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Low salt mackerel in brine

Lightly Salted Mackerel in Brine

The tastiest, most fragrant, all-natural, and simple recipe there is! Lightly salted mackerel in brine is a wonderful cured fish that's easy to make at home. Tea goes into the brine — it gives the fish a golden color, and its tannins firm up the flesh.

BLUE-EYED

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Mackerel

Water

Black tea

Bay leaves

Peppercorns

Allspice berries

Sugar

Salt (rounded)

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 45 % 5 g

Fats 27 % 3 g

Carbohydrates 27 % 3 g

63 kcal

GI: 0 / 0 / 100

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you cure mackerel in brine? Start by gathering your ingredients. Thaw the frozen fish just until you can clean it. Do this gently — not in water, but by moving it from the freezer to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
Step 2:

Make the brine. Add the salt, sugar, both kinds of pepper, and the bay leaves to boiling water. Stir.
Step 3:

Add the black tea, let the brine boil for 2 to 3 minutes, then leave it to cool completely. Strain it through a sieve.
Step 4:

While the brine cools, prep the fish. Remove the head and innards, scrape the black membrane from the belly cavity thoroughly, then rinse the fish under cool water.
Step 5:

Place the fish in a container suitable for curing (I used a plastic bottle with the top cut off). Pour in the cooled, strained brine and refrigerate for 2 days. When the time is up, take the fish out of the brine, rinse it, cut it into pieces, and serve.
Step 6:

To store the fish, layer it in a jar with onion and pour in enough vegetable oil to cover it. Kept in oil in the refrigerator, it stays good for several days.

Instead of the pepper and bay leaves, you can slice an onion into the brine. You can use this same method for lightly salted herring — just pick large, fatty fish, and the flavor will be excellent!
Keep in mind that the quality and taste of the finished dish depend a lot on thawing the ingredients properly. For tips on avoiding mistakes and choosing the best method, see our article on thawing.
For the best results, use filtered or bottled water with a neutral taste. Tap water can give the dish an off, characteristic flavor.
Since everyone's sense of saltiness, sweetness, bitterness, heat, and acidity is different, always add spices and seasonings to your own taste! And if you're using a seasoning for the first time, remember that some are easy to overdo (chili pepper, for instance).