Every experienced fisherman has in his arsenal a device for curing or drying his catch. After all, often a specialist in his field manages to get a significant catch. Then the question arises how to properly dispose of them. This is where a homemade fish dryer comes to the rescue, which can always be made from improvised means. In addition, often such dryers are used for curing meat. And the dried product will be stored for a long time and can be consumed at any suitable moment. For a real fisherman or hunter, such a device will become indispensable.
Drying fish
In order for the drying to be of high quality, only fresh fish should be used. Frozen will not work. It is not worth cleaning the scales, but it is necessary to clean the insides. Firstly, without them, the fish dries out faster. And secondly, they will definitely give bitterness, which will negatively affect the taste. After all, it would be a shame to make a lot of effort to catch and eat your fish, but because of the unpeeled belly, get a spoiled product. After that, rinse the carcasses well in cold water. Then a little s alt is poured onto the bottom and the first layer of fish is laid. The fish is covered with s alt and the next layer is laid perpendicular to the previous one. Etc. The more s alt is put in, the harder the fish will turn out, up to the state of a brick. Unders alted fish will be fresh.
Low-fat varieties of fish are recommended for drying. Otherwise, the shelf life of such species will be reduced to a week. Dried usually roach, ram, sabrefish, bream, mullet, etc. And for beer, it is preferable to dry roach, ram or carp. For drying, you can use the oven or electric dryer. But, naturally, drying in a specially designed dryer will be the preferred method.
Varieties of dryers for fish
There are many instructions for making DIY fish dryers. We will categorize them into main varieties based on their designs:
- Hanging.
- Collapsible.
- Frame (stationary).
- With fan.
Regardless of differences in designs, all dryers have in common the need for free access of air inside the dryer and devices for placing fish, whether it be shelves or hooks.
Easy drying
Fish can be dried without resorting to the manufacture of any structures by hanging it on a clothesline somewhere under the roof or on the balcony. Drying can also take place outdoors. But this simple option does not exclude the possibility of contamination of the product with insect larvae, and also does not protect it from flies. Therefore, it is preferable to use special dryers with walls, the manufacturewhich does not require special building skills and craftsmanship. At the same time, making a dryer for fish with your own hands will not require large financial expenses.
Hanging drying
A characteristic feature of such dryers is their suspended state, in contrast to stationary structures. Thanks to this, you can find the most favorable place for sunlight, wind, adjust the desired height and position.
The easiest way to make a hanging and mobile dryer for drying fish with your own hands is to use an old umbrella that has retained its ability to close and stay open. It is necessary to sew a fine-mesh net to a height of about a meter to the edges of an open umbrella. Then a ring is made of thick wire, equal to the diameter of the umbrella. The ring is placed inside the mesh about 80 cm from the edges of the umbrella and sewn to the edges of the mesh. From below, the mesh will be pulled together with a drawstring, opening and closing the dryer. The umbrella handle has no purpose in this design, and therefore can be removed, but without consequences for opening and closing the umbrella. A hook is attached to the central upper part of the umbrella (you can sew a loop) for fixing to a tree or other objects. At the end, the fish is placed under the dome and hung on hooks, the drying process begins. If an unnecessary tulle is preserved, then it will fit perfectly for this purpose instead of a mesh.
Collapsible dryers
Dryers of this type are very convenient due to their compactness,because they have the ability to understand in the absence of the need for them. Such drying is used in small apartments. In addition, a collapsible dryer can be taken with you for fishing and recreation, drying at the catch.
Frame dryers
Frame or stationary types involve making the base of the dryer for fish with your own hands in the form of a box. The photo below shows an approximate appearance of the frame dryer.
Usually the box has a wooden structure measuring 600 x 300 x 300 mm. The slats are fastened together with corners, and the base is covered with a mesh with a small cell. The mesh is fastened with construction brackets or nailed with planks. If it is supposed to hang the fish, then hooks or self-tapping screws are screwed in the upper part along the sides, onto which a rope or wire is pulled. Then the nails are bent in a zigzag manner, on which the fish is strung, and placed in a box. The door is hinged from the back side on the top of the box. From the front, you can fix the door on the sides with hook-shaped locks.
There is also a frontal version of a do-it-yourself frame fish dryer when the door is on the front of the structure. Then the fish is not hung on hooks, but laid out on shelves arranged horizontally in several rows inside the box. The shelves are placed on the corners attached to the side walls. They are made in the form of a rectangle, on which a grid is stretched for laying outfish.
Fan dryer
All the above methods of making a do-it-yourself fish dryer are designed for drying in the open air. But this is not always possible, or it is necessary to dry the catch in winter. It is for this purpose that it is proposed to consider a way to make a dryer for meat and fish with your own hands, despite the lack of favorable environmental conditions.
One of the easiest ways to speed up the drying process of fish is to use a fan. The power of the device should be selected based on the area of \u200b\u200bthe dryer. Naturally, someone needs to dry buckets of fish, while someone sometimes prefers to treat themselves to a dozen or two s alted products according to their own recipe. It is safe to say that the drying speed will directly depend on weather conditions and fan power. If the volume is large, two or more fans can be used.
Among the existing methods for making a dryer box, moisture-resistant drywall is used. A hole for the fan is cut out in one side part, and a mesh is attached on the other side. The remaining parts of the box remain deaf. On the upper part of the longitudinal sides, places are cut for twigs, on which the fish will hang. After the box is covered with a lid, which can be made from a wooden frame and mesh.
It is possible to use ready-made factory boxes of the required volume from other materials for the frame.
You can also make a fish dryer with a fan with your own hands inan ordinary apartment by installing an electric fan in the exhaust shaft and attaching an ordinary framed dryer covered with mesh to it.
Plastic crate based dryer
This dryer can be attributed to a collapsible and fairly compact form, because it is not difficult to assemble and disassemble it. And at the end of drying, the two drawers fold up and take up a minimum amount of space. Transportation will also not be a problem.
So, in order to make a similar dryer for fish with your own hands, you will first need two plastic boxes and a mesh large enough to wrap these boxes. The first box will be located at the bottom, and cellular sectors should be cut out at the bottom of the second. After that, this box will lie upside down on the first one, forming a plastic box. In the upper part of the box, wooden slats are installed, on which the catch is hung. This can be done with bent nails, or you can drive nails into the sides of the rails and remove the hats. To prevent insects from entering the dryers, two bags with elastic bands on the necks are made from the prepared mesh. The bottom bag will be permanently attached to the box, and the top bag will be stretched over the box after placing the fish in the dryer. Here is a do-it-yourself fish dryer.
The design can always be improved by adding, if necessary, an intermediate box with a completely cut off bottom, if you need to dry a large pike, pike perch, etc. Laths can also be placed at different heights in the side cells of the drawer.
Dryer based on window anti-mosquitogrids
Making such a dryer is not difficult by connecting window mosquito nets that are idle in winter as unnecessary. It is enough just to make a frame, attach the corners for the rails and put the door.
Some features of s alting fish before drying
Of course, the main ingredient that allows you to store the catch in a dried form for a long time is s alt. But if you use not only it, then you can achieve a significant improvement in taste. For example, ground 10 sheets of bay leaf mixed with black peppercorns will certainly have a positive effect on the taste of dried fish. And mixing s alt with sugar in a ratio of 3 to 1 will appeal to gourmets of dried fish. In hot weather, it is recommended to gut the fish before drying to prevent spoilage of the product.
We looked at the main ways to make a fish dryer with your own hands. Having chosen the best option for yourself, you can save all your weighty catch and enjoy your own fish for a long time.
