Fish is a healthy product that should be included in everyone’s diet. Previously, there were even fish days, on which fish was served in all canteens and similar public food places. And this is no coincidence, because it contains a large amount of vitamins and microelements necessary for the body. Properly cooked fish is also dietary. It can be used without fear by people who have begun to struggle with extra pounds. It is during cooking that the fish retains the maximum amount of useful components.
How to defrost fish in the oven?
Place the frozen fish on a plate in the oven on the lower rack and set the temperature to no higher than 30°C. You can also use convection at temperatures from 0°C. It is not advisable to completely defrost uncut fish, because a slightly frozen carcass will be much easier and faster to clean.
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Is it possible to fry frozen fish without defrosting?
There are several diametrically opposed opinions regarding whether it is necessary to defrost fish before cooking or not.
It all depends on the method of its preparation and heat treatment. You can fry frozen fish without defrosting or not:
- It is best to defrost the fish first, by slowly thawing it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. However, this option is not always available and is not suitable for all types of fish.
- If you are going to cook boiled fillet, or bake it in the oven, in foil, then pre-defrosting is not necessary. However, if you plan to fry fish or stew it in gravy, it is recommended to defrost it.
- The ideal defrosting method is the thawing method in the refrigerator, or using cold water. To do this, you need to place the fish in a bag, tie it carefully so that no water gets into it. Place in a container of cold water and change it when it becomes ice cold.
Ready dish
Why this is important: Chef's answer
Chef of the project “Edimdoma.ru” Oleg Tomilin told how the process of defrosting fish and seafood can affect the quality of dishes:
— There is a rule: the faster the fish is defrosted, the worse the final quality of the product. I do not recommend defrosting fish and seafood in warm water, microwaves, ovens, or at room temperature. This is very tempting, but unacceptable for the desired result. When frozen fish is suddenly placed in heat, the tissue structure is disrupted, the fibers soften, the product becomes loose, flabby and loses its original shape.
A fish carcass that has been improperly thawed is much more difficult to fillet. This kind of meat is very difficult to work with. It is better to plan a fish dish for dinner in advance and defrost the product in advance. How to do it right - read on.
Slow way
Therefore, the slow method is considered the most correct. To do this, the carcasses of cold-blooded animals are placed in a container without a lid and simply placed at the bottom of the refrigerator, where, as a rule, the temperature is above zero. There the fish is defrosted slowly and gradually. On average, this process takes six hours (depending on the thickness and size of the carcass). So if you decide to cook something fishy, but bought not a fresh, but a frozen product, then it would be best to let it defrost overnight, and by the morning it will definitely be ready for further use.
Hairdryer
If the carcass is large and does not fit into a container, oven, or microwave, you must resort to unusual methods to thaw the fish. One of these is a hair dryer. You will have to spend about 40 minutes on one carcass. First, the product is placed in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. This will preserve the taste of the fish.
The carcass is wrapped in cling film, but not tightly. Place it on a large glass dish or in a bathtub. It all depends on the size of the product. Sometimes it is more convenient to carry out all manipulations in the bath. The hairdryer is turned on in the “cold air” mode. When blowing on the carcass, you must hold the device at a distance of about 25 cm. The air flow is directed along the fish. You can resort to combined methods, combining a hair dryer with other defrosting options.
Fried capelin
For this delicious dish you need the following ingredients:
- capelin - 1 kg;
- lemon - 1 piece;
- salt, pepper, vegetable oil to taste;
- flour - 100-150 grams.
When the fish is small and frozen, it is recommended to cook it in a frying pan. To do this, wash it, dry it a little, and season with lemon juice. Then the flour is mixed with spices and seasoning, and the fish is rolled in it. Afterwards, place it on a greased baking sheet and place it in a preheated oven. The dish is prepared within 20 minutes.
This is just a small part of what can be prepared from frozen fish. If you follow the defrosting and cooking technology correctly, you will get delicious dishes with a pleasant aroma and excellent taste.
Cooking rules and tips
You need to know how to cook fish to get a truly tasty and healthy product. Basic principles must be followed when cooking for a child or adult, as well as for a cat or other pets. You can cook frozen fish or fresh. It is better to give preference to the second option.
It is believed that almost all fish can be cooked. It is most correct to choose marine options for these purposes. This is due to the ability of a living organism to absorb all harmful substances from its environment. River fish could have been caught from water bodies with high levels of toxic compounds. Marine options in this regard are many times safer for consumption.
All varieties of fish are suitable for the diet. The fats present in the composition are healthy and will not be deposited on the sides. But often those losing weight give preference to large species, for example, silver carp and bream. Small fish quickly become overcooked and end up looking completely unappetizing.
For children, it is recommended to choose boneless flounder. This is the safest and healthiest option. This minimizes the risk of the seeds getting stuck.
When deciding how much to cook fish, you need to take into account what kind of fish was chosen. It is recommended to give preference to drier varieties. They almost completely retain their original appearance until ready. Dry varieties are practically not overcooked.
Novice cooks often doubt how to cook a product correctly - in hot or cold water. To make it tasty, it is advisable to put the fish in the water immediately. No need to wait for it to boil. It is when placed in cold water that the product practically does not boil and remains juicy.
You can cook frozen fish. It is without defrosting that the valuable product retains its original appearance. If you defrost it first, it may fall apart before cooking. However, if you suspect that the fish was frozen stale, then it is better to wait until the ice melts.
You can boil fish with or without gills. It all depends on personal preferences and what exactly will be prepared from the ingredient. Additionally, during cooking, you can add spices to the water. It is recommended to give preference to bay leaves, peppercorns, and herbs.
When cooking, it is recommended to add a small amount of lemon juice. This will prevent the product from boiling. Only portioned portions of the product can be immersed in hot water. In this form, the fish boils faster.
You can optionally add wine or fresh mushrooms during cooking. This is a great way to enhance the taste and make it more enjoyable. The fish should be removed immediately before serving. It is not advisable to do this earlier.
In a water bath
It was noted that many of the listed methods lead to the fact that the fish loses useful substances, decreases in weight and changes its structure. All this affects its appearance and taste after stewing and frying. To avoid this, it is recommended to use a water bath.
A steamer or slow cooker is great for this. In such equipment there is no contact between the carcass and water.
Help: It is recommended to use the specified cooling method if the subsequent preparation of the product will be in a double boiler or multicooker.
Defrosting takes about 20 minutes. But you should understand that the taste of the product may become less intense.
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The product is placed on a special steamer grill and the minimum temperature is set. Periodically turn the carcass over. As soon as the product has completely thawed, turn on the desired cooking mode. For example, cooking, stewing, etc.
Recommendations
There are some useful tips from experienced chefs that will help make your dish as tasty and juicy as possible:
- Thawed fish has a fresh smell. If it is sour or ammoniacal, the product is spoiled.
- After proper defrosting, elasticity is maintained.
- You need to purchase a quality product. There should be a thick layer of fresh ice around it. Then you will get delicious frozen fish dishes.
- You cannot defrost it in hot water.
- You cannot freeze the product several times, as all its beneficial and nutritional properties are lost.
Thawing at room temperature
This method is similar to the air defrosting option. The product is taken out of the refrigerator and left in the kitchen to thaw naturally. The most time-consuming option. The fish should also be wrapped in cling film. It is more convenient to put it on a plate or place it in an empty container.
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Fillet
How to quickly defrost fish fillets? After all, all the recommendations of experienced chefs boil down to the fact that it is categorically impossible to thaw fillet or minced meat with water. In this case, they say, both the beneficial properties and the appearance of the semi-finished product are completely lost. What can be advised in such cases? Well, first of all, follow the rules: defrost the fillet at the very bottom of the refrigerator, where the temperature is highest. But this process may take 3-4 hours. You can, of course, fry, for example, unfrozen fillets (and even professional chefs sometimes do this). But at the same time it can shoot very strongly (the water defrosts and falls on the boiling oil). And the appearance of the prepared product suffers: it wrinkles and dries out as a result, and you can’t roll it in flour or breadcrumbs. So you can do this using physical laws, that is, increase the ambient temperature. Then the defrosting process itself will speed up. Place a covered bowl of fish near a heated stove, for example. And in the hot summer, take the fillet (covered from insects!) to the balcony, where the temperature is higher than in the kitchen. By the way, the following folk method of defrosting is also associated with the laws of physics.
Choosing a quality frozen product
When purchasing industrially frozen fish, choose a quality product. Blast-frozen fish, dry or wet, retains its properties during thawing and loses a minimal percentage of its weight. You can recognize which product is of high quality by the following characteristics:
- solid, and not in a block of ice with the dry method of freezing, covered with a thin layer of ice - with the wet method;
- The fish's eyes are clear, not cloudy.
When choosing a frozen product, you should also pay attention to the following points:
- Do not buy fish for future use to avoid a repeat defrosting cycle. It is preferable to choose medium-sized fish or fillets.
- Before purchasing, evaluate the quality of the fish to the best of your ability. There should be no stuck pieces of fish or ice crystals inside the package, but a thin ice glaze is allowed.
Signs of quality frozen fish are a pleasant natural smell, clear eyes, red or pink gills.
Cooking fish soup
A traditional Russian dish is ukha, the preparation of which also involves boiling fish. There is nothing complicated in this dish, the main thing is to know how to cook it. You can use different fish. The most delicious is the collected fish soup; large fish are used for it and small fish are used especially for the broth. Small fish do not need to be scaled, but only gutted. The main thing is not to forget to strain the finished broth. For fish soup or fish soup, the head and fins from large fish are often used. The head takes a little longer to cook than the fish itself. It is best to cook the head in a separate pan, and the finished broth should be strained through a sieve or cheesecloth.
Small fish are usually removed from the fish soup, but you can clean it from the bones and rub it through a sieve in the fish soup, then the soup will be even richer and thicker. This type of ear is often called double. It is best to season the soup with black peppercorns, bay leaves and dill.
Fish is a storehouse of vitamins and minerals necessary for human health. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to buy fresh fish and you have to be content with frozen products. Housewives often stock up for future use and store it in the freezer, and when it comes to cooking, the question arises of how to quickly and correctly defrost fish.
On air
Many technologists and professional chefs advise defrosting medium and large carcasses in a similar way. It is necessary to place the products at some distance from each other so that they do not come into close contact. Cover with cling film.
Help: Defrosting fish in air can take up to 9 hours. It all depends on its size.
It is worth checking the products periodically. If some of them have already been defrosted, they are removed from the total.
It is worth understanding that when thawing in this way, the carcass will lose about 10% in weight. This is due to the fact that juice will begin to flow out of it. But air is one of the most gentle defrosting methods. It allows you to preserve vitamins and nutrients in the product.
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It is not recommended to use it during the hot season. Prolonged absence of cold will lead to the rapid development of bacteria on the surface of food. Even after stewing or frying, poisoning can occur.
Which spices to choose?
Each type of fish has its own cooking nuances. So, for example, most types of red fish should be cooked in cold water, and the cooking time should be counted from the moment of boiling. To add flavor when cooking pink salmon, add bay leaf, celery and onion to the broth. Thyme and rosemary are considered classic herbs that enhance the taste of fish, especially sea fish (dorado, sea bass). Lemon is an ideal fruit. To add a spicy taste, garlic, onion and paprika (sweet or hot) will do.
