Salt the whole mackerel. Salting mackerel at home - recipes




In a dispute between salted herring and mackerel, the latter often wins. And, to tell the truth, not without reason. Mackerel is a fatty, tender fish, and there are far fewer bones in it. And we like salted mackerel so much that we even like a sacred herring salad under a fur coat! - some take the plunge and instead of herring finely chop mackerel.

Salting mackerel at home is very tasty and not difficult. It's time to go get some fresh frozen mackerel!

It is important to make useful contacts in the fish aisles at the local market. There, out of friendship, they will sell you really fresh, fatty, unbroken, not defrosted or overfrozen fish. Some sellers sort the fish, giving a discount on smaller samples. But their choice mackerel weighs half a kilo, or even more! In chain supermarkets, the quality of mackerel is traditionally lower; for some reason the fish there is always on the thin side. The fattest mackerel is in winter.

Having bought the best mackerel, do not rush to defrost it in the microwave or in hot water. Be patient and place the frozen mackerel on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. While the fish is defrosting, pay attention to our recipes and choose the most suitable one!

Mackerel can be salted in three ways: a whole ungutted carcass (as in the store), semi-gutted (without entrails) or pieces. According to true experts, the most delicious salted mackerel at home is obtained when you salt it whole. It is very tender and never oversalted - the skin does not allow excess salt to pass through. If you salt half-gutted mackerel or pieces, it is important to strictly observe the proportions and holding time.

One final tip: If you don't cut the head off the mackerel carcass, be sure to remove the gills as they are bitter. To salt whole mackerel, make sure that the skin is not damaged, otherwise you risk oversalting the fish.

So, let's begin. The first recipes are for whole carcasses. This is the easiest way to learn how to salt mackerel, almost a win-win.

Whole mackerel salted at home

Ingredients for one carcass:
3-5 tbsp. coarse salt,
1 tbsp. Sahara,
1 tsp ground black pepper,
spices (mustard beans, dried dill, bay leaf, etc.).

Preparation:
Rub the defrosted fish with the curing mixture and place in a bag. Place in the refrigerator for three days. During this time, open the bag several times and distribute the salt over the fish carcasses. Before use, rinse the salt from the carcasses and pat dry with paper towels.

Mackerel in brine
This method is only suitable for whole carcasses; you don’t even need to remove the gills from them so that the fish does not oversalt. Brine is prepared as follows: salt is added by spoonfuls into water (an amount sufficient to cover the whole carcass) at constant boiling until it stops dissolving. Remove the solution from the heat, add a spoonful of sugar, a couple of cloves, 5-6 peas of allspice, 2-3 bay leaves, a teaspoon of mustard seeds. Cool the solution and pour over the fish. Place in the refrigerator, covered, for two days. Make sure that the skin is not damaged, otherwise the fish will be over-salted. You can store cooked fish for 5-6 days, no more.

Homemade salted mackerel “Like smoked”

Ingredients:
3 mackerel,
6 stacks water,
3-4 tbsp. salt,
2-3 tbsp. dry brewed black tea (without flavorings),
1.5 tbsp. Sahara,
3-4 handfuls of onion peels,
spices - to taste and desire.

Preparation:
Rinse the onion peels under running water, place in a saucepan, add salt, sugar and tea leaves, add water and put on fire. Once the brine boils, remove it from the heat and let cool to room temperature. After removing the gills, place the defrosted fish in a container and fill it with filtered brine. Leave it on the table for an hour, then put it in the cold for three days. Turn the fish over periodically to ensure even salting and coloring. Remove the finished mackerel from the brine, wipe dry with paper towels, tie a string on the tails and hang over the sink for 6-8 hours. The fish will dry out a little and will be indistinguishable from store-bought smoked fish.

Dry salted mackerel

Ingredients:
2 mackerel carcasses,
2-3 tbsp. salt,
1 tbsp. Sahara,
3 bay leaves,
5-6 peas of allspice,
ground black pepper.

Preparation:
Gut the mackerel, defrosted according to all the rules, remove the black film from the belly, cut off the head and rinse well. You can dry it with paper towels outside and inside. Mix salt and sugar, add peppercorns and broken bay leaf, pour part of the mixture into the bottom of the container. Rub the mixture inside and outside the fish, place it in a container, sprinkle the remaining salt on top and close the lid or cover with cling film. Place in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Before eating, remove salt from fish.

Spicy salted mackerel in a jar

Ingredients:
1-2 mackerel,
1 onion,
500 ml water,
2-3 tbsp. salt,
1 tbsp. Sahara,
5-6 peas of allspice,
1 tbsp. mustard seeds,
2-3 bay leaves.

Preparation:
Gut the defrosted fish, remove the head and cut into pieces. Pour salt and sugar into the water, add pepper, bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cool. Cut the onion into rings. Place the food in a jar, alternating pieces of fish and onions, sprinkling with mustard seeds. Fill with brine and place the jar in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours. Store cooked fish for no more than five days in the refrigerator.

Instant mackerel fillet

Ingredients:
2 mackerel carcasses,
2 tbsp. salt,
1 tbsp. Sahara,
1 tsp ground black pepper,
1 tsp allspice.

Preparation:
Thaw the mackerel, gut it, cut off the head and fillet it. Remove the skin. Cut the fillet crosswise into slices. Place the fish in a wide glass container in layers, sprinkling with the salting mixture. Cover with a plate and set pressure. Leave in the refrigerator for 7-8 hours.

Salted mackerel at home in any way when serving can be arranged with onion rings and sprinkled with table vinegar or lemon juice. This is great, friends!

Bon appetit and new culinary discoveries!

Larisa Shuftaykina

Today I want to introduce you to this topic - very tasty salted mackerel, and tell you a few recipes on how to salt it at home.

This is a wonderful, tasty fish that is salted, pickled, smoked,...

This small fish, in general, invariably pleases us with its taste.

Of course, you can buy ready-made salted mackerel in the store, but I’m sure it will be tastier if cooked at home.

When salting at home, you can use all your gourmet imagination - add your favorite spices, use various salting methods - in brine, dry salting, tasty fillings.

How to pickle whole mackerel in brine - the simplest recipe

For this recipe we will need:

  • Mackerel, take fresh frozen, defrost, remove the gills from it, rinse under running water
  • The salting vessel, preferably enameled with a lid, should be of such length and volume that the fish can fit in it; if it is a little smaller, you can bend or cut off the tail of the fish

For brine per 1 kg. fish:

  • 0.5 liters of boiled chilled water
  • 2 tbsp. spoons of salt
  • 1 tbsp. spoon of sugar
  • 1 – 2 bay leaves optional

Pickling:

  1. Prepare the brine, stir salt and sugar in water, stir thoroughly until completely dissolved

2. Place the fish in the container, fill it with brine, if there wasn’t enough of it and the fish was not completely covered with it, it’s okay, you’ll just need to turn it over periodically

3. Close the lid and leave for 2 – 3 hours at room temperature

4. Place the vessel with fish in the refrigerator for 4 – 5 days

Lightly salted whole mackerel, dry salted without water

The fish turns out lightly salted, tender and very tasty.

  1. Defrost mackerel, wash

2. Gut the carcasses, separating the heads and tails

3. Prepare a dry mixture of 3 tablespoons of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of ground black pepper, mix it well

4. Rub the fish on all sides and inside with our prepared mixture, place on foil

5. Sprinkle with the rest of the mixture and roll the carcasses in it

6. Wrap tightly in foil, put the package in a bag

7. Place in the refrigerator for 4 days

How to quickly and tasty pickle mackerel pieces in brine

  1. Defrost freshly frozen fish, gut it, separate the heads and tails, and rinse under running water.
  2. Cut into equal pieces
  3. Place in a container for pickling
  4. Finely chop the onion and sprinkle the pieces
  5. Prepare brine for pouring, based on 800 ml. boiled chilled water add 3 tbsp. spoons of salt
  6. Add 1 teaspoon (without a slide) of ground black pepper and fish seasoning
  7. If desired, you can add 1 tbsp to the brine. a spoonful of vinegar and 2 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil
  8. Pour into a container with fish and put 2 - 3 bay leaves
  9. Close the container tightly and put it in the refrigerator
  10. After a day you can taste very tasty fish

Delicious pieces of mackerel in brine with tea

Necessary:

  • Fresh frozen mackerel
  • Salt – 4 tbsp. l.
  • Sugar – 4 tbsp. l.
  • Bay leaf – 1 – 2 pcs, spices to your taste
  • Black tea – 4 tsp.
  • Water – 1 l.

Preparation:

  1. Defrost the fish, gut it, separate the heads and tails
  2. Prepare the brine by pouring water into a saucepan and putting it on the fire.
  3. Bring to a boil and add tea to the water
  4. Add salt, sugar, spices, bay leaf at once, stir everything well
  5. Turn off the heat and let the brine cool
  6. Strain the cooled brine through a sieve and pour in the fish placed in the container.
  7. Cover with a lid and place in the refrigerator for 4 days.
  8. When preparing the brine, you can also add spices according to your taste preferences.

Incomparably delicious salted mackerel in onion skins in 3 minutes


Ingredients:

Mackerel – 1 pc. (medium size)

  • Onion peel – 1 handful
  • Salt – 5 tbsp. l.
  • Water – 1 l.
  • Spices according to your taste and discretion

Preparation:

  1. Pour water into the pan and soak the husks in it for a few minutes.
  2. Place on the stove, stir in salt and spices
  3. Bring to a boil, add thawed and washed fish for 3 minutes
  4. Place the fish in a colander, let it drain and cool, the fish is ready to eat.

How to deliciously pickle mackerel in onion skins and tea - video recipe

How to make salted mackerel pieces with mustard (mustard-spicy filling)

  1. Defrost the fish, gut it, leave it without heads and tails
  2. Rub the salting mixture on all sides and inside and place in a bowl for pickling.

The curing mixture for 1 kg of fish consists of:

  • 100 g – salt
  • 3 g. - sugar
  • 3 g – ground nutmeg
  • 1 - 2 - bay leaf, finely chopped

3. Sprinkle it with the remaining mixture, close the lid and put it in the refrigerator for 2 days (during this time, turn it over several times)

4. Remove from the refrigerator, rinse the mixture under running water and dry

5. Prepare the filling, for this we pour several peas of allspice, black pepper, several cloves, cardamom, nutmeg into a mortar and grind it all with a pestle.

6. Pour some water (100 ml.) into the pan, pour the dry seasoning mixture into it

Ingredients of the spicy mixture:

  • Allspice - 1 gr.
  • Black pepper - 1 gr.
  • Nutmeg - 1 gr.
  • Coriander - 1 gr.
  • Cloves - 2-3 pcs.
  • Water - 100 gr.

7. Place on the fire and bring to a boil

8. Remove from heat and leave to brew for 10 minutes

9. Cut the mackerel into pieces 2 - 2.5 cm thick and place in a bowl on an onion bed (cut the onion into slices)

10. Strain our cooled broth

11. Mix mustard with olive oil

12. Add sugar and salt, mix, pour in the broth, 4 g of acetic acid

Composition of mustard-spicy filling:

  • Spicy decoction - 100 gr.
  • Mustard - 50 gr.
  • Vegetable oil - 60 gr.
  • Sugar - 35 gr.
  • Salt - 7 gr.
  • Acetic acid - 4 g.

13. Pour the fish and put it in the refrigerator for one day

It turns out not a fish, but just SMASH

Detailed recipe for salting mackerel in a jar - video

Choose a recipe and cook the most delicious fish.

Lightly salted fish is a tasty, healthy dish and can be combined with most side dishes. A huge number of people treat her very favorably. Red fish is not available every day, but lightly salted mackerel is no worse. It’s easy to prepare at home, and there are plenty of pickling methods to choose from. And if you use your imagination, you can create your own personal culinary masterpiece.

Fish in brine

Let's first consider the most trivial recipe for salting mackerel at home. Two carcasses are gutted and cleaned (if they came into your hands fresh). There is nothing new in cutting: the head is cut off, the entrails are taken out, the scales are removed. Perhaps you can draw the attention of an inexperienced cook to the black film in the belly of the fish: it gives the finished dish an unpleasant, sharp bitterness, so it must be cleaned off very carefully.

The mackerel is cut into convenient pieces, a large onion - into not very thick half rings. Place the fish slices in a jar, alternating with onions and sprinkling with peppercorns, broken bay and cloves.

Half a liter of water is boiled, two heaped tablespoons of salt and one and a half tablespoons of sugar are dissolved in it, a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil are added. When the brine has cooled, pour it over the fish, close the lid and hide it in the refrigerator. Lightly salted mackerel will be ready at home within 24 hours.


Dry salting

It is not necessary to prepare a marinade for fish. There is a very simple recipe for salting mackerel at home without any liquids.

Mix salt (large spoon) and sugar (one and a half small spoons). For more spice, you can crush the bay leaf into the mixture, but you can just put the leaves between the pieces.

The cut fish is cut into slices, each is rubbed with the prepared mixture, and the mackerel is placed in a pan (not aluminum!) or in a container.

The vessel should be removed to a dark and cool place. After about three hours you will have to drain the fish juice and return the container to its place. And this lightly salted mackerel will be ready to eat at home in another half a day.

Spicy fish with mustard

This recipe is an expanded and more interesting variation of the previous one. And before salting, it is better to fillet the mackerel - remove not only the entrails, scales and head, but also the bones, so that clean meat remains. So lightly salted mackerel at home will be salted faster, and it will be more pleasant to eat.

Mix one and a half tbsp in a bowl. tablespoons of salt, half a teaspoon of sugar, a whole grain mustard, dried dill (generously - it will not be superfluous in any quantity), coriander, allspice and two grated bay leaves.


Whole mackerel with onions

If you prefer fish salted whole, take care first of all of a suitable container. For example, a plastic bucket or large enamel pan will do.

We gut the mackerel, but leave the tail and head - just be sure to remove the gills.

For each fish carcass, 1 medium onion is peeled and cut into rings. The products are placed in a vessel and filled with brine from a liter of water with the addition of salt, ground pepper, vegetable oil and weak vinegar (50 ml each).

In this marinade, lightly salted mackerel will be ready within ten hours.


Sugudai

If you are wondering how to quickly and deliciously pickle mackerel at home, look for fresh wild garlic at the market. It should be taken in fairly large quantities and chopped as finely as possible.

Gutted carcasses can be filleted, or cut into convenient pieces. In any case, the slices are laid out in one layer, generously sprinkled with wild garlic, and on top of it with fine salt and pepper.

Each such layer is sprinkled with vinegar (with apple or wine vinegar it turns out more tender).

The folded layers are placed in the refrigerator for about forty minutes; They need to be stirred every ten minutes. But in less than an hour, juicy and fragrant lightly salted mackerel will be on your table.

Mackerel with lemon

There are quite a few options for salting fish. And using any of them you get wonderful lightly salted mackerel. It is quite difficult to select the best recipes, since they all give excellent results. But I would especially like to highlight the lemon one. Firstly, having prepared a dish using it in the evening, before going to bed, the next morning you can eat delicious fish. Secondly, it produces a particularly delicate, refined taste. And thirdly, no exotic components.

So, a couple of carcasses are cut into suitable pieces. A medium lemon is peeled - its juice is just enough for the fish, and the peels are coarsely chopped and poured into the mackerel sprinkled with juice.

In addition to lemon, it is supplemented with rings of one onion, a couple of tablespoons of chopped dill, an incomplete spoon of sugar, cloves (a couple of pieces) and a level spoon of salt.

The container is modestly poured with odorless vegetable oil, its contents are mixed - and put into the refrigerator. This lightly salted mackerel will captivate you forever. A simple and tasty (the recipe allows you to cook it every day) snack option will help out in any situation.

Lightly salted mackerel "Smoked"

Salt - 5 tbsp. without top
Sugar - 2 tbsp.
Black tea without additives - 3 tbsp.
Onion - 1 pc.
Water - 1 l

Take water into a saucepan, add salt, sugar, chopped onion, and black tea. You can take more tea, it all depends on its quality. Firstly, it gives the fish a smoked color, and secondly, tannins make it dense and beautiful. Boil the marinade for about five minutes and set aside until completely cooled.

At this time we clean the fish. You can take not only mackerel, herring will also go wonderfully. Remove the head and entrails and wash. If the fish is frozen, then let it thaw until it can be cleaned, and marinate it.

Take a plastic bottle of mineral water/beer/lemonade. Cut off the neck so that the fish can fit inside. Place mackerel in a bottle. The 1.5-liter will fit 2 pieces, and the 2-liter will have all four.

Pour the marinade over the fish and put it in the refrigerator for 2 days. Then we take it out, dry it on a paper towel, cut it and eat it in one sitting, it’s so tasty, lightly salted and tender. Both the color and taste turned out like smoked.

This sea fish, which has a rich taste, contains many useful substances, especially valuable Omega-3 fats, and is easily absorbed by the body.

To prepare an environmentally friendly product without preservatives and chemicals, you need to know how to pickle mackerel without brine, and I will tell you how to do this simply in the recipe below. Firstly, it is cheaper than buying ready-made salted fish, secondly, it is much healthier and thirdly, there is nothing complicated in preparing salted mackerel.

About mackerel

This fish belongs to the fatty varieties. But those who watch their figure should not be afraid of this. The maximum amount of fat that mackerel gains by autumn is approximately 16-17%, which, in principle, is not that much.

It is during this period of the year that the highest content of vitamins and microelements is concentrated in fish meat. Fats contain elements that are useful and necessary for the body. In spring, the fish becomes a little thinner and less fatty.

100 grams of meat contain approximately 180 kcal and half the daily protein requirement. So in any case, it can be classified as a dietary product.

For salting, it is best to buy fresh, medium-sized fish. If only frozen mackerel is sold in your area, that's okay, just defrost it naturally, so it will retain its structure and more nutrients.

How to pickle mackerel without brine: recipe without brine

For salting you will need

  • Mackerel fish – 2 pcs.;
  • Medium or coarse salt – 5 tbsp;
  • Sugar – 1 tbsp;
  • Ground allspice black pepper - to taste;
  • Ground bay leaf - a pinch;
  • Lemon juice – 1 tbsp;
  • Cling film;
  • Container with a lid.
  • Clean the fish from scales, gut it, remove the head and fins. Rinse the carcasses thoroughly under running water and dry them with a paper towel.

  • Mix salt, sugar and spices in one cup.
  • There is no need to cut the carcass, take it whole and thoroughly rub it with the mixture on all sides. Set the carcass aside for 15 minutes so that it is slightly saturated with salt, then repeat the process.
  • After this, sprinkle the fish lightly with lemon juice and wrap each one in cling film. You can also use a regular plastic bag.
  • Place the mackerel in a food container, cover with a lid and place in the refrigerator. The ambassador will take two days. If you want lightly salted fish, you can only keep it for a day.

After time has passed, remove the carcasses from the film, wipe them from salt with napkins, cut into pieces and serve. This is how easy and simple I salt mackerel at home using the dry method.

The fish goes ideally with onions marinated in vinegar, under potatoes or stewed vegetables. Simply delicious! And most importantly, fish is healthy and very necessary for our body. Of course, in reasonable quantities.

8 delicious ways to pickle mackerel at home.


How to salt mackerel in 2 hours
A variety of salted fish are sold in stores, but buying lightly salted fish is sometimes problematic. To ensure that the fish retains its marketable appearance and is stored longer, manufacturers do not skimp on salt. However, you can cook lightly salted mackerel at home in 2 hours. The recipe described below is suitable for impatient fans of homemade pickles.
It is enough to be patient and after 2 hours you can start tasting the lightly salted product.
INGREDIENTS:
Mackerel - 1 pc. Onion - 1 head. Water - 350 ml. Salt - 1.5 tablespoons. Black pepper - 7 peas. Laurel - 2 leaves.
PREPARATION:
The first thing I do is pickle the brine. I pour water into a small ladle, bring it to a boil, add the onion cut into four parts, the spices and salt indicated in the recipe. I cook the brine over low heat under the lid for no more than 10 minutes, then turn off the gas, remove the lid and let it cool. While the marinade cools, I work on the fish. I cut off the tail and head, make a small incision on the abdomen, remove the entrails through it, wash the carcass with water and dry it with paper napkins. I cut the carcass into pieces 2 centimeters thick so that it is salted quickly and evenly. I put the pieces of fish in a jar or food container, fill them with brine, close the lid and put them in the refrigerator for 120 minutes. After the specified time, the salted fish will be cooked. If necessary, you can keep it in the brine for another half hour. Before serving, I recommend garnishing the mackerel with onion rings and herbs.

Spicy salted mackerel

The recipe for spicy salted mackerel is suitable even for herring and red fish. 12 hours after cooking is complete, the dish will delight you with its incredible taste. INGREDIENTS:
Fresh mackerel - 2 pcs. Onion - 2 heads. Allspice - 5 peas. Laurel - 2 leaves. Wine vinegar - 50 ml. Salt - 3 tablespoons. Vegetable oil - 1 spoon. Dried cloves - 2 sticks. Ground black pepper. STEP BY STEP PREPARATION:
I peel the fish and cut the carcasses along the ridge. Then I carefully remove the bones and cut the mackerel fillets into medium-sized pieces. Sprinkle with salt and set aside for 10 minutes. I cut the peeled onion into rings. To prepare the marinade, combine vinegar with vegetable oil in a bowl, add the spices indicated in the recipe and mix thoroughly. I season the mackerel with pepper, add onion rings, mix, put in a glass container and pour in the marinade. I leave it at room temperature for at least 10 hours, after which I keep it in the refrigerator for another couple of hours. Mackerel salted according to this recipe is incredibly tender. I usually serve spicy fish with boiled potatoes, although I often use it for making croutons and sandwiches. Guests empty the plate with this delicacy first.

Salted mackerel pieces

Practice shows that salted mackerel in pieces is both an excellent independent dish, a wonderful addition to various side dishes, and an excellent ingredient for appetizers. The recipe is intended for people who cannot imagine their life without salted fish. Thanks to the spicy brine, the fish becomes ready to eat overnight.
INGREDIENTS:
Mackerel - 350 g. Salt - 1 spoon. Sugar - 0.5 spoons. Ground pepper Vegetable oil Vinegar - to taste.
PREPARATION:
I pour water over the fresh mackerel, cut off the head and tail, gut it, wash it again and cut it into pieces three centimeters thick. I roll each piece in a mixture of pepper, sugar and salt. I place the mackerel tightly in a glass container, cover it with a lid and put it in the refrigerator until the morning. Then I wash off the excess salt from the mackerel, dry it, put it in a clean jar and fill it with a solution of vinegar and vegetable oil. After a couple of hours, you can enjoy the taste of salted fish.

DRY AMBASSADOR
INGREDIENTS:
2 mackerel carcasses, 2-3 tablespoons of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 3 bay leaves, a small amount of allspice, 1 small bunch of dill.
PREPARATION:
Tackle the mackerel. The fish must be gutted by removing the black film from the abdomen. Then cut off the heads and rinse the carcasses under running water.
Take a plastic or glass container. Sprinkle a little salt on the bottom, put a few peas of allspice and a couple of sprigs of dill, crumble one bay leaf.
Mix salt and sugar and rub the fish inside and out. Place the fish in a container and add a couple more sprigs of dill, bay leaf, allspice and the remaining salt on top and in the belly.
Close the container with the fish tightly and place it in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Clean the finished fish from excess salt using a paper napkin or a small amount of water.

SPICY FISH IN A JAR
Mackerel in a jar is at the same time tasty, spicy, appetizing and exquisite.
INGREDIENTS:
1–2 fish carcasses, 1 onion, 0.5 liters of water, 2–3 tablespoons of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 4–5 pieces of allspice, 2–3 bay leaves, 1 tablespoon of mustard beans.
PREPARATION:
Prepare the fish: gut, trim the heads and rinse well under running water. Cut the carcass into large pieces.
Proceed with the brine. Add salt, sugar, bay leaf and allspice to the water and bring to a boil. Salt and sugar should completely dissolve. Remove the brine from the heat and cool to room temperature.
Cut the onions into small rings. Place them in a jar, alternating with layers of fish. Add mustard there too. Pour brine into the jar so that it completely covers the mackerel.
Close the jar with a lid and place it in the refrigerator for 10–12 hours. Finished mackerel can be stored at a cold temperature for no more than 5 days. The same applies to fish brine.

FISH UNDER OPRESS

The essence of this recipe is that the fish is left for several hours under the yoke of some kind of load. A liter jar filled with water or a sealed bag of cereal of the same volume is perfect for this purpose.
INGREDIENTS:
2 mackerel, 2 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon each freshly ground and allspice.
PREPARATION:
First, prepare the pickling mixture. To do this, mix salt, sugar and pepper.
The mackerel needs to be prepared. Gut the carcasses, cut off the heads and rinse the fish under running water. Then dry the mackerel thoroughly and transfer it to a cutting board.
Cut each carcass lengthwise through the belly into two parts. Remove the fish spine and all bones. Trim the meat from the skin. It is better to do this with a very sharp knife.
Cut the fillet crosswise into small pieces. They must be transferred to a glass container and sprinkled with the pickling mixture. Press the fish down with pressure and place it in the refrigerator for 7–8 hours.


AMBASSADOR OF A WHOLE MACTERCARSE
You can try salting a whole mackerel carcass. It will also turn out very tasty. There is no need to gut the fish for this recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
2 mackerel carcasses, 6 tablespoons salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon dried dill, 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil.
PREPARATION:
Rinse the mackerel and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Take a large bag and add salt, sugar, pepper and dill into it. Shake the bag to mix all the seasonings.
Then thoroughly rub each carcass with the curing mixture. Place the fish in the bag in which you mixed the seasonings. Wrap the mackerel tightly. To do this, you can use a few more bags or thick paper.
Place the fish in the refrigerator for 3 days. The finished fish should be washed under running water, dried well and rubbed with a small amount of vegetable oil.

SALTED FISH
The easiest way to salt mackerel at home is to make lightly salted fish. In this recipe, the amount of salt is determined by eye. However, misfires are excluded, because it is almost impossible to over-salt the fish.
INGREDIENTS:
2 mackerel carcasses, salt to taste, 5-6 allspice, 1 lemon, 1-2 tablespoons olive oil.
PREPARATION:
The mackerel needs to be prepared for this recipe. Gut the carcasses, removing the black films from the abdomen, cut off the heads and rinse the fish under running water. Pat the mackerel dry with a paper towel and cut into portions.
Salt each piece of fish and place in a glass or plastic container. Place allspice and bay leaf on top. Sprinkle the mackerel with lemon juice and drizzle with olive oil.
Cover the container with a lid and place the mackerel in the refrigerator. This fish is salted within 24 hours. During this time, it is necessary to stir the container several times.

In addition to the fact that mackerel has amazing taste, it is also very healthy. It is a valuable source of vitamins, such as B12 and PP, as well as important minerals: sodium, phosphorus, chromium, iodine.
However, the most important quality of this fish is that it is rich in healthy omega-3 fatty acids. They strengthen the immune system, normalize metabolism and hormonal levels, and have a beneficial effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system.

Rules and tips for salting

Large or medium-sized mackerel is suitable for salting. Small fish are bony and not fat. The ideal option is a fish weighing 300 grams.
- It is better to salt fresh or frozen fish. If you don’t have one, frozen will do.
-When choosing, be sure to pay attention to the color. Fresh fish has a light gray tint without signs of yellowness, the eyes are light and not cloudy.
-Good mackerel is characterized by a light fishy aroma, elastic and slightly moist to the touch.
- When salting, salt draws excess moisture from the fish and thoroughly saturates the carcass.
-The process is carried out at a low temperature, since in hot conditions the product will go rotten.
- Upon completion of salting, the mackerel is put into the cellar or refrigerator.
- To prepare salted mackerel, use dishes that do not oxidize. I use enamel or glass containers.
-I recommend salting mackerel at home with regular salt; iodized salt is not suitable. Iodine will not affect the taste of the finished dish, but will ruin the appearance. It is better to use coarse salt. It requires a lot of liquid to dissolve, so more moisture will be removed from the fish, which will increase the shelf life.
- Whole carcasses, fillets or pieces are suitable for salting. This does not affect the cooking technology, but reduces the time for complete salting.
- Whole mackerel takes three days to prepare, pieces are salted for one day.
-The refrigerator is the best place for storage. Pour vegetable oil over the mackerel and store for no more than 5 days.
-Do not keep salted fish in the freezer as the meat will become watery and soft after defrosting.
- To ensure that the mackerel fully develops its taste and acquires a breathtaking aroma, add laurel and peppercorns during the salting process. Coriander, cloves and allspice add a piquant flavour.
The tips listed above will help you prepare delicious, beautiful and aromatic salted mackerel.