You probably noticed that on the shelves of grocery stores and food supermarkets there are chilled and frozen fish . The river is often sold lively. And sea fish, immediately after catching, is processed directly on ships - they are cleaned of scales, gutted and their heads removed. Then the finished carcasses are frozen and sent to stores for sale. Thanks to this quick processing, sea fish do not lose their appearance; all useful substances are stored in it. Having bought a filet or whole carcasses, you need to know how to defrost a fish before cooking. The taste and quality of ready-made meals depends on this in many respects.
There are several ways of this important stage of preparatory work before any heat treatment of fish. In no case should carcasses be placed in warm or hot water for thawing as soon as possible, because they will become loose, and the dishes will turn out tasteless. The easiest and most gentle option to preserve the qualities and appearance of the product is natural defrosting. To do this, the fish, without removing from the package, is moved from the freezer to the lower shelf of the refrigerator or left for several hours at room temperature. After softening the pieces, open the bag, drain the liquid and begin cooking. The less juice defrosted during defrosting, the better.
And what if you do not have time to wait for the natural thawing of the product? Then you need to apply additional measures. Below are some tips on how to quickly defrost a fish. Depending on the type of marine product, size and available time, select the option you want.
How to quickly defrost fish in saline
Dissolve table salt in cold water per one kilogram of fish per table. spoon and liter of liquid. Thawing small specimens and fillets will take from an hour to two, and large carcasses will need twice as much time.
How to quickly defrost fish in the microwave
The second popular and easiest way is to use a microwave oven. It is only suitable for medium sized pieces that fit inside the fixture. Select the desired mode and place the fish on the dish. Do not forget to periodically remove the dishes by opening the door, and turn the pieces over for even processing. After the desired time has elapsed, leave the product inside the chamber for another five to ten minutes.
How to quickly defrost fish in a water bath
This method is based on the use of warm air to thaw pieces. Boil water in a large pan over a colander. Place the container in very low heat. Then put in a colander, through which hot air will flow upward, a smaller dish with frozen unpacked fish. Periodically change the lower pieces with the upper. When the fish is soft, lay it on a paper towel to drain excess moisture. Check if the carcass is completely thawed. To do this, pierce with a fork in several places. If you don’t feel the crunch of ice, then you can start cooking.
With all the speed of the above methods, try not to use additional methods of defrosting products, but plan your work in the kitchen wisely.