Most of those who want to cook their first ear ask a logical question: how to cook the ear correctly? After all, this is an unusual soup where there is a simple chicken or beef broth, vegetables, etc. This dish requires a special approach to cooking. Ever since the time of Tsarist Russia, the ear was prepared in different ways. There were a large number of recipes, but the most common were ordinary and listless, as well as peasant ear. Also, some sources talk about a dish with the addition of an alcoholic drink - champagne. Its main difference from other soups is the ability to cook fish soup, both at the stake (a traditional recipe) and at home.
Useful information
In different books you can find a large number of recipes for cooking fish soup. In foreign countries, this dish is called differently. But most recipes have the main elements of similarity. The fish soup is prepared from fish. Cooking the broth takes place in several stages. And most importantly - it is cooked at the stake. But in winter or in the absence of the opportunity to go out into the countryside and make a fire in the summer, of course, you can use recipes that show how to cook fish soup at home.
A few secrets of cooking
Secret number 1. To get a tasty broth, certain types of fish are needed. In addition to the fact that the fish must be fresh, it must have a delicate structure and a powerful taste. The best ear in the world is obtained from pike, zander, crucian carp, and salmon. Sea bass and cod are also good for a rich broth. Bream, gudgeon, ram, roach - varieties of fish that are not suitable for fish soup.
Secret number 2. To make your dish tasty and aromatic, you also need to add to it: salt, onion, peas, carrots, potatoes, as well as spices to taste. Ear is a constructor soup. You can add anything you like to it, the main thing is to make a tasty broth. If you do not like boiled onions, add them whole without cutting, and after cooking, remove and discard. Onions will give the soup a good, spicy taste that you will like, even if you do not like this vegetable on its own.
Secret number 3. A well-cooked broth is the key to success. Bring it to full readiness (how to do it, described below), and also use several varieties of fish for a variety of tastes.
Ear at home
Many add something of their own to it, for example, instead of traditional cereals, they put rice or something else. If you came from a successful fishing trip, caught a lot of fish, the following question arises: where to put the catch? Just frying everything or stewing is a good option, but cooking a delicious, nutritious soup is even better! The fish soup differs from other soups in that the more diverse fish it contains (pike, silver carp, salmon, etc.), the tastier it will be. How to cook an ear delicious? You can find the recipe in this article.
The option of gutted fish or how to make a tasty broth
Some people make fish soup from gutted fish. Whether it is right or wrong, there is no clear answer to this question, since everyone likes something different. But to give a more familiar taste to the broth, the fish should be cleaned and gutted. This should be done if only because, together with the internal parts of the fish, fish excrement also enters the broth, and eating a tasty soup and knowing that small parts of such a substance can be caught somewhere in it, you see, is not very pleasant.
To make a good, tasty, rich broth, it is better to use small varieties of fish, and only then add larger ones (if you cook fish soup from several types of fish). Together with small fish, fins, bones and all that will add piquancy to your broth are immediately laid in the water.
Soup broth - the basis of her taste!
The preparation itself for the broth (fish and its parts) is poured with cold water. How much fish is needed and how much water - decide for yourself, it all depends on how many portions of fish soup you want to make. If you have few fish available, it is better to make small portions, and spend all the fish on cooking a delicious broth. In the ear, correctly cooked broth - 80% of the taste of the whole dish.
Remember that during the cooking process, up to half of the water can evaporate in 40-50 minutes. Topping up ordinary water is still not recommended, since the concentration of the broth will be impaired, which will only lead to a weakening of the overall taste of the soup. At the very beginning of cooking the broth, you need to add salt. In order for all parts of the fish to fully boil and give a maximum of taste, you need to boil the broth for about one and a half to two hours continuously.
If you do not have enough time to devote it to cooking fish soup, then you can cook it even in 30-40 minutes. In this case, you get only a less concentrated and delicious broth. If this is not important for you, then you can make a delicious lunch for yourself quickly enough.
What needs to be added to such a dish or how to cook the ear correctly?
If you cook the ear correctly, then in addition to the rich broth, there should also be portioned pieces of fish. Among all the fish that you will have available, it is worth choosing the largest representatives, rid them of heads, fins, etc., leaving only the fillet. It is later added to each serving of fish soup. These portions of fish should be placed in the broth, about 7-10 minutes before cooking.
The time will depend on the size of the pieces. The main thing here is to maintain a balance: do not serve the fish even half-baked, but also do not digest. How to understand that the filet is cooked and ready to serve? In a boiling broth, touch fish slices with a spatula or spoon. If they are resilient, but can be divided into parts, then they are ready to feed.
What other ingredients can I add?
However, in addition to fish, other ingredients should be in the ear, it does not consist only of broth and fish. Somewhere 20-25 minutes before complete readiness, you can lay in the broth finely chopped (but not too finely) potatoes. Many experienced fishermen believe that in a real ear there should be no potatoes, but you can add ingredients to taste. You can decide for yourself what exactly will be in your meal.
Most experienced chefs agree with this point of view. To increase the fullness of the fish soup, some cereals can be added to it: rice, barley, semolina, etc. When cooking, it is worth considering the cooking time of each of these cereals.
Onions, peppers and bay leaves are traditional ingredients for fish soup. Peas with peas are best placed at the very beginning of cooking the broth, onions can be laid somewhere 15 minutes before ready (if you like stiffer onions, then you can lay them in 8-10 minutes), and bay leaves are already added on the last minutes cooking soup, during this time he will have time to give his inherent piquancy and a great smell.
You can still add parsley and some carrots to your taste. Any spices are also added at your discretion. The main thing is that they do not interrupt the general taste of the soup, that is, the broth.
How to give a creamy taste to the ear?
If you don’t know the recipe, how to cook the soup at home so that it has a delicious broth and creamy aftertaste, then at the very end of cooking add a little milk (about 0.5 liters of milk per 3-4 liters of water). This technique will be especially appropriate if a large amount of roach is present in your broth. If you do not have fresh milk on hand, you can resort to diluting milk powder in broth. Before serving, you can sprinkle with herbs and dilute a small piece of butter.
Cooking fish soup at home, you can experiment with the ingredients, because this is an unusual soup. In addition to the usual herbs and spices (bay leaf, pepper), you can also try adding various wild herbs, for example, sorrel. It all depends on your personal preferences. This dish requires a large number of fish, and preferably a different variety.
Cooking fish head fish soup
This recipe is the most common. What you need to have from the products and how to cook fish soup from the head?
Below is a short list of the necessary ingredients for making fish soup from the head of a silver carp (it is most often used):
- Fish fins, tail and her head.
- A little potato (depending on the amount of broth and your preference for the thickness of the soup).
- One onion.
- Carrot (optional) 1 pc.
- Bay leaf 1-2 pcs.
- Black pepper peas.
- Greens (parsley, dill) to taste before serving.
- Spices to taste and salt.
How to cook the ear so that it is rich and tasty, described in many sources. But the fact is that most of them describe recipes that use a large number of fish, as well as its variety. If you are limited in choice and quantity, then in this article you can learn how to cook fish soup from the head. The head of a silver carp will give your soup the right taste.
Before starting cooking, the head is cut into 2 parts. After they take the pan (the volume depends on how many servings you want), fill it with water without adding 2-3 cm to the edge. Salt and pepper can be added already at this stage. After the formation of foam on the surface of the water (in the process of boiling), it must be removed. It will form for half an hour until the fish is completely boiled. What exactly to add to the ear is a matter of taste.
After the head of the fish has completely given its taste, the broth needs to be traced. This is done in order to rid him of the remnants of fish, various tasteless parts of her head. Further, you can add allspice, onions, potatoes and everything you want to see in your ear. All this is added directly to the strained broth and sent back to the fire.
The potato is cooked for 20-25 minutes, depending on its quantity and on what pieces you cut it. If you use new potatoes, then it will cook faster. Carrots can also be added with potatoes. Before serving, you can serve with greens and brown bread.
Salmon Ear
As you know, there is a huge variety of recipes for such a meal. This is a unique dish, where everyone can add something of their own and at the same time not spoil the main taste of fish soup - fish broth. One of the most delicious ways is to cook it using salmon.
Below you can learn how to cook salmon soup. This is a very healthy fish that contains a large amount of nutrients. Each part of it (head, tesh, fillet) has its own taste. It is in the ear that all its parts will be able to reveal their taste to the maximum. You can use only the head and tail of salmon to cook a good dish. But, if you do not spare money and buy a whole fish, then remember the food prepared from it for a long time.
Salmon is a red fish variety. The most valuable thing in it is the back, that is, the fillet. It is often used to make sushi and all Japanese cuisine. The head and tail of this fish are not of great value, which means that in the market or in the store you can find these parts at an affordable price. An excellent ear can be made from the head and tail. If you use the head of salmon, then it needs to be cleaned of eyes and gills (they will give the broth bitterness). The digestion time (average) of the head of salmon is 35-45 minutes. Later, it is necessary to strain the broth, otherwise, when serving, different parts of the fish head may fall.
How to cook an ear in stages?
After a complete cleaning of the head of salmon, it can be sent to the pan and, boiling the broth, remove the foam for the first 10-20 minutes.
While it is boiling, you can start cutting vegetables for the soup. Use the ones you like to taste. Commonly used potatoes, onions and carrots.
After boiling the head, the broth is filtered and poured back into the pan, simultaneously adding vegetables.
The last step will be the addition of spices (to taste) and a couple of leaves of bay leaf. All this (after adding vegetables) is cooked for another 20-25 minutes, after which you can safely serve. Serving can be done by sprinkling the ear with greens.
Today you learned how to cook fish soup from salmon and other fish species, and now let's discuss another topic.
Pork ears
It will not take you very much time to make soup with this ingredient, and the result will definitely surprise you. So, if you don’t know how to cook pork ears, then remember what you need: potatoes, ears, water, greaves, onions, butter, bread and flour.
First of all, you need to put ears and cracklings, as well as a little onion in a pot of water. Boil it all on medium heat for exactly an hour. Greens should be added to the broth, and the cooked ears should be removed and finely chopped. Diced potatoes should be put in the broth, add the sauté and ears. Boil everything necessary until fully cooked!
Now you know how to cook pork ears. Bon appetit and good mood!