You can make so many tasty and interesting things out of fish! This is a mega useful and popular product among the population. But spoil it easy. Why does the fish turn out to be tasteless, stick to the pan or fall apart? Let us analyze the most common mistakes!
Error one: incorrectly thawed
The most delicious fish is the one that did not freeze. 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 properly defreeze. In no case do not fill with hot water, do not put on the battery or in the microwave. This can not be done, get a dry and tasteless dish.
How can you defrost a fish:
- Transfer from the freezer to the refrigerator, leave for 8-12 hours.
- Pour with cold water, leave at room temperature. Change fluid every hour.
After thawing, all liquid is drained, and the fish is washed and wiped dry. If it is designed for frying, you can leave it on the cutting board to dry the pieces.
Error two: a lot in the pan
If you want to get beautiful and ruddy pieces of fish, do not need to lay a lot in the pan and even more so just throw out of the bowl.
Fish is always fried in small portions in order to follow each piece, turn it over individually and sometimes even remove it 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, the oil temperature will drop sharply, the product will begin to produce juice, stew, and not roast.
In this case, the crust cannot form. Sometimes the fish starts to stick.
Third mistake: a lot of flour
Most often, fish are paned in flour. The product is available, always on 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. Crust will not very tasty. The grains that remain in the pan behave even worse. They burn, there is a lot of smoke in the room, and the fish has an unpleasant smell. Tip! After breading the excess flour, shake off, only then send the pieces to the pan.
Error four: the fish was just overcooked
Fish is not meat. Familiar saying to be taken literally. Unlike meat, fish is cooked much faster in time. It does not need to be stewed for hours under a lid or fry over low heat. The only exceptions are thick pieces from large carcasses. River fish is fried very quickly.
How to fry fish:
- Place pieces or whole 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 puncture or check the readiness of the product. Without removing it from the pan. But frying longer than 12-15 minutes is not recommended, it is bad for the taste and type of dish. It is believed that 2.5-3 minutes is enough for 1 cm of thickness.
Tip! If the fish is pre-fried before stewing with vegetables or in a sauce, then you should not cover the pan at all. Quickly bring the pieces to a crust on high heat, and then introduce additives, gravy.
Fifth error: well, too many manipulations
When frying fish can not touch it often. It is necessary to reduce all manipulations to a minimum. The skin on the fish is very thin and fragile. If you frequently move or lift a piece, the film will simply burst. As a result, the juice will flow out, and the fish itself will not fry until golden brown. It is necessary to try to spread the fish in a frying pan neatly and at an equal distance from each other immediately, then do not touch the first minute.
Tip! To gently turn the fish and do not damage the skin, use wooden or silicone blades with blunt tips.
Error Six: Lots of Salt or Little Spice
Fish does not need much salt when frying, sometimes salt is simply added to the oil. But when cooking it is necessary to use spices. It is not only salt or pepper. Significantly improve the taste of fish roots, various seasonings, laurel, herbs, lemon peel. Also when cooking does not need to use a lot of water. Otherwise, all the taste will go into broth, and the fish will turn out to be fresh. Exception - fish soups, ears. But for them, they often prepare a rich broth of illiquid pieces, and the fish itself is added later so that it retains the flavor.
If the fish is boiled for diet, cooking aspic or salads, then it is important not to cook it for a long time, it is enough for white species to boil for fifteen minutes.
Red fish needs even less. Cool the product preferably in a broth with spices. Then we get a juicy and fragrant fish.
Error Seven: Did you remember to cut the skin?
If you are preparing fish fillets with skin, for example, salmon, then it is imperative to cut it. Otherwise, the piece will be arched when it hits the pan. As a result, the product will be unevenly fried, not browned, and the view will not please.
How to incise? We take a sharp knife, turn the fillet skin up and every 5 millimeters make shallow cuts.
By the way, thanks to this, the fish on this side is also better saturated with spices. Well, this fillet looks cute.
It is possible to make not simple transverse cuts, but diagonally or even diamonds.
Error eight and last: the pan was warmed up, and the fish?
Fish sticks to the pan is not due to poor coverage. It is sometimes impossible to tear off for another reason. When the cold protein product is heated, sticky and sticky compounds are formed. Therefore, it is not necessary to send the fish from the refrigerator directly to the pan.
Leave it on the table, let it warm to room temperature.
The second point is to warm up the pan well with oil. The fish should get into the red-hot fat, then it will definitely not stick, and after a minute the fire can be slightly reduced.
