Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

They are firm if treated well the food grade even freeze well.... nothing like the tin. I would expect the salt to make them firmer.

If they are older sold as fresh they will be mushy, I would go the fresh frozen to be sure.

Cool.

I'll look for them if this first batch doesn't kill me.

They would probably be more appropriate to start with, although, when I was cutting the Gar up into strips, it felt pretty good.



By way of an update...

I looked at it a second ago, and there is no sign of anything happening (looking through the plastic side of the container)

Having watched a few more youtube videos, I suspect I over did the salt, but I also suspect that's not a bad thing.


I think I wont die!

I cant find Ortiz anchovies here.

But Catalina Anchovies look good. I can get them in Adelaide.

Catalina Anchovies are stored in salt for 6-9 months before being deboned and put into oil.


Does anyone know what the [EDIT - salting] process does, so that I might better understand how long I need to do it for?

It's difficult to tell. Just because a company does it for 6 to 9 months, could just indicate that there is an anchovy fishing season or something, and it's convenient to buy in one quarter of the year, and process all year.

I had a look at my salted gar in the fridge. ie I pulled one out.

It's firmed up quite a bit, but is still looking a lot like it did when it went in.

It smells faintly of fish.

I just had a look at the salted gar, and not a lot has changed.

You can hold a thin stip by the tip and they dont bend, but other than that, they smell fresh (slightly fishy) and look good.

I suspect they are doing what they should.

I think everything is going well.



After watching a few youtube videos about how anchovies are made, I came to the conclusion that most of it is about firm flesh, and getting rid of the bones, head, and muck. My new awesome brand scores well on not having heads, and muck, but there are still a few too many bones.

The anchovies that win awards look like they are without any sign of bones, so I took a spoon to my store bought product and scraped off the bones. I tested my improved product with a slice of store bought white bread and butter with four improved anchovies, and have to say I impressed myself.

Cleaning up store bought anchovies made quite a bit of difference to the final product.

It makes me wonder if I can buy cheaper anchovies, and just scrape them cleaner of gut and bones to improve at least their flavour.

It wont fix the poor texture, but perhaps I can a find good textured, but poorly cleaned brand or something.

Let me know if anyone knows of a brand that fits the bill.

We canned a lot of our fish with a stove top canner.

Worked really well. Tasted like really good tinned tuna. Very simple to do as the canning process softens the bones so you can just eat them.

We also tried it with smoked fish. This wasn't a success. It tasted like slight odd tinned tuna.

Sounds good.

Might be a good thing to do with smaller fish so you can overstock for the first half of the season, and pull some out early to make room.

What kind of fish were they?

Trout.

I tried the Boquerones or white anchovies method with some tommy rough. Not like a normal anchovie taste the vinegar was quite pungent at first but as they aged they were fishier and quite nice, certainly firm. I skinned the fillets and cut them down either side of the pin bones to make anchovie like strips.

Will certainly do them again.....

I don't know how long you need to do it but it's probably for preserving your fish by inhibiting the growth of other organisms, particularly bacteria. I'm not certain how they handle the salt after curing when they want to pack them in something like olive oil .

This has a bit of information on different salting processes and fish - http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/AD12.pdf

This has some additional info - http://www.seriouseats.com/2013/10/taste-test-best-anchovies-anchovy-fillets-in-olive-oil.html

It makes them salty. Which equals tasty

From that first link, it looks like I may have overdone the salt.

and from the second...

2. Merro look like good value if that taste test is anything to go by.

Too much salt won't hurt them.

It will change the texture and tend to dry them out more.

Just thinking aloud here but is the process of salting to dry them out and then the process of oiling them to make them easier to eat, ie flexible.

I bought a bag of Ikan Bilis from coles (dried anchovies made by the same company that make my dried shallot) whith that in mind...

I was hoping I might be able to reconstitute them in oil.

Let's just say you'd want to really acquire a taste for fishiness

I've enjoyed something similar from japan, and a squid version also from japan, but these things are very fishy. These things are beyond my palate. I think they'll be used ground up in the mortar and pestle as more of a background flavour.

Mine don't look like the'll ever get quite that dry. I'm guessing these new things I bought are sun dried, and salted.