Grenadier is a fish that can compete with hake. She is similar to him in that she has a minimum number of bones, in fact one spine. In addition, the grenadier does not smell like mud - a quality that is valuable to those who do not like the characteristic fishy smell. The meat of this inhabitant of the seas is tender, juicy and slightly sweet. Butchering it is also very easy. But the blue hake, or macrourus (also called the grenadier), also has its drawbacks. He poorly holds his shape, falls apart in a pan, if you fry it without batter, behaves unpredictably in the oven. In general, these are the disadvantages that are common in fish that contain a large amount of water and low fat in their meat. These shortcomings can be circumvented by skillful cooking. From the article you will learn what kind of fish is grenadier, recipes of dishes from it and some secrets of cooking.
Preliminary manipulations
Many culinary specialists stop the need for these preparatory actions. Flying scales, the danger of injuring yourself on the fins or gills ... But with the grenadier you can forget about all these difficulties. They sell carcasses without entrails and heads, often frozen. Those who know how to cook fish do not need to be reminded that the carcass should be brought to room temperature gradually. For a day, just transfer the grenadiers from the freezer to the refrigerator. Milling this fish is extremely easy. Just cut the carcass along the spine and remove the ridge. Then pry off with a sharp knife the film, covering the inside of the abdomen, and pull out the ribs with it. It is also necessary to remove the fins and tail. Everything, the fish is ready for further processing.
Fry in batter
So that the carcass does not fall apart in a frying pan in an unappetizing mess, you need to dip the pieces into the dough. It will create a kind of carapace that will retain its shape, create a golden crust and protect the delicate pulp from overdrying. Many housewives think that before cooking fish, it needs to be thawed. With the grenadier, this rule is really only half true. The carcass should not be fully thawed. Inside, it should remain firm and only soft outside. This way the dish will keep its shape better. Batter can be very different. The following is the simplest recipe. Beat the egg with 30 ml of regular soda, add a couple of tablespoons of flour. The dough should turn out the consistency of sour cream. Here is grenadier fish prepared for frying. The photo shows that the pieces are not very large, but not quite small. They need to be salt and pepper before dipping in batter. And then put in a sufficient amount of hot sunflower oil.
Breaded
If you do not want to bother with the dough, you can prepare the grenadier without it. So that the fish does not burn in the pan, dip it into breading. We cook three deep plates: with beaten eggs, with flour, to which you need to add pepper and salt, and with breadcrumbs. Vegetable oil in a pan should be well heated, otherwise the fish will stick to the bottom. So that the breading does not soften and well enveloped the grenadier, the slices need to be slightly dried with a towel. The order of the roll is: flour, beaten eggs, crackers. It is important that the slices are completely immersed in breading. We fry on a sufficient amount of vegetable oil for 10 minutes for each side. Serve this fish immediately, because the breading, cooling, loses its crispness.
Stew
Grenadier is a fish that is great for this cooking process. A large amount of liquid contained in the meat makes it even more tender, just airy. We clean a kilogram of grenadier, cut into pieces 4-5 cm thick. Three large pounds of carrots, put it on the bottom of a Teflon pan or pan with a thick bottom. On top of it we put pieces of grenadier. We cover it with rings of three bulbs. In a half glass of sour cream, add a little water, salt and pepper. Pour the dish with this mixture. Add to it a couple of bay leaves. We put the dishes on a small fire. Stew fish for half an hour. Five minutes before turning off the fire under the pan, sprinkle the dish with one hundred grams of grated hard cheese (preferably Parmesan).
In the oven
If you are going to cook it in an oven, you need to consider that this is a very tender fish. Grenadier, whose baking recipes are very diverse, needs a cover of vegetables or at least foil. But in the oven you can cook in one fell swoop and fish, and a side dish to it. We cover the bottom of the baking dish with a layer of raw potatoes, cut into small rustic blocks. On this pillow we lay salted and pepper pieces of grenadier. Carefully cover them with half rings of onions. Top three hundred grams of Parmesan or any other hard cheese. Pour in a glass of sour cream. She should almost cover the dish. If this does not happen, you can add a little water, cream or milk. We put the form in an oven preheated to 180-190 degrees. Cook for half an hour. Sprinkle the prepared casserole with chopped fresh herbs.
Original pancakes
Grenadier - the fish is very fragile. Culinary experts rack their brains to maintain their shape in a dish. What for? Let's take advantage of this property of the grenadier and cook the patties or pancakes. The second course is done like this. We clean and cut the fish. Separate the ridge. Grind the pulp in a blender. Add one or two eggs, 100-150 grams of flour, salt and spices to taste. Fish chopped in a blender will itself provide the necessary amount of liquid to make a dough. We form pancakes out of it and fry them in vegetable oil until golden brown.
Cutlets
As already mentioned, grenadier is a fish ideal for minced meat. We pass through a meat grinder a kilogram of fillet, a large onion and one medium-sized potato (it can be replaced with a black-crusted white loaf soaked in milk). Add the egg to the minced meat, season with salt, herbs and spices. Knead, cover and put the bowl in the refrigerator. After half an hour, put the frying pan on the fire, pour oil into it. In one bowl, shake the egg, pour flour into the other, and bread crumbs in the third. We form cutlets from minced meat. Dip them in a breading in the same sequence as portioned fish pieces: flour, egg, crackers. When all the cutlets are fried, put them again in a pan, cover with a lid and simmer over a slow fire for a quarter of an hour.