Air-dried roach
Description
The recipe won't take much time. Besides the main food ingredients, you will need a crate, rope, bucket, and a salting sack, which can be replaced with a piece of cellophane or gauze. And, of course, patience. Curing dried roach is men's work—that's why I wrote the cured roach recipe and took the pictures while my husband made it. What a fantastic beer snack. Serve with greens and sauce.
Instructions
- 1
Step 1
Fill the bathtub with water and lay the crucian carp beside it.
- 2
Step 2
Mix salt and sugar in equal quantities.
- 3
Step 3
Prepare a bucket. Line it with a pickling bag or plain cellophane. Cover generously with a salt and sugar mixture.
- 4
Step 4
Pat the fish dry with paper towels and place it on the bottom of the bucket. Cover it with the remaining salt.
- 5
Step 5
Place a flat plate or lid on top of the fish. A stone on top of that. Leave a gap for the fish—that is, the lid should not fit flush with the bucket. Wrap in a bag and take to the cellar or another cool place. At least 5 days. If you are not sure about the body of water where the roach was caught, 14 days is better.
- 6
Step 6
Take out the bucket, stir the roach, and put it back in the cellar for another day.
- 7
Step 7
Put the salted roach into a bathtub of water. Leave it in the water for 4 hours. Then drain the water. Rinse each fish thoroughly.
- 8
Step 8
Then wrap each fish in paper towels or newspaper and leave for two hours. The excess moisture will drain off. Then thread the roach onto string. Cover with gauze so flies cannot land on the fish.
- 9
Step 9
The fish is dried on ropes for a week. During this time, make a box on which the roach will finish curing. Thread the rope through the box so it looks like a rack.
- 10
Step 10
Arrange the fish in two layers—that is, over the first layer make another rope lattice. The roach cures in the box for 4 weeks. Turn the fish over from time to time so the fat spreads evenly. After 4 weeks your dried roach is ready!