Smelt is a small fish with a strong smell of fresh cucumbers. In the spring in St. Petersburg every year a holiday dedicated to smelt is celebrated. The fish is fried directly in the fresh air, sold pickled and salted. Small smelt is eaten along with a soft ridge, while large smelt is a delicate white meat that easily lags behind the bone. Cook the fish at home - arrange a little holiday for the arrival of spring.
Pick your recipe
You will need
-
- fresh smelt (1 kg);
- flour;
- salt;
- Marinade recipe:
- vinegar 9% (1/2 cup);
- water (1 liter);
- granulated sugar (7 tablespoons);
- salt (1 tbsp.spoon without top);
- bay leaf (2 pieces);
- cloves (8 pieces);
- allspice (8 pieces);
- onions (1 piece).
Instruction manual
1
Having brought home a fresh smelt, pour it into a colander and rinse with cold water. In a large fish, cut off the head and tail, open the abdomen and remove the entrails. Inside the smelt can be very tasty caviar. If you love her, then fry the fish with caviar. Then, when cleaning, separating the fish head from the ridge, carefully pull out the insides without damaging the abdomen. Small things can only be washed and nothing removed.
2
Spread a paper towel or linen napkin on the table, dump the fish on top and dry thoroughly.
3
Mix the flour and salt in a deep bowl. Put a large frying pan on the fire, pour generously vegetable oil on it.
4
Place a breaded plate and a bowl of dried smelt next to the stove. Roll the fish in flour on both sides and put in heated oil. Try not to stack tightly together to make it convenient to turn over.
5
Fry the smelt on both sides. Make the crust you love. Small fish can be fried until crispy.
6
At this stage, the fish can already be served. Serve the dish with fried potatoes or vegetable salad, or you can eat smelt without any side dishes. She is very self-sufficient. Garnish a plate with lemon slices and stock up on napkins. Smelt is a fat little fish.
7
If you have enough patience or you have cooked a lot of smelt, then take up the marinade. The recipe for the marinade. Boil water in a saucepan. Put bay leaf, allspice, cloves, sugar, salt in it. Before boiling, add vinegar. Let it boil for a couple of minutes, then turn off the marinade and close the pan with a lid.
8
Peel the onion. Cut it in half and then into thin sectors. Separate the onion slices.
9
Put a layer of fried smelt in a plastic container, sprinkle with onion, again a layer of fish and onion. Top should be onions. Take a container so large that the fish does not wrinkle in it.
10
Pour the smelt with hot marinade. Take a saucepan in one hand and a strainer in the other. Drain the liquid on the fish, and all the thickets will remain in the sieve. The marinade should completely cover the smelt and onions.
eleven
Close the container lid and refrigerate. You can eat smelt in a day.