Tench belongs to the class of river and lake fish of the cyprinid family. Most likely, he got his name from the ability to change color: in the air or in small dishes with a small amount of water, dark spots appear on his thick, clumsy body - he begins to “fade”. Lives for a long time, sometimes more than 15 years: due to a passive lifestyle and habitat (at the bottom), it rarely becomes a victim of predators. An adult can reach large sizes: about 6-7 kg of weight and more than 50 cm in length.
Taste and nutritional qualities
The tench has rather tender fatty meat, in which there are a lot of useful vitamins and minerals, which are perfectly absorbed by the human body. Moreover, it is notable for low calorie content, therefore it is ideal for a diet menu. Dishes from this fish were served on the royal table.
It is better to roast or bake tench, but you can cook it (a good option is in milk). It makes a great ear. Smoked tench will pleasantly surprise you. So the success of the dish is almost always ensured, because the fish is tasty in itself and with proper processing you will not spoil it.
With a lot of advantages, this representative of the river fauna practically raises one question for almost everyone: "How to clean tench properly?"
Why do not everyone love such fish?
Not knowing how to clean tench, many people, including fishermen, simply ignore such a catch. The fact is that his body is covered with small, tight-fitting scales and a thick layer of thick mucus. This complicates the initial processing of fish: it constantly slips out of the hands. At the same time, the mucus is not washed off, and small scales are difficult to remove and scatter in all directions. But it is not all that bad. You just need to listen to the advice of people who know well how to clean tench fish , and the problem will be solved.
Is it mandatory to remove the scales?
It is worth saying that tench is a somewhat unusual fish, because under the influence of high temperature the smallest scales have the property of "dissolving". After cooking, a rather delicate and tasty crisp crust forms on its surface. As a result, the scales are not felt at all.
In general, it is preferable to eat an uncleaned line: in this case, it retains a maximum of useful substances. If, nevertheless, the fish is not accepted in this form, you can simply peel it off before use. And the question of whether it is necessary to clean the tench before cooking will be practically resolved.
It is interesting
By the way, fish scales contain quite a lot of pectin and can completely replace gelatin in the preparation of various jellies. Sometimes it is specially collected during cleaning, wrapped in a piece of gauze, which is then lowered into a pan with the meat prepared for aspic or aspic. Fish heads and bones are sent there. With this method of making jelly, it does not require much effort and additional costs. In addition, an exclusively natural product will be used.
How to clean tench from mucus
If the scales can be left before cooking, then slippery plaque must be removed. Usually there is quite a lot of mucus covering the whole body of the fish, so first you need to reduce its quantity with, for example, a knife. Then the tench is washed well with water, preferably flowing. It remains to get rid of the remnants of mucus. To do this quickly and simply, just dip the fish first in boiling water, and then in cold water. From exposure to hot temperature, the mucus begins to curl up and then rinses off quite easily. Such a contrasting “shower” can be repeated several times. And so that the tench does not slip at this time in the hands, they (and fish, by the way, too) can be sprinkled with coarse salt.
Some fishermen and mucus are cleaned with salt: they simply rub the carcass with it and then wash it off well. A few procedures - and tench is clean.
Scale Removal
Of course, not everyone is ready to eat fish, cleaned only of mucus. For all its usefulness, scales are often embarrassing, and you still want to get rid of them. Here are a few ways that avid fishermen have tried and recommended how to clean tench.
The first option: immerse the fish in boiling water for a few seconds (the main thing is not to overdo it!), And then dip it in cold water. Then lay it on a cutting board and carefully scrape off the scales, moving from the side of the tail to the head, with the blunt side of the knife. Some anglers use a makeshift tool to clean their tench. It is a piece of hacksaw blade for metal, to which a handle is attached from the side of the bevel of the teeth. So that the scales do not fly apart, the fish can be cleaned in a deep bowl with water.
Another tip about how to clean tench fish is to use a fine grater instead of a knife, preferably tetrahedral. The wide base is very comfortable to hold with your hands, especially in the case of a slippery line. Moreover, with such a cleaning, the scales fly apart less. The only condition: the grater must be sharp. You can build a convenient grater yourself. To do this, you need a wooden block the size of a knife, on one edge of which a handle is made, and a metal plate is attached to the other (an old coffee can is suitable) with often punched holes. To make the grater safe and easy to wash, the wood must first be sanded.
Another hint on how to clean the tench (it is appropriate in nature) is to rub it with coarse salt. For convenience, you can pour it on a sheet of paper or a piece of cloth in which you want to wrap the fish and rub the crystals on the scales. Or just pour salt into a wide bowl, put a tench in it and rub it well with salt on both sides. Small scales will be removed along with mucus residues.
How to gut a peeled tench
If the answers to the question of whether to clean the tench are ambiguous, then everything is simple. This fish is gutted just like any other: they tear open the abdomen with a sharp knife and take out the insides, cut off the fins and, if necessary, the head. The only caveat: in no case should you cut the bladder with bile during cutting so that the fish meat does not become bitter. If this has already happened, you need to carefully cut out the piece on which the bile got, and grate the carcass with salt and rinse well. And one more tip: when cutting, it is recommended to remove the dark film on the walls of the abdomen from the inside.
How to get rid of bad smell
Lin spends most of his life in a calm state at the bottom of a river or lake (hence his household names are “quiet water” or “laziness” - from the word “lazy”). He searches for food in silt, spends the whole winter there, so he has a strong smell of mud, which can persist during cooking and spoil the taste of the finished dish. You can get rid of the smell if you hold the gutted carcass of a tench in saline: a couple of tablespoons of salt per liter of water. Also, before cooking, it is advisable to sprinkle the fish with lemon juice. They will get rid of the smell and seasonings added to the dish in the process of its preparation.
Someone withstands live fish for several hours in clean fresh water - this also helps to get rid of the smell of silt. This is what they did in earlier times: before cooking, they gave her a few hours to swim.
After you have coped with such a difficult task as cleaning tench, you can send the fish for heat treatment. The easiest way is to grate with a little salt, you can, in combination with your favorite seasonings, grease the surface with oil, put a sprig of greens in the abdomen - and in the oven or on the grill. Or cut into pieces and fry in a pan.
Compliance with the necessary conditions for processing and preparing tench becomes the key to the fact that this river fish quickly becomes one of the favorite dishes.