Pike has long been used by domestic chefs in many recipes. An ear is made from it, added to pies, it is fried and stuffed. But especially tasty, spicy and aromatic, it turns out baked pike with potatoes in the oven. Such a treat always looks advantageous and elegant, making it ideal for both everyday dinner and a festive table. In addition, the combination of potatoes and fish is extremely successful and nutritious. So there is not a single reason not to prepare such a treat at least once.
Features
Many cooks do not fundamentally cook pike meat dishes, believing that they are second-class fish. Although in reality, if everything is done correctly, then you can surprise everyone. Only one thing is important - to take into account several important points.
- Any pike has a peculiar smell of mud. It is noteworthy that the larger the fish, the more tangible this aroma. You can get rid of it if you pre-soak a pike in milk. It is advisable to do this after cleaning, for several hours.
- In addition, you can get rid of the unpleasant odor with the help of fragrant herbs. Lemon also makes it possible to resolve such a problem.
- Even if you decide to bake the stuffed pike in the oven as a whole, you still need to clean it. Moreover, this should be done very carefully.
- Bake pike is exclusively fresh. If you decide to freeze your catch, then you can cook only cutlets from it. Indeed, after baking, thawed fish will be extremely dry and tasteless.
Preparation
Whatever dish you choose, before preparing it, the pike should be washed and cleaned of all unnecessary "spare parts", including the entrails. Do not be alarmed if you do not know how to cut fish and have never done anything like it before. Everything is extremely simple.
First, clean the carcass of the scales with a knife. Then carefully remove the gills. After that, make a deep incision around the head and carefully separate it so that the offal does not tear. The insides should stretch out after her.
Now you can proceed directly to cutting, if prescription is necessary. Cut the fins and tail, and then make portioned pieces from the carcass. If you decide to bake the pike in the oven as a whole, then leave it untouched.
Classic cooking
This is a recipe for pike in the oven with potatoes that does not need an additional side dish. Such dishes are already very nutritious and tasty. By the way, it is perfect for a festive banquet.
To prepare you will need:
- 1.5 kg of pike;
- 1 kg of potatoes;
- 300 g of onions;
- 500 g of sour cream;
- 100 g butter;
- 50 ml of vegetable oil;
- a pinch of paprika;
- salt and pepper to taste.
You can supplement the recipe with lemon slices, sprigs of herbs, olives and any spices.
How to bake pike in the oven with potatoes
In advance prepared, soaked carcass thoroughly rub on all sides with selected spices. If you want, you can add various spices to the seasonings. Be sure to make several oblique incisions in the ridge zone to fracture the bones and make the carcass flexible.
Gently roll the fish in spices with a ring and move it into a baking dish. Do not forget to pre-grease the container with a small amount of vegetable oil.
Melt the spread in a separate bowl.
Peel the potatoes, and then cut each root crop into several parts. Then place the tubers in melted butter and mix so that all the pieces are covered with it.
Now send the potatoes to the pike. Lay it out around the fish and inside the ring.
Send the pike and potatoes to the oven, preheated to 200 degrees, for 20 minutes.
In the meantime, your fish is baked, in the remaining oil, fry the onion chopped in small cubes, mixing it with sour cream.
Second phase
After the specified time, fill the fish with the prepared sauce and return to the oven for another 40 minutes. During this time, the treat will reach full readiness, cover with a delicious crust and acquire an unsurpassed aroma.
As a result, you get a kind of pike casserole with potatoes. In the oven, this dish languishes, saturated with the aroma of spices, spices and acquiring a delicate creamy taste.
Serve this treat hot. Pike cooked in the oven with potatoes looks incredibly appetizing. In addition, it turns out very juicy and tasty. And it is prepared quite simply, without taking a lot of time.
Whole stuffed pike in the oven
Such a dish is not only very healthy and tasty, but also incredibly effective. You just need to make a little effort, and your fish will surely surprise guests with its appetizing and elegant. It is only important to know the recipe and a few secrets that will tell you how to cook pike in a juicy oven.
So, first of all, prepare all the necessary ingredients in advance:
- fish itself, weighing up to 2 kg;
- 1 kg of potatoes;
- 2 small onions and carrots;
- 100 g of hard cheese;
- 50 ml of vegetable oil;
- 250 g mayonnaise;
- salt, pepper and other spices;
- lemon and greens for decoration.
How to cook
First, prepare the carcass by cleaning, washing and gutting it. Then rub it with the selected seasonings. In this case, you need to carefully lubricate the fish, not only outside but also inside. All mayonnaise should be used in the same way. In this form, leave the pike for a couple of hours to marinate it.
In the meantime, peel and chop the prepared vegetables. Chop the onions in half rings, and the potatoes in thin, neat circles. Carrots are best chopped with a curly grater.
Sliced potatoes salt and pepper. Then add some mayonnaise to it, mix well and let the rings soak.
Lubricate the pan with vegetable oil and place the pickled fish on it. Send carrots and onions to the belly of pike. And on top put on the carcass rings of potatoes. At the end, fill the fish with mayonnaise sauce left in the bowl.
Grate the cheese on a fine grater and sprinkle with it the prepared pike. It is he who will give the appetizer a delicious ruddy crust.
Now it remains only to place the pike with potatoes in the oven. There she should languish for 40-50 minutes at 180 degrees.
Fish baked in this way will certainly surprise you with its taste, aroma and presentable appearance. Such a treat is certainly not a shame to put on the table. No wonder the stuffed fish is considered one of the best pike dishes with potatoes. In the oven, this dish remains juicy, despite a lengthy heat treatment. In addition, this recipe is perfect for all hostesses, without exception. After all, it’s not difficult to prepare a real culinary masterpiece on it.
Last few tips
In order for the fish cooked in the oven to turn out really juicy, fragrant and tasty, several very simple rules should be observed. They will help you in the shortest possible time to learn how to cook such dishes and beautifully decorate them.
- If the parameters of your pike are so great that it is difficult to put in the oven, cut off her head. If it fits entirely, it is best to leave it for greater effect.
- As spices for such a treat you can use coriander, marjoram, basil, paprika, thyme and, of course, the usual dill and parsley.
- If you bake a pike whole, along with your head, be sure to get your eyes and gills.
- To get rid of the smell of tina, among other things, helps lemon juice and mayonnaise.
- How to cook pike in a juicy oven? Very simple! The main secret lies in the freshness of fish and the time of heat treatment. In other words, it is extremely important not to overdo the pike in the oven. So try not to backtrack on your recipe.
- It happens that after baking, the fish sticks to the mold or foil. And to prevent this from happening, you need to generously lubricate the bottom of the dishes and other materials on which the carcass lies with vegetable oil.
- To effectively decorate and present a pike baked in the oven, insert a toothpick into her mouth in advance. And before you send the fish to the table, put in a small tomato or lemon.
- After rubbing the pike with spices and seasonings, leave it at least for half an hour aside. So, the taste of fish will reveal even more and more interesting. A correctly pickled pike is very spicy and unusual.
- Keep in mind that river fish is in perfect harmony with bell peppers, onions and carrots.