Frozen smelt. Recipes, cooking methods, photos

Publication in the group: Fish and seafood dishes

Smelt is a small fish of the smelt family, which is found in lakes and seas of northern countries. Per 100 g of product there are about 102 kcal, 15.4 g of protein, 4.5 g of fat and 0 g of carbohydrates. A characteristic feature of the fish is the cucumber smell. It is often called cucumber or borage. The cooking recipe allows you to use frozen or fresh product, which can be fried, baked, stewed, pickled or dried.

Classic recipe for cooking frozen smelt in a frying pan

Frozen smelt (recipes for cooking fish are quite simple and do not take much time to prepare) after frying, the inside remains soft and the outside is covered with a golden and crispy crust. The fish can be served for dinner to adults and children, because the carcass contains a small amount of small bones.

The nutritional value of the dish per 100 g serving is about 197 kcal. During cooking, the fish must be freed from its entrails, otherwise it will have a bitter taste.

What ingredients will you need?

The products you need to purchase to prepare frozen fish are described in the following list:

smelt – 500 g;
sunflower oil – 45 ml;
flour – 100 g;
salt – 6 g.

If desired, fish carcasses can be sprinkled with any dried spices, which will improve the taste and aroma of the finished treat. Instead of flour, the product can be fried in breadcrumbs. The above ingredients are enough to prepare 3 servings.

Step-by-step cooking process

You can prepare smelt for dinner by following these steps:

Thaw the fish, wash and cut it, removing the head and gutting it.
Rinse the product and set it aside.
Combine salt and flour in a bowl, mix well and roll fish products in the mixture.
Place the semi-finished products in a well-heated frying pan with vegetable oil, frying the treat on both sides for 4 minutes.
After the time has passed, serve the dish to the table.

Serving rules, decoration

The fish is served hot along with boiled potatoes, rice porridge or a salad based on fresh vegetables.

Pickled smelt

This dish should please gourmets. It is called one of the most exquisite ways to prepare commercial fish. During the season you should definitely try it! Moreover, making the marinade is very easy.

Try pickled smelt

For the recipe you will need:

Fried smelt - 800 grams
Onions - 2 pieces
Carrots - 1 large
Salt and granulated sugar - 1 tablespoon each
Vinegar 9% - 60 milliliters
Drinking water - 0.5 liters
Bay leaf, allspice

Cooking process:

Prepare the fish according to the traditional recipe.
Boil water with salt, sugar and spices. Add chopped carrots and onions and cook for seven minutes.
Remove from heat, pour in vinegar, stir.
Place the smelt in a saucepan and pour the hot marinade on top.
Cover with a plate and press down with something heavy. Send to cool.

The pickled smelt should sit in the refrigerator for at least a day, after which the sample can be taken. When you first read the recipe, it may seem strange, but it is better not to trust your feelings and prepare a spring delicacy.

Allcafe recommends. To ensure that fried smelt has a uniform, appetizing crust, it can be placed in a bag of flour and shaken before heat treatment. This will ensure the breading is distributed evenly. Another option is to place the carcasses on a plate sprinkled with flour, and sift the other part of the flour on top of it.

With vegetables in the oven

Smelt can be baked in the oven along with vegetables and served at lunchtime or evening, because fish belongs to the category of products that do not require long-term heat treatment.

Frozen smelt. Recipe for cooking with vegetables in the oven.

Also, the finished treat will be low in calories, so it can be eaten by those on a diet.

What ingredients will you need?

Frozen fish with vegetables should be prepared from the ingredients described in the following table:

Required Products	Required quantity
Smelt	3 pcs.
Bay leaf	2 pcs.
Olive oil	10 ml
Carrot	75 g
Mozzarella	50 g
Seasoning for fish	5 g
Onion	75 g
Zucchini	300 g

Mozzarella can be replaced with hard cheese. If you choose the latter option, the product should be grated. If desired, this set of vegetables can be replaced with another or supplemented with potatoes, sweet peppers and fresh tomatoes. The proportions of the ingredients are designed to prepare 3 servings of the dish.

Step-by-step cooking process

Step-by-step preparation of a fish dish is described in the following paragraphs:

Wash the defrosted fish in water, gut it and remove the gills. Rinse the finished product and dry a little.
Cut the zucchini into thin slices, chop the peeled carrots into circles.
Cover a baking sheet with foil, coat with olive oil and place onion and some carrots cut into half rings on top.
Place smelt on top and cover the fish on all sides with vegetables.
Sprinkle the food with fish seasoning and salt, add a bay leaf and wrap the product in foil.
Place the baking dish in an oven preheated to 180°C for 25 minutes.
After the time has passed, remove the foil and place the cheese cut into large pieces on top.
Send the dish for 3 minutes. into the oven. After melting the cheese, serve the treat to the table.

Serving rules, decoration

Before serving, the hot dish is sprinkled with chopped fresh herbs on top. Vegetables that were cooked along with the fish serve as a side dish.

With tomatoes in a slow cooker

Frozen smelt (cooking recipes allow you to stew fish carcasses in a slow cooker) must be defrosted if you need to stew it, fry it or bake it. The product goes well with tomatoes in their own juice, especially when stewed. Vegetables give the fish a pleasant sourness, juiciness and rich aroma. The energy value of the dish is approximately 82 kcal per 100 g serving.

What ingredients will you need?

Cooking fish dishes is possible if you have the food products listed in the following list:

greens – 10 g;
smelt – 1.5 kg;
bay leaf – 3 pcs.;
onion – 225 g;
sunflower seed oil – 45 ml;
salt - optional;
tomatoes in their own juice – 1 can;
ground black pepper – as needed.

If there are no tomatoes in their own juice, you can take fresh vegetables, from which you must first remove the skin. To do this, make a cross-shaped cut on the tomato peel, then scald the product with boiling water. Parsley leaves are suitable as greens.

Step-by-step cooking process

Creating a dish based on tomatoes and fish is possible if you complete the following steps:

Peel the onions and cut into half rings.
Plug in the multicooker, set the “Frying” mode and, after pouring oil, add onions.
Stirring constantly, fry the product until soft for 15 minutes.
Clean the defrosted fish, remove the entrails and rinse thoroughly under water. If necessary, cut the product into portions.
Add tomatoes in their own juice to the slow cooker, place fish and salt and pepper.
Add bay leaf and mix gently. Switch the appliance to the “Stew” mode and cook the dish for 25 minutes.
When the time is up, turn off the multicooker and let the treat sit for 10 minutes.

Serving rules, decoration

At the end of the infusion, the stewed fish is sprinkled with chopped parsley leaves on top and sent to the table for tasting. You can serve only stewed tomatoes as a side dish or supplement them with mashed potatoes or buckwheat porridge.

Baked smelt

Baking will help you preserve the maximum nutrients without adding fat to the dish. Smelt in the oven turns out to be especially tender and even sophisticated tasters will like it.

Bake smelt

To prepare it you need:

500 grams of smelt
Lemon juice
Allspice
Salt
Greens (dried or finely chopped)

Making this dish is very simple:

Mix the marinade: add herbs and salt to lemon juice.
Pour it over the fish and let it brew.
Wrap a baking sheet in foil and preheat the oven.
Distribute the main component in an even layer, cover with more foil and bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees.
If desired, five minutes before the end of cooking, you can slightly open the top layer of material to get a golden brown crust.

Smelt in the oven turns out juicy and goes well with a side dish of fresh vegetables. If you take small-sized carcasses, they will have a pleasant crunch; if you take large ones, the meat will delight you with its tenderness.

In the microwave with sour cream sauce

Cooking frozen smelt in the microwave will take no more than 10 minutes. This dish recipe is considered the fastest, unlike other methods of cooking fish. At the same time, it can be supplemented with sour cream and mustard sauce, which will give the treat a more delicate creamy taste.

What ingredients will you need?

You can cook dinner in the microwave if you have the ingredients listed in the following list:

mustard – 10 g;
smelt – 500 g;
onion head – 150 g;
olive oil – 15 ml;
sour cream – 75 g;
lemon juice – 25 ml;
salt – 2 pinches;
dry herbs – 5 g;
cheese – 30 g;
ground black pepper – 2 pinches.

Instead of sour cream, you can use cream with a low fat content, about 10%. The mustard can be whatever you like best.

The best dried herbs are thyme, oregano and basil. The specified amount of products is enough to prepare 2 servings of treats.

Step-by-step cooking process

The preparation of a fragrant treat from sour cream sauce and smelt is based on the following steps:

Pour water over frozen fish for 20 minutes. Clean the prepared carcasses, separate the heads and tails, remove the entrails and rinse thoroughly under water.
Line a baking pan with parchment and coat with olive oil.
Peel the onions, cut into half rings and place on the bottom of the mold.
Place the fish on top, lightly add salt, pepper and sprinkle with herbs.
After sprinkling everything with lemon juice, apply a mixture based on sour cream and mustard to the surface of the ingredients.
Sprinkle hard cheese shredded on a coarse shredder on top and gather the ends of the parchment into a knot.
Place the product in the microwave and cook the treat for 10 minutes.
After the time has passed, serve the finished dish to the table.

Serving rules, decoration

Fish served with sour cream and mustard sauce is decorated with fresh parsley and dill. Fresh vegetable slices from tomatoes and cucumbers are suitable as an addition.

Ear

To prepare real smelt fish soup, the dish must not contain any type of cereal or fried vegetables. Thanks to this, the fishy taste and aroma of the treat will be more intense. Ukha will be useful for children and the elderly, because it helps improve well-being and tone thanks to the vitamins and minerals that are present in the fish carcass. The portion of the first course eaten should be no more than 250 g.

What ingredients will you need?

Cooking fish soup is based on purchasing the products described in the following list:

onion head – 75 g;
potatoes – 200 g;
parsley root – 10 g;
celery root – 30 g;
smelt – 10 pcs.;
bay leaf – 1 pc.;
leek – 30 g;
carrots – 75 g;
salt, ground pepper - at your discretion;
black peppercorns - as needed.

If desired, the spice composition can be supplemented with a small amount of ground nutmeg, which will give the dish a more spicy taste.

The above ingredients are enough to prepare 4 servings of fish soup.

Step-by-step cooking process

Cooking a hearty dish is based on following the steps described below:

Peel the potatoes, rinse and cut into medium-sized cubes.
Peel and chop the onions and leeks with a knife. Peel the carrots, wash and chop into rings.
Pour water into the pan, add vegetables and roots and bring to a boil.
Reducing the heat, add bay leaf with nutmeg, pepper and salt and black peppercorns.
Wash the thawed smelt, remove scales, remove the entrails and head.
Having brought the contents of the pan to readiness, place the fish with chopped herbs and let the treat simmer for 5 minutes.
After the time has passed, turn off the heat and let it brew for 10 minutes.

Serving rules, decoration

The first dish is served hot, sprinkled with fresh parsley leaves on top. The treat can be supplemented with bread and seasoned with sour cream.

Dried fish recipe

Frozen smelt (recipes for preparing a dried product require a minimum set of ingredients) after preliminary thawing does not require additional cleaning of scales and internal organs if it is dried. It will take about 4-5 days to prepare.

The main thing is that the room is well ventilated and clean.

What ingredients will you need?

Dried fish must be prepared from the ingredients described in the following list:

smelt – 500 g;
coarse salt – 150 g.

The proportions of the products are designed to prepare 6 servings of snacks.

Step-by-step cooking process

The process of preparing dried fish from frozen smelt is shown in the following steps:

Defrost the fish, rinse and dry. Place the carcasses in one layer in a wide dish.
Sprinkle coarse sea salt on top and, covering the dish with a lid, place the workpiece in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
After the time has passed, rinse the fish from salt, dry it a little and hang it on a thread.
Dry the treat for 4 days in a well-ventilated area. Afterwards you can use it for its intended purpose.

Serving rules, decoration

Dried fish is served as a snack along with beer.

In the marinade

Frozen smelt (recipes for preparing fish in marinade are suitable for sandwiches or snacks with beer) retains some of the nutrients after heat treatment, so it is considered a healthy product for the body.

Marinated fish is a good alternative in terms of taste to expensive pickled Spanish anchovies, which are rarely found on sale.

What ingredients will you need?

Marinated fish must be prepared from the ingredients listed in the following list:

smelt – 1 kg;
bay leaf – 3 pcs.;
sunflower seed oil – 30 ml;
carrots – 75 g;
onion – 225 g;
granulated sugar – 50 g;
salt – 38 g;
vinegar – 100 ml;
black peppercorns – 15 pcs.

Vinegar can be replaced with freshly squeezed lemon juice in the same volume.

Step-by-step cooking process

The preparation of marinated fish is shown in the following steps:

Clean the defrosted fish, separate the head, remove the insides and rinse with running water on all sides.
Pour oil into a saucepan, heat it and lightly fry the fish on both sides.
To prepare the marinade, pour water into a container, add sugar with vinegar, salt, bay leaf and pepper and mix.
Add peeled and grated carrots, bring to a boil and boil the contents for 7 minutes.
After removing the container from the heat, add chopped onions and prepared fish into the mixture and mix well. Leave the mixture to marinate for 1 day.
After the time has passed, serve the treat to the table.

Serving rules, decoration

Marinated fish is used to make sandwiches made from rye bread. Fresh herbs and chopped vegetables are suitable as an addition.

What does smelt look like and where is it found?

Smelt is mistakenly considered a saltwater fish, but in fact it also lives in fresh water, but not everywhere. Fish populations in the seas are most numerous, so it is there that they are caught by amateur fishermen and commercial fishing vessels.

But this species of fish is migratory, that is, it is often found in rivers that flow into reservoirs, which are its natural habitat.

In addition, ichthyologists identify populations of smelt that are absolutely isolated - they are found in lakes that do not have direct communication with the seas.

Smelt is a fairly common fish in the seas. It is considered the “orderly” of reservoirs, since it is practically omnivorous and this is one of the factors that influenced the survivability of the species and the annual growth of the smelt population. Environmentalists were concerned about this fact, since smelt destroys the young of other species, so an increase in its population could threaten the existence of other species.

Useful tips and tricks

Useful tips and tricks that will be useful for a novice cook when cooking:

due to the fact that people have different tastes, it is recommended to adjust the amount of spices, salt and pepper individually at your own discretion;
to give the fish a piquant taste, it is recommended to add soy sauce to the marinating brine;
to check the freshness of the fish, it is recommended to place it in water and when the carcass floats up, the product must be discarded, and if it sinks to the bottom, the fish can be eaten;
You can thoroughly clean fish from scales by lowering the carcass into boiling water, then into warm water with vinegar diluted in it;
Before heat treatment, smelt, in the absence of flour, can be rolled in breadcrumbs of corn or wheat origin;
Adding rock salt to hot oil will help get a crispy crust on the surface of the semi-finished product;
after the fish is scaled and the insides are removed, it must be thoroughly washed under running water, otherwise there will be a bitter taste;
to eliminate the strong fishy smell during cooking of the product in vegetable oil, it is recommended to place peeled and sliced potatoes in a saucepan;
To make the pickled smelt the most tender and tasty, it is recommended to keep it in the marinade for at least 10 hours and no more than 24 hours;
To prevent the product from losing its shape during heat treatment, it is recommended to treat it with salt for 15 minutes. before starting cooking;
to remove the entrails without making a cut in the abdomen, it will be enough to make a deep incision in the area of the gills, cutting through the spine and removing the head along with the entrails.

To prepare first courses, smelt can be taken frozen; in all other cases, the fish must be thawed. There are many recipes that use the product. It is suitable for frying, baking and stewing.

How to select and store smelt

Today, on the shelves of shops and supermarkets, smelt is sold in different forms. The best option is to purchase frozen or fresh product.

To choose fresh smelt you need to pay attention to the following parameters.

The skin of the fish is whole, without visible damage, shiny.
The fish does not emit an unpleasant putrid odor. Even if the fish is frozen, it may be spoiled, but this can be easily determined by the smell.
The fish is dense, hard, without mucus on the surface, but not overdried.
It is worth looking into the gills; they should be a bright red, rich hue. If they are pale, the fish has been stored for a long time and may not be fresh to eat.

It is better to buy frozen smelt already packaged, not by weight. If the fish was sealed in packaging, it will not be overdried. You should buy fish only in places specially equipped for selling such products. In spontaneous markets, where there are neither refrigerators nor normal hygienic conditions, it is better not to buy smelt.