Cutlets - a dish that not a single person who is not a vegetarian or a black monk will not refuse. A recipe for pike cutlets is definitely useful for fasting people in those days when meat is banned and fish is allowed. However, citizens who do not watch the post also will not refuse such cutlets: they are tender, juicy, dietary - you can eat both for children, and for ladies on a diet, and for gastroenterological patients.
Preparatory stage
The only doubt that the recipe for pike cutlets can cause is the cutting of the fish. It is one thing to cut into slices and fry, another to get fillet for minced meat from the carcass. However, as you know, eyes are afraid, and hands cope with the task. Moreover, the cutting is not at all as difficult as it seems.
First of all, fish should be washed well and dried with a towel, we do not need excess water in minced meat. Now we cut the carcass near the gill and, holding the knife at an angle, gently separate the flesh from the ridge. We perform the same procedure from the second side. We cut the skin along the spine and divide the fish into two halves. Remove fillets from the inside and large bones. We clean it from the skin - and the pike is ready to go to the meat grinder.
Special opinion
Some chefs believe that removing the skin from the fish is not necessary: if the individual is young, its skin is thin and lends itself perfectly to the knives of the grinding apparatus. To whom to listen is a master's business; in any case, mince must be passed through the meat grinder twice. This approach will grind the remaining bones. It is unlikely that everything can be removed - this type of fish is characterized by increased bony.
And now we will prepare pike cutlets: a recipe with a photo will greatly facilitate our work. The results look very appetizing!
Oil option
We set ourselves the goal of making juicy pike cutlets. A simple recipe involves a traditional set of products: meat, egg, loaf. The idea has a right to exist, but, admittedly, this fish is somewhat dry. Therefore, we offer an alternative list of ingredients:
- Pulp of pike - a kilogram and a half.
- The egg is one.
- Two onions and three garlic cloves.
- Three slices of bread soaked in half a glass of milk for 3-4 minutes.
- Butter with a fat content of 82.5 percent, pre-softened - 100 grams.
Fillet, onion, pressed bread, garlic and butter are passed through a meat grinder. After seasoning with pepper and salt, knead thoroughly, cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes, to the very bottom. We form cutlets in the usual mode, roll them in ground breadcrumbs and fry them in the same way as pork or beef.
Delicious pike cutlets: recipe with bacon
When using oil, the forcemeat is sometimes friable, and the final product in the pan falls apart. There is a way out - replace the oil with unsalted lard at the rate of 100 grams per kilogram of fish fillet. Before you take up the meat grinder, we cut this ingredient smaller so that the minced meat turns out to be more uniform. We remove garlic with onions from the list of products - in this recipe they are not very appropriate. Other manipulations are standard: grind pike, bread and lard, drive in an egg, season with pepper and salt.
Attention: it is not necessary to keep such stuffing in the refrigerator. And flour is more suitable for deboning.
Pike + semolina
This recipe for pike cutlets allows you to treat the family with an amazingly delicate dish - unless, of course, you know some tricks. Chopped fillet twice in one bowl, large peeled onion in another. Combine and mix both masses, pour finely chopped dill and three tablespoons of semolina. Salt, pepper, bother again. Beat the egg separately, but do not introduce it into the minced meat. We form cutlets, into each of which we press on a seedless olive. Then we dip each in an egg, then in a breading and fry quickly, over high heat, until a crust forms. Then we fasten the fire, cover the pan with a lid and bring to readiness.
With rice
The recipe is somewhat similar to the semolina version, but the cutlets are more dense and with a different, albeit no less piquant, taste. Pre-cook half a glass of round-grain, more sticky rice. Soak a little white loaf in milk and squeeze. We put in a kilogram of fish fillet, three onions, prepared slices of loaf, three cloves of garlic and boiled rice. No eggs are needed, porridge will successfully cope with their function. For breading, we again turn our attention to crackers. We fry in the usual way.
Cottage cheese delicious pike cutlets: recipe with photo
There will need more components. In the meat grinder, we lay:
- Fish fillet, grams 600-700.
- The cottage cheese is medium fat, a little less than a pound.
- Two onions.
Then we introduce four eggs, pepper and salt into the mass and mix. We make cutlets, put a piece of butter inside each. It is better to hold it in the freezer beforehand, cut into proportional pieces, so that the product makes it easier to operate. Then we cut the cutlet first in flour, then in oatmeal. And fry over medium heat until fully browned.
Pike with chicken
If you add bird’s breast to the fish, the patties will become more airy and juicy. But this recipe for pike cutlets allows you to replace the breast with other chicken "spare parts" if you are not very approving of the bird fillet.
We start with fish - you need to grind it separately. Then onion - finely chop the two heads and add in sunflower oil until golden. At the same time, we soak several slices of bread in milk. Now we pass the onion, loaf, parsley and chicken breast through a meat grinder. Combine both minced meat and season with spices and salt. Add a couple of eggs and finally knead. We form cutlets, bread them and fry, as usual.
Good advice
In principle, all pike cutlets are simple. Recipes (with or without photos - it makes no difference) will not let you lie. However, to make them especially successful and not to disappoint you, it is worth considering some nuances. So, many housewives add grated cabbage or carrots to the meat to increase the juiciness of the dish. They achieve their goal, but the taste of cutlets noticeably changes. For example, carrots make them sweet. A little less affects the taste of mashed potatoes. But when using it, there is a danger of overdoing it, so after adding each spoon, the mince should be carefully mixed.
Breading when cooking pike cutlets is highly recommended: without it, the fish balls will lose juice and become dry.
If you managed to get the already cut fillet of pike, do not use a meat grinder, but chop it finely - as a result, the dish will become more tender.
Opponents of frying can cook pike cutlets in the oven or slow cooker. In the first case, the baking sheet is lined with foil or culinary parchment. The cutlets laid out on the “litter” are slightly smeared with mayonnaise from above. Or cover themselves with a tomato circle, or sprinkle with grated cream cheese. They will bake for about 10-20 minutes, it depends on the size and the selected recipe.
Pike cutlets can also be cooked in a slow cooker. If you want to use the help of this appliance, pour a glass of water in a bowl, drop a bay leaf, and put the patties in a “colander” from the double boiler, away from each other. The steaming mode is set for 25 minutes, after which you can enjoy delicious, aromatic and maximum diet products.
The best side dish for pike cutlets is potatoes - boiled, baked or fried. Vegetables are very in harmony with them - both fresh and salted. But, it seems, both porridge and pasta will not spoil the impression of pike cutlets.