How to salt capelin at home. How to salt capelin: secrets of home cooking

Capelin is an inconspicuous, small fish, unfortunately, not very popular in our menu. Most of us do not consider capelin a delicacy. But how many wonderful dishes can be prepared from it! For example, . Our family really loves home-salted capelin - an easy and quick-to-prepare appetizer. A special aroma and flavor bouquet is given to the fish by a spicy brine, which contains cloves, caraway seeds, umbrella dill, and laurel leaves. All these spices contain essential oils that have a pleasant piquant aroma. In addition, all the ingredients of the dish are in perfect harmony with each other and complement each other wonderfully. The result is an amazing, tender cold appetizer that can even decorate a holiday table. Spicy home-salted capelin cannot be compared with the salted fish sold on supermarket shelves. And all because the list of ingredients is not limited to sodium (salt) alone, but includes other components from spices and herbs. Put your doubts aside and start cooking.

Recipe information

Cooking method: fish ambassador.

Total cooking time: 30 min.

Number of servings: 15 .

Ingredients:

Fresh frozen capelin – 1 kg

for brine:

water – 1 l
sea salt – 100 g
sugar – 2 tbsp.
black peppercorns – 6 pcs.
bay leaf – 4 pcs.
cloves – 4 buds
cumin – 1 tsp.
dill stem with umbrella – 2 pcs.

Capelin is an inexpensive, but tasty, fatty and healthy fish. Because of its small size, not all housewives respect it, and this is completely in vain. If you cook this fish successfully, it will be able to seriously compete with dishes from larger inhabitants of reservoirs. Experienced housewives know how to pickle capelin in different ways. The result is an excellent snack. Salted capelin can also be served with potatoes or vinaigrette, and used to make salads and sandwiches. This treat is inexpensive, but many people like it.

Cooking features

To prevent home-salted capelin from disappointing you, your household and guests, you need to know a few things.

Be careful when choosing capelin. If you see that the fish looks dented or broken, has an unnatural color, or there is water or snow in the package, it is advisable to refrain from purchasing. You should also pay attention to the date of packaging of the product, its expiration date, as well as the integrity of the packaging.
Fresh fish is always juicier than frozen fish, but capelin is sold mainly fresh frozen. It doesn't matter if you let it thaw in natural conditions, avoiding temperature changes. If you take the capelin out of the freezer a day before cooking and put it in the main chamber of the refrigerator, they will have time to thaw by the right time, while maintaining their juiciness and beneficial properties. An attempt to speed up the process using a microwave or warm water will have unpleasant consequences: the fish will turn out to be dry, loose, and fragile.
Before salting, capelin should be washed and dried with a napkin. Whether to gut it and fillet it depends only on the wishes of the housewife. Usually capelin is salted whole or gutted carcasses, but it can also be salted already filleted. Then the salting will take 3 times less time, and eating the finished snack will be more enjoyable. However, in order not to clean the fish at the table, you will have to tinker with its cutting at the first stage of preparation.
If you want your salted capelin to be aromatic and have a piquant taste, it makes sense to rely on freshly hand-ground spices rather than on ready-made store-bought spice sets.

You can salt capelin in brine or dry method. Each method has several recipes. The technology for salting fish may vary slightly depending on the chosen salting option. If you carefully read the recommendations accompanying the selected recipe, you will be able to avoid mistakes and get the expected result.

Classic recipe for salting capelin in brine

capelin – 0.7 kg;
salt (coarsely ground) – 60 g;
bay leaf – 5 pcs.;
cloves – 10 pcs.;
allspice – 8 pcs.;
water – 1 l.

Cooking method:

Thaw the capelin, wash, gut, decapitate, and let the fish dry slightly.
Boil water for brine. Throw spices into it (without chopping), add salt. Simmer over low heat for a few minutes until the salt dissolves.
Remove the pan with brine from the stove. Let it cool to room temperature.
Place the capelin in a glass or plastic container and fill with brine.
Cover and put in the refrigerator.

The capelin will be ready for consumption in 24 hours. Before serving, it doesn’t hurt to rinse it, sprinkle with lemon juice or vinegar, and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Capelin in brine with garlic

capelin – 1 kg;
water – 1 l;
garlic – 2 cloves;
cumin – 5 g;
coriander – 5 g;
cloves – 10 pcs.;
allspice peas – 10 pcs.;
bay leaf – 3 pcs.;
lemon juice – 20 ml;
coarse salt – 60 g.

Cooking method:

Wash the capelin. Cut off the heads of the fish, gut the carcasses, and rinse again. Let the fish dry a little and place in a bowl or mold.
Cut the garlic into slices, add to the fish, stir. Sprinkle it with lemon juice and stir again.
Boil water and dissolve salt in it.
Pour boiling water over spices. Wait for the brine to cool to room temperature. Pour it over the fish.

Place the container with capelin in the refrigerator and wait 24 hours - this will be enough for it to salt.

Recipe for dry salting capelin

capelin – 1 kg;
bay leaf – 3 pcs.;
cloves – 5 pcs.;
coriander – 5 g;
salt – 60 g.

Cooking method:

Grind the coriander and cloves in a spice grinder or coffee grinder.
Break the laurel leaves and crush them.
Mix coriander, cloves and bay leaves with coarse salt.
Wash and dry the fish with a napkin. Place it in a bowl.
Sprinkle with a mixture of salt and spices. Mix with your hands.
Cover the fish with a flat plate and place a liter jar filled with water or other weight on top. To make the jar hold better, you can first lay a napkin on the plate.
Place the capelin in the refrigerator.

You can try capelin salted according to this recipe after 12-18 hours, depending on the size of the fish.

Recipe for salting capelin with salt and sugar

capelin – 1 kg;
salt – 40 g;
sugar – 20 g;
butter, onions - for serving.

Cooking method:

Wash the capelin, clean it, removing the heads. Rinse again and dry.
Mix salt and sugar and rub each fish with this mixture.
Place the capelin on cling film, wrap it in it and put it in the refrigerator.

In a day, capelin, salted according to this recipe, will be ready for use. Before serving, the fish should be washed, dried with a napkin, sprinkled with onion cut into thin half rings and poured with vegetable oil.

Recipe for salting capelin with the addition of citrus fruit juice

capelin – 1 kg;
sugar – 20 g;
salt – 60 g;
lemon, orange or grapefruit juice – 40 ml.

Cooking method:

Wash the capelin, clean it, cut it into fillets. If you find caviar, do not throw it away, but salt it along with the fillet.
Place the capelin fillet in a plastic container or glass dish.
Sprinkle the fish with a mixture of salt and sugar and stir gently.
Pour in citrus juice and stir again.
Cover the mold with gauze or cloth and leave for 1.5 hours at room temperature.

If you do not like lightly salted fish, you can extend the salting time by another 1-1.5 hours. You shouldn’t keep it in the marinade longer, otherwise it will become oversalted. This recipe allows you to pickle capelin quickly.

Spicy salted capelin

capelin – 1 kg;
coarse salt – 20 g;
granulated sugar – 20 g;
bay leaf – 2 pcs.;
allspice peas – 10 pcs.;
cloves – 10 pcs.;
lemon – 0.5 pcs.

Cooking method:

Using a pepper mill or coffee grinder, grind the cloves and allspice.
Break and grind the laurel leaves in a mortar.
Wash and dry the lemon. Grate the zest from half the fruit.
In a small bowl, combine salt, sugar, bay leaf, pepper, cloves and lemon zest.
Squeeze the juice from half a lemon into a separate cup.
Wash and dry the capelin, place it in a glass dish.
Sprinkle with sugar, salt and spice mixture and mix well with your hands.
Pour lemon juice over the fish and stir again.
Cover the container with capelin and put it in the refrigerator.

You can eat spicy salted capelin prepared according to the given recipe after 24-36 hours, but if you keep it in the spicy marinade for an extra day, its taste and aroma will only improve.

Recipe for salting capelin with spices and honey

capelin – 1 kg;
onions – 0.25 kg;
garlic – 3 cloves;
lemon – 0.5 pcs.;
allspice peas – 7 pcs.;
cloves – 3 pcs.;
vegetable oil – 80 ml;
mustard seeds – 5 g;
coriander – 5 g;
salt – 10 g;
honey – 5 ml.

Cooking method:

Prepare the capelin. It needs to be washed, gutted, and, if desired, cut into fillets. The head must be removed.
Grind cloves, pepper, mustard and coriander using a special device or in a coffee grinder. Mix with a teaspoon of salt.
Sprinkle the fish carcasses with spices and mix with your hands.
Finely chop the garlic cloves and mash them together with the remaining salt.
Add honey melted to a liquid state, juice squeezed from half a lemon and oil. Stir.
Place the fish on the dish in which you plan to serve it.
Peel the onion, cut it into thin half rings, and place on the capelin.
Pour the marinade made from butter, honey and lemon juice over the capelin.
Leave for an hour at room temperature, then put in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Filled capelin will marinate faster than simply peeled capelin.

Capelin salted according to the given recipe does not require additional preparation before serving: it is enough to remove it from the refrigerator.

Capelin is small in size, which is why some chefs treat it with disdain. However, this fish is tasty and healthy, and its relatively low price is an advantage. Home-salted capelin has excellent organoleptic qualities. It can be salted in brine or dry, whole or cut. There are recipes by which you can salt this fish quickly, literally in 3 hours. Salted capelin can be served as an independent snack or used to prepare other dishes.

Spicy salted capelin, or simply gingerbread, is a very popular fish appetizer. It is universal and can be served with any vegetable side dish, but this fish will taste best in a duet with potato dishes. They love salted capelin for its spicy taste given to it by spices. How to pickle capelin at home?

By the way, home-made spicy capelin turns out to be much tastier than purchased already salted fish, so don’t be afraid to cook it for your family, because when they taste it for the first time, they will definitely ask for more - there won’t be a single fragrant fish left on the plate.

When preparing such a dish according to a recipe, you can adjust both the composition of spices and the speed of salting, but the time spent in the cool of the fish should be at least 6 hours. You can pickle herring at home even faster, but there is a different recipe.

Ingredients:

frozen capelin – 450 g;
coriander in peas - 0.5 teaspoon;
white sugar – 0.5 teaspoon;
black pepper or allspice – 1 teaspoon;
bay leaf – 3 pcs.;
salt – 0.5 teaspoon;
vegetable oil – 1 tbsp. spoon;
table vinegar 9% - 0.5 tbsp. spoons;
water – 0.5 l.

Salting capelin at home (spicy salting)

Buy fresh-frozen capelin and ask that only whole carcasses be chosen for you. To prepare gingerbread, defrost the capelin, but do not remove the entrails - the fish is salted whole without gutting.

Pour salt and granulated sugar into a saucepan.

Grind the pepper and coriander in a mortar or pepper mill directly into the saucepan. Don't forget to leave a pinch of grains for visual beauty of the dish. Pour water into the saucepan and boil the brine, and then leave it to cool, since you will need it cooled to 30-35C. You cannot pour hot brine over fish carcasses, as it will simply cook in it and not be salted.

Rinse the capelin in water and place on bay leaves in a deep container, preferably with a lid, so that the fish in brine can then be packaged and placed in the refrigerator.

Pour vegetable oil into the container. You can replace it with sunflower or olive oil if you wish.

Next add 9% vinegar.

By this time, the brine has already cooled down - pour it over the fish and stir lightly so that it is completely enveloped in it. Add the remaining grains and cover them with a lid, placing them in the refrigerator so that the aroma of the capelin is not transferred to other products. Simmer the capelin in a cool place for about 6 hours, or even better – 12.

During this time, the fish will completely absorb all the spicy aroma and become unusually tender in taste! Serve the spicy capelin immediately, as when stored in brine, it softens and becomes less dense.

Don't forget to boil or fry the potatoes! Enjoy your meal!

Usually, to quickly salt any fish, it is simply sprinkled with salt. This is the simplest option, without additional components in the recipe. So, they salt river fish, for example (in most cases), especially if you have gone fishing somewhere far away, you do not have a refrigerator with you, and you need to preserve the catch. If we look a little deeper into the tricks of salting fish, then we need to add a few more components to the salt. It is these additional ingredients in the recipe that make the fish much tastier. And it is this taste that many of us like so much, and not “naked” salt. We already learned how to cook capelin once, and did it in the oven (here is the recipe). Now we will learn how to salt fresh capelin.

Lightly salted capelin, homemade. Recipe

Salting capelin is not at all difficult, because the fish is small, and, therefore, it is easy to “work” with it. It is best to salt fatty capelin. Then it will turn out very juicy, and when salted it will acquire a simply amazing taste.

As for the ingredients of this recipe themselves, they are all very simple. First of all, you will need to deal with the capelin itself, that is, prepare it accordingly. All this preparation is very simple, and boils down to just washing the fish in water. That, one might say, is all the preparation. But, of course, you can also gut the capelin. Although this is not at all necessary. I think it won’t be too difficult to clean it once it’s salted. In addition, capelin often contains quite a lot of caviar, and if you salt it without gutting it, then your caviar will also be salted. And who doesn’t like moderately salted caviar? This is a kind of bonus for any fish, even such a small one as capelin.

But, this was all culinary “lyrics”, now it’s time for practice! We will not salt the capelin using the dry method (so it will turn out dry), but by preparing a brine for this. With this brine you can preserve all the juiciness and fat content of this fish. It will require a liter of water. Already in this water you will need to add salt (3 tablespoons is enough) and sugar (a little less - 2 tablespoons). The capelin will turn out lightly salted, which is why we need sugar to “soften” the effect of salt. Next, for the brine, you will need to take another bay leaf (5 medium-sized leaves), and to create the aroma, add a teaspoon of allspice peas, the same amount of coriander and cloves. We also add all this variety of spices to water and boil for 10 minutes.

After boiling, this brine must be cooled. If you don’t do this, but directly pour the capelin hot, then all the fat will melt out of it, and the brine itself will become cloudy. So, be sure to wait until the brine cools completely. When this happens, you can already pour it into the capelin, which you first had to put in the jar. If you like vinegar, you can add it (or rather the essence) when salting capelin. A teaspoon per liter jar of capelin will be quite enough. Although you can completely do without it. Taste and add salt. There is nothing complicated here, and the capelin turns out delicious.

Today we will tell you how to make capelin salting at home in brine.

Basically, the success of cooking fish depends on its correct choice.

Since finding freshly caught fish in our area is not so easy, you need to be content with the freshly frozen option.

When choosing a fish, be sure to pay attention to its appearance, what the scales look like, whether there are any flaws on the body, whether the color has changed from silver to yellowish.

Do you want to know how to make it at home in brine, but there is no suitable recipe to bring your idea to life? These two versions of such capelin will definitely become your favorites.

Recipe 1: Salting capelin in classic brine

Ingredients:

700 grams of capelin;
3 tbsp salt;
5 bay leaves;
10 clove buds;
8 peas of allspice;
1 liter of water.

Cooking method:

Since it’s not so easy to find freshly caught fish on store shelves, pay attention to. Defrost it naturally; under no circumstances pour hot water or boiling water over it, because then you will completely ruin the texture and taste of the meat. After defrosting, rinse under running water, remove the head, and gut the insides; you should be left with clean fillets. Place the capelin in a glass or stainless steel container.
Place all the spices in a container and pour boiling water over it. Let the brine steep and cool.
Pour cold brine over the fish and place it in the refrigerator to steep for about a day.
Before use, it is recommended to rinse the capelin and sprinkle with lemon juice or vinegar. For best flavor, serve this dish with greens.

Recipe 2: Salting capelin in spicy brine

Ingredients:

1 kilogram of capelin;
3 tbsp salt;
5 bay leaves;
spicy spices - 3 tbsp;
garlic – 2 cloves;
8 peas of allspice;
1 liter of water;

Cooking method:

Defrost freshly frozen capelin naturally and rinse under running water. Rid her of her entrails and remove her head. Place the capelin in a glass or aluminum container.
Pour a liter of boiling water over all the spices and let them cool and brew.
Pour cold brine over the fish and add a little lemon juice at the end. Keep the marinated fish in the refrigerator for a day.
Before serving, rinse the fish, sprinkle with lemon juice and garnish with sprigs of herbs or chopped onion.
It is very simple to choose a side dish for the delicacy we have prepared; it can be potatoes cooked in different ways, or wild or white rice.

Bon appetit!