Dried salted fish (feseekh)

Dried salted fish (feseekh) also typed Fesikh.

Feseekh is a traditional Egyptian dish served only during the Sham-El-Nessim festival, which is a spring celebration with Pharaonic origins. It consists of fermented, salted and dried gray mullet. The process to prepare it, which involves drying the then salting it, is usually prepared by a specialized person called a fasakhani. Due to the way it is prepared, Feseekh can cause poisoning if it is prepared incorrectly, as it has a very pungent smell. It is usually served with Egyptian bread, diced onions and lots of lemons.

The detailed steps with photos for preparing Egyptian Dried salted fish (feseekh) :

When you buy fish ...
Must be fresh and larger size, the more is the fish fat it will be best
for Herring

I bought Two fish More than one and a half kilograms .. And if you find the volume of a greater fish will be best

Wash Gill very well for a period of not less than five to six
Minutes per fish underwater until the color is almost white gills

Then enter a drying phase including at least four
Twenty hours

Bring dish and cover it with white paper until water is absorbed abroad
Fish

Every several hours alter the paper and turn the fish on other side,
So exposed in all its aspects of air to dry

This is the form of the fish is still fresh immediately after washing

The dish and beneath white paper during drying:

During drying every few hours the next step must be done

Hold the fish and put a napkin on both fish gill, then hold the fish head with a third napkin, hold fish head towards bottom put pressure so we will get rid of any liquids, then we remove the napkin and leave the fish to continue dry.

Drying stage takes a full day or a little less ..

I buy fish at night and wash and leave to dry for the next day ..

I put it through the night in Air conditioner and covered with a very light cloth .. like this:

In the morning let it complete drying in the kitchen and kitchen window open for ventilation. And left covered to ensure hygiene

After fish dry you will see texture became completely dry from the outside and whole color become white. fish now not soft like fresh fish .. I mean if you hold the Fish from the tail remain cohesive without flexion
Leave fish on her head to get rid of the fluid and can try it this way.
open a bottle of water from the top. put Tissues at the bottom to suck up any
Drops from fish . put the fish parked her head down

Thus:

This is a form of fish after 24 hours drying, Observe that it has become crusty outside and head and fish gill completely dry.

Then the next phase salting

hold Fish from the tail and pressing them until soft to make the meat mushy at the end of our process.

Then we get (big salt) Coarse salt  3/4  kilogram.

The first step completely fill the gill(nostrils ) to the point
They remain open and salt doesn't allow it to close yourself

Thus:

Order fish head next to the tail.

Then Spread  the rest of the amount of salt that will be used over and under and beside the
Fish

Thus:

Salting now ended and close the bag very well and being careful to avoid air and wrap in more than one plastic bag.

I wrap it in about seven or eight plastic bags to ensure the heat and avoid air

Here is a photo of the Fish after the completion of salted and wrapped it well:

We will put the wrapped fish in a dry place and make sure that Stir it about five times a day from one side to the other so as to ensure the distribution of salt ..

And leave for five days then open it.

And, of course, "feseekh" lovers will know that it is ready to eat by its smell that will appear soon before open the wrapped fish.

This image immediately after remove the salt of the fish

White and shiny nearly silver color. This is a sign that it was good salted.

These are some pictures of the table with onions, lemon and bread before eating.

This was the traditional dried salted fish hope you enjoy it.