Stuffed pike in the oven, step-by-step recipe with photos

Cooking rules

To cook stuffed pike in the oven so that the dish looks beautiful, you need to choose the right fish. For stuffing, you should choose fresh fish. Before buying, pay attention to the scales; they should be slippery due to the mucus covering the fish’s body. The presence of not dried mucus indicates that the pike was caught recently.

Another indicator of freshness is the gills. The fabrics underneath should be painted bright pink or red.

Many people do not like pike because of the characteristic smell of mud; to remove it, you can soak the cleaned pike in water with vinegar or lemon juice.

Interesting facts: there are legends among people that pikes can live for several centuries and grow over 5 meters in length. However, scientists claim that this type of fish lives no more than 33 years. And throughout its life the pike grows. Therefore, the larger the specimen, the older it is.

How to choose a good pike for stuffing

You should not take very large fish weighing more than 1.5-1.7 kg. Large specimens are old fish, its meat will be dry, it is more difficult to remove the skin from it and it is not a fact that it will go into the oven, since we will bake it entirely on a baking sheet.
Pay attention to the smell. This is a river fish and it may smell like mud, but not musty or rotten. The smell of mud can be easily eliminated by adding fried onions to the minced meat, or by first putting the fish in water with lemon, but you definitely don’t want stale fish.
As for appearance, the fish must be whole, its scales are dense and covered with transparent mucus. Fresh pike will have pinkish or even reddish gills, but in no case brown or spotted.
Only after carefully examining the purchase from all sides, make a decision about its purchase.

How to cut a pike?

Of course, stuffed pike, baked whole, looks extremely impressive. Especially if you decorate the fish beautifully. But when preparing this dish, there is one difficult point - you need to remove the skin from the pike with a stocking without damaging it. To perform this operation, you must have a sharp knife, as well as some skills.

Sequencing:

Carefully remove scales from the fish. Already at this stage, difficulties may arise, since the scales are covered with a layer of mucus, so the pike will slip out of your hands. To make the job easier, you can dip your fingers in coarse salt to make them slip less. It is best to clean fish with special tools, but you can get by with a knife. When cleaning, you need to be as careful as possible so as not to damage the skin;
Use kitchen scissors to cut off the fins;
cut off the head and extract the insides through the resulting hole. You also need to remove the film lining the abdomen from the inside;
we remove the gills from the head, we will then place it on the stuffed carcass so that the fish appears whole;
Now begins the most difficult stage of skin removal. To do the job, we use a sharp knife, which we use to make a circular cut, separating the skin from the meat;
remove the skin in the direction from the top to the tail, gradually turn out the skin with a thin layer of meat, cutting with a knife in a circle;

We cut off the remains of the fins from the inside with a knife, they should remain on the skin;
Having reached the tail, you need to carefully cut the spinal bone so that the tail remains part of the skin.

Advice! If you were unable to avoid small tears when skinning the pike, don’t be upset, just sew them up with a needle and thread. But don't forget to remove the threads before serving.

Stuffed pike - a simple option

If you can’t carefully remove the skin from a pike with a stocking, then use this recipe.

1 pike weighing about 1.2 kg;
2 onions;
1 carrot;
100 gr. stale loaf;
1 egg;
2 cloves of garlic;
1 tablespoon vegetable oil;
salt to taste;
4 bay leaves;
10 black peppercorns;
3 peas of allspice.

We clean the pike of scales, being careful not to damage the skin. We cut off the head and remove the insides through this cut. Cut crosswise into pieces 4 cm thick. Place each piece cut side up and, using a sharp knife, cut out the middle, leaving a 5 mm thick layer of meat on the skin. As a result, we will get rings, which we will fill with minced meat.

How to properly cook stuffed pike?

One of the important points that concerns any method of heat treatment of this fish is its mandatory soaking in cold water: this is done to eliminate the specific aroma of mud inherent in fresh pike. The approximate duration of soaking is 3-4 hours, and sea salt must be added to the water. The classic proportion is 20 g for every liter of clean water. Keep in mind that after this there is no need to salt the fish too much.

In response to the question of how to stuff pike in the oven, experts offer 2 schemes:

It is traditional to rip open the belly of the fish, gut it and stuff it with any food.
Carefully (!) remove the skin from the fish, chop the fillet, mix with the ingredients selected for the filling and put this minced meat inside.

Which option is preferable is decided by the housewife planning her menu: the classic version is less labor-intensive and suitable for situations where you plan to cut fish into pieces, while the alternative is more interesting. As for what to stuff pike with for baking in the oven, there are also a lot of options. This fish is suitable for absolutely any vegetables, which are first very well chopped, as well as cereals - they will need to be boiled until half cooked. Often nuts, herbs, and steamed dried fruits are also added to the filling.

Pike stuffed with rice, baked in the oven

You can prepare the filling for pike with rice. It is better to take long-grain rice, or even better to use a mixture of long-grain and wild rice.

1 pike weighing 1-1.5 kg;
100 gr. rice;
1 large carrot;
2 onions;
1 egg;
salt, allspice, herbs to taste;
for serving - a little mayonnaise, lemon, a few cranberries.

We clean the pike from scales and cut off the head. We take out the gills from the head. Then carefully remove the skin with a stocking. It is advisable to leave a thin layer of meat on the skin. Having reached the tail, we cut the ridge so that the tail remains on the skin.

We cut the flesh of the fish from the bones, trying to select even the smallest bones. Chop 1 onion and fry in a frying pan, boil the carrots until half cooked. Pass the pike pulp and fried onions through a meat grinder or grind in a blender. Boil the rice in salted water until tender. Then place in a colander and rinse with cold water. Cut the carrots into small cubes.

Mix minced pike with carrots and finely chopped herbs. Mix everything well, add salt and add lemon pepper to the filling.

Advice! If you don’t like carrots, you can replace it with red bell pepper, cut into small squares.

Fill the pike skin with the filling; you need to fill it evenly, but do not stuff it too tightly, otherwise the skin will burst during baking.

Cut the remaining onion into thin rings. Fold the foil in half and grease it with oil. Spread a thin layer of onion rings. Place the fish belly down on the onion. We attach the head to the pike carcass. Lift the foil and fold it over. Make sure that the top of the foil does not touch the fish. Using a fork or toothpick, make several holes in the top of the foil. This is necessary for steam to escape.

Stuffed pike “Banquet” in foil

This is a classic banquet dish that will decorate any holiday table.

1 pike weighing 1-1.2 kg;
2 slices of white loaf;
1 egg;
50 gr. butter;
0.25 glasses of milk;
1 onion;
salt, ground black pepper to taste;
0.25 lemon;
6 bay leaves.

We clean a fresh pike, cut off the head and remove the skin with a stocking, turning it towards the tail. Set the prepared skin aside. Remove the pike meat from the bones. Soak the loaf in milk.

We pass the fish and soaked bread through a meat grinder. It is better to pass it through a fine sieve 2-3 times. This will achieve the greatest uniformity. Add softened butter and a raw egg to the minced meat, beat everything very thoroughly until a fluffy mass is obtained. Season with salt and pepper.

We fill the skin with the prepared minced meat; there is no need to compact it too tightly, otherwise the skin will burst.

We will bake the pike in foil. Fold the foil in half and grease with vegetable oil. Then we lay out a line of bay leaves and place the pike belly down on this line. We attach the head (don’t forget to remove the gills from it in advance).

Lightly salt the fish on top and pour juice squeezed from lemon over it. Lift the edges of the foil, connect and tuck, leaving a hole in the center for steam to escape. Pour half a glass of water through the hole into the foil pan. Bake in the oven for 1.5-2 hours at 180 degrees.

Then take out the baking sheet and let the pike cool without removing it from the foil. Serve cold, garnished with lemon slices and a mayonnaise mesh.

Stuffed pike with mushrooms

In this recipe, the pike filling is prepared with mushrooms. It is best to take fresh or frozen champignons, but you can use other mushrooms, but they must be boiled first.

Stuffing in a stocking with mushrooms

Step by step recipe:

Prepare a fish stocking.
Pour the cut bones with cold water, cook fish broth from them over very low heat, strain.

Prepare the filling:

Finely chop the onion and carrots, sauté them in butter until golden brown.
Chop the mushrooms and fry them separately from the vegetables until the moisture evaporates.
Mix all the fried vegetables with mushrooms. Cool.
Grind the pike pulp and lard with lard, add the egg, mushrooms with vegetables, salt, and spices.
Fill the pike with vegetables and mushrooms.
Place onion rings on the bottom of a casserole dish or large saucepan.
Place the stuffed carcass on top. If it doesn't fit, roll it into a ring. You can put your tail in your mouth.
Pour fish broth, add bay leaf, bring to a boil and put on low heat. After 20 minutes, add salt and cook for another 20 minutes.
Remove the fish after it has cooled completely. Cool.
Served with sour cream and fresh herbs.

Recipe ingredients:

Pike – 1.5 kg;
Pork lard – 50 -100 g;
Mushrooms (boletus, boletus, porcini or champignons) - 500 grams;
Onions – 2-3 pcs.;
Carrots – 2-3 pcs.;
Spices (pepper, bay leaf, salt);

Cooking time – 2 hours

Number of servings – 6

KBJU 100 g – 94.1 kcal, proteins – 11.7 g, fats – 4.0 g, carbohydrates – 2.7 g

Buckwheat filling

Pike stuffed with buckwheat is a dish of Old Russian cuisine. But it can be prepared in modern conditions by slightly adapting the old recipe.

1 pike weighing about 1.5 kg;
200 gr. already cooked and cooled buckwheat;
100 gr. onions;
100 gr. stale white bread;
50 ml vegetable oil;
salt, black pepper to taste.

Let's prepare the pike: clean it from scales. Let's cut off the head. Carefully remove the skin with a thin layer of meat using a thin knife. We turn the skin inside out, removing it with a stocking, cut the ridge at the tail and separate the carcass with the skin removed.

Cut the meat from the bones. Soak the stale bread in water and squeeze it out. Let's pass the pieces of fish, bread and raw onions through a meat grinder. To make the minced meat homogeneous, you need to pass it through a fine sieve 2-3 times.

Add pre-cooked and cooled buckwheat to the prepared minced meat. Salt and pepper to taste. Fill the pike skin with the prepared filling. The skin needs to be filled evenly so that there are no voids. But there is no need to compact the minced meat too tightly, as the skin may burst.

Place the prepared carcass on greased foil, which is placed on a baking sheet. Remove the gills from the pike's head. We put the head to the carcass, you can pin it with toothpicks. Pour oil over the pike and place the baking sheet in the oven. Bake for about 1 hour at 180 degrees. Serve, garnish with olives and thin slices of lemon.

Stuffed pike - how to cook 15 varieties

Royal stuffed pike
Stuffed pike “Tender”
Pike stuffed with chicken and pear
Pike stuffed with champignons
Pike stuffed with buckwheat
Jewish stuffed pike
Oriental stuffed pike
Pike stuffed with capers and celery
Pike stuffed with vegetables and cheese
Pike "Festive"
Pike stuffed with olives and mushrooms
Pike stuffed with pickled mushrooms
Jellied stuffed pike
Stuffed pike in Azerbaijani style
Pike stuffed with quail eggs

Pike stuffed with vegetables

This is another simple option for preparing stuffed pike. There is no need to remove the skin; we put the filling in the belly of the gutted fish. Eating such fish is less convenient, since it contains bones, but the dish is perfect for a regular family dinner. We will stuff the pike with vegetables.

1 pike weighing about 1 kg;
1 carrot;
1 onion;
1 potato;
30 gr. butter;
50 gr. sour cream;
20 ml vegetable oil;
1 tablespoon vinegar;
1 liter of water;
1 teaspoon sweet ground paprika;
salt to taste.

We clean the pike from scales, gut it, make an incision on the belly, and wash it well. Prepare a solution of water and vinegar and soak the fish in it to remove the smell of mud. After soaking for an hour, rinse the fish again and dry it.

We salt the pike inside and out. Lubricate the fish with sour cream. Cut a piece of foil folded in half. Generously grease the foil with butter. We lay out the fish. Cut the remaining oil into thin slices and put it into the belly of the fish. Let the fish sit for 15-20 minutes.

Prepare the filling: peel and wash the vegetables, grate them on a coarse grater, cut the onion into thin half rings. Fry vegetables in vegetable oil until soft. Salt the vegetables and season with spices to taste. Let the filling cool. Fill the belly of the fish with vegetables, place the rest of the vegetables on the sides of the carcass. Sprinkle the fish with ground paprika.

Wrap the foil so that it does not touch the fish on top. Let's make several holes in the foil to allow steam to escape. Bake for 1 hour at 180 degrees. Then open the foil and brown the fish for 10-15 minutes.

Recipe with photo of Jewish stuffed pike

Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes. Number of servings: 6. Calorie content per 1 serving: 100 kcal. Kitchen equipment: knife, frying pan, board, food processor, sushi mat, heat-resistant form, baking sleeve, serving dish.

Ingredients

pike	3-3.3 kg
onion	800 g
whole wheat bread	170 g
eggs	5 pieces.
water	100 ml
nori sheets	2-3 pcs.
olive oil	80 ml
salt	½ tbsp. l.
lemon	½ pcs.
boiled beets	½ pcs.
paprika	50 g
pepper	taste

How to make stuffed pike

First of all, let's prepare the fish. Fresh pike weighing 3-3.3 kg is cleaned of scales, gutted and washed. Fresh fish has a rich fishy smell. Her skin should be elastic and densely covered with scales.
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We cut off the fins with scissors, separate the ridge from the loin, and then carefully cut it off. We check the fillet for the presence of bones and also remove them.
Using a sharp knife, separate the fillet from the skin, being careful not to damage it. Cut it into arbitrary pieces.
Pass the fillet through a meat grinder. We also send there whole grain bread (170 g) pre-soaked in water.
Chop 800 g of onion and fry it a little in olive oil until soft, and then pass it through a meat grinder.
Mix the crushed ingredients using a food processor or by hand until smooth. When the mixture is mixed, add 5 chicken eggs and continue mixing.
Add ½ tbsp to the resulting minced meat. l. salt, pepper to taste and about 100 ml of water to make the mass more juicy. Excess water will evaporate during the cooking process, and the filling will not be too dry. Continue beating the minced meat for another 5 minutes.
We separate about 200 g of minced meat from the total mass and add 55 g of ground sweet paprika there so that the minced meat changes its color and turns red.
Lay out a sushi mat on the workbench and place 2-3 sheets of nori overlapping it. Measure how many sheets fit from the head to the tail of the fish, leaving 10 cm from the tail. I needed 2 sheets.
Place the minced meat with paprika on the sheets, spread it with your hands dipped in water, and then carefully roll it into a round roll. We cut off the excess parts of the roll.
Place the remaining minced meat on the pike skin and distribute it evenly with a spatula.
Place the roll in the center of the fish and fold the edges, giving the pike its original appearance.
Cut the baking sleeve and generously grease it with olive oil. Then put the fish there and also grease it with oil. If the length of the fish does not allow it to be baked whole, cut off the head and bake separately. Wrap the fish tightly in the sleeve and twist the edges.
Place it on a baking sheet and place it in a preheated oven. Bake the pike at 180 degrees for 1 hour. Cooking time depends on your oven and the size of the pike.
Let the finished fish cool completely, then cut it and decorate it with lemon slices and boiled beets.

Video recipe

After watching the video recipe, you will not have any questions about the cooking technology.