From fish you can cook so much all tasty and interesting! This is a mega useful and popular product among the population. But spoiling it is easier than ever. Why does the fish turn out to be tasteless, stick to the pan or fall apart? Let's analyze the most common mistakes!
First mistake: defrosted incorrectly
The most delicious fish is one that has not been frozen. This product very quickly loses its qualities, does not like low temperatures. If you want to get a really tasty dish, then you should buy a fresh fish. If this is not possible, then at least defrost properly. In no case do not fill it with hot water, do not put it on the battery or in the microwave. This can not be done, it will turn out a dry and tasteless dish.
How can you unfreeze fish:
- Transfer from the freezer to the refrigerator, leave for 8-12 hours.
- Pour cold water, leave at room temperature. Change fluid every hour.
After thawing, all the liquid is drained, and the fish is washed, wiped dry. If it is intended for frying, you can leave it on a cutting board so that the pieces are dried.
Second mistake: a lot in the pan
If you want to get beautiful and rosy pieces of fish, you do not need to lay a lot in the pan, and even more so just dump it out of the bowl.
The fish is always fried in small portions so that it is possible to follow each piece, individually turn over and sometimes even remove earlier.
Pieces of the same thickness are rare, especially when cutting carcasses of different sizes.
Second moment.
If you immediately lay a lot of fish or very large pieces, then the temperature of the oil will drop sharply, the product will begin to secrete juice, stew, and not fry.
In this case, the crust cannot form. Sometimes the fish starts to stick.
Third mistake: a lot of flour
Most often, fish is breaded in flour. The product is affordable, always at hand, it does not allow the skin to stick to the pan and also contributes to the appearance of a crisp. Everything is fine, if not overdo it. A large amount of flour burns. The crust is not very tasty. Even worse are the grains that remain in the pan. They burn, a lot of smoke forms in the room, and the fish has an unpleasant smell.
Advice! After breading, the excess flour needs to be shaken off, only after that we send the pieces into the pan.
Fourth mistake: the fish just overcooked
Fish is not meat. A familiar saying that needs to be taken literally. Unlike meat, fish cooks much faster in time. It does not need to be extinguished for hours under a lid or fry over low heat. The exception is only thick pieces from large carcasses. River fish fries very quickly.
How to fry fish:
- Put pieces or a whole small fish on a frying pan well-heated with oil. Fry one side quickly.
- Flip the fish.
- Lightly fry the other side, literally 30 seconds.
- Cover the pan and steam a little, about 3-5 minutes. River fish will reach readiness.
If in doubt, you can always chop or check the readiness of the product. Without removing it from the pan. But frying for longer than 12-15 minutes is not recommended, it badly affects the taste and appearance of the dish. It is believed that 2.5-3 minutes is enough for 1 cm of thickness.
Advice! If the fish is pre-fried before stewing with vegetables or in sauce, then you do not need to cover the pan at all. Quickly bring the pieces to a crust over high heat, and then introduce additives, gravy.
Fifth mistake: well, too many manipulations
When frying fish, you can not touch it often. It is necessary to minimize all manipulations. The skin on the fish is very thin and fragile. If you often move or lift a piece, the film will simply tear. As a result, juice will flow out, and the fish itself will not be fried until golden brown. It is necessary to try immediately neatly and at equal distance from each other to spread the fish in a pan, then do not touch the first minute.
Advice! To gently flip the fish and not damage the skin, use wooden or silicone shovels with blunt tips.
Sixth error: a lot of salt or few spices
Fish does not need to be salted a lot when frying, sometimes salt is simply added to the oil. But when cooking, you must definitely use spices. It is not only salt or pepper. Significantly improve the taste of fish roots, various seasonings, laurel, herbs, lemon peels. Also, when cooking, you do not need to use a lot of water. Otherwise, all the taste will go into the broth, and the fish will turn out fresh. Exception - fish soups, ear. But for them, most often they prepare a saturated broth from illiquid pieces, and the fish itself is added later to preserve the taste.
If the fish is boiled for diet food, cooking aspic or salads, it is important not to cook it for a long time, it is enough for the white species to boil for fifteen minutes.
Red fish need even less. It is desirable to cool the product in a broth with spices. Then we get a juicy and fragrant fish.
Seventh error: did you forget to cut the peel?
If a fish fillet with skin, for example, salmon, is being prepared, then it is necessary to cut it. Otherwise, a piece when it hits the pan will bend in an arc. As a result, the product will be fried unevenly, do not brown, and will not please the view.
How to incise? We take a sharp knife, turn the filet upside down and make shallow cuts every 5 millimeters.
By the way, thanks to this, the fish on this side is also better saturated with spices. Well, such a fillet looks pretty.
It is possible to make not simple transverse cuts, but diagonally or even rhombuses.
Mistake eighth and final: the pan was warmed up, and the fish?
The fish does not stick to the pan not because of poor coverage. It is sometimes impossible to tear off for another reason. When a cold protein product is heated, sticky and sticky compounds form. Therefore, you do not need to send fish from the refrigerator immediately to the pan.
We leave it on the table, let it warm to room temperature.
The second point - we well heat the pan with oil. The fish should get into red-hot fat, then it definitely will not stick, and after a minute the fire can be slightly reduced.
