Detailed Explanation of the Processing Technology of Ready-to-Eat Pickled Pepper Plumfish
Plumfish, also known as plum croaker, belongs to the family Sciaenidae and the genus Sciaena. It is an important species in China's marine fishing, with a large yield and a low price. Therefore, plumfish is generally used together with other low-value fish as a raw material for surimi processing.
1. Auxiliary materials
Red chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, old ginger, garlic, refined salt, pepper powder, star anise, cinnamon, white granulated sugar, peanut oil, etc.
2. Processing flow
Cleaning → descaling, gill removal, gutting → cleaning → soaking → seasoning → precooking → cleaning and cooling (adding fermentation liquid) → fermentation → maturing → sterilization (adding auxiliary materials and additives) → mixing ingredients → vacuum packaging → refrigeration
3. Operating steps and key points
1. Descaling, gill removal, gutting. Quickly remove the scales, internal organs, and gills of the plumfish. During processing, take care to keep the plumfish intact, avoid breaking or tearing the fish body due to excessive force, and keep the fish body as intact as possible so that the plumfish has a good appearance.
2. Preparation of pickled peppers. This step is the key to making pickled pepper plumfish. To make pickled peppers, choose small red chili peppers with thin skins and thick flesh as the raw material. After washing the chili peppers, dry them. Select an appropriate amount of chili peppers and put them into a jar, submerge them in 5% brine, and pickle them. The pickling time is generally 15 days at 25°C and 25 days at 10°C.
3. Soaking of seasonings. Put Sichuan peppercorns, ginger slices, minced garlic, and a small amount of white granulated sugar that have been soaked through in warm water into a jar, add 5% brine, and soak. Seal the fermentation jar to prevent contamination. The soaking time is generally 15 days.
4. Precooking. Put the prepared plumfish into boiling water at 100°C and precook for 5-6 minutes to cook the fish, which can also have a sterilizing effect. Then quickly remove the cooked fish and cool it.
5. Preparation of fermentation liquid. Use about 8% brine, add about 4% white granulated sugar, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, old ginger, minced garlic, etc. in appropriate amounts, put them into a fermentation jar, seal, and ferment, generally for about 10 days. At this time, the pH value is usually around 3.0. After fermentation is complete, add an appropriate amount of acetic acid to adjust the pH value of the fermentation liquid to about 2.8, and then add an appropriate amount of refined salt, potassium sorbate, sweetener, and sodium polyphosphate.
6. Fermentation. Cut the precooked plumfish into sections and mix with the fermentation liquid. The material-to-liquid ratio is generally about 1:1.5. During mixing, avoid vigorous stirring and mix gently to ensure the fish sections remain intact. Seal the fermentation jar and place it in a cool, dry place to ferment. The fermentation time is generally 48 hours.
7. Sterilization. Sterilize the fermented and matured plumfish with boiling fermentation liquid for 2-3 minutes, then quickly remove and cool it to prevent the plumfish from being overcooked, which would affect the eating texture.
8. Mixing ingredients and seasoning. Take pickled pepper brine and mix it with the fermentation liquid so that the ratio of brine to the total amount of plumfish is about 1:1.5. Then add appropriate amounts of salt, Sichuan peppercorns, ginger slices, star anise, garlic slices, scallion rings, monosodium glutamate, and sweetener. After mixing evenly, continue soaking in the container for 5-10 hours.
9. Vacuum packaging. Use composite film packaging bags for vacuum packaging. During packaging, prevent the bones and spines of the plumfish from piercing the packaging bag. The vacuum degree is generally -0.06 to -0.08 kPa.
10. Refrigeration. This product generally needs to be stored or transported under refrigeration conditions, and its shelf life is generally up to 30 days at 0-4°C.