Marinating fish has been practiced in the Scandinavian countries, Japan, Korea, Europe for centuries. This excellent method allows you to save a large catch in full. In addition, pickled fish has excellent taste and goes well with a side dish of potatoes or rice. Our article presents the best recipes for pickling fish on the example of carp. Using them, you can also pickle any other fish.
How to pickle carp in brine
Marinating carp according to this recipe involves pre-soaking it in cool saline. This is the so-called wet pickling.
To prepare the solution, it is necessary to stir a glass of salt in a liter of boiling water. Then the fish pieces are poured with this solution and infused for three hours. Salting time also depends on the thickness of the pieces.
The cooked carp is washed under cold running water, after which the fish is laid in layers in a pan. Each layer must be sprinkled with spices, sprinkle with vinegar and vegetable oil. At the very end, put a flat plate on the fish and put oppression.
Pickled carp at home will be ready in a day. Enjoy your meal!
Dry marinated carp
The following method involves pre-marinating carp in salt, without adding any liquids:
- For this, a two-kilogram carp is cut into fillets, removing the ridge and all bones, leaving only the skin.
- Then the pieces of fish are put in a container, well poured with salt and sent to the refrigerator under oppression for 3 hours.
- After the specified time, the fish is washed with cold water. A fine sieve can be used to allow the water to drain completely.
- Then pieces of fish need to be poured with vinegar, put oppression again, and send the carp in the refrigerator for another 3 hours, after which it will need to be washed again.
- Carp dried with a paper towel is laid out in a jar, alternating layers of fish, onions, carrots, bay leaves and allspice. Top pickled carp is poured with vegetable oil.
After three hours, the fish can be served at the table.
Recipe for pickling carp with vinegar and spices
To prepare carp according to this recipe, the fish is first cut into fillets, and then insisted for a day in a special marinade.
To prepare the latter, boil 0.5 l of water on a stove. Then add 50 g of salt and sugar, cloves and black pepper with peas (½ teaspoon), coriander (½ teaspoon), bay leaf. Let the marinade boil for 5 minutes, after which it is removed from the heat. After another 15 minutes, add vinegar (100 ml) to it and mix. The resulting solution is poured into fillet pieces folded into a pan.
Pickled carp, the recipe of which is presented above, is seasoned with vegetable oil and onions in a day. Serve fish to a side dish of mashed potatoes.
Jar pickled carp
Carp, marinated according to this recipe, at the very end of cooking can be rolled up with a can opener in sterilized jars and stored for up to three months in a cool place. If the fish is not planned to be preserved, then the jar will need to be covered with a silicone lid and sent to the refrigerator for at least a week. Only then can it be tried.
To prepare carp according to this recipe, you will need 1 kg of fish fillet, sliced, without bones and skin. The fish will need to roll in salt (5 teaspoons), and then send it for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
At this time, you can cook marinade. To do this, pour 1 liter of white vinegar into a pan, add salt (2 teaspoons) and brown sugar (3-4 tablespoons) to it. Next all spices are added: mustard, coriander, fennel seeds and black peppercorns (1 teaspoon each), as well as ginger root (2 cm) and dried chili pepper (2 pcs.). Let the marinade boil, then remove it from the heat, add 4 heads of white onion, chopped into rings, and insist for 1 hour.
After this, the fish will need to be taken out, cleaned of salt, put in a jar and pour the cooled marinade. After this carp can be canned. Pickled carp at home is stored in an open jar in the refrigerator for 1 month. But it turns out so tasty that it does not have to be stored for so long.
How to marinate carp: recipe with soy sauce
Marinate carp not only to use it subsequently as a snack. The stage of pickling fish is no less important for subsequent heat treatment, for example, for baking in the oven or on the grill. In any case, in the marinade, carp meat becomes more aromatic, juicy and delicate in taste.
For cooking fish, the following marinade is used in Asian cuisine:
- In a small container, combine the grated ginger root (1.5 cm thick), a clove of garlic (2 pcs.), Chili pepper, sweet pepper and sugar (½ teaspoon each).
- Then you can add the main ingredient of the marinade - soy sauce. Just need about 50 ml of sauce.
- All ingredients must be thoroughly mixed and coated with the resulting mixture of fish from all sides. Then it must be wrapped in cling film and sent to the refrigerator for pickling for 1 hour.
Carp marinated in soy sauce is ideal for grilling. The meat is tender, juicy, with a spicy finish.
Citrus marinade for carp
Traditionally, lemon juice or lime juice is used to pickle carp. To do this, it is simply mixed with a small amount of olive oil and smeared with fish on all sides. Do not forget that it must first be salted and pepper inside and out, and only then should be pickled carp.
Recipe for another citrus marinade will surely appeal to lovers of exotic. For its preparation, not only lemon juice, but also orange is used. These two ingredients are mixed in equal proportions with vegetable oil, after which the marinade is applied to the fish.
Marinated carp in mayonnaise
For baking whole carp in the oven, it is recommended to marinate it in mayonnaise first. After such a marinade, the fish turns out to be juicy and acquires a delicious, ruddy crust.
Before pickling in mayonnaise, carp must first be gutted and gills removed. Then the fish is rubbed with a mixture of salt, pepper and squeezed garlic. After that, carp should be poured with lemon juice and put rosemary branches in the abdomen. Now in a separate container you need to mix mayonnaise and sour cream in equal proportions and coat the fish with the resulting mass. In the marinade, the carp should “rest” from 30 minutes to 4 hours, depending on how much time the hostess has.
Carp marinated in mayonnaise is baked at 180 degrees 35 minutes. Served on a platter with lemon and lettuce leaves.
Features of pickling carp
The following useful recommendations will help to marinate appetizer carp tasty:
- Only fresh, not frozen fish is suitable for marinating. The scales of the carp should fit snugly to the skin, and the gills should be pink and clean.
- If you plan to pickle fish fillet, then it is better to choose a carp weighing at least 2 kg with large bones that can easily be separated together with the spinal part.
- The time for pickling carp is usually no more than a day, but to make the taste of the fish more saturated, it is recommended to hold it in the marinade for at least 2-3 days. During this time, carp is better salted and tastes better.