How to salt salmon bellies - a classic recipe

When filleting red fish, the bellies of the salmon are usually set aside separately. There is too little meat and a lot of fat on the bellies, therefore, some gourmets prefer pure fillet rather than fish oil. They don't know what they're depriving themselves of. Salted salmon bellies are one of the most delicious and healthy fish dishes.

Ingredients: salmon bellies, pepper, sugar, salmon, salt
Time to bookmark: Whole year

Fresh salmon bellies are sold in stores and are quite cheap. Sometimes they are used for fish soup, or for home pickling. Salted bellies can be used to make fish sandwiches, for salads, or simply as a snack.

When choosing bellies, pay attention to their size. The larger and thicker the abdomen, the better. In thin bellies there will be only one skin, and it is inedible in any form. The same goes for the color of the abdomen. Salmon meat color can range from pale pink to bright red. It is better to choose medium pink bellies. Too bright and saturated color is a sign of old fish. Excessive pallor means that the abdomens have been frozen more than once.
In the classic version, salmon bellies are seasoned only with salt, sugar and black pepper. For exotic ones, you can use soy sauce, cognac, lemon juice, and much more. Let's look at a classic simple recipe for salting salmon bellies.

For 1 kg of salmon bellies you need (approximately):

4 tbsp. l. salt;
2 tbsp. l. Sahara;
1 tsp. black pepper.

Place the bellies in a colander and rinse them under running cold water. Leave them to drain, or dry them with a towel if you don't want to wait.

Mix salt, sugar and pepper in a plate. Roll each belly in a mixture of salt, sugar and pepper, and place it in a glass bowl. Metal containers should not be used for salting fatty fish. Fat oxidizes when in contact with metals and gives the fish an unpleasant taste.

If you don’t have a deep enough bowl, a plastic food container or a thick zip-lock bag will do.

Seal the bellies and place them in the refrigerator for 24 hours. After a day, the bellies of the salmon will be sufficiently salted, and they can be eaten, having first been rinsed from salt. The same salting is suitable for subsequent smoking of bellies, which makes this cheap product a delicious snack.