Preparation

• Take the cleaned anchovies and prepare fine sea salt Costa Tradicional, without any additives. You will also need powdered black pepper.
• First, leave the anchovies whole, without cleaning or removing the heads, inside a bucket. Alternate layers of salt and anchovies for a period of 4 to 8 days, ensuring that the anchovies are well-covered by the salt so they release water and firm up. In the end, you will obtain a brine with the anchovies. There's no need to do anything with the water they produce.
• After these days, recover the water they have produced and reserve it in a container.
• Now, you need to remove the heads and eviscerate the anchovies without opening them completely. To do this, make a cut with scissors on the neck of the anchovy, without cutting it completely, and pull the head out to remove the entire gut.
• To fill the jars, alternate layers of semi-coarse salt and anchovies, pressing each layer well to avoid empty spaces:
• Start with a layer of salt about 3 or 4 cm thick.
• Place the anchovies on top of the salt, heads and tails alternated, to fit more in each layer.
• Add a pinch of ground black pepper over the anchovies.
• Cover the anchovies with a new layer of salt.
• Place the next layer of anchovies at a 90º angle to the previous layer to ensure a good packing.
• Add another pinch of ground black pepper.
• Cover the anchovies with a new layer of salt.
• Always finish with a final layer of salt about 5 cm thick. Note: The intermediate layers of salt should be approximately 3 cm thick.
• Once you have filled the jars, pour in the brine you reserved from the first stage until you see that the jar no longer absorbs it. This will ensure no air spaces remain.
• If you don't have enough brine, prepare a 25% concentration brine to add.
• Let the anchovies marinate for 6 months in a cool, dry place.