How to pickle taimen at home. How to salt taimen fish

14.12.2023

Another dish that can diversify your rafting fish menu. This time, the fish will be marinated with vegetables in soy sauce combined with wasabi and garlic. The dish is prepared quickly, and even without heat treatment, so it can be used for snacks while tourists are waiting for the main courses to be prepared.

small taimen fillet 1 pc.
sugar 1 cube
salt 3 tbsp. l.

Step by step cooking method

Step 1

To begin with, the fish is gutted and filleted, removing all rib bones and fins. Next, the fillet is cut into pieces, the size of which must be selected so as to be able to place the fish in a deep container for salting (I adjusted the size to fit my traveling bowl),

Step 2

Sprinkle about a tablespoon of salt at the very bottom of the camping bowl and crumble a little sugar from the cube. Place the first piece of fillet on the salt, skin side down, also sprinkle it with another tablespoon of salt and a small amount of sugar,

Step 3

Place the second piece on top of the first piece of fish, sprinkle it with the same amount of salt and sugar,

Step 4

Close the lid (so that the fish does not get chapped, and don’t forget about flies!), and put it in the shade for about 3-4 hours to salt,

Step 5

Don’t forget to turn the pieces of taimen over at least once (or better yet twice) and swap them in places. Those. the bottom piece of fish moves up, skin up, and the top piece, accordingly, moves down, but also skin up.

Step 6

After the specified salting time has passed, you need to rinse the fish very thoroughly to remove salt; to do this, I simply put it in a mountain river for about 15 minutes. Next, you need to try the fish, and if it seems too salty to you, you can soak it in water a little more.

Step 7

After soaking, wipe the salted time mixture with paper towels,

Among salmon fish, taimen can be called a giant: it lives - if it succeeds - for more than 30 years, and grows throughout its life. In Russia, taimen is found in different regions - from the Russian north to the Far East; there is it in Altai and Kazakhstan. Nowadays, the largest taimen is considered to be weighing about 60-80 kg, but previously larger individuals were also encountered: for example, in the 40s of the 20th century, a two-meter taimen weighing more than 100 kg was caught in one of the rivers of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Modern large taimen can knock a person out of a boat with a blow of their tail, so fishing enthusiasts should be careful - even experienced fishermen cannot always cope with them.

The color of taimen is bright silver, with spots, but during the spawning period its skin acquires a copper-red color. Most of all, this fish likes to live in northern rivers, and especially in large ones, but it is not found in the Arctic Ocean - the polar summer is not suitable for feeding.

Taimen, like other salmon, is a commercial fish, and it is prohibited to catch it without permission. It is sometimes possible to obtain permission, but not in all regions; Amateurs are given permission by the relevant local authorities - usually taimen are caught using a spinning rod.

Composition and benefits of taimen fish

The composition of taimen cannot be called the richest, but it contains something for which all types of salmon are so valued. These are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including Omega-3, as well as complete protein, which is much easier to digest than meat proteins. Taimen also contains vitamin PP, macroelements sulfur and chlorine, microelements nickel and molybdenum - in small quantities, chromium and fluorine - there are more of them, and zinc - it is quite rich in them. But there are few calories - although other representatives of salmon are known for their calorie content, taimen is low - only 88 kcal per 100 grams.

Between the muscles of taimen there are layers of fat, so its meat is tender. It is this fat, rich in PUFAs, that makes taimen a healthy product. Taimen fat, rendered from its giblets, is used to season mashed potatoes, boiled pasta and porridge: it is healthier than sunflower oil and does not have a specific “fishy” smell.

Fish caught during spawning is unlikely to be very tasty - fat is quickly consumed during this period. In general, taimen is considered a fish of medium fat content, but experts note that it is no less tasty than salmon. The most nutritious taimen is considered to be middle-aged, not too young and not too old.

How to prepare taimen

Of course, the most interesting thing is to learn about the culinary and dietary properties of taimen. Moderate salting is considered one of the best ways to prepare it: a lot of valuable things are retained in the meat - with this taimen you can prepare snacks, salads, etc.

The “author’s” dish of Siberian fishermen is a broth called “crystal”. For it, they take only the heads and fins of the fish, and cook them - usually over high heat until tender - for about 15 minutes. The resulting broth is cooled, filtered, raw chicken protein, a little pressed caviar are added - the broth becomes transparent, a couple of hot pepper pods and dill. Crystal broth is not eaten with spoons, but is drunk by scooping it up in mugs directly from the pot, with crackers or crispbread for a bite. You can cook “elite” fish soup with this broth by adding pieces of taimen, salmon, brown trout, sterlet and other fish called “noble” fish.

In Siberia, taimen heads are also eaten, completely, as well as giblets, and this is interesting - we usually throw away fish giblets. But they, like the heads, can be eaten if the taimen is very fresh. After gutting the fish, they wash not only the heart and liver, but also the cleaned stomach and swim bladder, and fry it all in oil, with seasonings and salt to taste, until crispy.

If you bought frozen taimen, it is better to boil or grill it. To boil, you need to take a fairly large and fatty fish. It is cut into large pieces, poured with salt water and boiled for 20 minutes over low heat, with carrots, chopped onions, parsley, black and allspice peas and bay leaves. Serve hot, with baked potatoes or green salad, wild garlic, onions and garlic. If you like cold fish, Russian table horseradish and fried porcini mushrooms will go well with it.

On a spit, taimen is also fried in large pieces, with salt and ground allspice, periodically pouring melted butter. Served with wild garlic, green onions and any fresh vegetables - it turns out very tasty.

Oven-baked taimen is also good: it is baked with mustard seeds, without salt and pepper. Fresh fish fillets are cut into steaks approximately 3 cm thick and weighing slightly less than 100 g. 2 steaks together are thickly sprinkled with mustard seeds - this is a portion, and then with breadcrumbs and chopped parsley. The fish is placed in a mold, thin slices of butter are placed on top, and placed in the oven, preheated to 180°C. It is recommended to bake for a short time - 7-9 minutes, and serve immediately.

Smoked taimen is considered a delicacy. You can smoke it even without special equipment. They usually smoke salted taimen, but you can also smoke fresh ones, and then salt, pepper and eat - as you like. Thin pieces of fillet are attached to a wooden board - perhaps a cutting board - and placed near the fire - the smoke should completely envelop the fish. It is good to add juniper branches to the fire. In a little over an hour the fish will be ready.

Taimen and slim figure

What role does taimen play in losing weight? You are unlikely to find a taimen diet, although the salmon diet is known - for example, Hollywood celebrity Julia Roberts shares it with the general public. Salmon dishes help the star to always stay in shape, and also prevent sagging skin and the appearance of wrinkles, which is not surprising: the high content of Omega-3 PUFAs, which normalize cholesterol levels and protect our cells, makes salmon an excellent product of youth and beauty. The diet includes mineral water, oatmeal, green salad, apples and hazelnuts; salmon is added to every meal, boiled, steamed or grilled: for breakfast and dinner - 100 g, for lunch - 250 g. Immediately after waking up, you should drink mineral water - at least 350 ml.

Taimen is one of the least high-calorie fish among salmon, so during this diet, for 3-4 days, you can eat more of it, 200-350 g, if desired. And fresh greens and vegetable salads enhance the beneficial properties of taimen - such nutrition allows you to forget about depression and bad mood forever.

Even if you have never prepared anything - salting, pickling, etc. — mastering salting fish will not be difficult: there are no strict proportions or exploding jars, and the results of one or another salting method can be assessed quite quickly and the recipe can be adjusted. It’s especially useful to practice salting at home now - then for the New Year’s table you won’t have to spend money on expensive packaging, but you will be able to buy and salt the fish yourself a few days before the New Year.

There are three ways to salt fish: dry, in brine and in brine. We are talking specifically about sea (ocean) fish, preferably also frozen. River fish requires deeper processing: it is also salted, but subsequently also dried or smoked.

The types of salting and brine strength are indicated in the table.

Quick dry salting

This method, which we often use in everyday life, is suitable for such types of fish as salmon, pink salmon, salmon, sockeye salmon, chum salmon, coho salmon, taimen, chinook salmon, whitefish, omul, vendace. Don't be afraid to add salt - fatty salmon won't take on too much.

For salting, only coarse salt (preferably not iodized) is suitable; you can also add sugar to the salt - it will soften the taste a little and at the same time retain excess water: then the fish will not give too much juice, but will retain it. In addition to sugar, you can add fresh or dried herbs (dill, parsley, tarragon, celery), but not much, as well as multi-colored coarse pepper (or better yet, rose pepper).

The technology is very simple. Cut the fish - remove the head and entrails, you can leave the scales, rub with salt (with or without additives) on all sides, wrap in a clean cloth (or parchment paper). All. You can put it in the refrigerator or leave it at room temperature. You shouldn't leave it in the heat.

Ready time- from three hours. The degree of readiness is determined in the same way as during heat treatment - by the ease of separation of the skin and bones. Indeed, salted fish is much easier to clean from bones than raw fish, so it should not be filleted before salting.

Shelf life Dry-salted fish has a fairly short lifespan - it is advisable to eat it within three days, to a maximum of five days. But already salted fish can be frozen (in cloth or paper, but not in polyethylene) for future use. You can make salads, cold and hot appetizers with lightly salted fish, and even bake pies with it.

Salting in brine

This is a more reliable option for storing fish. Fish is also salted dry (but without adding sugar), quite generously, not wrapped in cloth or paper, but placed in a pan or jar. After this, oppression is placed on top of the fish. Under the influence of oppression, juice is released from the fish, forming, together with salt, the very brine that should cover the entire fish.

Ready time- from three days. If the brine becomes cloudy, it must be drained. But also best before date increases: salted fish in brine (to which you can add vegetable oil if desired) is stored for up to 10-15 days. Small fish are suitable for this method: sprat, anchovy, etc., the size of which allows you to salt it whole.

Fish in brine and marinade

Brine for fish can be made hot or cold. In cold brine, the fish will be salted longer (from 3 days), but will better retain its nutritional and taste qualities.

Hot pickle(especially for fish cut into small pieces) makes the dish ready by the time it cools. Choose the salt concentration according to your taste, understanding that the stronger the brine, the longer the shelf life of salted fish.

There is one little secret that may surprise you with the seeming incompatibility of the ingredients: if you oversalt the fish to the point of hardness, then you can soak it in milk for an hour or two, which will neutralize the excess salt and make the fish softer and more tender.

If we add acid (vinegar, lemon, wine, tomato) to the brine, then we will no longer get salty, but marinated fish. You can add peppercorns, cumin, coriander or mustard seeds, garlic, cloves, and bay leaves to the marinade. You can marinate without brine - for example, in wine (as well as in champagne or even cognac), but it is better to do this with weakly salted fish. That is, first salt it dry, and then marinate it in a marinade (or sauce) to taste - with fresh herbs or spices.

The taimen dish is original and satisfying. This delicious recipe is very easy to prepare and does not take much time. So…

It is necessary to choose the right tomato sauce for fish. It should contain small pieces of vegetables, and the sweet and sour taste will emphasize the piquancy of the taimen, but as a last resort, you can buy simple tomato paste and add it.

For the stewed and marinated taimen dish you need:

Taimen fish – about 2 kg,
Wheat flour – 250 g,
Vegetable oil – 130 ml.
Greens, we took fresh dill.

For the marinade we used:

Water – 260 ml.
Tomato sauce (paste) – 460 ml.
Vegetable oil – 160 ml.
Sugar – 150 g.
Wine vinegar 6% - 100 ml.
Salt – 1 tsp.
Onion – 2 pcs.

Preparation

First, let's prepare the fish: it needs to be cleaned of scales and the insides removed. Then cut the fish into pieces 1.5 - 2 centimeters thick.

Before frying, there is no need to salt the fish - this is a kind of trick that will make taimen meat very tender. In addition, salt will be present in the marinade and will saturate the entire fish, making it even juicier.

Let's cook taimen in a frying pan: roll the pieces of fish one by one in a flour coating, shake it so that the excess flour falls off. Place the fish pieces in a heated frying pan, add 150 g of vegetable oil and fry until golden brown.

The fish cooks quickly and the main thing is not to overcook it in the frying pan. All it takes is 2 minutes on each side over medium heat.

Cut the onion into slices, not very large, and send the onion raw into a container with prepared taimen.

While the fish is cooling, we will prepare the sauce for marinating the fish.

This work with the marinade takes about 3 minutes. The ingredients that we have prepared need to be mixed: water (the water should be boiled and warm), tomato sauce, vegetable oil, sugar, wine vinegar and a teaspoon of salt. Grind everything until smooth using an immersion blender.

If you like a spicier sauce, you can add a little chili pepper to the marinade. The marinade is ready, next you need to place it in a pan with fried fish and raw onions. And press down tightly with a spoon, placing layers of sauce, to form a single layer (taimen under the vegetables), for better marinating.

Moderate salting is considered one of the best ways to prepare it: a lot of valuable things are retained in the meat - with this taimen you can prepare snacks, salads, etc. taimen

Composition and benefits of taimen fish

How to prepare taimen

The “author’s” dish of Siberian fishermen is a broth called “crystal”. For it, they take only the heads and fins of the fish, and cook them - usually over high heat until tender - about 15 minutes. The resulting broth is cooled, filtered, raw chicken protein, a little pressed caviar are added - the broth becomes transparent, a couple of hot pepper pods and dill. Crystal broth is not eaten with spoons, but is drunk by scooping it up in mugs directly from the pot, with crackers or crispbread for a bite. You can cook “elite” fish soup with this broth by adding pieces of taimen, salmon, brown trout, sterlet and other fish called “noble” fish.

Smoked taimen is considered a delicacy. You can smoke it even without special equipment. They usually smoke salted taimen, but you can also smoke fresh ones, and then salt, pepper and eat - as you like. Thin pieces of fillet are attached to a wooden board - maybe a cutting board - and placed near the fire - the smoke should completely envelop the fish. It is good to add juniper branches to the fire. In a little over an hour the fish will be ready.

Taimen and slim figure

Taimen is one of the least high-calorie fish among salmon, so during this diet, for 3-4 days, you can eat more of it, 200-350 g each, if desired. And fresh herbs and vegetable salads enhance the beneficial properties of taimen - such nutrition allows you to forget about depression and bad mood forever.

Galina Gataulina