Step-By-Step Guide On How To Process Dried Fish In Nigeria

Dried Fish Picture

What is a Dried Fish

A dried fish is a normal sea fish that has either been smoked or dried with an electrical, thermal or solar energy. When we use an electrical means, we are referring to the of something like an oven. Inasmuch as there are lots of ways to dried a fish, we can also achieve the fish drying with an oven.

When we talk of thermal energy, we are referring to the use of charcoal to dry the fish. The energy primarily stored in a charcoal is chemical energy however, when it's heated up with fire, it converts the chemical energy to a thermal energy. This thermal energy is what you basically need to heat up the fish and then dry the fish.

On the other hand, when we talk about solar energy, we a basically referring to the energy from the sun. After doing some basic things that will be discussed later in thus post, keeping the fish under is almost the last part of the process. Once the fish is kept under the sun for some times (2 days or more), the fish should be dried enough to be stored for now or future use. These methods will be discussed more in this article as we progress.

Why Drying a Fish?

There are several reasons of drying a fish and the reason might vary from one person to the other. For me, I can say that it helps to bring out the aroma of a food to its fullest and that it is usually a must have in almost every Nigerian food however, my reason might be entirely different from other persons' reason.

Dried fish makes any food to be tastier. It is tastier than a normal fresh fish. For our brothers abroad, most of them can do as much as possible to lay their hands on this kind of fish even if it will cost them more. They believe that the fish there cannot be compared to the fish that was sent from Nigeria to them.

If you are someone that normally cook with a fish or lots of fishes in his/her food or soup, you will agree with me that the taste of a wet fish and that of a dried one is not the same at all. A dried fish brings out a particular aroma in a food and makes the food even more desirable to consume especially if you are a Nigerian that add more sorting condiments into the food to bring out the aroma even more.

Any kind of wet fish can be turned into a dried fish if you follow all the procedures required to convert a living fish to a dried fish. Inasmuch as a dried fish is tastier than a wet fish, drying a fish helps to keep the fish safe and preserved for a long time. 

If you have someone abroad that you would like to send a dried fish to or you just want to process dried fishes and store them for yourself, then am sure this article will be of great value to you.

If you want to export fish to another country, you cannot do that without first drying the fish. A fish once it is out of water, it will start smelling after some time except if you start to prepare it immediately or start drying it up. If you forget to do any of the above immediately, then i presume that you want the fish to spoil.

Belly View of a Dried Fish

If you have a live fish and you want to store it for the future or for export, there are some procedures you need to follow so as the preserve the fish very well and avoid the chances of mismanaging the fish.

Steps Of Drying A Fish

If you want to preserve your fish as a dried fish, carefully follows the simple procedures below;

1) If the fish is still inside the water, you will need to first remove the fish(es) from the water.

2) Once outside the water, you will need to kill the fish. You can do so by hitting a knife or any other available object on its head.

3) Once done, confirm that the fish is really dead. If you have many of the fish, you will need to repeat same procedure for all the fishes.

4) Now wash and clean the fish very well with enough water, preferably a runny water and then remove the scales if any.

5) Salt the fish to remove any micro-organism or germs that exists on the fish.

6) Once salted, you can then decide to fold the fish like the one in the picture. You are free to fold to your own taste. You can use neat small stick to hold it all together.

7) On this number, you can decide to remove any bone on the fish however, if the fish has no strong bone(s), you can decide to skip this stage.

8) Now, start the drying process. The drying process runs in 3 different methods dependable on the one that is best for you. The 3 methods can be used to ensure that the fish is properly dried to avoid allowing the fish to spoil for any reason. 

The 3 methods are listed below thus;

a) The first drying method which is also likened to the electrical method is the oven method where you heat the fish at a very high heat. While heating the fish with the oven heat, you are not supposed to complete the heating on same day. You will continue to heat the fish every day till you get your desired dryness. If you stay in the village, there is an alternative to this oven method where you will keep the fish in a small iron crafted basket and then hand the fish over the place you use to cook your food. With the heat still available, it will help dried the fish and then keep the fish dried. Ensure you dry the fish very well before your remove it from that spot.

b) The second drying method is the dehydrator method. This method helps to remove all the liquid in the fish. The dehydration method is also not supposed to be started and finished in same day. You will need to dehydrate the fish today to an extend and then repeat the process on the following day and next till you get your desired dryness.

c) The third drying method is the sun drying method. This method is derived from solar energy and is readily available to all as you don't need to buy any gadget to gain access to it. All you need to do is to spread the fish under the sun and repeat that on a daily until you get your desire dryness. Even when the fish is finally dry, avoid keeping the fish in a wet environment. Always maintain dryness on the fish at all time. This is to ensure that the fish does not spoil for any reason.

Back View Of A Dried Fish

Once you complete the process above, touch the fish and confirm that it is as you desire. Note that a dried fish should be light weighted and not sticky. If the fish is sticky for any reason, then there is chances that the fish will soon spoil. To avoid the fish from spoiling, continue to dry the fish until it becomes light weight and the sticky nature is eliminated.

Once you confirm that the fish is now very dry, you can go ahead and store the fish in a cool dry place. Avoid moisture from touching the fish for any reason. If your fish was very dried after processing, you stored in a cool dry place and water did not touch the dried fishes, then i guarantee you that your fishes can last up to a year with no issues.