Squeeze and fry. How to cook fish cutlets correctly?

Fish selection

The key to getting good fish cutlets is choosing high-quality raw materials for minced meat. It seems that you can take any fish that is not very good into cutlets and turn it over. However, it is not. “It is important that the fish is firm and not watery,” says Alexey Antipov, brand chef of the Okhotka restaurants . — Delicious cutlets are made from pike, although it has a lot of bones. Cod is good for cutlets, it is dense, you can use pike perch. But pollock is a controversial choice, it is watery. All red fish are suitable. They are quite fatty and contain a lot of protein. So chum salmon, pink salmon, coho salmon, sockeye salmon - all this is perfect. You can also mix different types of fish, you can mix white and red.”

Frozen or fresh

Most often, frozen fish is sold in our stores; chilled fish is quite expensive, and you can end up with the same defrosted fish that is passed off as chilled. Nevertheless, it is better to choose chilled fish for cutlets, says Mikhail Kirsanov, chef of the Peshi restaurant , since frozen fish contains a lot of water: “From a frozen kilogram of white fish fillet, you can only get about 400 g of minced fish. So if you still take frozen fish for cutlets, then carcasses are best. They will have to be slowly defrosted, then removed from the bones and squeezed very thoroughly. You will spend time and effort, but you will get good cutlets. And there is less water in the carcasses than in the finished fillet.”

I agree with my colleague Alexey Antipov. According to him, it is best to take large frozen pieces of fish. The back of cod is good for cutlets. From this fish you need to take cuts of at least a kilogram; smaller pieces may be a bit dry. You should always choose dry-frozen fish carcasses.

Article on the topic

Eat fish, snack on meat. Why is there no healthy diet without proteins? If we return to chilled fish, then fresh cod can be distinguished from defrosted cod by the good dense consistency of the meat and the special pearlescent luster of the meat, as Mikhail Kirsanov advises. Frozen fish is loose.

“Also, I would not use ready-made frozen minced fish for cutlets,” recommends Alexey Antipov, “it contains even more water than fillet, and it is difficult to squeeze it out. I repeat: the main feature of cutlets is good fish. It’s difficult with it now, since the frozen one is almost all filled with water, everyone wants to earn more money. This must be taken into account and the fish must be squeezed thoroughly before preparing the minced meat.”

Defrosting

If we take frozen fish, then it must be properly defrosted. “This must be done slowly,” Mikhail Kirsanov is categorical. “You take the fish out overnight and leave it in the refrigerator.”

“Under no circumstances defrost fish in water, it will take on even more liquid than it had after freezing,” warns Alexey Antipov.

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How long does minced meat last in the refrigerator...

The “service” offered by the cold storage room for storing twisted semi-finished products at an average temperature of 4°C is short-lived. The most suitable place is the so-called zero chamber, or “freshness zone”. It maintains a constant temperature of 0 ° C and optimal humidity, which prevents the active growth of bacteria. You can store minced meat in the refrigerator in a bag, but it is more convenient to use food containers made of glass and plastic with lids for its temporary “home.”

The following table contains information on how long raw minced meat can be stored in the refrigerator. These terms are directly related to the type of crushed ingredient and the conditions for observing the technology for preparing the filling.

Table - Shelf life of different types of minced meat in the refrigerator

The “service” offered by the cold storage room for storing twisted semi-finished products at an average temperature of 4°C is short-lived. The most suitable place is the so-called zero chamber, or “freshness zone”. It maintains a constant temperature of 0 ° C and optimal humidity, which prevents the active growth of bacteria. You can store minced meat in the refrigerator in a bag, but it is more convenient to use food containers made of glass and plastic with lids for its temporary “home.”

Removing the bones

Before mincing, you need to cut the fish and remove the bones from it. Unfortunately, no one has yet come up with miracles here: the bones are removed manually, the more carefully the better, since if they get caught in the minced meat, it will be unpleasant. Store-bought fillets should also be checked for bones.

“You don’t have to remove the rib and side bones from the pike, just take out the backbone,” says Alexey Antipov. - They are thin and after double rolling the minced meat they will be almost invisible. But all the bones will have to be removed from cod and other sea fish.”

We will need

Dishes

List of kitchen equipment needed for cooking and frying cutlets:

• meat grinder;
• kitchen scales;
• knives for cleaning and cutting fish;
• cutting board;
• container for mixing minced meat;
• frying pan with lid;
• shoulder blade;
• container for waste.

Products

The quantity of products is indicated for 4 servings:

• ungutted fish – 1 kg or fish fillet 750 g;
• wheat bread or loaf – 100 g;
• milk – 100 ml;
• egg – 2 pcs.;
• salt – 0.5 tsp;
• breadcrumbs – 50 g;
• vegetable oil.

Fish selection

The taste of the cutlets will largely be determined by the characteristics of the selected fish. Both freshwater and sea fish are used for their preparation.

Catfish and burbot cause criticism for their specific smell, so their carcasses require soaking. Rarely do they choose perch or crucian carp due to the abundance of small bones that make processing difficult.

Most often, pink salmon, pike perch, pike, hake, cod, haddock, pollock, pollock, and mullet are used as the basis for cutlets.

Saltwater fish are accused of being tougher. But it has a rich mineral composition, primarily due to its high iodine content.

Fatty fish produces soft, plastic minced meat. But when fried, cutlets made from it greatly decrease in size, and in addition, they are high in calories.

To reduce the time and effort spent on cooking, it is preferable to use already processed fillets. But in most cases, self-processing allows you to get a fresher product. Fillet is easier to prepare from a larger carcass.

Minced meat is prepared from both fresh and frozen fish. But in the second case, it needs time to melt and allow the water to drain. The mass is determined after passing this stage.

The richest taste can be obtained by mixing fish of different breeds. For example, adding ¼ minced pangasius will give the cutlets additional softness.

Preparation of minced fish

Ingredients:

• fish;
• bread;
• milk;
• eggs;
• salt.

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The presented basic option can be supplemented with vegetables, spices, and herbs.

Preparation:

1. If ungutted fish with the head is used, then fillet is made from it. To do this, it is cleared of scales. The main direction of movement of the knife when cleaning is from the tail to the head. The carcass is then gutted by cutting the belly from the head to the fin in front of the tail. The fins are removed and the head is cut off. The skin is removed and the carcass is washed. Cut fillets from both sides of the fish and remove the ribs. Cut the fillet into pieces.
2. The fillet is ground using a meat grinder. If necessary, it is passed twice. The bread is poured with milk and allowed to soften. Lightly squeeze and grind, then mix into the minced meat.
3. Eggs are an auxiliary ingredient. They are needed to increase the viscosity of the resulting mass. Excluding them can reduce the calorie content of the dish. At the moment of addition, they liquefy the minced meat, but after the start of heat treatment, the protein coagulates. After introducing the eggs, the mass is thoroughly mixed again and salted.
4. Minced fish is often thinner than minced meat. For ease of working with it, you can add 50 g of semolina and mix thoroughly. It will absorb excess moisture.

Add onion

We'll need fried onions, not raw ones. “Raw onions produce acid,” says Alexey Antipov, “the minced meat won’t last long with it, everything will start to sour. In general, fried onions are added to minced meat, both fish and meat. It gives sweetness, taste. It’s just that no one wants to fry a ton of onions; it’s easier to throw fresh ones into a meat grinder.”

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Semolina, bread or crackers

Minced fish doesn't have much protein to make it sticky, so one of the problems is that the cutlets fall apart. In addition, minced fish is quite wet, it needs something that will stick together and absorb moisture. In meat cutlets, this glue is most often bread soaked in water or milk. But fish cutlets need other options.

“I add white bread without crusts, soaked in heavy cream, to the minced meat. For 400 g of minced fish you need 100 g of bread and 70 g of cream,” Mikhail Kirsanov shares the recipe. “Cream gives fat and juiciness, the bread absorbs it all, you don’t have to squeeze anything out.” I would not recommend adding crackers and semolina, as they will make the cutlets dry.”

“It’s better not to add semolina, it’s easy to make a mistake with its quantity, put too much, it will ruin the cutlets. But you can add breadcrumbs, but it’s better not to buy them in the store, but to grate them yourself or grind the dried crust in a blender, advises Alexey Antipov. — Nowadays, many different things are added to crackers besides bread, for example, there is a lot of yeast. Read the label the next time you buy.”

“You will need to add crackers until the minced meat begins to stick together and it will be easy to form cutlets from it,” the expert adds.

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:

1. The bread pulp is soaked in milk. Let the bread sit for 20 minutes;
2. 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;
3. Grind the pieces of fish fillet through a meat grinder. You can also use a blender for grinding;
4. We peel the bulbs, wash them, and cut them into middle parts. Grind it in a blender until smooth;
5. Next, knead the soaked bread with a fork until it becomes mushy and squeeze it out of the milk;
6. Finely chop a bunch of greens with a knife;
7. 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;
8. The minced meat should be placed in a cool place for half an hour. If excess liquid appears, it must be drained;
9. Sprinkle breadcrumbs onto a wide flat plate or cutting board;
10. Next, we take out the minced meat and begin to make round cutlets out of it. Roll them on all sides in breadcrumbs;
11. 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;
12. Ready cutlets can be served with vegetables or boiled rice porridge.

Do you need fat?

Very often, fat is added to fish cutlets for juiciness. But not everyone thinks it is needed. Mikhail Kirsanov does not put butter in the minced meat; he recommends putting a piece of butter on the cutlets when baking them in the oven. Alexey Antipov says that you still need to add fat, especially to white fish cutlets. You can add frozen butter, cutting it into cubes, or you can add pork fat. The proportion is approximately 200 g of fat per 1 kg of minced fish. You can also add chicken skin to fish cutlets; it is also oily and gives juiciness. Oil is added to the minced meat at the very end, stirred quickly, preferably with gloves, so that it begins to melt only in the frying pan.

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We sculpt, we fry

After preparing the minced meat, let it stand for about an hour in the refrigerator - and you can start frying.

Before frying, the cutlets are dredged in flour; there is no need to beat them too much. “The cutlets must be smooth and even, because otherwise they will fall apart. An average 80g cutlet will fry in a frying pan for about 5 minutes, but you need to turn it often, advises Alexey Antipov. - As soon as the crust grabs hold of one side, you immediately turn it over to the other. It’s best to keep the pan on medium heat.”

“You can fry the cutlets in a hot frying pan and bring them to readiness in the oven,” suggests Mikhail Kirsanov, “it will take 10-15 minutes. The readiness of the cutlet in the oven can be determined by small air bubbles: they form on the fried cutlet in the oven. Unfortunately, this method does not work in a frying pan.”

How to freeze manti correctly

At this stage, it is important to meet some conditions:

• First of all, the product can only be frozen once. Manti cannot be re-frozen (like other products).
• Immediately after cooking, homemade manti must either be boiled or frozen raw. Cover a baking sheet or flat dish with cling film, place the manti at some distance from each other and place it in the freezer.
• After the manti are slightly frozen, they can be placed in a plastic bag or container. This method of freezing will keep the shape and the manti will not stick together.
• It is recommended to lay out portions so that when defrosting you can easily use the required amount.

The question arises: is it possible to freeze manti after they have been cooked? This freezing option is not recommended. In some cases, housewives are forced to do this if too large a quantity has been boiled, but the taste of the manti will noticeably deteriorate, so it is advisable to boil them immediately before use.

Is it possible to freeze manti with meat, potatoes or other stuffed foods? Yes, you can. Regardless of what filling was used, the rules for freezing and shelf life remain the same.