Cured dried balyk
Description
Perfect for the table and with drinks. People have long used salting meat to preserve it. In places where there is nowhere to store meat and there are no refrigerators, heavy salting is often used. That is how salt pork is made. This dish is similar, but it is not dried as much. Serve with greens and sauce.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
To make dried cured balyk, use boneless chicken breast. Double chicken fillet works better—the slices of finished balyk will look more impressive and be larger. Place the chicken fillet in a bowl. Rub with salt and sugar, and add 1 teaspoon each of hot red pepper and ground black pepper. Pour in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Rub the meat well on all sides.
- 2
Step 2
Place the chicken in the bowl in the refrigerator. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap so the marinade doesn’t soak into everything else in the fridge and the chicken doesn’t dry out. Leave it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. The chicken will release juice. After 24 hours, remove the fillets from the marinade. Rinse thoroughly, washing off as much of the spice as possible. Then pat the chicken dry with paper towels.
- 3
Step 3
Rub the meat with garlic and a large amount of paprika. The meat should literally be coated in paprika until it turns red.
- 4
Step 4
Wrap the meat in a towel and refrigerate for 1–2 days. During this time the meat will dry out and cure.
- 5
Step 5
Take the meat out and slice it. It slices very well. It is well salted, and there is no need to worry about eating it. The meat is very tasty and tastes like fish balyk.