Fish is not only a source of useful and necessary micro and macro elements, but also dietary meat for gourmets and aesthetes. A delicious dish, which has become a constant decoration both on the festive table and in the daily diet, due to its nutritional value, speed of cooking and relatively low price. Also, let's not forget that crucian carp is the most popular fish in the fishermen’s catches. Crucian carp in the oven is a joint work of a happy married couple - a friendly tandem of a fisherman and a hostess.
When preparing a dish of river fish , many questions always arise, so the housewives consciously bypass it, sometimes undeservedly, claiming that it is more trouble than good. Perhaps it’s time to discover some secrets that will break stereotypes that have been established for years.
The first stereotype is an unbearable and enraging scale. So: scales are better removed from fresh fish, so the catch is first cleaned, and then placed in a freezer for storage. One way to quickly remove the scales: pour crucian carp with coarse salt for 20 minutes, and then rub it with your hands, the fish will be cleaned quickly and easily. Thus, you can avoid prolonged troubles and prepare a semi-finished product for the main dish.
Another unpleasant moment associated with the scales: no matter how carefully you take it off, it tends to scatter throughout the kitchen, or even be transported throughout the house. To prevent such a mess, there is one effective tip: we take a transparent bulk plastic bag and put our fish in it, clean the scales from the tail fin to the gills - it will not fly apart from the package. We cut the fish from head to tail along the abdomen and clean it from the insides, simultaneously freeing the films. Wash it under cold running water.
The second stereotype is the so-called “swamp smell” characteristic of river fish. To get rid of it, we take one glass of cold milk, dissolve 0.5 teaspoon of salt in it and fill it with fish. Soak crucians for 30-40 minutes. Milk neutralizes the smell, makes the meat of the fish juicy and tender and at the same time evenly salted. Then we put the fish in a colander and let the excess liquid drain. Dry with a napkin until moisture is completely removed.
Crucian carp in the oven recipe: the carcass of the crucian carp must first be breaded. To do this, mix flour and semolina in equal proportions, you can take bread crumbs, and sprinkle crucian carp on both sides. In order for the crucian in the oven to be tender, and small bones do not bother you, we carry out the following manipulations. From head to tail, along the entire length of the fish, without cutting the ridge, as well as in the intercostal spaces, that is, between the costal bones, notches must be made. Thus, the small bones that cause so much trouble, simply become soft under the influence of temperature. And in the foil they will still be cooked, as if steamed.
Crucian in the oven should be spicy, but not dry. Therefore, sprinkle the carcass with black pepper, and put one teaspoon of butter in the abdomen. We spread the fish on a sheet of foil and add another teaspoon of vegetable oil, bend the foil from the sides so that the oil does not leak. Crucian carp is baked in foil in the oven for 20-30 minutes at a temperature of 170-190 ° C.
Crucian in the oven is obtained with tender fillet and has a pleasant piquancy. We take it out of the oven and put it on individual dishes on lettuce leaves. Garnish with chopped dill and green onions. As a side dish, you can serve fried or boiled potatoes . And for the festive table, it will be very important to add a gravy boat with cranberry-honey sauce. None of the guests will guess that crucian in the oven with such a sauce can have such a chic taste and look so impressive.