1, direct drying or baking
Direct drying refers to the fresh fish drained of water, placed directly in the sun to dry or placed in a special oven at high temperature baking. Generally this method of fish is particularly small, and a large number of fish, due to high labor costs and freshness time is limited, there is no time to take care of the viscera, to take the rough processing method. Such small fishies have an average flavor and are often accompanied by a fishy taste when consumed.
2, salted and dried or baked
Small fish with salt salted for more than 3 hours, and then placed in the sun to dry or placed in the oven to bake. This method is divided into two cases: First, the fresh fish by pinching the belly to remove the viscera, with the right amount of salt and a little white wine marinated for a few hours, and then drying. The second is that the small fish boy due to long storage time or by high temperature, freshness greatly reduced, and even produced a slight odor, had to use the pinch to remove the viscera, and add salt and white wine pickling for disinfection, and at the same time to achieve the purpose of covering the odor. The first case of dried small fish fried naturally delicious, the second case of dried small fish produced is really not to be commended, no matter how the later processing, it is difficult to cover up the odor of putrefaction.
3, sun to half-dry with smoke and fire smoking
This method is generally used for a little larger dried small fish, disemboweled and gutted with salt for half a day, and then placed in the sun to dry, sun to half-dry, and then in the charcoal fire above the push some husk or rice sugar for fuel, between which add some dried orange peel, peanut shells, etc., to increase the aroma. This method of production of dried fish smoke flavor, the most common in Hunan, can be categorized as Hunan countryside specialties.
4, small fire slowly roasting
Small fire roasting out of the small dried fish called fire roasted fish, no smoke, all rely on warm fire gradually stimulate the original fresh flavor of the fish itself, fire roasted fish on the freshness of the fish and the quality of the meat have very high requirements, generally wild fish-based, that is, that is, the production of the fishing, the relative procedures are more complex, is a time-consuming and laborious work, from the catching to the end of the fire roasting, often take more than a day. It is a time-consuming and labor-intensive job, often taking more than a day from catching to fire-roasting. Nevertheless, the fire-roasted fish flavor is incomparably fresh and delicious, and all the hard work is worth it for the best of the small dried fish.