How much salt should be used to marinate 10 pounds of fish? Is there anything I need to pay attention to?

There are only twenty days left until the Spring Festival.

After finishing the pickling and drying of bacon, sausages, salted chicken and salted duck a while ago, now is the peak season for pickling fish.

Every year my family pickles fish about ten days before the Spring Festival. Marinate for three days and dry for a week. By the time it is used during the Spring Festival, the salted fish will be half dry.

Why is the salted fish only half-dried?

The reason why salted fish is only half-dried is because salted fish is different from bacon, sausages, salted chicken and salted duck. After soaking to remove salt, it is boiled in water, which not only softens the meat , can also further remove salt. Salted fish has a fishy smell and needs to be cooked, which takes a shorter time than boiling. If it is dried too much, not only will it be difficult to remove the salt during soaking, but it will also become hard and difficult to chew after being cooked. Therefore, pickled salted fish is generally only dried until it is semi-dry.

After knowing when to pickle salted fish and to what extent it needs to be dried, let’s talk about how to pickle free fish.

1. How much salt should be used to pickle 10 pounds of fish?

Marinated fish and bacon are basically the same. Over the years, I have always marinated 10 pounds of fish with 6 to 7 taels of salt (I use Sichuan pepper salt).

Some friends will ask, why does 10 kilograms of fish need so much salt?

Not to mention that this year is a warm winter (high temperature), there are many uncertain factors in the pickling process of salted goods, which can lead to a large number of bacterial growth. If the salt is too small, it will not have a good antiseptic and sterilizing effect, and it will easily cause the salty goods to go bad.

In addition, the salt put in is not the final salt content of the finished dish. After soaking in water to remove salt and cooking to remove salt, a lot of salt has been removed, and it is basically close to the level of cooking.

To marinate 10 pounds of fish, add 6 to 7 ounces of salt. This amount of salt is a summary of my experience and lessons learned over the years.

2. How long does it take to marinate?

This cannot be generalized, it depends on the size of the fish and the thickness of the fish meat.

If the fish is small and the flesh is thin, it will take 1 to 1.5 days; if the fish is large and the flesh is thick, it will take 2 to 3 days.

3. What are the steps for pickling fish?

① Scrape off the scales of the purchased fish, remove the gills, break it from the back (the fish stall owner can also process it for you), wash it, and dry it.

② According to the amount of fish, put an appropriate amount of salt and Sichuan peppercorns into the wok and stir-fry over low heat. Let the salt slowly heat up and extract the scent of Sichuan peppercorns until the salt turns slightly yellow and turn off the heat (be careful not to burn it). , take out and let cool.

③ First, cut the thick part of the fish with a knife, then sprinkle with pepper and salt, and knead evenly.

④ Depending on the size of the fish and the thickness of the meat, marinate for 2 to 3 days before drying.

⑤ First put it under strong light to dry the surface moisture, then hang it in a cool and ventilated place to let it air dry.

⑥ Put it away when it is half dry. If not used immediately, it can be stored in the refrigerator.

Attached is a method of cooking salted fish:

Preparation materials: 250 grams of salted fish, 250 grams of pork belly, two green onions cut into sections, one piece of ginger sliced, and 4 to 5 garlic cloves Powder, 8 to 10 pieces of Sichuan peppercorns, appropriate amount of dried red pepper segments, 20 grams of dark soy sauce, and 15 grams of cooking wine.

Preparation steps:

① Cut the salted fish into pieces, wash off the floating ash and salt on the surface, soak in warm water for 30 minutes, drain the water and set aside.

② Cut the pork belly into cubes and wash with warm water.

③ Heat the pot and add a little oil to moisten the pot.

④ Add the pork belly in a hot pan and stir-fry until oil comes out, then add onion, ginger, garlic and dried red pepper and continue to stir-fry until fragrant.

⑤ Add boiling water to the pot, add salted fish, add Sichuan peppercorns, dark soy sauce and cooking wine, cook over medium heat until the soup is thick and serve.