Currently, modern technological processes and industries involved in the production of food products significantly simplify the life of culinary specialists and housewives. The time spent on cooking should be minimal, and the taste of the dish should be perfect. Do you not adhere to this principle when preparing your own dinner?
Semi-finished products are food products that make cooking much easier for us, making the process simpler and faster in time. Today we will talk about semi-finished fish products.
They are one of the most popular product groups for customers. How are they produced, how should they be stored properly, and what can be prepared from such semi-finished products in your kitchen? Let's get it right.
Semi-finished fish
Any semi-finished fish product is a culinary "product", which is at the stage of intermediate readiness. Semi-finished fish products are mainly carcasses specially cut, devoid of bones and inedible parts. Also, fish semi-finished products include cutlet and dumpling mass, small-sized and portioned products.
Simple and complex semi-finished fish products can be combined into one huge list. The main demand, of course, is fish, devoid of bones and divided into fillets, which are convenient to cook. Cutlets, dumplings, minced fish, zrazy, etc. are very much in demand by cooks.
The main advantages
As you know, any food product has its culinary advantages and disadvantages, production technological advantages and disadvantages. The same applies to semi-finished products.
- Plus for manufacturers - such products will always be in great food demand.
- The preparation of complex semi-finished products from fish or meat significantly reduces the total cooking time, which is a big plus for busy housewives.
- Semi-finished foods are always available regardless of the time of year.
- Culinary trends also have no effect on such products.
- For producers, the great advantage of these products is that they are free to choose: create an assortment of semi-finished products from fish of a complex or simpler type in production. Each manufacturer can choose for himself a technological process that will bring only profit.
Defrosting fish
Fish, which will later be used for the preparation of semi-finished products, is subjected to mechanical processing. For production, frozen fish is most often used. Before proceeding with the treatment, it must be thawed. This is done in two ways. First, fish can be thawed in the air. Secondly, in special volumetric bathtubs with water.
As a rule, defrosting in air is used for fish in large briquettes. It is placed in the air, covered with a special protective film, in order to reduce the amount of evaporation and the resulting juice. The use of a plastic film helps to avoid weight loss, which will certainly accompany the process with this type of defrosting of fish.
Water is commonly used to thaw individual fish carcasses. Fish is laid on special metal grates in the form of baskets. The incoming water washes the carcasses, contributing to their defrosting, and then flows into the sewer. The duration of the defrosting process will depend on the amount of fish (in kg). During the whole process, temperature measurements are carried out several times. As soon as it is about -1 degree, the carcass has thawed - you can proceed with further work with it.
If we compare the two methods, then the second manufacturers use an order of magnitude more often. Firstly, the maximum amount of nutrients left in the fish. Secondly, the process takes less time. And thirdly, when defrosting in air, the product loses up to ten percent of its mass, which does not happen in the case of water.
Processing scheme
After the fish is thawed, it is cleaned of scales, fins are removed, the head is removed and all entrails are removed. Once all these important activities have been completed, the fish carcasses are washed under running water and placed on special grilles. In production, careful processing of fish is very important. Preparation of semi-finished products in this case is much simpler, faster and better.
Types of semi-finished products
Depending on how the semi-finished fish products are used, they can all be divided into several groups.
- For cooking. A whole fish or individual links (pieces) are used. Cooking portions can be with or without bones. In order to prevent deformation during cooking, each fish piece is pierced or cut in several places.
- For poaching. As a rule, this method of cooking fish is most often used for large holidays and special banquets. Fish is allowed (warmed up) in water or in sauce. It uses semi-finished fish products in the form of a whole carcass or separate pieces without skin and bones. Small incisions are also made on the skin.
- For frying. This is the main preparation of semi-finished fish. Here links, whole fish, portioned portions, boneless and skinless fillets can be used.
- Also, salted fish, as well as pieces separately marinated, can be attributed to fish semi-finished products.
Breading
The preparation of semi-finished products from fish using breading guarantees not only a golden crust and pleasant crispy taste, but also the maximum preservation of all useful substances and juices.
The type of breading the fish will directly depend on the type of frying. Flour breading is most commonly used. For this, premium flour is used, most often wheat. There is also a red and white breading. Red is a dried wheat bread, ground to a cracker. White is black, as a rule, already stale bread, ground with a sieve to the state of crushed peas.
There is also a special preparation of semi-finished products from meat and fish. Specialties are semi-finished products that use crushed almonds, corn flakes and coconut flakes for breading. In order for the breading to have a better grip on the product, the fish was dipped in the egg mixture before that. Eggs can be mixed with milk, water, or in pure form.
Types of semi-finished breading
Types of semi-finished products from fish can differ not only in the processing method, but also in the way of breading. Distinguish between a simple and double method of breading.
Simple breading is most often used for ordinary frying, which are processed fish. Portion slices or a whole carcass of fish season with salt, add ground pepper, roll in flour or breadcrumbs from crackers. If a large batch of semi-finished products is being prepared, then the flour is mixed with salt and immediately pieces are crushed in such a mixture so that the salinity is uniform.
Double breading is used in cases where further deep-frying will occur. Here, as a rule, two types of breading and egg composition are used. First, the pieces are rolled in flour, then dipped in the egg mixture, and then the second time they are crushed in red or white breading.
Cooking semi-finished products
In addition to those intended for ordinary frying, there are semi-finished products for deep-frying, on the grill, on a spit, etc.
Fish for grilling (on the grill), as a rule, is taken whole. Also used are portioned pieces rid of bones and peels. Pre-pieces can be pickled in lemon juice with spices, salt, red or black pepper, herbs.
Prefabricated fish for spit frying are links of sturgeon and other valuable species of fish. Portion slices are cut (in order to preserve the juiciness after cooking), salt, pepper, add spices and dried herbs. In some cases, pickle. Then put on skewers.
Knives and cutlets
Also to the fish semi-finished products include kneln and cutlet mass. Most often, fish is used for cooking, which contains a minimum number of bones. It can be grayling and pike, zander and pink salmon, silver hake or catfish. To begin with, the fish is processed, the fillet is separated and the mass is already prepared from it for the preparation of cutlets or knives.
Cutlet mass can be used both for the preparation of semi-finished fish products, and immediately packaged for sale. Products such as milk, chicken egg, wheat bread are also used in the cutlet mass.
What can I cook from it
- Cutlets.
- Zrazy.
- Meatballs.
- Fish rolls.
- Chips.
- Fish bread.
- Body.
Knife mass differs from cutlet mass in that when it is cooked, a more friable and delicate structure is achieved. Fish for this type of semi-finished product is passed through a special very fine grill in a meat grinder. Soaked bread and raw chicken eggs are also added. In more expensive versions of the dairy mass, high-quality cream is used instead of milk.
The most popular types of fish semi-finished products
Semi-finished fish products are a very popular product in the modern grocery market. Since fish contains a large amount of substances useful for our body, vitamins, polyunsaturated fatty acids, etc., it will never be left out of the kitchen.
Especially popular are:
- Smooth neat pieces of boneless fish or fish fillet.
- Special fish cutting - gutted carcass rid of bones, skin, head and viscera.
- Shredded fish meat (cutlet semi-finished products).
- Semi-finished product. This includes not only meatballs, zrazy and meatballs, but also fish sticks.
- And, of course, everyone’s beloved and most often used for picnics and holidays in nature steaks. These are pieces of fish having a thickness of one to three centimeters. They are very convenient for grilling.
Storage of fish semi-finished products
Many housewives are interested in such a thing as the storage of semi-finished fish. Most people think that fish can be stored in any freezer for any number of hours, days, months. Of course, no one argues that fish semi-finished products in no way deteriorate, because they are covered with a thick layer of ice. But you should understand that such a long freeze will only lead to the fact that you will eat a completely fresh and vitamin-free product.
The longest shelf life of fish products in the freezer is six months. Moreover, the fish fillet can be stored there only from three to four months, minced fish and even less - from two to three months. The shortest shelf life is fish dumplings - one month.
A whole fish carcass, rid of the head and entrails, will last for five to six months. If you will store fish semi-finished products at a temperature of 0 degrees, then the shelf life will be only 24 hours. But remember: the faster you eat a fresh fish product, the tastier and healthier it will be.
Tip 1: if you want to slightly extend the shelf life of fish semi-finished products, then they can be slightly salted before being sent to the freezer. Only you should remember this when you start cooking them. The second time you do not need to salt the dish.
Tip 2: as soon as you bring the fish product home, immediately get rid of the layer of plastic film in which it is packed. Under such "armor" semi-finished products are perfectly transported, but here they are completely deprived of air access. Long-term storage in a plastic bag is also not recommended. It is better to purchase special “breathing” containers and place fish in them, and then send them for storage in a refrigerator or freezer.