Smelt is a small but tasty and healthy fish that is available fresh in several regions of our country. It can be dried, fried or cooked in another way. Many housewives prefer to marinate her. Marinated smelt is served as an independent snack, used to make sandwiches and other dishes, successfully replacing anchovies. Fish prepared in this way in a refrigerator can be stored for up to two months without losing their organoleptic properties and without spoiling.
Cooking Features
The process of cooking pickled smelt to an inexperienced hostess may seem complicated, but if you have the skills of gutting small fish, such work will not take much time and effort. Knowing some points will make the task easier.
- It is best to pickle European smelt that is caught in the Baltic and North Seas, Ladoga and Onega lakes. Its freshwater variety is called smelt. These fish are small in size (up to 10 cm), easy to clean.
- Before marinating, smelt must be cleaned and gutted. The fish is washed by swiping with the hard side of the sponge or even a finger along its back to remove scales. Then remove the head and insides, washed again, dried with a napkin.
- At the initial stage, smelt is subjected to heat treatment - boiled or steamed. There are recipes that provide for boiling fish directly in the marinade. At this stage of cooking it is considered optional to bring the smelt to full readiness, the marinade will cope with this task.
- Metal containers are not suitable for the preparation of pickled smelt: they give the snack an unpleasant taste. You can use plastic containers with a lid, glass molds, jars. At the first stage, you can use stainless steel enamel pans, but it is still impossible to keep fish in them for a long time.
- They store marinated smelt in the refrigerator for no more than two months, but some gourmets say that after a month it becomes slightly less tasty than freshly cooked.
There are several ways to pickle smelt. All of them allow you to get a snack with different organoleptic qualities, but without fundamental differences. The hostess has the right to choose the way that it seems the most successful or simple.
Smelt hot pickled
Composition:
- smelt - 1 kg;
- water - 0, 5 l;
- grape vinegar (6 percent) - 0.5 l;
- sugar - 0, 2 kg;
- onions - 100 g;
- salt - 100 g;
- dill seeds - 1 g;
- bay leaf - 1 g;
- mustard seeds - 1, 5 g;
- allspice - 5 g.
Method of preparation:
- Wash, clean and gut smelt.
- Add sugar and salt to the pan. Pour in water.
- Bring to a boil, having achieved the dissolution of sugar and salt.
- Add spices and vinegar. Dip smelt in marinade.
- Bring to a boil, boil the fish in boiling marinade for 2-3 minutes, drain in a colander. If the smelt is large, boiling it in the marinade takes longer.
- Return the marinade with fish to the pan, boil for 1-2 minutes, let it cool.
- Smelt transfer to a prepared jar or form. Between the fish layers, place the onion cut into thin half-rings.
- Fill the fish with cold marinade.
- Close the cans with plastic covers and put them in a refrigerator or other cool place.
The fish will be ready to eat in two days. You can store it in the refrigerator for up to two months.
Smelt cold pickled
Composition:
- smelt - 0, 5 kg;
- water - 0, 5 l;
- table vinegar (9 percent);
- onions - 100 g;
- carrots - 100 g;
- lemon - 1 pc .;
- salt - 40 g;
- black pepper peas - 6 pcs .;
- allspice peas - 6 pcs .;
- bay leaf - 2 pcs.
Method of preparation:
- Boil steamed, washed, gutted, and clean smelt for 5 minutes. Transfer to a container in which you plan to marinate.
- Boil the water. Add the onions, carrots and lemon, bay leaves and pepper to it. Sprinkle with salt. Stir.
- When the water boils again, pour in the vinegar. On a slow fire bring the marinade to a boil again. Boil it for 10-15 minutes.
- Wait until the marinade has cooled, strain it.
- Fill the fish with marinade. Close the container with a lid, clean in a cool place.
After 3 days you can take a sample. Store cold-pickled smelt should be in the refrigerator, it will not spoil for at least a month. To marinate the smelt in a cold way, it can not boil, but then wait for its readiness will have twice as long.
Smelt pickled in St. Petersburg
Composition:
- smelt - 1 kg;
- carrots - 150 g;
- onions - 150 g;
- sugar - 40 g;
- salt - 20 g;
- table vinegar (9 percent) - 100 ml;
- water - 0, 5 l;
- flour - 100 g;
- vegetable oil - as required.
Method of preparation:
- Prepared (cleaned, gutted, washed and dried) smelt lightly sprinkle or sprinkle with your favorite fish spices.
- Flour the flour into a bag, put smelt in it. Shake the bag so that each fish will be covered with flour.
- Heat oil in a pan. Put on it in one row smelt. Lightly browned on one side, turn over, fry on the other. Remove by placing in a saucepan.
- Fry the rest of the fish in the same way.
- Mix vinegar with water, salt and sugar, bring to a boil.
- Put the sliced carrot into it.
- When the marinade is boiling again, add the onion, cut into ringlets. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Put the vegetables on the fish, fill it with marinade.
- Place a plate on top to “drown” the fish and vegetables in the marinade.
- After the marinade has cooled to room temperature, put the pan in the fridge.
The fish will be ready in a day. After this time, it can be served on the table or put into a jar, filled with marinade and left in the refrigerator for further storage.
Marinated smelt - a tasty snack that can be served separately or to alcoholic beverages, including beer. Some housewives use it for cooking other dishes, pre-divided into fillets.
