Sharks are the oldest representatives of marine fauna. They live in oceans and seas both at great depths and in coastal waters. Today, more than four hundred and fifty different species of this dangerous predatory fish are known. True, for people it does not pose a clear threat. A person is more interested in shark meat, which is considered a very useful food product. In addition, it also has outstanding taste.
Valuable inhabitant of the deep sea
Sharks have long been the subject of fishing. Moreover, the hunt for them was usually carried out in two directions:
- A full-fledged capture, when after cutting the carcass practically all parts of this animal go into processing.
- Fishing for the extraction of valuable fins. This method is extremely unreasonable, since with it the rest of the carcass is simply thrown into the water or left to rot on land.
When fishing on an industrial scale, the main object is, of course, shark meat. The remaining parts also find their application. For example, cartilage and the liver are excellent raw materials for the production of valuable medicines. Doctors say that they can make a drug that can fight cancer. The skin of this animal is widely used in haberdashery. In addition, it is an excellent abrasive material. Fins have long been a valuable object of oriental medicine, as well as an ingredient in delicious soup. Shark meat was salted and dried thousands of years ago. Today many interesting and tasty dishes are prepared from it: fragrant pancakes, grilled steaks, juicy stews, salads and even pies.
Shark fritters
Like other marine life, the shark is primarily a source of valuable meat. It contains a huge amount:
- squirrel;
- minerals (calcium, iron, sodium, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium);
- vitamins (A, PP, B1, B2).
The energy value of 100 grams of fresh product is only 130 kilocalories. After cooking, as a rule, it becomes much higher. The simplest dish that can be prepared with fresh shark meat is fritters. To do this, you will need 2 eggs, half a glass of flour, 1 carrot, salt, 2 cups of shark minced meat, half an onion, a little glutamate, pepper and 3 teaspoons of chopped green onions.
Preparing such a dish is very simple:
- First, carrots and both types of onions need to be finely chopped.
- Beat eggs thoroughly until a stable foam is formed.
- All ingredients mix well. The composition should be quite viscous.
- Put the mass in a pan with a tablespoon and fry in a large amount of boiling fat until the fritters surface is evenly browned.
To make the products look more attractive, a couple of drops of food coloring, for example, yellow, can be added to the dough.
Grilled meat
Perhaps the most popular dish is shark steak. How to cook it yourself to maximize the uniqueness and special taste of the main product? First you need to choose the necessary ingredients: 4 slices of fillet, teaspoon of zest and 7 tablespoons of lemon juice, 3 cloves of garlic, 50 grams of butter, salt, chili pepper, 70 grams of olive oil, ground pepper, herbs (onion leek, dill) and vegetable oil for frying.
The cooking process consists of several stages:
- 6 tablespoons of juice and the rest of the ingredients (with the exception of fillet, butter and herbs) mix in a deep container, chopping vegetables finely.
- Cut the fillet across the fibers into pieces 3-4 cm thick.
- Transfer the preparations into a bowl with marinade and leave them there for 2 hours.
- Oil the grill grate, and then fry prepared steaks on it for 5 minutes on each side. Turning the pieces over, they need to be greased again with marinade and sprinkled with pepper.
- Make a sauce of melted butter and chopped herbs. If necessary, it can be slightly salted.
- Put the prepared steaks on a plate and pour with fresh sauce.
As a side dish for such a dish, baked potatoes are suitable. And you can drink it with beer or any white wine.
Oven dish
In the oven you can also very tasty bake shark steak. How to cook such a dish using a minimum of the simplest foods? Based on 6 medium servings, you will need:
shark stack weighing 900 grams, a raw egg, 5 grams of salt, a tablespoon of mayonnaise, a little seasoning for fish, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and breadcrumbs.
Cooking Technique:
- First, using a sharp knife, you need to cut off the skin from the steak. Cut the remaining pulp into small pieces.
- Put the products in a plate, salt, sprinkle with seasoning, and then add soy sauce and mayonnaise.
- All this needs to be thoroughly mixed and left to marinate the meat in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
- Beat the egg separately in the bowl.
- After time, each piece of steak is first dipped in an egg, and then breaded in breadcrumbs.
- Fold the blanks on a baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes in the oven at a temperature of 180 degrees.
If a blue shark steak is used for work , then it must be taken into account that this meat is very satisfying. Therefore, the side dish to such a dish should be quite light.
Valuable Seafood
Many do not even suspect how useful shark meat . At first glance, this is an ordinary fish. There are hundreds of thousands of such inhabitants in the ocean.
Having carefully studied the internal structure of the animal, scientists came to the conclusion that shark meat is a particularly valuable food product:
- It contains a huge amount of minerals, which are simply necessary for the normal functioning and life of the human body.
- Shark meat has a lot of protein, which in its amino acid composition is very similar to beef.
- All fat is usually found in shark liver. It is practically absent in meat. Therefore, shark fillet can be considered an ideal dietary product. True, in its structure, it retains moisture very poorly. After cooking, such meat becomes dry and tasteless. In addition, it contains substances that give the product a slightly bitter taste. These properties must be taken into account during cooking.
It is believed that such meat is very useful for men, but for children and pregnant women, its use should be limited due to mercury and other toxic substances that accumulate in the tissues.
Product taste
Experienced culinary specialists know that shark meat tastes not very pleasant. Firstly, it contains substances that give the product a small bitterness. It can be removed by prolonged washing for several hours under running water and soaking in saline. An unpleasant aftertaste disappears after such procedures. If this is not done, then the dish will be unsuitable for eating. Secondly, fresh meat sometimes has an ammonia flavor. This is mainly due to improper handling of the carcass. Immediately after trapping, you must first gut it and then release all the blood from the body. Otherwise, urea will immediately turn into ammonia, and the meat will acquire an extremely unpleasant “aroma”, which will negatively affect the taste of the product. You can get rid of it if you soak the meat in milk, vinegar or citric acid.
Therefore, the cutting and pre-treatment of such fish is always given special attention. Properly prepared meat should be dense, light with a subtle pinkish tinge.
Possible danger
Many people like shark meat. The benefits and harms of this product have long been the subject of research by many scientists. Now it is no secret to anyone that fresh fillet is not just a delicacy, but a rather dangerous product from a chemical point of view.
Firstly, it contains a small amount of mercury. The bulk of this element is excreted from the body of the animal through the liver. But a small amount still remains in the muscle tissue. Secondly, during long-term storage, toxic substances accumulate in meat, which can cause irreparable harm to the human body. That is why carcass sharks, as a rule, do not freeze, but are immediately pretreated and then used for their intended purpose. If fresh meat lies in the refrigerator for some time, then no procedures will help to remove life-threatening toxins from it. This feature of the product is the reason that its use should be limited to small children or pregnant women.
Strange food
Eating sharks has long been a habit for residents of Africa, Asia, South America and even Europe. Meat and other parts of this animal are used to prepare a wide variety of dishes. But perhaps the strangest of them is the Haukarl. In fact, this is a fillet of a Greenland shark, though not fresh, but rotten. For residents of Iceland, such a dish is part of an old national tradition. For its preparation, the meat must first be separated from the bone, and then put it in wooden boxes and bury in the ground. There, the fillet must lie for at least 3 months. After that, it can be eaten. Usually this delicacy is slightly dried up, hanging it on hooks under the ceiling. If necessary, a piece of the desired size is cut from a solid plate. The cooking technology of this dish was invented by the ancient Vikings. The fact is that the meat of the Greenland shark smells strongly of ammonia. The reason for this “aroma” is that this fish has absolutely no kidneys and other ways to remove urine. The accumulated liquid impregnates the meat, and is removed by prolonged storage in the ground. But this does not solve the problem completely. Even when dried, the meat retains an unpleasant odor. Therefore, it is usually eaten rarely and little by little.
“Haukarl” tastings are served to tourists, cut into small pieces and advised to swallow immediately. If you chew them, then the taste of ammonia immediately manifests itself. In order not to feel it, you need something strong, for example, a glass of good vodka.
Roasting secrets
There are different ways to cook shark meat. The most important condition is the freshness of the main product. It must be remembered that as a result of long-term storage, meat becomes tougher every day. If, for example, there is a pair of fresh steaks available, then you can very tasty bake them with vegetables. To do this, you will additionally need an onion, half a lemon, salt, pods of sweet pepper, 50 grams of vegetable oil, 1 tomato, 10 peas of black pepper and a little cardamom.
The preparation of the dish is very simple:
- First you need to remove the ridge from the steaks, and then carefully cut the skin from them.
- Put the food on a plate, salt, sprinkle with lemon juice, and then sprinkle with spices.
- Cut onion into half rings, tomatoes into slices, and pepper into strips.
- Heat oil in a pan. After that, fry the onion in it for 3 minutes.
- Add pepper and continue heating for another 2 minutes.
- Transfer the hot vegetables into a baking bag.
- Place the fish on top and cover it with fresh tomatoes.
- Fasten the package and send it to the oven for 20 minutes. The temperature inside should be at least 200 degrees. After 10 minutes, the bag can be opened so that the products can be baked a little.
Such an unusual dish can be prepared for the holiday and put it as a decoration in the center of the table.