I have just put a batch of the 'Salmon Katsuobushi' in the fridge to leave for a few weeks. Was thinking about cold smoking it at some point in the drying process? Maybe should have done that first?
Pretty flavourless Katsuobushi is amazingly expensive in the UK, and I'm thinking about how to get around using it and just making some of my own, except you cant buy Aspergillus Glaucus, even online as far as I can see (apparently the fungus used in the fermentation sage) and I unfortunately don't have 6h a day for a week to smoke the fish. They boil the fish used in Katsuobushi (bonito or skipjack tuna apparenlty) first, not sure why they do this step? Helps push moisture from the fish?
Can anyone come up with an inventive solution for a home made economical and relatively 'practical' substitute? I was thinking about using Mackerel, boiling it, filleting it, and then smoking at a high temp for a long time? Then leaving it in the fridge till completely dry. Could you use any traditional western ingredients for the fermentation stage? Something that is at least easily available online? I think its interesting to come up with replacements that use easily accessible ingredients (e.g. David Changs smoked bacon dashi).
Cheers
