for several months. To prepare at home, you can use one of the two proposed recipes. Dried balyk is especially good; it can be stored in the refrigerator for a long time after cooking. The fish is fragrant with spices, translucent when cut, and has an amazingly delicate taste.

Catfish balyk is first kept in salt

• Number of servings: 5
• Preparation time: 2 minutes
• Cooking time: 1 minute

Smoked catfish

If you don’t have a smokehouse, but really want to cook smoked balyk from catfish, this original recipe will help you achieve your plan.

Preparation:

1. Grind pepper, cloves and bay leaf. Mix these spices with 3 tbsp. l. salt and 2 tbsp. l. Sahara.
2. Catfish fillet, cleaned of bones, skin and excess fat, weighing about 500 g, rub with a mixture of salt, sugar and spices, put in the refrigerator overnight or at least 2 hours. Press the lid and weight down on top of the fish.
3. Take a deep cast iron frying pan and cover it with an iron grate. Pick up a large semicircular iron lid.
4. Place foil on the bottom of the pan.
5. Place slightly damp sawdust on the foil. Instead of sawdust, you can prepare a mixture for smoking: mix 150 g of rice, 1 tbsp. l. a spoonful of loose leaf tea and 1 tbsp. l. Sahara.
6. Brush off any remaining salt from the fish piece with a paper towel. Blot away any remaining moisture.
7. Place the frying pan on the fire. When the sawdust begins to smoke, place the fish on the grill and cover with a lid.
8. Smoke catfish on low heat for 40 minutes, turning after 20 minutes to ensure even cooking.

Real smoked fish balyk is prepared using the cold smoking method, at a smoke temperature of no higher than 30 degrees. This takes from 24 to 48 hours, and it is difficult to reproduce the process at home without a special smokehouse.

How to make dried balyk from catfish fillet

This is real balyk, which is prepared using an accelerated method; after salting, it is air-dried for several days.

Products:

• som – 3 kg;
• salt – 1 kg;
• coriander – 10 g.

Preparation:

1. Gut the catfish, remove mucus to white skin, and wash well.
2. Cut off the head and tail of the fish. Separate the fish fillet from the bones and skin.
3. Place the fillet in a container with coarse salt, sprinkle coriander on top, then another layer of salt.
4. Press down on top with a lid smaller in size than the pickling container, and place a weight on top.
5. Store on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 7 days.
6. Soak in cold water for 8 hours.
7. Hang the fillets for 3 days in a cool, ventilated area.
8. The finished balyk can be stored in food parchment in the refrigerator for 3 months or longer.

Balyk can be dried or smoked. Real dried balyk takes several months to prepare, but at home the cooking process is reduced to 10 days.

Salted catfish is distinguished not only by its exquisite taste, but also by ease of storage. Properly salted catfish can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. And the sudden arrival of guests will not take you by surprise: such a dish is an excellent appetizer that does not require long serving.

People have been salting fish and meat since ancient times in order to provide themselves with food during long campaigns and travels. Now times have changed, and such food has moved from the simple diet of travelers to the category of gourmet products. In this article you will learn how to pickle catfish at home.

There are many varieties of catfish. From miniature aquarium catfish to huge river monsters weighing up to 300 kilograms. Decorative fish, of course, are not eaten. But large specimens are of considerable gastronomic interest. But monsters weighing more than a hundredweight are rare and cost a lot of money. Therefore, we will opt for medium-sized individuals weighing several kilograms. Such fish can be easily found on store shelves.

When choosing a specific fish, you need to take into account the general selection rules:

• clean, unclouded eyes;
• bright red gills;
• no unpleasant odor.

It is believed that large individuals are tastier than small ones, and it is easier to cut up such a carcass. It is advisable to take fresh, unfrozen fish, and the best option would be a trophy caught with your own hands.

Preparation

We gut the selected fish, wash and dry it. How to salt catfish, whole or in pieces, is everyone’s business. But to salt a whole carcass, you need to find a large vessel, and it will be more difficult to use and serve. Therefore, it is better to cook it in the form of balyk. To do this, remove the skin and carefully trim the meat. Cut the fillet into portions or strips no more than two centimeters thick (the size of the pieces affects the salting and drying time) and place in a container for pickling. Now we will learn how to salt catfish.

Cooking balyk (video)

This is an important step, which we will accompany with a short video for clarity:

We dry the pieces of fish so that they are slightly “aired” on top, wrap each piece with a clean rag or gauze and put it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. To get a real delicacy, and not ordinary salted fish, keep the balyk in such conditions for at least two to three weeks.

Now you know how to salt catfish at home. If you did everything correctly, you will be able to enjoy the most delicate balyk that melts in your mouth. And guests, having tasted such a treat, will often drop by to see you.

Dried catfish is a real delicacy that is not embarrassing to serve even at the holiday table. Balyk is made from it, dried in steaks or strips, small catfish - whole. In this form, the fish is not only tasty, but can also be stored for a long time. Most often, cooks have to deal with specimens weighing from 3 to 5 kg. For drying, you need fresh catfish that has not been frozen, ideally caught with your own hands. The process of preparing a homemade delicacy is not quick or easy, so it doesn’t hurt to be patient and have information on how to dry catfish.

Balyk

Method 1
Remove the entrails from the catfish, but so as not to touch the gallbladder. Cut off the tail at the level of the anus. Cut into carcass (belly), back (balyk) and layer (the part closer to the tail). Cut the tail part into pieces 6 cm thick. For salting, prepare enamel dishes; if you don’t have one, you can line any with food-grade polyethylene, so that you can then wrap the fish on top. Sprinkle all parts with salt. For 10 kg of fish you will need approximately 1.5 kg of coarse salt. Place the top and the end of the tail on top, sprinkle with salt, and put pressure on it. Place the container with fish in the refrigerator for three days. Then remove the catfish pieces from the salt and soak them in water for about two hours.

Dry the fish and hang it to dry in a ventilated, dry place for three days.

After three days, the dried catfish should dry out. Remove the pieces of fish, wrap each piece in a separate cloth or piece of foil and put it in the refrigerator. You can try catfish no earlier than two weeks later.

It is important not to dry out the fish

Method 2
Cut the fish into balyk and tesha. Place a layer of salt about three centimeters thick at the bottom of the container. Rinse the balyks in running water, rub with salt and place them in a salting dish with their backs facing down. The amount of salt should be about 40% of the weight of the fish. You can put crushed ice on top. Salt the meat separately.

After 36 hours, pour cold brine over the fish and leave for 15-30 days, depending on the air temperature and the size of the fish carcasses. Then wash them in brine and dry for three days in the cold.

To prevent salt deposits on the balyk, they are soaked in water at a temperature of 4 degrees. Soaking time is from 5 hours to two days. Next, the pieces are tied with twine and hung for two to three days to drain. The balyks are then placed on hooks under a canopy and dried for 10-30 days, depending on humidity and temperature. In winter, the drying process is longer - up to 45 days.

You can determine the readiness of the balyk by its elastic, light yellow flesh. The fish should have a pleasant smell.

Store prepared dried catfish in wooden boxes on parchment in a well-ventilated area at 10 degrees and air humidity of about 75% for no longer than 3 months.

Steaks

This option is suitable for withering a large specimen. For a catfish weighing 20 kg, you will need 5 kg of coarse salt. Fine salt is not suitable for pickling.

Cooking procedure:

1. Clean the fish carcass from scales, scrape off the mucus, cut off the head and tail, remove the entrails and rinse well in water.
2. Cut the carcass crosswise into pieces 3 cm thick.
3. Roll the steaks in salt and place in a bowl. Sprinkle another layer of salt on top, cover the container and put it in a cool place for three days.
4. Then rinse each steak with water and dry with a napkin.
5. Place pieces of fish on paper clips and hang on a rope in a ventilated place for a day or two.
6. Remove the steaks, wrap each piece separately in thick cloth napkins and refrigerate for two days.

The dry-cured steaks are now ready to eat. They can be wrapped in foil and stored in the refrigerator.

Recipe for dried straws

Dried catfish straws will appeal to all beer lovers. A three-kilogram catfish is suitable for its preparation.

Ideally, to prepare dried catfish straws, you need a special dryer, but at home you can replace it with a dryer for fruits and vegetables, which many households have.

Cooking procedure:

1. Clean the catfish carcass, gut it and wash it.
2. Remove the fillet from each side of the fish, remove large bones from the flesh with tweezers, cut off the skin with a sharp knife.
3. Cut the catfish fillet into thin strips along the grain, taking into account that the strips will become thinner during drying. It is optimal to cut them about 1 cm thick.
4. Boil water in a separate bowl, put salt in it, stir so that it dissolves faster. The ratio of water and salt is 1:1.11.
5. Immerse the prepared fish strips in the resulting solution and put it in the refrigerator for a day.
6. Drain the brine, place the fish strips on a cloth and dry.
7. Now the straw blanks need to be withered. To do this, place them in the dryer and keep them in it for three to four hours at a temperature of 120ᵅC.
8. Cool the workpieces and turn on the dryer again for 1-2 hours.
9. Now the straw is ready for use. To store, put it in bags or wrap it in foil and put it in the refrigerator.

Dried catfish straws should be dense in consistency, moderately salty and have a beautiful amber hue

When cutting catfish for drying, the skin and excess fat must be removed.

Some lovers of dried catfish recommend adding granulated sugar to the salt: for 5 heaped tablespoons of salt - 1.5 heaped tablespoons of granulated sugar.

In addition to salt, when salting, you can add black peppercorns, coriander peas and a little cumin (on the tip of a knife).

Fans of delicious river fish will love catfish balyk. It is ideal for preparing all kinds of snacks for a foamy drink, as well as for a festive table. How to cook fish? The largest freshwater fish can be salted, dried, smoked, fried, boiled, baked, stewed.

Fish goes well with grilled or oven-baked vegetables, as well as herbs. You can use it to make a sandwich or salad. Salted or dried fish is a great addition to cold, fresh beer. It must be cut finely into shavings. This will make using it even more enjoyable.

However, the most delicious is balyk made from catfish. When preparing it at home, you should take into account that it is prepared exclusively from fresh fish. If the catfish is frozen, then it is better to try cooking it in another way. There are a large number of cooking recipes. Balyk is made by dry and wet salting. When dry salting, small pieces of sirloin are rubbed with salt. Spices are added to salt.

With the wet salting method, salt is dissolved in water at the rate of 3 tbsp. for 1 liter of water. You can also salt by weight at the rate of 1 kg of salt per 10 kg of fish. We will tell you below how to make balyk from catfish.

Balyk is the back of a large freshwater fish, salted and then dried in the fresh air. It tastes very pleasant, with a specific aroma and smell; this delicacy must be stored in the refrigerator.

Nutritional value is 143 kcal.

100 g of product contains:

• proteins - 20.6 g;
• fats - 8 g;
• carbohydrates - 0 g.

Chemical composition:

• vitamins of the group: A, B1, B2, E, PP;
• iron, zinc, chromium, fluorine, molybdenum, nickel, chlorine, phosphorus, potassium.

How to cook balyk at home using the dry method

The recipe is as follows. Before cooking, catfish must be thoroughly washed under running water. Then you should remove the skin and get rid of the ridge, belly and large bones. Divide the carcass into two equal fillet parts and cut into small pieces. Rinse them in warm water.

Place the first layer in a deep bowl, cut sides down. Sprinkle the layer with coarse salt. Next, lay the second layer and carry out the same procedure. To add a unique aroma and piquancy, use fish spices and ground black pepper. You can use both ready-made spices from the package and those that you personally like and like.

Bay leaves and coriander in combination with ground black pepper are best suited for pickling. Spices can be added directly to the salt or sprinkled on each layer of fish. Dried catfish balyk marinated in this way should be placed in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf for 2-3 days.

After it has spent the required time in the refrigerator, remove it. Rinse the fillets under running water and hang them carefully in a cool, ventilated area for another 3-4 days.

After this period, the catfish balyk will be ready. It is stored in the refrigerator for several months. It can be consumed with beer or made into a sandwich with butter and thinly sliced ​​pieces.

How to make dried catfish balyk (wet method)

Dried balyk has a more delicate consistency. The meat is softer compared to salted and dried meat.

Recipe

Wash the fish and remove skin and entrails. Remove entrails, fins, backbone and large bones. Divide into two halves. Cut the fillet into small pieces. How to prepare the chop so that it is evenly salted? Try to cut it into equal pieces.

Place fish pieces tightly in a deep bowl. Pour in salted brine at the rate of 3 tbsp. for 1 liter of water. For brine, it is better to use coarse salt. Cover the top with a plate and place under pressure. The brine should completely cover the fish. Place in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Then remove the fish and wash it.

Let's move on to drying. We dry the fish in the fresh air, hanging and covered with gauze. In 3-4 days it will be ready. The main thing is not to dry out the fish, it should be soft - dried.

The catfish balyk is ready - bon appetit!

Sturgeon balyk was considered one of the most delicious fish dishes. The best was balyk, made from “blank” sturgeon (i.e. not caviar), it is fattier.

First, the abdominal cavity of the sturgeon was cut off and the organs (heart, liver, intestines) were removed. An incision was then made in the middle of the spinal column. Having cut off the head and peritoneum, they removed the viziga (dry veins covering the spinal column) through a cut hole, washed them in water and hung them to dry. Then they tore out the glue and laid it out to dry on the boards.

The sturgeon carcass was not washed in water; it was rubbed with saltpeter and covered with salt. In the latter, the sturgeon lay for four to five days. If salted, it should be hard; if soft, then it should remain in salt for up to six or seven days. Then the balyk was soaked in water, if well salted, then for a day, and if weakly, then for twelve hours. It was important not to over-soak it. If the sturgeon was still soft, it was tied lightly in a balychnitsa and smeared with saltpeter diluted in water, from which it turned pink. In sunny weather, the balyks sang faster than in cloudy weather and had a more marketable appearance.

Cut off sturgeon and stellate sturgeon heads were salted into the root (i.e. for future use, for a long time). The cut sturgeon peritoneum, from which the meat was made, was also placed in the salt, where it remained for a day, no more than two. After which it was soaked for 8-12 hours, and then straightened with spacers and dried in balychniki. They also prepared balyk from beluga.

Balyk from sturgeon fish

Sturgeon fish species include: sturgeon, thorn, kaluga, beluga, stellate sturgeon, bester. These fish, living in natural conditions, are listed in the Red Book. At the same time, today there are many factories engaged in breeding fish, including sturgeon.

To prepare balyk from sturgeon fish, you can use frozen, chilled or live fish.

If there is live or chilled fish, before cutting it is necessary to bleed it by cutting the gills, and in beluga, in addition, make a longitudinal incision in the tail, below the anal fin. Rinse the bloodless fish, thoroughly clearing the belly of mucus, then cut the belly between the pectoral fins, not reaching 3-4 cm from the anus and avoiding cuts to the intestines. When gutting, carefully remove from the fish the eggshells or milt, fat deposits, intestines along with the anus, all other entrails, as well as the dorsal string (vizig). Rinse the gutted fish thoroughly with water until blood, mucus and other contaminants are completely removed.

If you have frozen fish, you must first defrost it in air at a temperature no higher than 20 degrees C or in water at a temperature no higher than 15 degrees C. There should be five times more water than fish. The fish prepared as indicated above must be cut, depending on the type and size, into sides, backs and sides.
** Salting sturgeon:
Pour a layer of salt 1-2 cm high at the bottom of the salting container, then lay the fish in tight, even rows, skin side down, sprinkling each layer of fish with a 1 cm layer of salt. After a day, pour all this with cold brine at the rate of 100 grams of salt per 8 liters of water. The fish should be completely covered with brine. Approximately, fish should remain in brine for 4 to 7 days. We take the fish out of the brine and wash it thoroughly in a saline solution prepared at the rate of 100 grams of salt per 5 liters of water. After washing, it is necessary to keep the fish in the air to equalize the salinity. This process will take 2-3 days.

Now the fish needs to be tied or stitched. When hanging the fish with twine, tie and sew the fish (backs) or just sew it (sides, sides) with twine, while making a loop for hanging the fish on slats (poles, ramrods). Now the future balyk needs to be dried under natural conditions, in the open air. In warm weather this will take from 1 to 2 days, in colder times of the year from 2 to 4 days.

Now all that remains is to smoke our balyk. The approximate time the fish spends in the smokehouse is from 30 to 40 hours. During the initial period of smoking, the temperature should be no more than 23 degrees C. By the end of smoking, the temperature should increase to 30 degrees C. Ready sturgeon balyk can be stored at a temperature of 0 - 2 degrees C for 45 days.

Balyk from carp

Balyk was prepared from carp somewhat differently than from sturgeon. They also cut across the back, took out the spinal column, took away the head, and dipped the carcass itself into boiling strong brine on the count: One, two, three?. Then the fish were hung on runners to dry. These balyks were not sold; they were eaten only by the owners themselves.

Balyk, or salted and dried meat, is an excellent snack for beer, a nutritious camp meal, and simply a very tasty dish. For balyk, chefs advise using large fish, weighing more than 5 kilograms. So, balyk made from catfish, carp, and carp is good. But it is best to use large carp for such a delicacy. Why? - you ask. There are several reasons for this: firstly, the carp is not too bony, unlike its “relative” carp, which means you don’t have to painstakingly select bones from the future balyk with tweezers. Secondly, carp, even the largest, practically does not pick up the smell of mud. Well, thirdly, carp meat is very tasty and there is a lot of it. Convinced? Then we prepare balyk from carp!

The secret to getting a tasty balyk is in the correct cutting of the fish. For balyk we need to separate the fillet. We start by cutting off the head and tail fin, removing the fins and entrails. After this, we thoroughly rinse the carp from the inside, removing the remaining entrails, blood and films from the abdominal cavity. Using a sharp knife, make an incision along the back of the fish. Then we carefully layer the fish from the tail to the belly, separating the ridge. Using a hatchet or sharp knife, trim the ribs and leave them in the fillet.

Now the future balyk from carp needs to be cut so that the fish is well salted and tasty. The optimal cutting for large fish is as follows: carefully cut off the back of each fillet half and cut crosswise into pieces of 2-3 centimeters. We cut the belly along the ribs and roll it into rolls. That's it, the fish is cut up and ready to be turned into a delicious, aromatic balyk!

To prepare balyk from carp at home, in addition to fish, we will need:

coarse salt (sea salt is best),
spices for fish - of your choice,
pickling container,
oppression,
nylon thread,
gauze.

The first stage of preparing balyk is salting. It is best to salt carp in a dry way. Place a layer of fish in a salting container and sprinkle with a handful of salt. If you want to make the taste of balyk a little sweeter, add sugar to the salt in a ratio of 4 to one (for 4 tablespoons of salt - 1 spoon of sugar). Sprinkle the fish pieces with spices. After this, place the next layer of fish and again sprinkle with salt and spices. Place the salted fish under pressure in the refrigerator for 3 days. During this time, it must be stirred at least 2-3 times.

After three days, the salted carp is ready for the second stage - washing and soaking. First, wash each piece of fish in running water. Let's try it: if the salt in the taste is strong enough, soak the fish for a couple of hours in cold water - it will draw out the excess salt. Take out the soaked pieces and dry them on a towel.

And now, the last stage is approaching: carp balyk needs to be dried at home. We string pieces of balyk onto a nylon thread and hang it in a cool, dry place where fresh air can be provided - on a glazed balcony, loggia, in a ventilated basement, cellar or pantry. If you make balyk in the summer, it is better to additionally wrap it in gauze to protect it from flies and other insects. In the meantime, while the balyk is drying, you can have time to go fishing again, or at least read about new ways of fishing on the main page of our website. It takes two days to dry the balyk, after which we remove it, wrap it in parchment or natural fabric and send it to ripen in the refrigerator.

The finished balyk turns out tender, soft, and guests and household members will surely like it.

Catfish balyk

We gut the catfish without touching the gall bladder, cut off the tail at the level of the anus, cut off the peritoneum, going onto the sides, this will be a treat. We cut the tail like sausage, in pieces of about six centimeters, this is actually balyk.

Salt in enamel or stainless steel containers. If there is none, you can cover any with a piece of plastic film, preferably one that is intended for packaging food. Polyethylene is better with a margin in terms of dimensions.

We lay them in tight rows with the cuts up and down, sprinkling the pieces of tail with salt, approximately at the rate of 1.5 kg of salt per 10 kg of fish. If cut carefully, it can be packed very tightly. We lay all these layers on top with a mahalla (end of the tail) and pieces of meat, skin side up. Flat pieces, naturally, are also salted. Sprinkle everything on top with salt, press down with pressure, if it’s polyethylene, wrap the pieces up.

Coarse salt, regular salt is fine, but in no case extra salt. finely ground. The coarser the grind, the better. The best one is the one that is transported by barges from Baskunchak. In warm weather, it is better to keep the jug in the refrigerator, when it gets colder - on the balcony, whoever has what options.

We keep the fish in brine (brine), if necessary, we take out as much as necessary, wash it thoroughly under running water, and scrape the skin with a dull knife. We hang the pieces for a day or two. Once the skin has hardened, everything is ready; there is no point in drying it any further.

We use the back for cutlets, pies, etc., including hot smoking. When cutting, we use the hinges that the catfish has. Having the skill, a half-centner catfish can be cut with a pocket knife. Wash the fish only before drying; before cutting, you can only scrape it lightly; anyway, all the mucus will appear only after salting.

The fish does not lose quality for six months, until the next season.