Salt-Cured Anchovies

Anchovies cured in two stages: an initial salting for 4 to 8 days to firm them, followed by 6 months maturing in jars with salt, black pepper, and brine.
appetizer
fish
preserve
traditional

Yield: 6–7 1/2 kg glass jars

Ingredients
Measurement units

First stage

You will also need a plastic bucket for this stage.

  • 3 kgmedium anchovies (15–18 cm)
  • 4.5 kgsemi-coarse natural sea salt without additives

Second stage

You will need 6 or 7 half-kilogram glass jars for this stage.

  • anchovies from the first stage, headed and gutted
  • 5 kgsemi-coarse sea salt
  • ground black pepper
Step-by-step Guide

First stage: initial salting

  1. Place the anchovies whole, without cleaning them or removing their heads, in a bucket. Alternate layers of salt and anchovies, making sure they remain well covered. Leave them for 4 to 8 days so they release water and firm up; the brine will form in the bucket.
  2. After 4 to 8 days, collect the brine released by the anchovies and reserve it in a separate container.

Second stage: cleaning and maturing

  1. Remove the heads and gut the anchovies without splitting them open. Snip the back of the neck without fully severing the head, then pull it outward so the gut comes away whole.
  2. To begin filling the jars, add a 3 to 4 cm layer of salt. Arrange a layer of anchovies head to tail on top, add a pinch of ground black pepper, and cover them with about 3 cm of salt.
  3. Lay the next row of anchovies across the previous one at a 90° angle. Continue alternating anchovies, pepper, and salt, pressing each layer firmly to minimize empty spaces.
  4. Always finish with a final layer of salt about 5 cm thick.
  5. Pour the reserved brine from the first stage into the jars until they absorb no more. This helps prevent air pockets.
  6. If there is not enough brine, prepare a 25% brine to top up the jars.
  7. Leave the anchovies to mature for 6 months.
Recommendations & Tricks
  • Choose medium anchovies, about 15–18 cm long. They shrink considerably during curing, and smaller fish may fall apart.
  • Use semi-coarse natural sea salt without additives. Baking salt is too coarse and table salt is too fine; the original document recommends Costa Tradicional or Eroski basic coarse salt.
Original recipe
View or download the original PDF document.
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    Salt-Cured Anchovies | The Catalan Table