Influence of brine salting prior to pickle salting in the manufacturing of various salted-dried fish species

In Portugal, the production of salted-dried cod and similar species is a relevant fish industry. Pickle salting is the most common salting method in this industry. The objective of this work was to study the influence of brine salting before pickle salting in the characteristics of the final salted-dried product of different fish species. Three salting methods were studied: only pickle salting, brine salting at 16°Baumé followed by pickle salting and brine salting at 25°Baumé followed by pickle salting. Fish species studied were Gadus morhua, Gadus macrocephalus, Theragra chalcogramma. The results showed from 4.7% to 9.2% significant higher yields of salted-dried fish when using the lower salt content brine, but drying time increased from 32 to 45 h (35–65%), depending on size of the fish, and texture became significantly softer, what may imply that salted-dried fish using lower salt content brines may be perceived by consumers as a different product. No significant differences of color were obtained.