Recipes for marinated bream fish

Cooking features

Lack of culinary experience is not a reason to refuse to prepare a bream appetizer in a marinade. This process is simple, and if you know some of the subtleties, even an inexperienced cook can successfully cope with the task.

• It is better to marinate freshly caught fish, but it is also acceptable to use frozen fish. If you are going to prepare an appetizer from frozen bream, they need to be given the opportunity to thaw in natural conditions, without a sharp temperature change, then they will be more juicy.
• When cooking in a marinade, it is better to choose medium-sized fish, as it will marinate faster. If you have bream weighing up to 200 g in your hands, then you can marinate them whole, without even gutting or cleaning them before cooking. Larger fish are marinated by filleting or cutting into steaks no larger than 2 cm thick.
• When selecting bream for pickling, there is no need to remove small bones from them. After lying in the marinade, they will soften, and eating the dish will be convenient and pleasant; there will be no danger of choking on the bones.
• Bream can be marinated in different ways. Raw fish is marinated in vinegar, less often in lemon juice, to be used later as a cold appetizer. It can be served with potatoes or separately, used for making salads and sandwiches. Fried fish is marinated along with vegetables to be served underneath. Usually this dish is also offered cold. You can also marinate bream before grilling it so that it is better baked and gets rid of dangerous bones. This fish is served hot.
• The time for marinating bream depends on the composition of the marinade, the size of the pieces of fish and the purpose of its further use. Using the cold method, small fish and large bream fillets are kept in the marinade for 5 days, fish steaks for 3 days, finely chopped pieces of fillet will be ready for consumption within a day. If already fried bream is marinated or if the fish, on the contrary, is marinated before frying, it is enough to keep the pieces in an acidic composition for several hours.
• The most suitable spices for pickling bream are coriander, anise, ground sulfur pepper, and grain mustard. Bay leaves, allspice, and onions are also often added to the marinade. Sometimes the marinating sauce includes herbs, dried herbs, and refined vegetable oil.

There are quite a few recipes for pickling bream. The technology for preparing such snacks may have significant differences. In order to avoid mistakes and get the expected result, you must follow the recommendations that accompany a specific recipe.

How long does it take to marinate bream?

The time for marinating bream depends on the size of the cut pieces and further plans. The period of marinating fish for subsequent heat treatment is shorter than for storage in a marinade. Also, the marinating time depends on the method used: with hot marinating, the product is ready for use earlier than with cold marinating. So, with traditional cold marinating for subsequent storage without heat treatment, the marinating time will be 3 days for pieces about 2 cm thick and 5 days for fillet plates.

For boiled (boiled) and fried marinades, the marinating time until ready is from 3 to 5 hours after preparation to 2 days.

Classic recipe for marinated bream

Compound:

• bream (bream) – 1 kg;
• onions – 0.2 kg;
• refined vegetable oil – 60 ml;
• water – 0.5-0.6 l;
• salt – 50 g;
• vinegar essence (70 percent) – 5 ml;
• laurel leaves – 3-5 pcs.;
• black peppercorns – 10 pcs.;
• coriander seeds – 5 g.

Cooking method:

• Wash the fish. If it is larger than 150 g, peel it, cut off the tails and heads, cut into pieces 1.5-2 cm thick.
• Remove the peel from the onion. Use your hands to release the juice. Add to fish and stir.
• Boil water, add salt to it. Stir.
• When the salt is completely dissolved, add spices to the water. Boil the brine for 5 minutes. Add vinegar essence, stir, remove from heat. Cool the marinade to room temperature and pour it over the fish.
• Cover the fish with a plate and place a weight on top. It can be a jar filled with water.
• Place the container with the fish in the refrigerator. Leave for 3 days if you are marinating fish in pieces, or for 5 days if you are preparing whole fish.
• Remove fish from marinade. Peel the white bream and gut it.

Place the fish on a plate, top with the onion with which it was marinated, pour over the oil and serve.

Recipes for bream marinades

So a little about the recipe - everyone who prepares this dish may have a different taste and preferred spices. Someone can smoke a fillet in camping conditions, someone cooks from fresh meat, but the main thing is the freshness of the fish, so it is important to start cooking as early as possible after catching the fish.

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There are several options for preparing this delicious dish:

• marinated bream in brine
• marinated bream with pepper and coriander
• marinated bream kebab.

Marinated bream in brine

If you get a large specimen, I recommend completely freeing the meat from the bones. Adult fish have a developed skeletal system that will prevent you from eating. To do this, you need to carefully separate the fillet from the ridge with a sharp knife and carefully remove the small bones with kitchen tongs. Divide the resulting fillet into steaks 2-2.5 cm wide. At the end of the cutting, you will receive the freshest fillet, head and skeleton from which you can prepare a gorgeous fish soup. It makes sense to marinate some of the meat so that you can enjoy the fish after a couple of weeks.

When preparing the marinade, it is necessary to remember that the amount of salt reduces the cooking time, but worsens the taste.

Preparation

To prepare 1 kg of fish you will need the following products:

• Cleaned bream fillet or small fish - 1 kg;
• Ground coriander - 1-2 tsp;
• Onions - 1-2 pcs.;
• Unrefined sunflower oil - 3-4 tbsp. l.;
• Ground black pepper - to taste.

For the marinade:

• Rock salt (sea salt) - 2 tbsp.
• Vinegar 9% - 2 tbsp.
• Bay leaf – 4-5 pcs.
• Sweet peas – 1 tsp.

Pickling

Let's prepare the marinade. To do this, take a small saucepan, pour water into it, add sweet peas, salt and bay leaves. Place the pan on the fire and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Add vinegar to the cooling marinade, stir and cool completely.

To marinate fish, you need to choose a dish that allows you to lay out all the fillets in 2-3 layers.

Place the pieces of bream in the container of your choice; I recommend sprinkling the fish with dry coriander and black pepper between the rows.

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Pour chilled marinade over the fish, cover with a plate and apply pressure.

To do this, you can use, for example, a bowl of water.

Marinated bream with pepper and coriander

You will need:

• Bream or bream fillet – 1kg
• Onions - 0.3 kg
• Bell pepper – 1 piece
• Rock salt – 0.1 kg
• Ground coriander – 0.02 kg
• Vinegar 9% - 2 tbsp.
• Vegetable oil – 5 tbsp.

Preparation

Before cooking, the fish is cut and boned. The resulting fillet is cut into pieces 2-2.5 cm. Then, they are placed in a prepared container and sprinkled with salt.

Leave the resulting workpiece for 3-4 hours. Afterwards, rinse the fillet and place it on a dry napkin, this will remove excess salt from the fish. Take two medium-sized onions and cut into thin half rings. It’s also a good idea to add thin half rings of bell pepper.

We lay out the fish and onions in layers in a pan or jar, you can add spices such as lemongrass or coriander. Add vinegar and vegetable oil alternately. Place the closed container in the refrigerator.

Marinated bream shashlik

You will need:

• Bream or bream fillet – 1kg
• Olive oil – 3 tbsp.
• Lemon - 1 pc.
• Garlic – 2 cloves
• Paprika – 1 tbsp.
• Ground coriander – 1 tsp.
• Cloves – 2 buds
• Hot pepper - 0.5 tsp.
• Fresh herbs (basil, marjoram, tarragon, thyme) - 2 sprigs
• Rock or sea salt - 1 tbsp.
• Soy sauce – 7-8 tbsp.

Bream marinated in a jar

Ingredients (per 0.75 l can):

• bream – 0.5 kg;
• onions – 0.2 kg;
• salt – 40 g;
• sugar – 60 g;
• refined vegetable oil - how much will be needed;
• seasonings for fish - to taste.

Cooking method:

• Wash the bream, clean it, gut it. Rinse again and dry with a kitchen towel.
• Sprinkle the pieces of fish with sugar and stir. Leave for 15-20 minutes.
• Shake off the sugar.
• After removing the husks, cut the bulbs into half rings and remember to provoke the release of juice.
• Sprinkle the fish with salt and spices and mix well. Place fish and onions in a 750 ml or quart jar, alternating.
• Pour vegetable oil over the food until it completely covers it.
• Close the jar with a plastic lid and put it in the refrigerator.

After three days, the snack will be ready to eat. It will be enough to transfer it to the herring bowl and serve it to the table.

Fried bream in garlic sauce

The dish requires a little more patience and time, but its taste makes all the effort worth it. The fillet remains soft and juicy, and also absorbs the piquant garlic flavor.

• flour;
• 3 medium onions;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• 2 tbsp. l. fat sour cream;
• 4 tbsp. l. mayonnaise;
• 1 tbsp. l. horseradish;
• sunflower oil;
• spices.

After cleaning and washing, dry the carcasses with paper and rub with spices. Mix mayonnaise, sour cream and horseradish in a separate cup, squeeze the garlic into it. Separately, fry the onion half rings. Place the fish coated in breadcrumbs in a wide frying pan and cook until golden brown on each side. The onion base is placed on top of the bream, and the sauce is placed on it. After this, bake on low heat under the lid for about another half hour.

Bream fillet marinated in lemon juice for barbecue

Compound:

• bream fillet – 1 kg;
• lemon – 1 pc.;
• olive oil – 60 ml;
• ground red pepper – 3 g;
• white pepper – 3 g;
• fresh basil – 50 g;
• salt – 30 g.

Cooking method:

• Prepare the marinade by combining the oil with squeezed lemon juice, salt and spices. Add finely chopped basil and stir.
• Clean the bream from scales, gut it and fillet it.
• Cover the fillet pieces with the resulting mixture and wrap in cling film. Leave for 2 hours.

After the specified time, the fillet can be placed on the grill grate or put on skewers, fry over the coals for 15-20 minutes, turning occasionally.

Cooking in the oven

How long to fry the bream in the oven until it is completely baked and what oil is best to use for frying?

Advice! The cooking time of the fish will depend on its size and the capabilities of the oven.

It usually takes about thirty minutes, despite the fact that the carcasses are baked as a whole. But for high-quality frying, it is recommended to make small cuts in several places in the fish. It is better to choose oil of vegetable origin or cook without it, using a foil wrapper.

Features of hot smoking

The chosen smoking method has a major impact on the final result. Hot smoking fish is quick and easy. To do this, the prepared fish is placed in a hot smokehouse and placed on a heater. This could be a stove, barbecue or open fire. The smoke generated during the smoldering of wood chips envelops the carcasses, and smoking occurs. At the same time, heat treatment occurs, destroying pathogenic microorganisms. High temperature affects the condition of protein fibers. Bream smoked using this method turns out juicy, soft and tender.

How much and at what temperature to smoke bream

The temperature in a hot smoker can vary. Typically the range is 50-120°C. The indicator can be adjusted if the smokehouse has a thermometer. How much to smoke bream using the hot method depends on the size and number of carcasses placed in the smokehouse.

Temperature also affects cooking time.

Too high a value will cause the fish to boil faster than to smoke it, so you should periodically remove the camera and check the condition of the product. For small individuals, 20-30 minutes is enough. Larger fish are smoked for 50-60 minutes.

How to store

It is important not only to know how to smoke bream in a smokehouse, but also how to store it correctly. The shelf life of hot smoked products is short. The fish will keep for up to 3 days under the right conditions. Smoked meats should be kept in the refrigerator at a temperature of +3-+4°, having previously been wrapped in food foil. In rare cases, hot smoked bream is frozen. It is important to defrost it at a temperature of no more than +8°.

How to cold smoke

Cold smoking of bream is considered longer. The product will be drier and more elastic. This snack goes perfectly with beer. For cold smoking, it is important to maintain an optimal temperature and, before smoking the bream, dry the fish. This will eliminate the risk of spoilage of the bream in the smoker, since the cooking period is long. For cold smoking, the ideal temperature is 27-30°C. For smoking, homemade installations with a long chimney or purchased ones with cooling systems and smoke generators are used.

How long does it take to smoke?

The duration of cold smoking also varies. It depends on the type of smokehouse and the raw materials used. For medium-sized carcasses, 24-48 hours will be enough. Larger ones can be smoked for up to 4-5 days.

In a pressure cooker

Let us consider in detail the recipe for preparing canned bream in a pressure cooker. So, to prepare homemade canned fish for yourself and your family, you need to take:

• small or large bream carcasses – 1.8 kilograms;
• carrots – 4 pieces;
• onions – 3 pieces;
• lemon juice – 1 small spoon per jar;
• salt – 1 small spoon per half-liter jar;
• herbs and spices to taste;
• horseradish roots - 5 grams per half-liter jar.

1. Clean, wash and chop the fish, previously sprinkled with salt and lying in it for about an hour. Then cook it in a pressure cooker in the cooking mode and cool.
2. Chop the onions and carrots into cubes with a vegetable slicer or knife.
3. Mix the fish with chopped vegetables, pepper and put into jars along with horseradish, three peppercorns and bay leaves.
4. Sterilize the jars using a pressure cooker by placing them on a wire rack and pouring water.
5. Pour sunflower oil, place the food and pour boiling water over it.
6. Tighten, place again for sterilization, then put on low heat to simmer for an hour.
7. Unplug, place on the table, garnish with bunches of parsley, or store in a dark, cool place in the basement or refrigerator. They will keep well in the refrigerator for two weeks or in the basement all winter. By the way, you can make canned tomatoes using this recipe.

Why pickle bream?

Marinades soften and add flavor to fish, eliminate or weaken unwanted odor and preserve the product for a long time. Thanks to the essential ingredient of the marinade - acid in the presence of table salt, the fish does not lose water during heat treatment, which is why it turns out soft and juicy.

The oil used in the marinade preserves the flavors of the spices and prevents the fish from drying out. Seasonings not only aromatize and improve taste: fragrant herbs contain essential oils and disinfect. In the fish marinade, in addition to the traditional onions, black pepper and bay leaves, anise and chervil are used.