Sprats - a fish with a length of not more than 12 centimeters and weighing about 15 grams, belonging to the herring family. She lives in the Baltic Sea, in small quantities found in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
For many years, canned fish called "Sprats" have been made from this fish. Currently, various small fish are used to make canned food. We eat sprats from herring, sprats, sprats, etc. And only at the Baltic fish factories traditionally prepare "Sprats" from the corresponding fish.
Thanks to a unique technology that does not change over the years, canned foods retain their original taste regardless of the type of fish.
Some interesting facts
A random find (workers repairing an old building discovered unused packaging for sprats) suggests that sprats (canned food) were produced in Riga from 1890 on Malaya Molochnaya Street by the company Moris & Co. Canned food was recommended to be used chilled (this was indicated on the label), and they were called "Royal Sprats".
Fish cans are stacked in different ways. It depends on the time of year when it was caught. In winter, the fish is laid upside down, and in summer, the abdomen is up.
Summer fish is more oily, does not move much in warm water, and the back of the fish cracks when cooking.
A monument has been erected to the sprats: a fish jumps out of a bronze can. The monument was opened in 2008 in Mamonovo, where a large canned fish production plant is located.
How to cook canned sprats
The canned fish is washed thoroughly, the head is removed, stacked in rows on a special baking sheet and sent to the smokehouse for three hours. Next, the fish is tightly packed in jars, filled with oil, seasoned with salt and pepper. Banks cork and sterilize.
Important: real sprats are prepared only using vegetable oil, salt and pepper. No other additives and spices are allowed, if they are indicated on the can of sprat, then, most likely, the fish in them is of poor quality.
Recently, some manufacturers have been saving on smoking fish. Prepared carcasses are simply treated with chemical "liquid smoke", which saves the manufacturer's money, but is extremely unprofitable for the health of the consumer.
In order to be sure of the quality of the fish and the method of smoking, you can cook homemade sprats from herring yourself.
Recipe "Home-made sprats in the oven"
Cooking sprats according to the proposed recipe is a simple process and is available to any housewife. As a substitute for "liquid smoke" tea and onion husks are used. Sprats from herring, the photo of which is presented below, are prepared from the following products:
- frozen herring - 1 kg;
- sunflower oil - 200 grams;
- leaf tea (black) - 2 tablespoons;
- bay leaf - 8-10 pieces;
- black pepper (peas) - 10-12 pieces;
- salt - 2 tablespoons;
- onion peel - 20 grams.
Rinse the onion husk, pour 2 cups of water and boil for 15-20 minutes. Cool and strain the broth.
Brew tea in 2 cups of water, cool, strain.
Thaw fish, rinse, decapitate and gut.
Place the fish tightly in a heat-resistant bowl with a thick bottom. Lay salak upside down, as if in canned food.
Sprinkle fish with pepper (peas) and bay leaf, pour oil. Gently push and tilt everything so that the oil fill penetrates between the carcasses of the fish.
Mix tea, infusion of onion husks, add salt. Stir everything well until the salt crystals are completely dissolved.
The resulting saline solution pour the fish.
Put the herring in an oven preheated to 150 degrees, bake at the same temperature until the solution boils, then reduce the heat, reduce the temperature to 120 degrees, cook for about 2 hours.
Then allow the dish to cool, and only then take out the prepared sprats.
The recipe can be changed to your liking:
- add cloves;
- stronger salt;
- increase the time of "languishing" in the oven (in this case, the bones will become completely soft);
- increase the amount of strong tea (the fish will become harder).
Cooking sprats from herring on the stove
If you are not interested in messing with onion husks, tea and an oven, and want to cook sprats from herring at home, then use the following recipe.
Products:
- salaka s / m - 1 kilogram;
- sunflower oil - 4 tablespoons;
- allspice and sweet peas - 10 pieces each;
- bay leaf - 3 or 4 pieces;
- food salt - 1 teaspoon without a hill;
- vinegar (preferably fruit) - 1 tablespoon;
- granulated sugar - 1 teaspoon without a hill.
Defrost fish, rinse thoroughly, decapitate, gut. Place the herring in a pan with a thick bottom, salt, sprinkle with pepper, sugar, put a bay leaf, pour vinegar and sunflower oil. Add the contents of the pan with water so that the fish is half in the water.
Close the pan with a lid and put on a slow fire. Cooking time is approximately 2 hours. Then remove the pan from the heat, cool completely, remove the finished sprats.
To speed up the cooking process, you can use a pressure cooker or slow cooker, in which case the fish will be cooked in 1 hour.
Soya-based Sprats
The original recipe for herring sprats involves the use of soy sauce. The dish is cooked on the stove and pickled for 24 hours.
Required Products:
- fresh-frozen herring - 1.2 kg;
- soy sauce - 1/2 cup;
- tea leaves - 1 cup;
- sunflower oil - 1 cup;
- food salt - 1/2 teaspoon;
- granulated sugar - 1 teaspoon;
- bay leaf - 3 or 4 pieces.
Thaw the fish, rinse thoroughly, decapitate, gut, put in a pan with a thick bottom or casserole, pour soy sauce.
Mix tea leaves with butter, put sugar, salt and bay leaf. Mix everything well.
Pour the resulting mixture into fish.
Put the pan on fire, close the lid and simmer for 1 hour.
Do not turn the fish over or take it out. Put a pot of fish for a day in the refrigerator. Then the sprats can be removed and served. Delicious treat is ready.
Small fish sprats
The proposed recipe allows you to cook sprats from herring (small), capelin, top water, sprats and other small fish.
Ingredients Required:
- fish (small) - 1 kilogram;
- sunflower oil - 0.5 cups;
- table salt - 1 tablespoon without top;
- vinegar (apple) - 1/4 cup;
- bay leaf - 4-5 pieces;
- onions - 2-3 pieces;
- black pepper, cloves, parsley root - to taste.
Defrost fish, wash thoroughly, gut, remove heads and fins.
Peel, wash, cut the onion rings.
Put a layer of onion on the bottom of the cauldron, lay a layer of fish on top, then a layer of onion, a layer of fish, etc. Between the layers on the fish put a bay leaf, parsley root, cloves, black pepper and peas.
Dilute vinegar in a glass of water.
Mix diluted vinegar with sunflower oil and salt.
Pour the mixture into the fish, close the lid and put on a small fire. Cook the dish for 1.5 hours.
To taste sprats are in no way inferior to canned sprats.
Conclusion
Sprats from herring, capelin, sprats and other small fish are easily prepared at home. The recipes above do not require special skills, exotic products and a lot of time. But following them, even an inexperienced housewife will be able to cook a delicacy that will be no worse than canned sprats in stores. And the usefulness of the dish is not in doubt: sprats from herring at home are always fresh and do not contain harmful impurities.
Cook with love, please yourself and your loved ones.
Enjoy your meal!