Pike is a commercial fish. Unlike its marine relatives, it is available, as it is very common in the fresh waters of America and Eurasia. It can be found fresh in the markets and fish stores. Pike meat is bony, dense with a low fat content (1.1%) and a high proportion of protein (18.4%). In the mid-twentieth century, the British considered it to be delicious, however, this opinion has been preserved in many regions to this day.
In the article we will talk about how to cook pike fillets in various ways. The recipes are simple, the ingredients are available, but at the same time interesting. Dishes from fresh fish can decorate even the most demanding festive table.
How to separate the fillet?
Large specimens are usually let on the fillet, and the ear is prepared from shallow pike. There is nothing complicated in cutting a carcass of a fish, it is enough to take into account a few simple tips and put them into practice.
Pike should be cleaned of scales, gutted, making an incision on the abdomen, and rinse well under running clean water. Then dry the fish and proceed to separate the pike fillet (recipes with photos will be presented later on). Large abdominal fins cut. The cutting method, which is presented below, was borrowed from professional fishermen supplying pike meat for sale. Make a cut at the head to the ridge, but do not cut through. Turn the knife so that it lies on the ridge with the tip to the side of the tail.
Carefully guide it towards the dorsal fin, and then turn up. Next, separate the sides with the same method. Insert a knife into the incision near the branchial arches and guide them along the ridge. Separate the fish meat from the skin with a knife. Thus, you get three good pieces that various recipes require. Pike fillets can be separated from the tail, do as shown. Use your head and ridge for cooking soup. Separated fish fillet is best eaten immediately, but if necessary, you can freeze it - it will be a ready-to-cook semi-finished product.
Spicy sauce and baked pike fillet
Recipes in the oven always impress with the fact that the minimum amount of oil is used, and the fish is actually cooked in its own juice. The dish turns out less caloric and more useful compared to the frying process. To begin with, we offer you an extremely simple recipe, the highlight of which is the sauce. To cook fish you will need:
- pike fillet - 500 g;
- olive oil - 2 tbsp;
- to taste - salt and pepper.
Grate the fish on both sides with a mixture of pepper and salt. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. A sheet covered with parchment paper or a special silicone mat, sprinkle with olive oil and carefully lay the fish on it. Bake for 15-20 minutes. until the fish begins to separate, the main thing is not to dry it.
Sauce making
Cook spicy sauce at this time. In a jar with a screw cap, place: 0.5 cups of wine vinegar (red or white), 2 tbsp. chopped greens of dill and parsley, olive oil, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, two minced cloves of garlic and shallots (1 pc.), 1 tsp. paprika, salt to taste, a pinch of cayenne pepper and ground cumin. Shake all contents with vigorous movements until completely mixed and leave for half an hour.
Serve the finished fish in portions, pouring sauce on top and decorating with greens, you can boil or bake vegetables on the side dish.
Crispy baked pike fillet
If guests are on the doorstep or urgently need to feed their family a delicious dinner, then choose simple and quick recipes. Crispy pike fillet is cooked in literally 20 minutes, and you only need 4 ingredients: fish, egg, cornmeal and any vegetable oil.
Beat two eggs with salt and ground pepper to taste. Pour corn flour (1 cup) into a shallow, wide plate. Preheat the oven to 170-180 degrees. Cover the baking sheet with foil or baking paper, and then grease with vegetable oil. Dip portioned fish into beaten eggs, then roll in cornmeal. Gently place them on a baking sheet and bake until crisp. In time, the process will take about fifteen to twenty minutes. Remember to flip the pieces from one side to the other once.
Serve the dish with lemon wedges. Fish sprinkled with juice will be even tastier and more piquant. Boiled asparagus beans are perfect as a side dish. Or you can use a pike in a cornmeal crisp as a snack. In this case, cut the fillet into strips and serve with tartar sauce.
Pike fillet in batter
The batter recipes are very diverse both in terms of ingredient composition and method and time of preparation. We suggest you pay attention to one of the simplest recipes that will allow you to cook pike tasty and quickly. Liquid beer batter is particularly well suited for freshwater white fish, including perch and pike perch. To prepare it, you need to take:
- 125 g general purpose flour;
- 1 egg
- 3 cloves of garlic (chopped);
- ½ tsp ground black pepper;
- 350 ml of beer (light or dark - at your discretion).
Mix all the ingredients for the batter thoroughly until a homogeneous mass is formed. Dry the fish fillet and cut into equal portions. Gently dip them in batter and spread them in preheated vegetable oil. Fry on each side for 3-4 minutes until golden brown.
Fillet fried with sesame seeds
Perhaps every housewife has her own fish recipes. Pike fillet, prepared, it would seem, in such a simple way as roasting, has no special secrets. But it’s worth adding spicy herbs and spices to the ingredients, as everything changes. For cooking you will need:
- pike fillet - 600 g;
- sesame seeds - 50 g;
- vegetable oil - 30 g;
- dill, parsley, green onions - 30 g each;
- salt and black pepper;
- lemon - 1 pc.
Use pike fillet whole or cut into portions immediately. Then grease it with pepper, salt and lemon juice. Let stand for literally 15-20 minutes. Pieces of fish are breaded in sesame seeds and put in a pan with warmed vegetable oil. Fry fish on both sides until a light golden hue.
The stated cooking option can be included in the simplest recipes. Serve pike fillet to the table with finely chopped greens, fresh onions and boiled vegetables.