Author: Marina Danko
Freshwater fish fillets are an excellent base for cutlet mass.
Surely you know people who refuse fish dishes due to the presence of small bones.
With fish cutlets, with a minimum of cook skill, such an inconvenience does not exist.
The advantages of freshwater fish pulp for preparing minced meat are, first of all, the guaranteed absence of allergies.
Unfortunately, some species of marine fish are guilty of this. Large species also have quite hard flesh, so their cutlets are very similar to ordinary meat cutlets.
River fish cutlets - general cooking principles
• River fish cutlets are fried in a frying pan in a small amount of well-heated oil. Sometimes the cutlets are double cooked - lightly fried and then finished in the oven.
• Minced fish cutlets are mainly prepared from raw river fish fillets. But if they take a very small fish, they boil it first. This makes it easier to separate small bones from the meat.
• Before grinding, the fish is cleaned of scales, fins, tail, all entrails, head are removed and the fillet is cut off. Minced fish is prepared from it.
• Before cleaning, the carcasses are thoroughly washed with water, trying to remove mucus from the surface as best as possible. The scales are removed by running a knife against the scales, starting from the tail to the head. First, all fins are cut off, since they are sharp in freshwater fish and can cause injury.
• After the scales have been removed, the head is removed - cut off with a knife and the entrails taken out. You should cut the belly carefully, trying not to insert the knife too deep. Otherwise, the gallbladder can be damaged, the meat will become bitter and the fish will most likely have to be thrown away.
• The fillets are separated after the fish has been cleaned and gutted. To do this, place the carcass on a cutting board and cut through the flesh to the ridge. The incision can be made from both the tail and the head. Then they run the knife along the ridge and cut off the flesh along with the ribs, cutting them at the base. After this, the carcass is turned over with the ridge down and the second fillet is separated.
• To make mince, river fish is twisted twice in a fine grinder or ground in a blender. You can chop the meat into smaller pieces with a knife. In this case, you need to carefully inspect each piece for the presence of small seeds and remove them.
• Along with the fillet, the onion is also chopped. The exception is if it needs to be sautéed.
• Onions and eggs must be added to minced river fish cutlets. You can also add cottage cheese, semolina, starch, flour and white or rye bread. It must be soaked in water or milk.
• River fish cutlets are best served hot, but are also tasty chilled, with or without a side dish, with sauce.
• Fried potatoes, boiled rice or mashed potatoes are the most suitable side dishes for such cutlets.
Pike cutlets with garlic and bread
- lard - 35 gr.
- onion - 3 pcs.
- pike (loin) - 1.4-1.5 kg.
- egg - 2 pcs.
- garlic cloves - 8 pcs.
- wheat bread - 0.1 kg.
- breadcrumbs - 70 gr.
- high-fat milk - 0.2 l.
1. Before preparing fish cutlets, you need to clean the pike at home. To do this, the entrails are removed from the river fish, all fins are also removed, and the head and tail are cut off. Don't forget to get rid of large seeds.
2. Next, rinse the already processed fillets under the tap and dry thoroughly with towels or napkins. Chop into pieces approximately 3*3 cm in size and place in a separate bowl.
3. Pour milk in the amount according to the recipe into a deep bowl, soak the bread crumb for a quarter of an hour. During this time, pass the garlic through a crusher, chop the onion into half rings, and chop the lard as desired.
4. Arm yourself with a meat grinder with a fine mesh. Send fish pieces into it, scroll several times. Then, according to this scheme, grind all the remaining components, including the crumb of the bread.
5. Season with pepper, salt, add eggs, and mix the mixture for the cutlets. Finally, add fish spices (optional). Wet your hands with water and make balls, flatten them, roll them in breadcrumbs.
6. Heat vegetable oil over medium heat and fry the cutlets. Cook until crusty for about 7-8 minutes on the first side. Turn it over and record the same amount of time. Next, set the stove to low, simmer under the lid for another 3 minutes.
River fish cutlets in French
• fillet of large freshwater fish – 700 grams;
• starch – 2 tbsp. l.
• two chicken eggs;
• large onion;
• two tables. spoons of full-fat mayonnaise.
1. Cut the fish and onion, the smaller the better, into cubes.
2. Add eggs with mayonnaise, add starch. Add a little salt, pepper and knead well. Place the cutlet mixture in the refrigerator for half an hour.
3. Heat non-fragrant sunflower oil in a thick-walled frying pan and add the cooled mass into it, scooping it with a tablespoon. Fry each cutlet until golden brown on all sides.
4. Serve cold with your favorite sauce.
Silver carp recipe
Silver carp is a fish with fatty and juicy meat, practically no bones and does not have a specific fishy smell. The pulp of this fish contains a lot of nutritious protein and active elements, which makes it possible to use it as a restorative remedy after suffering serious illnesses and increased mental and physical stress.
What ingredients will you need?
For cooking you need the following products:
- semolina – 2-3 tbsp. l.;
- silver carp fish – 750 g;
- chicken egg – 1 pc.;
- pork lard – 210 g;
- flour or breadcrumbs - 155 g;
- onion – 1 pc.;
- vegetable oil – 5 tbsp. l.;
- seasonings, chopped herbs, salt - as needed.
Step-by-step cooking process
The cooking process consists of the following steps:
- First, the fish needs to be cleaned of entrails and scales, the head and fins removed, washed, and then the flesh is ground in a blender or meat grinder 3-4 times.
- Next, you need to peel the lard and onions and pass them through a meat grinder, after which this mixture should be added to the minced meat.
- Then you need to beat an egg into the total mass, add semolina, mix everything thoroughly and leave the cereal to swell for about 15-20 minutes.
- At this step, you need to form cutlets from the minced meat, roll them in flour or breadcrumbs and fry on both sides for 6-10 minutes.
- After this, cover the pan with a lid and simmer the cutlets over low heat for about 10 minutes.
What can I add?
To make the minced meat more juicy, add more finely chopped onion (2-3 pieces) or zucchini. Since silver carp is a fairly fatty fish, lard can be excluded from the ingredients to reduce calorie content.
Rules for serving the dish, side dish for cutlets
When serving, cutlets can be sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs. Boiled potatoes or rice are good as a side dish.
River fish cutlets with cottage cheese – “Golden Fish”
• 400 grams of fish fillet (carp, carp);
• 9% cottage cheese – 150 grams;
• one potato;
• onion head;
• a tablespoon of semolina;
• wheat breadcrumbs.
1. Wash the fillet, cut into pieces and grind in a meat grinder. It is better to install the smallest grate.
2. Using a medium grater, grate potatoes and onions into the cutlet mixture, add cottage cheese. If it is grainy, grind through a sieve. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Mix all the ingredients well and leave to stand for about a quarter of an hour.
3. From the finished minced meat, fashion small semi-finished products in the form of fish and bread them in breadcrumbs.
4. Fry the “fish” in vegetable oil, well heated, until thick crust.
Classic recipe
To prepare a dish according to this recipe, fillets of fish such as perch, pollock, pink salmon, and crucian carp are suitable. The technique does not require special skills, the recipe is simple, and the products turn out well even for novice cooks.
What ingredients will you need?
To prepare, you need to take the components indicated in the table:
Ingredients | Quantity, units of measurement |
Fish fillet | 1 kg |
Breadcrumbs | 30 g |
Onion | 2 pcs. medium size |
Semolina | 40 g |
Chopped fresh dill | 50 g |
Sugar | 1 tsp. |
Salt, ground black pepper | of necessity |
Olive oil | 30 g |
Step-by-step cooking process
The cooking process is as follows:
- First you need to cut the fish, removing as many bones as possible.
- Next, you need to grind the fish pulp in a meat grinder, turning 2-3 times.
- Then you should peel the onion and chop it in a blender.
- Then you need to mix the onion, sugar, salt, dill and minced fish.
- After this, you need to add semolina to the mixture and mix it well by hand. If the minced meat turns out watery, then add a little more grain.
- Next, you should form a classic-looking cutlet.
- Then each product, previously sprinkled with breadcrumbs, needs to be fried for 7-11 minutes. on each side over medium heat.
What can I add?
To give the cutlets a piquant taste, you can add finely chopped garlic to the minced meat along with onions.
Rules for serving the dish, side dish for cutlets
You can serve both cold and hot cutlets. Boiled potatoes or vegetable salad can serve as a side dish for such products. The dish should be decorated with a sprig of parsley.
Crucian carp cutlets with bones: recipe
Fish lovers like the sweetish meat of crucian carp, but it is not always possible to cope with the bones that river fish are so rich in.
While in large carcasses it is still possible to select them, in specimens weighing less than 150 grams this task seems impossible. But don’t immediately discard small fish. You can make cutlets from crucian carp with bones, a recipe for a delicious fish treat that will undoubtedly delight your family. To ensure that small bones are absolutely not felt in the finished dish, you just need to follow all the nuances of preparing this dish, and strictly follow the proportions of the products indicated in the recipes.
What to cook from minced fish, except cutlets
Casserole in the oven
The following components need to be prepared:
- Minced sea fish – 500 grams;
- Minced shrimp – 500 grams;
- Dry white wine – 50 ml;
- Butter – 50 grams;
- A bunch of parsley;
- Table salt 50 grams;
- A pinch of paprika;
- 1 onion;
- 150 grams of pickled mushrooms;
- 100 grams of flour;
- 200 ml cream;
- 150 grams of grated cheese;
- 20 ml lemon juice;
- The pulp of white bread.
Preparation:
- Peel the onion and chop it with a knife. Finely chop a bunch of parsley;
- Place melted butter in a bowl, add dry white wine, finely chopped parsley and finely chopped onion. Mix the whole mixture;
- Place a frying pan on the stove, pour the mixture onto it and fry;
- Then add minced shrimp and sea fish. Fry everything for 10 minutes and remove from the stove. Pour 2/3 of the liquid from the pan into a bowl;
- Next, put a frying pan on the fire, add flour, pour cream and cook everything until the sauce is thick;
- Add grated cheese to the sauce and stir until the cheese dissolves;
- Pour the duda liquid drained from the fried minced fish, citric acid, salt, pepper and bring the whole mixture to a boil;
- Pour the finished sauce into the minced fish and mix;
- Cut the pickled mushrooms into small pieces and add to the minced meat, mix everything again;
- Place the entire mixture in a baking dish and put it in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours;
- After this, take out the mold and place it in a preheated oven at 180 degrees;
- Bake for 40 minutes. Then take out the mold, sprinkle with chopped bread pulp and bake for another 15 minutes.
Sprinkle the finished casserole with paprika.
Useful tips and tricks
To make fish cutlets tasty and aromatic, you should follow these recommendations:
- To ensure that the minced fish is well cooked from the inside, experienced chefs advise first frying the cutlets on both sides until golden brown, and then simmering them with 2-3 tbsp. l. water, covered, for 25 minutes;
- for preparing cutlets, it is better to choose dry varieties of fish with a low bone content, for example, flounder, pollock, blue whiting, hake, cod, pike;
- To make the cutlets soft, you need to add eggs in small quantities - 1 pc. for 0.5 kg of minced meat or not add at all. The egg can be replaced with flax seed - 2 tbsp. l. pour 100 ml of boiling water and let it brew until jelly forms, or starch - 1 tsp. for 0.5 kg of minced fish;
- small bones, if there are a lot of them, it is not necessary to remove every single one, they can be ground in a blender 2-3 times;
- to make the cutlets juicy, you can add 20-40% of the volume of minced fresh and dry white bread crumb;
- To make the cutlets fluffy, you need to add 2 tbsp to the minced meat. l. alcohol - it will evaporate when frying;
- so that when forming cutlets the minced meat does not stick to your hands, they are moistened with water;
- for a more pronounced taste, you can add lard to the minced fish - 100 g per 0.5 kg of minced meat;
- so that the onion releases less liquid when frying, you need to chop it finely;
- In order for the cutlets to turn out juicy, the intensity of the fire does not need to be changed, and the cutlets should not be turned over often;
- when removing the entrails, you need to carefully work with a knife so as not to accidentally touch the gall bladder, otherwise the fish flesh will acquire a bitter taste and will become unsuitable for consumption;
- Excellent cutlets are made from boiled fish - the bones are easy to remove, the minced meat is thick and requires less time to fry.
River fish cutlets are a tasty and healthy dish that can be used even in dietary nutrition. It is quite simple to prepare these products at home; the main thing is to prepare the minced meat correctly so that there are no bones left in it. These cutlets can be served for both a festive table and an everyday dinner.
A quick and easy recipe for canned fish cutlets
Delicious fish cutlets can be quickly prepared from canned fish. This dish is not only tasty, but affordable and simple, since there is no need to process the fish or fillets. These cutlets can be stored for a long time. You can change the final taste by adding vegetables, rice, buckwheat and spices to the cutlets. Canned pink salmon, tuna, saury and sardines are well suited for such cutlets. Try breading these cutlets in corn flour - you'll get an interesting taste.
Ingredients:
- Canned fish - 2 cans.
- Eggs – 3–4 pcs.
- Onion – 2 pcs.
- White bread - 4-5 slices.
- Spices to taste.
Cooking process:
- Hard boil the eggs, cool them, peel them and cut them into small cubes.
- Soak slices of white bread in warm milk or water and squeeze them out.
- Peel the onion and chop it finely. You can fry the onion in a small amount of oil.
- Open the cans of canned food, drain the juice, place the fish in a bowl and, using a fork, but not a blender, chop them.
- Add squeezed bread, chopped eggs, onions and spices to the fish.
- Mix the minced meat well.
- Use your hands to form small cutlets from the minced meat and roll them in any breading.
- Fry the cutlets until golden brown. You can steam them for children.
- Serve cutlets with any side dish and fresh vegetable salad.
Eat for your health!
Sorog baked in the oven
Sorog fish is quite tasty, but has a number of unattractive qualities. First of all, many people do not like its bonyness, so be careful when eating it. The second drawback of this fish is its specific smell, which not everyone likes. But this should not scare you, since sorog fish is quite tasty. We'll look at how to cook it in the oven below.
- Take several fresh fish (one kilogram), clean them, remove the insides, fins and head.
- Make cross cuts at intervals of two centimeters to cut through the small seeds and allow the heat to penetrate deeper. This way we can solve problem No. 1 (bonyness).
- Place the fish in a deep cup, sprinkle with salt and spices.
- Peel two onions and cut into rings.
- Grease a baking dish with olive oil, place onion and rosemary sprigs on the bottom. Spices will help us get rid of trouble No. 2 (pungent odor).
- Place the fish in the pan and spread it with sour cream.
- The soroga is cooked in the oven for about half an hour or until golden brown.
Minced cod fish cutlets
You will need the following components:
- Cod carcass – 1.2 kg;
- White bread pulp – 150 grams;
- 150 ml milk;
- 3 onions;
- 2 chicken eggs;
- Greens - a couple of sprigs;
- Breadcrumbs – 200 grams;
- Vegetable oil;
- 1 tablespoon salt and ground black pepper.
Preparation:
- The bread pulp is soaked in milk. Let the bread sit for 20 minutes;
- Next we prepare the fish. To do this, you should wash it, cut off the head, tail and fins. We peel off the skin and take out the central bone. The cleaned fillet should be cut into small pieces;
- Grind the pieces of fish fillet through a meat grinder. You can also use a blender for grinding;
- We peel the bulbs, wash them, and cut them into middle parts. Grind it in a blender until smooth;
- Next, knead the soaked bread with a fork until it becomes mushy and squeeze it out of the milk;
- Finely chop a bunch of greens with a knife;
- Place minced fish in a medium cup, add chopped onion, soaked bread, and finely chopped herbs. Season everything with spices, salt and add ground black pepper. Mix the minced meat thoroughly with your hands;
- The minced meat should be placed in a cool place for half an hour. If excess liquid appears, it must be drained;
- Sprinkle breadcrumbs onto a wide flat plate or cutting board;
- Next, we take out the minced meat and begin to make round cutlets out of it. Roll them on all sides in breadcrumbs;
- Place the frying pan on the stove, pour in vegetable oil and heat it up. Place the cutlets on hot oil and fry. Fry each side for 7 minutes;
- Ready cutlets can be served with vegetables or boiled rice porridge.