Salted dried fish, soaked and then simmered into sauces for depth. Salted fish entered Central African diets through Atlantic trade and remains cheaper than fresh, softening into stews of cassava leaf and palm nut.
The salting and drying is a trade process depending on heavy salt ratios and hot dry air; done at kitchen scale in a humid climate the fish spoils inside while the surface looks cured.
What goes into it
- sea fish, split and flattened
- coarse salt in quantity
How it is made
The fish is split, gutted and packed in heavy salt for a day or more, drawing out its water, then dried in sun and wind until hard. It arrives at market stiff and intensely salty, and has to be soaked in several changes of water before it can be cooked.
How long it takes: several days from salting to fully dry
How it is eaten
Soaked, then simmered into cassava-leaf stew, palm-nut sauce or with plantain.
History
Salted fish entered Central African diets through Atlantic trade and remains cheaper than fresh, softening into stews of cassava leaf and palm nut.
Frequently asked questions
What is Poisson salé?
Poisson salé is a charcuterie & cured from Gabon: salted dried fish soaked and simmered into sauces for depth. Salted fish entered Central African diets through Atlantic trade and remains cheaper than fresh, softening into stews of cassava leaf and palm nut.
How is Poisson salé made?
The fish is split, gutted and packed in heavy salt for a day or more, drawing out its water, then dried in sun and wind until hard. It arrives at market stiff and intensely salty, and has to be soaked in several changes of water before it can be cooked. It takes several days from salting to fully dry.
Can I make Poisson salé at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. The salting and drying is a trade process depending on heavy salt ratios and hot dry air; done at kitchen scale in a humid climate the fish spoils inside while the surface looks cured.
What goes into Poisson salé?
Sea fish, split and flattened, coarse salt in quantity.
How is Poisson salé eaten?
Soaked, then simmered into cassava-leaf stew, palm-nut sauce or with plantain.
