Primary processing of fish: consistency and technology

Culinary art only at first glance may seem easy and at ease. In reality, it consists of hundreds of little things. Only knowing and understanding them, you can prepare a good dish. Preparing foods is often no less important than cooking food. Especially it concerns meat and fish products. Today we will consider such a question as the technology of primary processing of fish. Grade 6 in schools where there are subjects "Technology" or "Cooking", superficially considers this topic. This means that we can do it with you.

Sequence of primary processing of fish:

1. Thawing frozen fish.
2. Scale removal.
3. Release of fish from contamination and inedible parts (head, fins, tail).
4. Plastovanie, or giving the fish the right shape.

Each stage will be considered separately.

Thawing

Typically, the primary treatment of fish begins with thawing. 90% of fish are caught far from the coast, so it can be on the way for months. That the fish does not disappear, it is directly frozen on the ships, and sometimes even pre-gutted. One way or another, such a fish needs to be thawed. It would seem that here can be difficult? In fact, in case of illiterate thawing the fish can lose its nutritional value and taste.

This procedure is not at all difficult: you need to fill the fish with cold water in a ratio of 1: 2 and wait for 1.5 to 4 hours. The time of thawing depends on the size of the fish. That the product has not lost nutrients, water can be poured. For 1 kilogram of fish take up to 15 grams of salt.

Thawing in hot water

Many to accelerate the process of pouring fish with warm or even hot water. You can not do this. The fact is that when the fish lies in water, the temperature of which exceeds 40 degrees, some of the proteins denature. Consequently, the amount of moisture that they retain is reduced, and the loss of muscle juice during the cutting is increased. The outer layers of meat become flabby, the smell of stale fish appears.

If the fish is thawed in water with a temperature of up to 20 degrees, it will absorb moisture and increase in mass by 5-10%. This will compensate for the loss of moisture that inevitably occurs when storing frozen fish. A salt in water is added in order to compensate for the loss of mineral substances that occur when the product thaws.

Thawing in air

Frozen fillets are recommended to thaw completely without water and at room temperature. In the air, valuable fish species are also thawed. Fish should be simply spread out on the table and covered with plastic wrap to prevent loss of moisture.

It is not recommended to re-freeze the thawed fish, since it can lose a lot of juice. At the same time, its taste will drop dramatically. For the same reason, it is undesirable to act on thawed fish mechanically (squeeze, beat off, etc.).

Additional processing

River fish are recommended immediately after thawing to be processed. To pike does not smell like a swamp, it needs to be washed in cold, strongly salty water. If the fish emits the smell of mud, it is also soaked in a strong saline solution. Most bother brings burbot and eel - the breed of fish, whose skin is abundantly covered with mucus. To make it clean and light, you also need to use salt. The fish are literally spread with a gruel, which includes salt and ash, mixed in a 1: 1 ratio. After 5-10 minutes, the fish are washed. From slime does not remain a trace.

Sea fish also often have a peculiar smell. To get rid of it, peeled and washed fish for 15-20 minutes before the start of cooking should be sprinkled with lemon juice or low-concentration table vinegar. Sometimes, to remove the unpleasant smell of fish during its cooking, cucumber brine is added to the water, and tomato pickle is added to the water when it is cooked. It will also be superfluous to add laurel leaves, celery and other spices.

Now it is worth starting the next stage, which involves the primary processing of fish - cleaning.

Fish cleaning

Primary treatment of scaly fish involves cleaning. Defrost the fish to the end is not recommended. In the semi-frozen state, it is much easier to be subjected to further processing. Cleaning is done in different ways, depending on the type of fish and the dish being cooked. Nevertheless, there are some of the most common ways of cleaning and cutting.

The first method is relevant in the case when the fish is served in a general form, "on the bones" or pieces without removing bones, in fried or boiled form. Scales are removed quite simply, especially if there are special devices in the chef's arsenal. If they are not there, scales are cut from the skin with the aid of an acute knuckle knife. It is worthwhile to be careful not to cut through the skin. Another option - scraping scales grater. To scales do not scatter around, it is recommended to place the fish in a tank of water.

Primary processing of fish, a brief description of which does not give a complete idea of the technology, has a lot of nuances. For example, there are quite a few techniques that facilitate the removal of fish scales. They are relevant for some marine fish species, in which scales are small and dense. For example, to facilitate the cleaning of mackerel and horse mackerel, they are placed for 20-30 seconds in boiling water. The same is done with the line and flounder. If further fish is to be cooked, then it can not be cleaned from scales at all. After cooking, she herself will depart perfectly.

Another cunning, aimed at facilitating the cleaning process, is wetting the fish with vinegar. Scale is rubbed with vinegar and left for a while, so that it absorbs. And so that during cleaning the fish does not slip out of your hands, you can pre-dip your fingers into salt.

Cutting fish

Primary processing of fish after cleaning and washing involves cutting. First of all, fins are removed. In those species of fish that have extremely sharp fins, in order to avoid cuts, the dorsal fin is removed before the scales are removed. For this, deep incisions are made around him. Then, grabbing it with a napkin, you need to pull, starting from the tail part.

Fish weighing up to 200 grams (gobies, vobla, omul, smelt, mackerel, horse mackerel, trout) are usually used in their entirety without cutting the carcass. After removing the scales in these species, first cut the dorsal, then the anal fin. Then an incision is made on the abdomen. Through him, they take out the insides and gills, and leave the head. Then the fish are washed.

Plastovanie

The technology of primary processing of large-sized fish assumes additional stratification. The procedure consists of three stages: removal of the dorsal fin, cutting the fillets on one side and cutting the fillets on the other side.

This is done as follows. Purified and gutted fish are placed on the table sideways so that the tail is on the left. Then the left hand should be pressed to the table, and the right one to make an incision under the pectoral fin to the spine. The flesh is gently cut from the bone to the tail. It remains only to separate the finished fillet from the spine and do the same on the other side.

Skin removal

When the fish is intended for cutlets or dumplings, the fillets are cleaned from the skin. In this case, you can not scrape the scales. Remove the skin is, starting with the tail, with extreme caution. The fact is that if the skin breaks or cuts, it will be much more difficult to remove. It is more convenient to do this before the formation.

When the fish do not need to be struck

In some cases, the primary processing of fish is also avoided. Here everything depends on the task of the cook. If the fish is needed to decorate the table, it is left whole. You can remove the insides without cutting the abdomen. It is enough only to make incisions to the spine along the edges of the gill covers and, having chopped off the head, pull out the insides that will be attached to it. Then, the tail and pectoral fins are cut off, after which the thoracic and anal fins are cut out. The carcass is thoroughly washed and cooked either whole or cut into round pieces.

Some species of fish (mackerel, sunflower, licchia) have very sharp fins and thorns. Because of this, the procedure for cutting them is very difficult. These kinds of fish are prepared completely after evisceration.

Blood clots and bile

On evisceration, the technology of primary processing of fish does not end. The sixth grade of the school hardly studies it, but nevertheless. All kinds of fish in the abdominal cavity along the ridge are blood clots. And in some (cod, saber-fish and others) the abdominal cavity is covered with a film of black and gray color. Blood clots, as well as a film, need to be removed. This can be done by scraping with a knife, wiping with salt, gauze or a brush.

With special care is to remove from the fish gall bladder. If it is torn, then the fish risks being ruined. Spilled on meat bile will give him a bitter taste. Therefore, the places on which bile has got to, it is necessary to wash thoroughly and wipe with salt, or even better - just cut it.

Why remove the skin?

The technology of primary processing of fish includes the removal of the head (especially the sea), its fins, tail and skin. Many people do not understand why remove the skin. There are species of fish (flounder, sea eel, catfish and others), whose skin is condensed during heat treatment. And in navaga it is reduced so much with roasting that it deforms the meat. In addition, the skin of many fish is poorly absorbed by the human body. There are also such species, which, due to saturation with sea salts, the skin has an unpleasant smell, which is manifested during heat treatment. Therefore, to be sure of the quality of the prepared dish and its appearance, it is better to remove it.

In all thick-skinned and scaly breeds, the skin is removed very simply. It is most convenient to do this by dividing gutted fish into two fillets. The skin is neatly cut with a knife using the same technology as described above.

Specific types

When preparing a burbot, eel or large catfish, their skin is cut around the head and removed entirely, separating it from the pulp. It turns a kind of stocking of fish skin. And then they begin to gut the abdomen, cutting it. After that, separate the fins and cut off the head with the tail.

Flounder is cleaned a little differently. First, the oblique incision from the eye side separates the head. At the same time, the abdomen is opened and the viscera are removed. Then scrape the scales from the underside of the fish and remove the skin from the top. After this, blood clots are scraped off the vertebrae, the fins are cut off and the meat is washed.

The treatment of Navaga begins with an oblique cut of the lower jaw, which also grasps the part of the abdomen. Through the hole formed, the entrails are removed. Then, cutting the skin along the back, remove it with a solid layer. After that, get rid of the fins and wash the fish. It remains only to put in her spices and send for heat treatment.

Line before the treatment is dipped in hot, and then cold water. This is done to make it easier to remove scales. Then it is scraped off with the blunt side of the knife and gutted fish in the usual way.

The lamprey has poisonous mucus, so the fish, before proceeding to its treatment, carefully sprinkle with salt and rinse.

Fish-saber goes on sale already in a gutted form. It is not subjected to stratification. The fish are simply cut into pieces and cooked. The only thing that needs to be done is to clean the fish from the black film and cut off the fin.

Further processing

Now let us briefly consider how fish dishes are made. The technology of primary processing of fish is very unified, but many dishes require certain additional procedures. Small-sized fish (pike, pike-perch, burbot, umbrella, luffar, etc.), are used for chopped and saucy dishes, snacks, cutlets and pancakes. Gentle and low-fat fish (trout, flounder, sterlet, mullet, mackerel, etc.) are served in boiled, fried or simulated form, with a variety of sauces. Tender but bony fish (carp, crucian carp, ruff, perch, bream) are served only in fried or boiled natural form. Also, all of the listed species are used to make broth. Primary processing of fish, the description of which we are considering, is only a preparatory stage in the process of cooking. Then there are many more operations.

For soup fish cut across, oval pieces. And for roasting - at an angle of 45 degrees. That the fish was more juicy and aromatic, it is salted, sprinkled with pepper and put on five minutes on a cold.

To prepare stuffed fish (usually pike perch or pike) it is pre-cooked in a special way. The pike is prepared as follows. Having cleaned the fish from the scales, the tail fin is cut off and the gills are removed from the head. Then a skin incision is made around the "neck" around the head fins. Slipping a finger under the skin, it should be separated in a circle from the meat, then tear off in the direction of the tail. Do this with extreme caution, because if the skin ruptures, the dish will not be able to. The meat left on it is cut. To prevent the fins from interfering, the skin is gently cut underneath. Then, when the skin is removed, the spine is chopped off the caudal fin. Thus, the skin remains with the tail. Next, the meat is gutted, washed and made from it minced meat.

For example, consider the procedure for preparing stuffed pike. With the resulting carcasses, the carcases cut the meat and grind it in a meat grinder, passing through a medium-sized grate. In the meat, pre-soaked in milk bread, salt and pepper. All this is stirred or even once again passed through a meat grinder. In the mince is added butter (melted or mashed), finely chopped greens, garlic and browned onion. All this is carefully ground to make a homogeneous mass, which is stuffed with pike skin. At the same time stuffing stuffing too tight does not follow, so that the shell does not burst. Then the head is sewn to the stuffed skin.

The types of primary processing of fish depend on the characteristics of a particular species. Sudak to the stuffing is not cooked like a pike. After eliminating the fish from the scales, the tail and side fins are chopped off. Then the gills are removed from the heads and the fish washed with cold water. Then proceed to skin removal. For this, the fish are laid on their sides, across the table, with their head towards themselves. Pressing it with one hand, the second make an incision along the trunk, from the tail to the head. At the same time, you should try not to leave meat on the dorsal fin. Then the operation is repeated, turning the fish on the other side.

After this, placing the fish with the belly on the table, with the help of a large knife, the dorsal fin is removed. They start to do this from the side of the tail. Then you need to cut the meat from the spine and cut the costal bones. After this, after cutting the spine near the head and tail, it is removed. Following this, the giblets are removed. Pike perch carefully washed and put on the table with the belly down. Now, from the inside of the fillet, you need to cut the costal bones. It is important that the abdomen remains intact.

When the meat is completely freed from bones, a sloping cut is made along the whole fillet in such a way that it is possible to bend the meat to the outside of the back. Then the fish is stuffed and covered with minced fillets. It remains only to bandage the fish across several places (usually about 5) with twine and send it to a deep baking tray, oiled.

Perch and cod are also stuffed. Carcases relieve scales, gut and remove the head. In this case, the primary processing of fish is complicated by the fact that on the inner side of the abdominal cavity it is necessary to cut the costal bones along the spine and remove them without damaging the skin of the fish. You also need to remove the spine. Having put the fish, freed from the bones, with the back down, from it a piece of pulp is cut out, which will go for mincemeat. So we learned what the primary processing of fish is. The photo helped us to understand this question more easily.

Waste

So, we already know what the primary processing of fish with bone skeleton is, it remains only to figure out what to do with the waste. After the cutting of fish, such wastes remain: head, caviar, milk, skin, fat, bones, fins and scales. Some of them can be used. The head of ocean fish in cooking is not used, which can not be said about the head of river species. Such heads together with bones, fins and a skin use for cooking of broths.

On sale you can meet sturgeon heads. Before cooking, you need to scald them, cut them and cut out the gills. After an hour and a half cooking, the meat and cartilage are easily separated from the bones. Such meat is used to make soups, jellies, minced meat and other. Cartilages are cooked to a soft state and used for saltwort and sauces in shredded form.

Caviar and milk of river, as well as some types of ocean fish, are a valuable product. They can be salted, marinated and served as cold snacks. From caviar are made pâtés, forshmaki and casseroles. It contains many proteins and fats, as well as vitamins A and D. However, it is important to remember that the caviar of some fish is poisonous. Such fish include: barbel, osman, temple and marinka.

The primary processing of fish, a brief description of which we considered today, is practically a non-waste production. Even scales are used in cooking. It is used in the preparation of gelled dishes. To do this, scales should be washed, filled with water in a ratio of 1: 3 and boil for two hours. Then decoction is filtered, cooled and sent to the refrigerator. The resulting jelly is then added to the filling dishes.

Finally it is worth noting that the cut fish should not be stored for long. Therefore, it is desirable to engage in the dressing shortly before the cooking process begins.

Conclusion

Today we have figured out what the primary processing of fish is. As you can see, this procedure only seems at first sight to be simple and unconstrained. In fact, this is a very responsible process. Not for nothing because it is called "Technology of primary processing of fish." Grade 6 (GEF confirms) the school regards this matter superficially. And you and I went into it in more detail.