HOW TO PICKLE MACKEREL DELICIOUSLY

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Herring and mackerel are regulars at the Swedish festive tables, whether it's New Year, Christmas, Easter or Midsummer - a mid-summer holiday. The abundance of fish in the Baltic and North Seas influenced the culture of this country, and the first pickling and salting recipes appeared in the Middle Ages during the Vikings. What are the only options for cooking salted fish there - with onions, mustard, garlic, curry and beets - and this is not a complete list! A very interesting and original recipe for salted mackerel with vodka and dill in Swedish, we suggest you try it now!

Ingredients

- fresh-frozen mackerel - 2 pcs.;
- salt - 2 tbsp .;
- sugar - 2 tbsp;
- coriander (optional) - 1 tsp;
- vodka - 50 ml;
- fresh dill - 1 bunch;
- vegetable oil.

Cooking time: 24 hours
Servings: 4-6.

Mackerel Salted Recipe

1. Thaw carcasses of freshly frozen mackerel. It would be better to “under-defrost” them, so that it would be convenient to cut the fish. Cut off the heads, fins and tails.

2. Make a longitudinal incision at the very top of the back and cut the fish deep into the spinal bone. "Uncover" mackerel and take out all the insides. Then strip the belly and remove dark films and blood. In this case, the abdomen remains intact. Carefully cut the ridge, remove it along with all the other large and small bones.

3. Sprinkle peeled mackerel with vodka. It is believed that any strong alcohol (gin, brandy, whiskey) and not only vodka helps to preserve the natural taste of fish.

4. Following vodka, sprinkle with a curing mixture at the rate of 1 tbsp. salt and sugar for 1 large fish.

5. If desired, sprinkle fish with coriander crushed in a mortar. Swedes use spices to a minimum, as it is believed that they distract attention from the main product - the fish itself.

6. But dill can not be spared and generously sprinkle them with fillets.

7. Now put the mackerel in its original state, sprinkle on top of the remaining curing mixture. Similarly, we prepare the second (third, fourth) fish.

8. When all the mackerels are ready - tightly wrap them in cling film. Put in the refrigerator and let stand for about a day.

9. After the time, the fish are removed from the film. Cut into portions.

10. For storage, put slices of salted mackerel in a jar with sprigs of dill and pour in a little vegetable oil. In this form, the fish will be stored in the cold for a long time. The salted mackerel is ready!