Carp is one of the most delicious river fish belonging to the carp family. It has very few seeds, and due to its low calorie content and fast digestibility, it is recommended for children's and diet menus.
A bit of delicacy info
You can cook, fry, salted, smoked sazan, but it’s best to just bake this wonderful fish in the oven. After all, it is both incredibly tasty and healthy.
As a rule, carp has a large body, fatty and tender white meat. It turns out very well if you cook it whole in the oven. In this case, it is best to use food foil, which will help preserve the juiciness of the fish. The meat of carp is dense and tender, it has very few seeds. That is why it is very convenient for any treatment.
Features of choice
Experienced cooks love carp for its excellent palatability, minimal bones, amazing fillet juiciness and ease of preparation. But in order for the dish from it to turn out really good, you need to know some tricks of the process and the rules for choosing fish.
When choosing a suitable carcass, try to give preference to a large individual, which contains more meat. And for tasting to bring real pleasure, you need to choose a truly fresh carp, which did not give in to freezing. And in order to identify the quality of the carcass, you need to carefully examine it and pay attention to certain signs.
The fish scales should be clean, without any stains or damage. If there are a lot of defects on the case of the carp, it means that he was not quite healthy.
Gills in fresh fish always have a bright red or pink color. But if they are too pale or cloudy, the carcass is on the counter already quite a while. It is better to refuse to acquire such a carp - it certainly will not bring you any benefit.
Keep in mind that freshly caught fish's eyes are always transparent and slightly bulging. But if they are clouded and sunken, the carp was caught a very long time ago.
If such a fish does not live in your region, then you should learn how to choose frozen carcasses correctly. If the carp is covered with glaze, then it should be absolutely even, without any defects. Tubercles and cracks appear only after poor-quality freezing.
If the fish is chilled in a dry way, then there should not be ice on it at all. And the carcass itself should be completely smooth and even.
Fish preparation
Before you start cooking carp in the oven, it must be properly processed. The first step is to clean the carcass of the scales, then remove the gills from it and gut it. Pull out the insides from the carp, with extreme care, so as not to accidentally pierce the gallbladder. The liquid inside it is so bitter and caustic that the meat is soaked in it in just a few seconds. If this happens, then the fish will simply have to be thrown away, because it will be irreversibly damaged.
If you are lucky and there is milk or caviar in your carp, then take them out and wash them. In the future, this can be returned to the fish and also baked with other products.
If you plan to cook the whole carp in the oven, it is better to leave your head. After all the manipulations carried out, the carcass must be thoroughly washed. Now she is ready for further processing.
Cooking secrets
You can cook the carp in the oven at your discretion: slices, steaks or whole, with potatoes or other vegetables, using a uniform, sleeve or foil. But be that as it may, in the process some features of the fish should be taken into account so that it turns out to be truly tasty, fragrant and beautiful.
- In order to rid the carp of the unpleasant odor characteristic of all freshwater inhabitants, it can be stuffed with lemon slices, a bunch of dill or onion rings.
- To give the fish even greater juiciness, send a few pieces of butter to it.
- Baking carp in the oven is best done using foil. So the fish will languish in its juice and it will turn out to be unusually juicy.
- If this is the first time you have taken such a dish, prepare the whole carp - it is easiest to do this.
- The carp is baked quite quickly: 40 minutes are enough for a large carcass, and 20 pieces. It is necessary to place it only in a well-heated oven at a temperature of 200 degrees.
- Too long baking will turn a juicy fillet into a dry, tasteless dish.
- If you want your fish to have a pleasant golden crust, open the foil 10 minutes before the end of cooking.
- Serve the carp in a hot form. As a side dish, absolutely any vegetables or boiled rice are suitable for it.
Oven Baked Recipe
This fish, when properly processed, is divinely delicious. If you decide to bake the whole carp, then by all means pick up a large individual for this dish - it has a minimum of bones and a lot of juicy steamed meat that just needs to feed the children.
To get rid of the repulsive smell of tina, use freshly squeezed citrus juice: oranges, lemon, grapefruit - any fruit that is at hand will do. There is a simpler way: soak the carcass for half an hour in water with the addition of vinegar.
Before cooking, it must be cleaned, gutted and rid of fins.
Coating the fish with sauce will make your treat juicy, ruddy and mouth-watering, especially if you plan to bake carp in the oven in foil.
To prepare the dish you will need:
- carcass of fish weighing up to 2 kg;
- 2 tablespoons of French mustard;
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise;
- 2 teaspoons of salt;
- 3 tangerines;
- 0.5 teaspoon ground pepper.
Operating procedure
Transfer the carcass prepared according to all the rules into a deep container and carefully rub it on all sides with salt and pepper. If you wish, you can also use thyme or oregano. Leave the fish in the marinade for 10-15 minutes.
In the meantime, peel the prepared tangerines from the skin and white film, and then divide them into slices. Then squeeze each slice by squeezing the juice onto the fish. Try to make sure that the liquid from the citrus fruits gets inside the carcass. After that, leave the carp to marinate for another half hour.
If instead of tangerines you take an orange or grapefruit, then you will need the juice of one fruit. If you have only lemon in stock, half the fruit will be enough.
In a separate bowl, mix mayonnaise and mustard. Rub the fish inside and out with this mixture. This must be done after the set time. In the abdomen of the carp, you can put the remaining slices of fruit after pressing. After that, put the fish on the foil and pinch the edges of the envelope.
In this form, put the carp in the oven for 40 minutes. Do you remember what you need to do to get a delicious crust on top? Just unfold the foil 10 minutes before completion.
Carefully remove the golden fish from the envelope and transfer it to a serving dish. Garnish the finished carp with slices of lemon and sprigs of fresh herbs. As a result, you will get a very colorful fragrant dish. By the way, photos of carp in the oven will tell you a lot of interesting, bright ideas for decorating a finished delicacy.
The treat prepared according to this recipe will surely appeal to all your guests and household.
How to cook carp in the oven in sour cream sauce
It is completely uncomplicated to bake fish in this way, while it has an unsurpassed taste and also bears a huge benefit. You can treat your friends to such an exquisite dish during a festive feast or just treat your family to a casual dinner.
To cook fish in a sophisticated aromatic sauce, you will need:
- the carcass is carp weighing about 2 kg;
- 100 g of hard cheese;
- 30 g of flour;
- 300 ml sour cream;
- 2 onion heads;
- a little dill;
- a third of lemon;
- 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil;
- spices to your taste.
A frozen product is not suitable for this treat, because it can lose its dense structure during the heat treatment. For baking, a large fish, in which there are few bones and a lot of meat, will be an ideal choice. In addition, the meat of a large carp is considered the most juicy and dense.
Cooking method
Cut the fish by cutting off its head. Cut the separated fillet in portions, but not too finely. Salt and pepper the meat, then grate it with lemon juice to remove the river smell of mud.
Cut the onion into rings and fry in a pan until a golden hue is obtained. Send here pieces of carp smeared in flour. They need only to be slightly let down until a crust appears, and then they are transferred to a baking dish.
Put the fried onions in the next layer, cover the dish with sour cream, salt and sprinkle with finely chopped dill.
Cover the mold with foil, carefully pinch the edges and send the treat to the oven for 20 minutes. When half the time has passed, sprinkle the grated cheese on the fish.
The sazan cooked according to this recipe in the oven is best served hot, straight from the oven. So you will give the opportunity to all guests to enjoy the unforgettable aroma of the dish and its unique taste.
Baked carp fillet
For the upcoming banquet, you can prepare a delicious, unusual fish dish, flavored with herbs and wine. Serve baked carp in the oven with slices of lemon, leek, all kinds of vegetables, or just greens. As a side dish, simple potatoes or boiled rice are perfect.
Before sending the dish to the oven, you should warm it up well, otherwise the fish may turn out to be dry and not so tasty. As for the ingredients, you will need:
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil;
- the same amount of soy sauce;
- a few twigs of thyme;
- 1 kg of carp fillet;
- a spoon of dry white wine;
- spice.
Course of action
Cut the fillet into portions and put them in a baking dish. In a separate container, mix the oil, soy sauce and wine.
Salt the chopped fish, grate it well with spices and pour over the cooked marinade. Then put the carp in the refrigerator for an hour so that it is well soaked in the sauce. In this case, it is advisable to periodically turn the pieces so that they are uniformly marinated.
After the specified time, sprinkle the dish with thyme sprigs and send it to the oven for half an hour.