In the freezer
How long you can store pike in the freezer depends on the storage temperature and the form in which the product is.
In any case, preparation for freezing begins with cleaning the fish. Its entrails are removed and then washed well.
- Fillet . Boneless meat pieces can be cut into strips or chopped. Meat should be packaged in portions in small tight bags with a zipper. Store at -18°C for up to 12 months.
- Ground meat . Fish fillets are ground using a meat grinder with the addition of onions, salt, and spices. The finished mass is placed in freezer bags in small portions and stored at -18°C (and below) for up to six months.
- Entirely . Freezing pike as a whole is appropriate if you plan to stuff it or bake it. The fish should be gutted, washed, placed in a tight bag and frozen at -18°C (or lower). The shelf life of whole frozen pike is up to 6 months.
Defrost the fish on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for 8 - 10 hours (depending on the size of the predator). Re-freezing is not allowed.
How to safely salt pike caviar?
Pike caviar requires special care when salting! Before salting, a mandatory requirement is to pour boiling water over the caviar 2-3 times and add salt according to the calculation (for 1 kg of caviar, 2 tablespoons of salt.)
Next, you need to put the salted pike caviar in the refrigerator for at least twelve hours
In the next article you will find : how to properly salt pike caviar
If you bought caviar at “spontaneous” markets, you need to treat it with boiling water twice, taste it for saltiness and, if necessary, re-salt it. Strict adherence to the rules for processing pike caviar and fish is accessible to everyone and guarantees the prevention of diphyllobothriasis.
Recipes for salting pike caviar
Simple technology based on sunflower oil
Product composition:
- pike caviar – 0.5 kg;
- salt – 3 tbsp. spoons;
- vegetable oil – 100 ml.
Salt is poured into cleaned and well-washed caviar. Take a fork and beat the contents until white foam appears. After this, 2/3 of the prepared vegetable oil is poured into the salted caviar and mixed thoroughly, after which the caviar is placed in the refrigerator. While the caviar is in the refrigerator, it's time to prepare jars for storing the caviar.
Since there is not a lot of caviar, it is better to take small containers, for example, for baby food, mustard or horseradish. Before use, the container must be sterilized with steam or in the oven for 15 minutes. The same procedure should be done with lids.
The caviar is poured into jars, and a 1 cm thick layer of sunflower oil is poured on top of it. The jars are tightly closed, and the caviar is placed in the refrigerator for 5 days. After this period, the caviar can be eaten.
Method of “hot” preparation of caviar
The following components will be needed:
- pike caviar;
- sea salt (for 0.5 kg of caviar you will need 2 tablespoons);
- sunflower oil.
This option involves cooking caviar in boiling salt water. If you add 400 g of salt to 1 liter of water, you will get a fairly salty solution called brine. After boiling such a solution for 2 minutes, caviar is poured into it. Literally immediately the caviar is removed from the heat and filtered. Before serving caviar, sunflower oil is added to it for taste. Such a delicacy can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days, although it is unlikely that it will be able to stand in the refrigerator for that long: it will simply be eaten.
Five-minute recipe
Cooking process:
- Take 1 liter of water for every 200g of pike caviar.
- Water is placed on the fire along with sea salt (fine). You need to take 2 tbsp of salt. spoons for every liter of water.
- Water with salt is brought to a boil, various seasonings are added to this composition.
- Prepared caviar is taken and poured with this marinade, after which the product is left for 10-15 minutes. In this case, only part (half) of the solution is used in order to disinfect the caviar and better clean it.
- After this, the water is drained and the caviar is filtered through cheesecloth. The remainder of the solution is put on the fire and brought to a boil, after which the caviar is poured over it again, but for half an hour. You can stir with a fork. After this time, the caviar is filtered again.
- The product is salted to taste.
- For 100g of caviar you should take 100 ml of sunflower oil.
- Beat the mixture of caviar, salt and butter with a fork until white foam appears.
- The caviar is placed in a transparent container and placed in the refrigerator for 4 hours. That's all, the homemade delicacy is ready.
How to salt pike caviar at home - instructions
So, let's take a closer look at how to salt pike caviar at home, how to properly preserve and prepare it.
As an experienced fisherman’s wife, I will tell you a recipe for salting pike caviar at home, following my own example. Of course, there is a typical recipe for salting pike caviar, which is suitable for all occasions, but my instructions will help you prepare a divinely delicious dish that will become the crown of every holiday table.
For proper and high-quality salting of pike caviar at home, we will need the following food products:
- Basic product – pike caviar – 0.5 kg;
- Table salt – 2 tbsp. spoons;
- Sunflower or olive oil – 3 tbsp. spoons.
So, salt the pike caviar according to my recipe. To do this, we take a pike fish and pull out the bags of caviar from it. This must be done very carefully, since such a delicate and fragile product is very easy to damage. Therefore, using a sharp knife for this, cut the belly and pull out all the insides, then it will be easier to get the caviar bag. Getting rid of this film will be a little difficult, but I came up with a very simple and effective way. I take a colander, place the bags of caviar in it and lightly wipe them with my hands. Accordingly, as a result of my efforts, the caviar falls out through the holes in the colander, and the film remains on the walls of the device. This is how simple and easy I am to accomplish such a grandiose task.
Next, I transfer the product into a pre-prepared container for salting pike caviar at home. This could be a glass jar, a plastic bowl or an enamel plate. The main thing is not to salt caviar in aluminum containers, as the quality of the product will greatly decrease. Add salt to the container and mix thoroughly until it dissolves. This process takes me quite a long time because the salt dissolves slowly. Well, what can you do, you can’t do without it!
When a white foam appears in the container with caviar, the pike caviar, salted according to my recipe, is ready for further work. Add sunflower or olive oil to the container and mix thoroughly again. We let it sit for a while, and then I do one thing that no cook does when salting pike caviar at home - I add a couple of drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice to the container. I stir everything one last time, add one bay leaf and close the lid. I put the container in the refrigerator for a week. You can, of course, try our work of culinary art a couple of days earlier, but it will be better if you have patience and do everything as expected. You see that my advice on how to salt pike caviar at home is easy and, I assure you, very tasty.
Quick salting of pike caviar - recipe
And now I’ll tell you how to quickly pickle pike caviar at home, literally before guests arrive at the house. I had to learn how to do this after the arrival of my mother-in-law, who firmly believes that without a spoonful of caviar her child will go to the next world much faster than she herself. She arrived, but there was no caviar on the table - it was a huge scandal! So I thought about it and decided to learn how to pickle pike caviar in 5-6 hours.
For this difficult goal we will need the following components:
- Pike caviar – 0.5 kg;
- Salt;
- Water.
So, if you see that guests are approaching, but there is no way to treat them to something like that, sandwiches with salted caviar are your only way out of this situation. Therefore, before salting pike caviar in the usual way, simply pour boiling water over it. Then drain the caviar and water onto cheesecloth and squeeze a little. Repeat this process three more times and leave the caviar to dry a little. When the product has dried a little, salt the caviar to your taste. You can pepper it a little and add your favorite fish seasonings. Mix everything thoroughly and scrupulously and put it in a prepared jar. Pour 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil into a jar on top of the caviar to preserve the beautiful appearance of our culinary product. Place the caviar in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours. That's all the wisdom!
How to choose a suitable location and container
The storage conditions and quality of the purchased product determine how long red caviar is stored. Knowing the timing and storage rules will help preserve the benefits and provide a beneficial effect on the human body. The first thing to remember is that the product is not stored fresh, but must be processed - pasteurized or salted. The correctness of these actions will determine the period during which the caviar will be suitable for consumption.
In a plastic container
It is recommended to store the product in plastic containers for a minimum short time. This is due to the fact that under the influence of the external environment the structure of the eggs is destroyed: they acquire an unattractive appearance and become dangerous for consumption. The tightness of the packaging cannot guarantee the safety of this delicious product, so how long you will store red caviar depends on your care. It is recommended to store caviar in plastic containers, even if the temperature is maintained, for no more than 3 days.
On the refrigerator shelf
Properly salted caviar can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a long time. It is important to remember that red caviar can be stored in the refrigerator for 7 to 14 days. If during this time there is a change in the appearance of the product or the appearance of a foreign odor, it is strictly not recommended to use it.
In the freezer
Some housewives, trying to preserve the aroma and beneficial properties longer, store food in the freezer. It is important to consider the freezing speed here - it should be shock. Make sure that the storage container is airtight and does not allow foreign odors to pass through. Storage under such conditions is up to 3 months.
When deep frozen in the refrigerator, caviar loses some of its beneficial qualities.
At room temperature
It is strictly not recommended to store pike caviar (even salted) at room temperature. It not only loses its attractive appearance, but also becomes dangerous to health. This food should be placed in a cool place.
