There are a lot of species of fish whose fillets are rich in healthy, unsaturated fatty acids. But especially a lot of these essential substances for human health are found in pike. Cooked pike dishes always arouse the pride of the hostesses and the approval of the guests. True virtuosos are those who know how to make minced meat from pike. It is from the minced fish that you can prepare real culinary delights that no guest will refuse at the festive table.
Minced pike - a delicate matter
Today we will reveal some secrets and tell you in detail how to make minced fish from pike. Immediately, we note that only very patient housewives decide on such a culinary feat. Cutting pike, as well as subsequent preparation of minced meat fillet, is a troublesome and time-consuming task.
Before you describe the process of how to make minced meat from pike, let's take a closer look at the issue of gutting this fish. There are several important features here, without which cutting is a waste of time, money and effort. So, let's get started.
Boiling water and lemon to help housewives
Experienced fishermen know that it is better to cut live, rather than frozen fish. But if you do not have the opportunity to buy a live pike, then we are satisfied, as they say, with what we have. To make it easier to gut the fish, it should be thawed in vivo, and not with a microwave.
How to make minced meat (fillet) from pike and not get hurt at the same time? A question that worries many housewives. Experienced chefs recommend using rubber gloves for cutting pike. It is recommended to wear cotton over them. If gloves interfere with your work, then just try not to touch your teeth and sharp pike fins. The calmer, more accurate and slower the process of evisceration, the safer it will be.
Boiling water very well helps in cutting. Before the procedure, simply pour boiling water over the fish and dry it slightly with a towel. But lemon juice helps fight the river smell, which often chases pike carcasses purchased from local fishermen.
Salt will hold the tail
If you have ever butchered a pike, you know that on the surface of the body this fish has a very large amount of mucus. It is she, and not sharp teeth, that makes it difficult to clean and gut the fish. Experienced housewives are advised to use salt. She can sprinkle not only the tail, but the whole carcass. The salt cover will prevent slipping of the fingers and the cutting knife.
Salted fishtail must be kept when you clean the carcass. Disposal of scales occurs in the direction from the tail. The fins are removed, the abdomen is cut exactly in the middle. We clean the insides.
How to make minced pike for cutlets
After the fish is gutted and washed, it is necessary to proceed to extract the fillet. It is from it that delicious fish mince will be cooked. An incision is made on the ridge so that the knife touches the ribs. The loin is cut very carefully with a sharp knife, so as not to seize the excess. The bones from the fillet are removed with tweezers or your own fingers. The skin is cleaned last.
Now a meat grinder is included in the work. Use it to grind pieces of fish fillet. Experienced housewives are advised to do this twice. Firstly, the small bones that you might have missed are crushed during double processing. Secondly, the stuffing will be more juicy and tender.
If you intend to immediately start cooking cutlets, then the third time you can twist the minced meat along with onions. In general, the principle is clear - the more the meat grinder “works”, the tastier, more tender, juicier and safer the minced fish will be.
Ground beef patties
The most popular dish is, of course, cutlets. How to make delicious minced pike for cutlets so that it is not dry and fresh? The following products will be required:
- Onion - 150 g.
- Minced pike meat - 250-300 g.
- 150 ml of kefir.
- Two eggs.
- Salt (to taste).
- Ground pepper.
- Long loaf or white bread.
- Vegetable oil (for frying), butter (for cutlets).
Cooking
In general, the process of cooking fish cutlets from pike is practically no different from the meat option. All of the above ingredients are mixed together. But pike cutlets have one problem - they often turn out slightly dry. Many housewives complain about this, who ventured to cook dishes from such stuffing. How to fix this moment? A piece of butter will come to the rescue, which must be put in the center of the cutlet during its formation.
You can roll fish cakes in breadcrumbs and in flour. It should be fried over medium heat, on each side for five minutes. Fish is cooked faster than meat, therefore, in order not to dry the meatballs, you should not keep them in a pan for a long time.
What can be done from minced pike (except cutlets)
It seems to many that, having fussed with the preparation of minced meat from pike, only cutlets can be cooked from it. Absolutely wrong! There are a lot of options for dishes in which the main ingredient is minced fish. Here are some examples.
Knels
From the minced meat we form small meatballs - dumplings and cook them in slightly salted water for about five minutes. Serve with cheese sauce and spinach.
Rolls
Knowing how to make stuffing from pike, you can cook delicious rolls. In cabbage scalded with boiling water, you should wrap minced fish mixed with egg yolk and cream. Add sesame seed, finely chopped dill and spices. Wrap rolls in foil and place on a baking sheet. We cook in the oven at a temperature of 190 degrees 25 minutes.
Hamburgers
We put fish cakes fried to a golden crust on special rolls. We put the same leaf of lettuce, rings of red onion (sweet), sour cream sauce with garlic and a couple of fresh tomatoes.
Fish bread
Plain white bread with milk and leave for 30 minutes. Then squeeze, add butter and minced fish from pike. Salt, put the egg yolk and ground pepper. The resulting mass can be added to special bread forms and simply put in a deep baking dish. We put in the oven 150-160 degrees and bake bread for 50-60 minutes.
Buckwheat cutlets
In conclusion, we will share another popular recipe and tell you how to make minced pike with buckwheat. Such cutlets will be not only useful, but also surprisingly tasty, hearty and fragrant. Using buckwheat with minced meat, you will get a complete dish that does not even require an additional side dish.
Take for cooking 600 grams of minced pike fish, a couple of eggs, a small slice of cheese (100 g), salt, paprika, ground pepper, buckwheat porridge (already cooked, but not salted) - 5 tablespoons.
Mix the listed ingredients, form the patties and fry them in vegetable oil. Serving such a dish is recommended with aromatic garlic sauce. You can make it from a couple of cloves of garlic, a drop of olive oil and thick sour cream.