River fish is famous for its excellent taste and contains many small bones that make feasting difficult.
The solution will be recipes for preparing sprats from small river fish at home, since during prolonged heat treatment the bones soften and become invisible. What side dish do you prefer with seafood?
- Potatoes 30%, 316 votes
316 votes 30%316 votes - 30% of all votes
- Without garnish 25%, 257 votes
257 votes 25%
257 votes - 25% of all votes
- Fresh vegetables 21%, 222 votes
222 votes 21%
222 votes - 21% of all votes
- Stewed vegetables 15%, 154 votes
154 votes 15%
154 votes - 15% of all votes
- Cereals 9%, 96 votes
96 votes 9%
96 votes - 9% of all votes
Total votes: 1045
18.04.2020
×
You or from your IP have already voted.
Step-by-step recipe for sprats with photos
The versatility of sprats is in their combination with various products, green peas, eggs, boiled potatoes, lemon, onions and so on. Fish prepared in a special way can be stored in the refrigerator at home for quite a long time.
The cooking process is simple. Even a novice housewife can prepare dishes. However, many refuse this idea because of its complexity. Unlike the production method of preparing sprat, where the carcasses are kept in a salty solution, dried and then smoked, at home the product is mainly stewed. The dish is prepared in the oven, on the stove, or in a slow cooker.
The fish gets its recognizable characteristic color from natural dyes. Despite the simplicity of preparation, you should still be aware of some nuances before starting the process:
- To give the fish a rich golden hue, the tea must be very dark.
- Both the tea drink and the onion infusion are prepared in advance.
- Spices are added to homemade sprats to taste.
What fish do you most often make sandwiches with?
- With trout 27%, 102 votes
102 votes 27%102 votes - 27% of all votes
- With salmon 24%, 89 votes
89 votes 24%
89 votes - 24% of all votes
- With sprats 19%, 72 votes
72 votes 19%
72 votes - 19% of all votes
- With salmon 13%, 50 votes
50 votes 13%
50 votes - 13% of all votes
- With herring 9%, 33 votes
33 votes 9%
33 votes - 9% of all votes
- Other 7%, 26 votes
26 votes 7%
26 votes - 7% of all votes
Total votes: 372
16.10.2019
×
You or from your IP have already voted.
Recipes for cooking sprats at home
Traditionally, herring sprats are fried in a frying pan, but modern kitchens are equipped with both suitable utensils and auxiliary equipment. In our recipes we will tell you about different ways of preparing sprat.
Classic recipe
Although sprats take a long time to prepare, you will have to tinker with them for no more than half an hour. The rest of the time they simmer quietly at the desired temperature, while you go about your business.
For classic sprats you will need:
- 1 kg of fresh herring;
- 2 tablespoons (4 bags) black tea;
- 80–100 g sunflower oil;
- salt, peppercorns, bay leaf.
During the cooking process, it may be necessary to add sunflower oil, since it evaporates during long heat treatment. And don’t forget that cooled fish tastes saltier than hot fish.
Video recipe: herring sprats
Recipe from Yulia Vysotskaya
Our hostesses have long been familiar with the culinary creativity of this energetic young woman, who never tires of revealing to us the secrets of dishes from peoples around the world.
For sprat from herring according to Julia Vysotskaya’s method you will need:
- 1.2 kg herring;
- 2 teaspoons of tea;
- 1.5 glasses of water;
- 200 g sunflower oil;
- 3 bay leaves;
- 1 handful of onion peel;
- 1 teaspoon salt;
- peppercorns.
During the stewing process, do not stir the fish so that it does not fall apart. It will be enough to shake the pan from time to time.
In a slow cooker
A very simple recipe, and most of the hassle in preparing it will be taken on by our constant assistant in the kitchen - the multicooker. You will need:
- 100 g of strong tea, brewed from 4 bags;
- 350 g herring;
- ¼ cup vegetable oil;
- ½ teaspoon salt.
By the way, if possible, be sure to try using mustard oil rather than sunflower oil. It has a subtle, slightly spicy aroma, which it will gladly share with sprats.
Option without pre-quenching
The ingredients for this recipe are the same as in any of the previous ones: herring, black tea, vegetable oil, onion peels, salt, bay leaf and pepper.
Of course, the ingredients and their quantities can be changed as desired. For example, a larger amount of strong tea leaves will make the fish a little harder, and if you keep the herring in the oven longer, the bones in it will become completely soft. If you like spices, you can add cloves.
Video: herring sprats cooked in the oven
In a pressure cooker
If you don’t already have this modernized pan in your kitchen, be sure to buy it - you will notice that it takes very little time to prepare complex dishes. Of course, I have already cooked sprats in a pressure cooker, including herring.
While the pressure cooker is preparing sprats, you can drink tea, watch your favorite TV series or walk the dog. And as soon as the device notifies you with a sound signal about the end of cooking, wait until the pressure in the device drops and serve the sprats on the table!
Video recipe: herring sprats in a pressure cooker
With prunes
Prunes will give sprats a piquant aroma
It is known that the peculiarity of sprat is the taste and aroma of smoked fish. Onion peels cope with this, but still do not provide the required richness. Therefore, many housewives add liquid smoke when cooking. However, it is not to everyone's taste. Therefore, earlier, when liquid smoke was not yet on the shelves, prunes were added to sprats.
So, for this dish you will need:
- 700 g herring, cleaned of heads and entrails;
- 1 liter of water;
- 50 g smoked prunes;
- 2 tablespoons of dry black tea;
- 2 tablespoons salt;
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil;
- bay leaf, cloves, a few peppercorns.
- Prepare tea leaves, boil it for 5 minutes, strain and leave to cool. Meanwhile, place the first layer of herring in the prepared pan.
- Chop the prunes. Add it and spices to each new layer of fish.
- Strain the cooled tea, add salt and stir thoroughly until dissolved. Pour the resulting liquid over the herring so that the fish is completely covered, with some room for evaporation. Shake the dishes a little so that the water spreads evenly over the layers of fish, add tea if necessary.
- Sprats with prunes can be cooked both in the oven and on the stove. In the first case, you need to put the pan with fish in the oven, preheated to 200 degrees, wait for the liquid to boil, reduce the temperature to 120 degrees and simmer the sprats for about 2 more hours. In the second, it is enough to use a divider stand and simmer the dish for 2 hours over low heat.
- After this time, drain the remaining liquid from the pan with sprats and immediately add vegetable oil so that it completely covers the fish. Put it back on the fire or in the oven, and after the oil boils, simmer for another 15 minutes. That's all, sprats with prunes are ready!
With soy sauce
The fashion for Asian cuisine brings its own spicy notes to our usual dishes. So sprats from herring did not go unnoticed. Why not cook them with soy sauce?
You will need:
- 1.2 kg of peeled herring;
- 200 g of any vegetable oil;
- 200 g of stronger tea leaves;
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce;
- 1 level teaspoon of salt;
- bay leaf and peppercorns.
As you can see, at home it is not at all difficult to prepare sprats from such a common fish as herring. From the recipes and methods we offer, you will surely choose the best ones for yourself. Tell us in the comments how you prepare sprats from herring or other types of fish. Bon appetit!
Small jars of sprats, which were once considered a delicacy
, today it is not difficult to find on sale. If anyone doesn’t know, sprat is not the name of the fish, but the final product itself. Herring, sprat, and any small fish are placed in the jar.
Today you can buy it fresh on the market in any quantity, and then prepare your favorite snack.
Why are homemade sprats so good? This is a high-quality product made from natural ingredients: no preservatives or other chemicals, so even children can eat it.
From smelt
Food aesthetes believe that the most delicious dish is made from smelt. You can prepare it yourself with a minimum amount of ingredients.
What you need for half a kilo of gutted fish:
- Half a liter of water;
- 1 large spoon of salt;
- 1 small spoon of sugar;
- 50 milliliters of vegetable oil (can be replaced with olive oil);
- Tea, bagged – 1 bag;
- 15 grams of liquid smoke.
How to cook sprats step by step:
- Clean the fish.
- Add salt, sugar, liquid smoke to boiling water. Let cool.
- Place the smelt in a baking dish, since the dish will be cooked in the oven.
- The top of the fish is sprinkled with oil and poured with brine until it completely covers it.
- Simmer the fish for two hours over low heat.
Cooking secrets
A delicious snack without the use of any chemicals at home is simple to prepare, but takes a long time. The raw materials acquire a pleasant golden hue thanks to natural coloring compounds: onion peels, tea leaves, soy sauce. In order for the final result to meet all expectations, you should understand several important points.
Secrets of cooking sprats:
- Strong tea leaves are used as a dye. The ideal proportions are 1 tbsp. l. loose leaf tea per glass of boiling water or 4 bags for the same volume of water.
- The bags or leaves should be brewed in advance, as well as a decoction of onion peels, if it is used during the cooking process.
- A decoction of the husks will give the fish a golden hue, and tea will color the carcasses a brownish-bronze color. The color intensity can be changed depending on preference.
- Connoisseurs of fish dishes recommend using smelt in cooking.
- The cooking time for sprat depends on the size of the fish. The larger the carcass, the longer it will take to cook, since during the process it is necessary for all the bones to soften. On average, it will take 1.5-2.5 hours to prepare sprats.
- You should remove the giblets and remove the head from even the smallest fish.
- The addition of spices depends on the taste of the cook, but bay leaves, allspice peas and black pepper are considered classic spices.
- If you move the finished dish into a sterile jar, add vegetable oil left over from stewing, and seal it tightly, then the preparation can be stored for 3-4 weeks in a cold place.
From minnows
Minnow is an ideal fish for making canned food. This fish is mainly used in Primorye, where there is a lot of it, as bait.
Tip: It is advisable to take lake minnows, as river specimens have an unpleasant bitter taste.
What is needed for 1 kg of fish:
- 9 percent vinegar - 1 large spoon;
- 100 milliliters of vegetable oil;
- Sugar – 1 small spoon;
- Salt, spices;
- Tea – 1 glass.
What to do:
- Place the cleaned fish in a pressure cooker or deep saucepan.
- Add spices, oil and tea.
- Close the lid tightly. The main requirement is that the structure must be airtight so that the lid fits tightly to the base.
- Simmer over low heat for one and a half hours.
Tip: You can achieve tightness by kneading a small amount of stiff dough (a couple of tablespoons of flour and a little water). Then, wrap the joints with this dough.
Ingredients
As we have already said, preparing sprats from small fish (in our case herring) is easy and inexpensive. The set of ingredients for the basic recipe is simple:
- herring;
- strong brew of black tea;
- sunflower oil for frying;
- salt.
Choose strong, medium-sized herring. You will have to clean it of the head and intestines; this is difficult to do with small fish. But too large one needs to be cooked longer, and it is not a fact that it will be stewed evenly.
To determine the strength of the tea leaves used, use this simple formula: 4 tea bags or 2 tablespoons of dry small-leaf tea per 200 g of water. This amount of liquid is enough for 1 kg of herring.
Herring sprats are an excellent addition to the festive and everyday table
Note! Herring sprats do not require strict adherence to the amount of ingredients in preparation. They can easily be added “by eye” during the cooking process.
When preparing sprat, sunflower oil is needed not only for frying, but also to soak the fish in it. Therefore, you will need a lot of oil: about ½ cup per 1 kg of fish.
In addition to salt, lovers of spicy flavors can add various spices to the dish to their taste: pepper, bay leaf, fennel, cloves. Even additional products and sauces will not be superfluous!
Housewives often use onion skins to prepare sprat, which gives the fish a pleasant golden color. Some even use liquid smoke.
From herring
You can make sprats from herring. To prevent the carcasses from falling apart, they should be laid end to end.
What is needed for 1 kilogram of herring:
- Brewed black tea at the rate of 3 small spoons per half glass of boiling water;
- Oil – 1.5 cups;
- Seasonings;
- Bay leaf - 6 medium leaves.
- Gut the fish, remove the head and wash.
- Brew tea, strain. The output should be approximately half a glass of the finished drink.
- Salt and pepper the fish.
- Place the fish in a deep, heat-resistant dish.
- Add spices. Place a bay leaf on the top layer.
- Carefully, without washing out the spices, pour in the tea and oil.
- Close the lid and simmer in the oven for one and a half hours.
In the finished dish, only fish and oil remain in the dish.
Cooking sprats from river fish at home
The technology for preparing real sprats differs from home cooking. In production, the fish is first kept in a salty solution, dried, smoked and then simmered in oil.
What is needed for cooking?
— Tea leaves.
It gives color to the finished dish, and tannins protect it from overcooking.
- Onion peel.
It will color the product golden and add another note to the flavor spectrum.
- Smoked aroma.
There are several ways to achieve this at home:
- Lapsang souchong tea (1 tbsp), smoked salt (1 tsp), smoked bouillon cube (1 pc.), liquid smoke (1/2 tsp), smoked seasoning ( taste).
Do not add salt to the dish if you add smoked salt or a bouillon cube.
There is another option: put the head or tail of smoked fish, it can even be just the skin. If you don’t have any of the ingredients listed to add flavor, don’t despair, the dish will still be delicious without them.
How to make sprats from roach at home?
You can gut it in the usual way, by cutting open the abdomen and removing the entrails. If you want to remove the fish's head, cut it from the back at the base, but not all the way, but so as to separate the ridge. It's better to do this with scissors. Next, we take hold of the head and tear it off, pulling out all the insides. After which, rinse the fish well.
To prepare 1 kg of small roach or bleak you will need:
- 250 ml vegetable oil, 1 tbsp. l. loose leaf tea (3 bagged), peels from 4 onions, 1 tsp. salt, 4 pcs. bay leaf, 6 pcs. allspice, a pinch of freshly ground pepper.
River fish sprat recipe
At home, you can prepare a delicious snack in the oven.
This method differs in that:
- heating occurs from all sides, the dish simmers over low heat, cooking time is reduced, and the sprats turn out tastier.
Composition of ingredients per 1 kg of river fines:
- vegetable oil – 150 ml, tea leaves – 1 tbsp. l., salt - 1 tsp., bay leaf - 2 pcs., allspice - 6 pcs., ground pepper - to taste, dry scales from four onions.
Cooking sprats in a slow cooker
The main advantage of this method is that the appetizer will not burn; the temperature and time are controlled by the multicooker.
The proportions of the products are the same as in the previous method, only you need to take 250 ml of boiling water to brew tea with onion skins, and you will also need 100 ml of vegetable oil.
From sprat
It’s even better to prepare sprats at home, which can be stored all winter. Cooking time – 1.5 hours. The number of calories per 100 grams of the finished product is 192 kcal.
What do you need:
- Brewed black tea from 3 tea bags or three small spoons of tea leaves;
- Half a kilo of sprat;
- 100 grams of vegetable or sunflower oil;
- 200 milligrams of water;
- 1 cube of broth (beef, chicken).
How to cook:
- Brew strong tea and let it brew.
- Clean the carcasses and rinse well.
- Place the fish in a tight row in a deep frying pan or saucepan.
- Pour tea over the sprat and add the chopped cube.
- Add oil.
- Place over high heat until it boils.
- After boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer until all the liquid has evaporated and only carcasses and meat remain.
The finished dish is cooled and stored in the refrigerator.
Homemade sprats from river fish
7 minutes Author: 20
Delicious sprats from river fish with a slight smoked smell, made at home - a healthy alternative to canned food from the store. The recipes are distinguished by their simplicity, the absence of preservatives, the budget cost of the ingredients and the excellent taste of the finished dishes.
Features of cooking at home
Sprats are small, smoked, golden-colored fish that can be easily prepared from small river fish. The main advantage is the housewife’s complete control over the preparation process and the quality of the raw materials, the absence of chemicals and harmful preservatives, as well as the low cost of an appetizing fish delicacy. Each housewife can adjust the size of the fish, the amount of spices and the degree of smokedness to her own taste.
Which fish to choose
Canned food was originally made from Baltic sprat from the herring family. Any small fish without scales, such as small perch, bleak, young pike, asp, capelin and the popular sprat, is suitable for home cooking. It is better to cut off the heads, but this step is at the discretion of the hostess.
If desired, you can remove the ridges from medium-sized fish so that you don’t feel the bones in the finished dish
Recipes from different varieties of river fish
Golden spratins, shining with oil, can brighten up a tea party with canapés and sandwiches. Small, appetizing fish will become an integral part of the holiday menu, as it goes well with eggs, vegetables, herbs, sauces and other products for delicious dishes.
From capelin
If you make oily, slightly smoked sprats with a pleasant smoky aroma, you will get a harmonious snack for all occasions. For the recipe you will need: capelin - 1 kg, ½ cup odorless oil, 4 bay leaves, 70 ml soy sauce, 6 allspice peas, a couple of clove buds, a glass of drinking water, 5 tbsp. l. steaming black tea with large leaves, 1 tsp. finely ground salt.
You can prepare canned capelin in the following steps: Brew tea with a glass of boiling water and wait for it to cool. Defrost capelin, remove giblets and heads. Rinse the carcasses in cool water. In a bowl, combine tea with soy sauce, oil and salt. Spread the capelin in a thick layer on the bottom of a thick-bottomed frying pan or roasting pan. Sprinkle the fish with pepper and place a bay leaf.
Pour the marinade over the capelin and place the roasting pan on medium heat on the stove. After boiling, reduce the temperature so that the fish simmers for 2 hours under a closed lid and does not boil. When the liquid has evaporated by half, remove the workpiece from the heat and serve with boiled rice, new potatoes or vegetables.
From herring
Homemade sprats from river fish are rich, tasty and aromatic. For cooking you need: herring – 500 g, 100 ml refined oil, a couple of bay leaves, 6-7 pcs. allspice peas, 1 tbsp. l. finely chopped salt, 3 tsp. brewing tea (preferably large-leaf tea), peelings from a couple of onions, 500 ml of drinking water.
Step-by-step recipe for preparing canned fish: Cut off the heads of thawed carcasses and clean out the intestines with a knife. Place herring carcasses in a heat-resistant glass dish in a dense layer so that they do not disintegrate during cooking. To pour hot water into a glass, brew tea and leave for 15 minutes until the color of the liquid becomes dark. Cool the tea.
Place onion peels in a saucepan, add a glass of water, boil for 20 minutes and cool. Place peppercorns and bay leaves into the onion broth. Pour oil over the fish and swirl slightly so that the oil penetrates into the cracks between the fish. In a bowl, mix the strained onion broth and tea leaves with salt.
Mix the brine and pour the liquid over the fish. Place the mold in the oven, preheated to 150℃, wait until the filling boils, reduce the temperature to 120℃ and simmer for 2 hours. You can serve sprats in salads and sandwiches with boiled eggs, pickled cucumbers, herbs and olives.
It is better not to add a large amount of spices with a strong smell, as they will overwhelm the taste of the fish.
From bleak
Bleak is a small fish from the carp family, which in a strong marinade turns out rich, moderately spicy and tasty. You will need: fresh bleak - 800 g, coarse salt - 2 tsp, tea without aromatic additives - 2 tsp, 4-5 peas of black and allspice, a couple of bay leaves, 1 tsp each. thyme grains and dried basil, a pinch of grated nutmeg, about 1 cup of vegetable oil, a handful of onion peels for a golden hue.
Step-by-step cooking process: Line the bottom of an ovenproof dish with a piece of foil. Remove the intestines and heads from the bleak, place the carcasses in a mold belly down in 2 layers. Coat each layer with oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Lay out the bay leaves and onion peels whole. Brew steep tea and pour oil and strained tea over the fish preparation. Place the pan on the fire, boil and simmer under a closed lid in the oven for 2 hours. Serve on sandwiches with a parsley leaf, a slice of crispy cucumber and cheese.
From sprat
The most common fish that can be found on sale is sprat. It is easy to make fatty, soft and tasty sprats from raw materials. You will need: defrosted sprat - 600 g, 100 g of any naturally smoked fish, a handful of onion peelings, odorless oil - ½ cup, a glass of steep tea leaves, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. ground mixture of peppers, 3-4 peas each of black and allspice, 2 tsp. salt.
- Wash the sprat, remove the giblets and cut off the heads.
- Stew the carcasses in a colander.
- To pour in tea, dissolve salt and add spices.
- Spread the sprat evenly over the bottom of the mold, lay out the laurel leaves and husks.
- Pour oil and marinade over fish.
- Marinate the workpiece for 30 minutes.
- Cover the pan with foil, pinching the edges.
- Bake the sprat in the mold for 25 minutes in an oven preheated to 210℃, reduce the temperature to 150℃.
- Simmer for 2.5 hours until the flesh is cooked through, soft and rich. Before serving, remove the husks and drain the oil.
To store the fish, place it in a half-liter jar, fill it with strained oil and store it in the refrigerator.
From perch
Small perches fall apart when fried, so small carcasses are excellent for cooking rich sprats. List of products: perch fry - 1.5 kg, a glass of refined oil, 3 onions with peels, 4 bay leaves, carrots, 3 tbsp. l. high quality tomato paste, salt and pepper mixture to taste, a handful of peppercorns, 1 tsp. khmeli-suneli.
The perch appetizer is easy to prepare step by step: Place the peeled perch in a thick-bottomed dish, sprinkle with unpeeled onions, grated carrots and bay leaves. To make the marinade, dissolve the paste in water, add oil and spices. Cover the perch with the filling and keep in the oven at 220℃ for half an hour. Reduce heat and simmer the dish for 2 hours.
From roach
Simple river fish is perfect for spicy small sprats with a mild taste and whole carcasses. Required: 600 g roach, 1 tsp. salt, a glass of aromatic oil, ½ glass with a brewed tea bag, 3 tbsp. l. wine vinegar, 1 tsp. pepper powder mixture.
Sprats from small fish can be made in stages: Place the roach, cleaned of intestines and heads, in a heat-resistant form with a thick bottom, sprinkle the fish with spices, broken bay leaves and salt. Mix a strong tea drink with oil and vinegar. Pour the marinade over the roach and bake for 45 minutes at 200℃. Then reduce the temperature to 150℃, cover the pan with foil and simmer the fish for 2 hours until the dish is ready. Serve with canapes, as a component for salads or as a base for aromatic pate.
You cannot remove the finished snack immediately after cooking, as their shape may be damaged; it is better to wait until it cools down.
Tips for cooking sprats
To prepare aromatic sprats soaked in spices and butter sauce, you need to know about the intricacies and secrets of the process:
- To maintain the integrity of the form, you need to fill the fish with high-strength tea leaves. The simmering time depends on the size of the carcasses.
- It is better to store ready-made sprats on the refrigerator shelf, pouring oil over them and covering them with a nylon lid.
- It is easy to cook sprats in the oven, pressure cooker, on the stove, as well as in a slow cooker using the “Stew” mode.
- Onion peels add a pleasant golden hue to the fish. You can also add turmeric, curry, cinnamon, paprika or saffron for added spice.
conclusions
Numerous recipes for preparing delicious homemade sprats will allow you to create a flavorful appetizer for serving on sandwiches, sandwiches and canapés at minimal cost. Fish can be placed in salads, added to pies and soups. Homemade sprats combine safety, excellent taste, natural aroma and budget cost.
With added liquid smoke
At home, you can make canned food with a smoked flavor, adding another component to it - liquid smoke.
What do you need:
- A kilogram of small fish;
- 10 grams of tea leaves;
- 5 milligrams of liquid smoke;
- Half a liter jar of onion peels;
- Half a glass of vegetable oil;
- Salt, sugar 6 large spoons each;
- Water - a little more than half a glass (one third);
- Black pepper (ground, peas), bay leaf - to taste.
What to do:
- Boil the onion peel for 20 minutes and strain.
- Brewed strong tea is mixed with onion broth.
- Salt, sugar, spices, and oil are added to the resulting liquid.
- Place cleaned carcasses without heads in a container with a thick bottom.
- Pour in the resulting brine.
- Simmer on the lowest heat for 1.5 hours.
- 10 minutes before the end, pour in liquid smoke.
How to make sprats from roach at home
An appetizing appetizer from small fish can be made with the head and even the scales, since with prolonged heat treatment all the bones will become soft, and you won’t even feel the scales.
You can gut it in the usual way, by cutting open the abdomen and removing the entrails. If you want to remove the fish's head, cut it from the back at the base, but not all the way, but so as to separate the ridge. It's better to do this with scissors. Next, we take hold of the head and tear it off, pulling out all the insides. After which, rinse the fish well.
To prepare 1 kg of small roach or bleak you will need:
- 250 ml vegetable oil,
- 1 tbsp. l. loose leaf tea (3 bags),
- peels from 4 onions,
- 1 tsp. salt,
- 4 things. bay leaf,
- 6 pcs. allspice,
- a pinch of freshly ground pepper.
1. Brew strong tea in a glass of boiling water and leave until it cools completely.
2. For cooking, you need a saucepan with a thick bottom or a deep saucepan. Place evenly washed onion peels on the bottom of the pan. It will add color and aroma and protect the dish from burning. Add bay leaf. Lay the fish tightly and neatly on top of the husks, back side up, in layers, add salt and pepper. The container should not be filled to the brim to avoid overfilling during boiling.
3. Pour in the tea leaves and oil so that the contents in the bowl are covered. Place the pan on low heat. As soon as the liquid boils, reduce the heating temperature to a minimum. You can put a divider on a gas stove.
4. Sprats need to be cooked for about three hours under the lid. If the liquid decreases greatly in volume, add a little vegetable oil half and half with boiling water.
Finished sprat bones should be soft. Let the dish cool in the pan, transfer the sprats to a plate or container. They can be stored in the refrigerator for one week.
River fish sprat recipe
At home, you can prepare a delicious snack in the oven. This method differs in that:
- heating occurs from all sides,
- the dish is simmered over low heat,
- cooking time is reduced,
- sprats turn out tastier.
You need to take a container with walls and bottom at least 0.6 mm thick. The thicker the walls, the more evenly they heat and retain heat, and the contents are cooked from all sides. This could be a casserole dish made of cast iron, or glass baking dishes.
Composition of ingredients per 1 kg of river fines:
- vegetable oil 150 ml,
- tea leaves 1 tbsp. l.,
- salt 1 tsp,
- bay leaf 2 pcs.,
- allspice 6 pcs.,
- ground pepper to taste,
- dry scales from four onions.
1. Rinse the onion peel with water, put it in a saucepan along with the tea leaves and pour boiling water (300 ml). Leave until completely cool. Strain through a sieve.
2. Place the fish in layers on the bottom of the pan, back up. Salt and pepper each layer, add spices. The dishes should be two-thirds full.
3. Pour in the oil and infusion of the husks with tea. If the liquid does not cover the fish, you need to add water. Close the mold tightly with a lid or foil in two layers and place in an oven heated to two hundred degrees.
4. After about a quarter of an hour, during this time the contents of the duckling should come to a boil, reduce the temperature to 100-120 degrees. Cook for another one and a half to two hours, checking the appetizer for readiness.
5. When making sprats in the oven, you can add smoke flavor. To do this, you need a handful of sawdust, hardwood shavings or a few dry twigs. 15 minutes before the end of cooking, remove the lid or foil. Place the sawdust on foil or a tin, set it on fire and extinguish it until smoke starts, then place it on the bottom of the oven. In a quarter of an hour, the aroma of smoke will permeate the contents of the dish. This method is recommended only for kitchens where there is a good hood.
Cooking sprats in a slow cooker
The main advantage of this method is that the snack will not burn; the temperature and time are controlled by the multicooker. The proportions of the products are the same as in the previous method, only you need to take 250 ml of boiling water to brew tea with onion skins, and you will also need 100 ml of vegetable oil.
1. Place fish in a multicooker bowl in layers, add salt and pepper.
2. Pour the oil and the cooled infusion of onion peels with tea into a bowl. With this method, the contents do not have to be covered with liquid on top, since the multicooker is sealed tightly and moisture is retained.
3. Set the cooking mode to “slow cooking” or “stewing” for 90 minutes. During this time, the sprats will cook and the bones will become soft. We are not in a hurry to remove the dish from the bowl, wait for it to cool completely.
In a slow cooker
In the recipe for homemade sprats, you can use capelin or any other fish with thin scales. What do you need:
- A kilogram of cleaned carcasses;
- Glass of water;
- 5 large spoons of black tea, which should then be brewed;
- Seasonings;
- Two thirds of a teaspoon of salt;
- 150 ml oil;
- 3 spoons of soy sauce.
What to do:
- Clean the capelin, freeing it from the giblets and top part.
- Make a rich tea. Let cool slightly, strain.
- In a separate container, mix strained tea, oil, salt and sauce.
- Add spices.
- Place the prepared capelin into the multicooker.
- Pour in the resulting spicy infusion.
- Cook in the “Stew” mode for a couple of hours.
The peculiarity of these sprats is the absence of smoked aroma.
Features of preparing sprat at home
Modern stores sell canned food called sprats, which are produced on collective farms, unknown private enterprises and small industries.
Previous manufacturers, in compliance with all GOST standards, become unaffordable for many buyers at a price. Housewives quite rightly think about the quality and safety of such canned food.
The main positive side of cooking sprat at home:
- Full control over product quality.
- No chemical additives are used.
- Low cost of a large amount of output product.
Canned sprats made from small fish. Initially they were produced from a fish of the herring family - Baltic sprat.
For home cooking, it can be fish from the depths of the sea (sprat, herring, capelin, anchovy), or small fish without scales from our reservoirs (bleak, small perch, juvenile pike and asp) are also suitable.
What you will need when preparing:
Sprats are cooked in different dishes according to recipes: in cast iron frying pans, on a baking sheet in the oven, in multicookers and pressure cookers. Spices can be selected to suit your taste.
The following remain unchanged:
- Refined vegetable oil, preferably saturated varieties.
- Iodized salt.
- Onion peel. It is this that gives the real look to any fish.
- Tea brewing. It should be loose and as a result produce a rich, strong drink.
- Allspice.
- Lavrushka.
- Water.
Selection and preparation of fish
Any fish, frozen or freshly caught, undergoes careful processing. Appearance plays an important role.
Real sprats, golden neat fish on sandwiches, recall the feeling of a holiday and a delicious feast preserved from childhood. At home, this delicacy is made mostly without the head.
Compliance with all sanitary standards, first of all:
- Fish carcasses must be whole, with intact skin.
- Frozen fish is thawed in cold water.
- They cut the ridge behind the head, tear off the head and pull out the insides along with it.
- Using scissors, carefully trim the ends of the fin tails and cut the abdomen.
- The detected milk or caviar can be left separately for gourmets.
- Each fish is thoroughly washed under running water. The inner film is removed.
- The prepared fish are laid out on a napkin or towels to drain the water.
With onion
When preparing the dish with your own hands, you can experiment by adding onions. This will add juiciness to the finished delicacy.
What do you need:
- Half a kilogram of small fish;
- 4 large onions;
- Half a glass of sunflower oil;
- 3 small heaped spoons of black tea;
- Half a liter of water;
- Salt, spices.
What to do:
- Boil the onion skins.
- Make strong tea. Mix with broth.
- Cut the vegetable into half rings. Fry it in a cauldron.
- Place cleaned fish on top of it.
- Pour in the broth.
- Add seasoning.
- Keep on the lowest heat for 60 minutes.
- Remove the bay pepper from the bowl and simmer again for the same amount of time.
Tip: You can add water during cooking if the liquid has evaporated.
Recipes for delicious sprats at home
Every housewife has a favorite recipe. Often when fishing, fishermen share their secret additives for homemade sprats. These twists give each recipe its own personality.
It’s worth trying several cooking methods and recipe options to choose one that will please the whole family and surprise your friends.
Cooking sprats in the oven
- Half a kilogram of prepared fish.
- Half a glass of refined vegetable oil.
- 3–4 bay leaves
- 5-6 peas of allspice
- 1 tablespoon iodized salt
- 3 full teaspoons of strong loose leaf tea.
- 20-30 grams of onion peels.
- 400 gr. water.
It will take 2.5 hours to fully cook.
The fish is placed in a dense layer in a fireproof glass container, cauldron, or duckling pan. If you lay it out loosely during cooking, it will fall apart.
Prepare the solution:
- The entire tea leaves are brewed in one glass of boiling water. The solution should be as rich in color as possible. Cool.
- Pour in the washed onion peels with a second glass of water, bring it to a boil and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and leave to infuse.
- Allspice and pieces of bay leaves are evenly placed between the fish carcasses.
- Pour refined oil in a thin stream, trying to get it on every fish.
- While the sprats are soaked in oil, mix the tea solution and the onion peel decoction in a separate container.
- Add salt and stir until it is completely dissolved.
The solution covers the fish completely.
Important!
Place in an oven preheated to 160 degrees. As soon as the solution boils, reduce the temperature to 120. If the liquid evaporates quickly, you can cover it with a lid or foil. After 2 hours the dish is ready. It should cool down.
Sprats from a multicooker
Multicookers make the process of preparing many dishes easier. Thanks to additional functions, the sprats in them are tender and the bones are not felt at all:
- Prepared in the above manner, 1 kg of fish fits tightly into the multicooker bowl.
- Brew one and a half tablespoons of strong tea leaves or 7-8 bags of bagged tea in a glass of water.
- Mix tea leaves, a tablespoon of salt and a quarter cup of sunflower oil in a container. Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, a few peas of allspice and 2 bay leaves.
- Pour the prepared solution over the fish. It should be 1 cm higher than her level.
- The extinguishing time is set to 2 hours.
The sprats are taken out after they have cooled completely.
Smoked sprats cooked on the stove
Utensils for cooking on the stove should be deep and preferably thick-walled:
- 1 kg of prepared small fish.
- 2-3 handfuls of soaked onion peels.
- 1 tbsp. a spoonful of coarse table salt.
- 1.5 tablespoons of strong black tea, brewed in a glass of boiling water.
- 150 gr. any vegetable oil.
- 6-7 peas of black allspice.
- 5-6 pieces of bay leaf.
- The fish is laid out in dense layers with the backs facing up.
- Soaked onion peels are laid between each layer.
- Mix tea leaves and oil.
- Add pepper, bay leaf broken into small pieces, and dissolve the salt.
- Pour the prepared mixture over the fish, covering it completely.
- Cover tightly with a lid.
- Simmer at a low boil for 1.5-2 hours.
Let's celebrate!
Commercially produced sprats are contraindicated for children due to their high benzopyrene content. It is a carcinogen formed in fish during smoking. Scientists have proven its involvement in the formation of tumors.
By making sprats at home, no harmful substances are formed, vitamin D and calcium are preserved. Store them in the refrigerator with oil.