Anchoas del Cantábrico en Salazón

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Digital kitchen scale
• •2-litre nonreactive glass or glazed ceramic curing crock
• •Food-safe disk or small plate that fits inside the crock
• •Clean 750g food-safe weight
• •Refrigerator thermometer
• •Small kitchen scissors
• •Fish-bone tweezers
• •Lint-free kitchen cloths or absorbent paper
• •Two clean 250-300ml glass jars with nonreactive lids

Instructions

1. 1

   Freeze, thaw, keep cold

   Use anchovies frozen commercially for raw consumption if you can. Otherwise freeze very fresh fish in a verified freezer at -20°C or colder for seven full days, then thaw them overnight in the refrigerator. Keep the fish at 4°C or colder while you work, taking out only one small batch at a time.

   Freezing controls Anisakis parasites, but it cannot remove histamine formed through poor handling. Buy from a cold, fast-turning supply. Soft bellies or sour and ammoniacal smells mean the fish is unsuitable; salt won't rescue it.
2. 2

   Prepare both brines

   For the reserve brine, boil 500ml water, add 180g coarse salt, and stir until dissolved. Cool it completely, then refrigerate; a few crystals appearing in the cold simply show that the brine is saturated. Separately dissolve 30g fine salt in 1 litre ice-cold water for cleaning the cured fish months later.

3. 3

   Head and gut

   Grip each thawed anchovy just behind the gills. Pull the head downward toward the belly so the innards come away with it, leaving the skin, tail, and backbone intact. Trim away any remaining gut with small scissors. Don't soak the fish in fresh water; wipe away blood, or swish it briefly in a little reserved saturated brine and discard that used portion.

4. 4

   Layer with salt

   Spread a 1cm bed of coarse salt in a clean, completely dry 2-litre glass or glazed ceramic crock. Arrange one tight layer of anchovies without overlap, alternating head and tail ends so the layer stays level. Cover with 5mm salt and repeat until all the fish are packed. Finish with at least 2cm salt. Use the full measured amount, pésalo, no lo adivines.

5. 5

   Press and mature

   Set a food-safe disk or small plate directly over the salt and place a clean 750g weight on top. Cover the crock and refrigerate at 2-4°C. Within 24 to 48 hours, dark rose brine should rise around the fish. If it doesn't cover them completely, pour in enough cold reserve brine to cover the disk. Check weekly for the first month and monthly after that, adding reserve brine whenever needed. Mature for eight months.

   Reddish-brown brine and a clean, strong fish aroma are normal. Fuzzy growth, persistent bubbling, leaking, or a sour or putrid smell are not. Discard the entire batch if any of those appear.
6. 6

   Check the cure

   After eight months, remove one anchovy with clean tongs and brush away the salt. The flesh should be flexible and reddish brown from end to end, including the thick shoulder, with a clean savoury aroma. Split it and lift the backbone. If the spine clings or the centre remains pale and raw-looking, repack the fish beneath salt and brine for another month.

7. 7

   Clean each anchovy

   Take out only the quantity you intend to pack in oil. Swish each fish briefly in the ice-cold cleaning brine, then rub from head end to tail with a clean lint-free cloth to remove the skin. Trim the belly edge and tail. Open the fish along the belly, lift out the backbone, and separate it into two fillets. Remove any remaining pin bones with tweezers.

8. 8

   Dry and oil-pack

   Lay the fillets between clean cloths or absorbent paper and press them gently for 30 minutes, changing the paper once. They must be dry before oil touches them. Arrange the fillets closely in clean small jars, pour in olive oil until they are covered by 1cm, and tap the jars to release trapped air. Refrigerate for 24 hours before serving, then use within 14 days.

   These are a refrigerated semipreserve, not a shelf-stable jar. Keep them at 2-4°C, maintain the oil above every fillet, and never store or can them at room temperature.

Chef Tips

• •The Cantabrian costera runs through spring into early summer, when bocarte is plump enough to give a broad, silky fillet. Frozen spring catch is better than tired fresh fish in another season. Sourcing wins here.
• •If Cantabrian anchovies aren't sold where you live, choose whole Mediterranean European anchovies of the same species. They cure properly but usually make smaller, leaner, slightly firmer fillets. Sardines are not a straight substitute.
• •Use plain non-iodized sea salt without anti-caking agents. Fine table salt packs too densely around the fish, while heavily mineralized or flavored salts muddy the clean cure.
• •Traditional salazón matures in controlled curing rooms. A domestic cupboard is not a curing room, however poetic it looks. Keep this home batch at 2-4°C and allow the full eight months.
• •Clean and oil-pack only a small batch at a time. The remaining whole anchovies can stay pressed beneath their curing brine in the refrigerator for up to twelve months, provided they remain completely covered and show no spoilage.
• •Refrigerated olive oil may cloud or thicken. That is harmless. Take out only the portion you need ten minutes before eating, then return the jar promptly to the cold.
• •Serve the fillets as they are or over good bread. They need no lemon, garlic, or decorative greenery. Anyone advised to avoid raw or cured seafood should not eat a home-cured batch.

Advance Preparation

• •If the anchovies weren't commercially parasite-frozen, freeze them at -20°C or colder for seven full days and thaw them overnight in the refrigerator before beginning.
• •Prepare the saturated reserve brine a day ahead so it is completely cold. It keeps covered in the refrigerator for the duration of the cure.
• •Allow eight months for refrigerated maturation. Begin checking only at the eight-month mark, then extend the cure in one-month intervals if the thickest flesh remains pale.
• •After cleaning and packing the fillets in oil, rest them in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving. This lets the oil settle around the flesh without replacing the flavor of the cure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 35g)