Cooking classic and diet pike in the oven
Pike is a cunning predatory fish, which is difficult to catch. If lucky, every fisherman takes pride in this and takes the trophy home with pleasure. Especially popular is the whole baked pike. It will become the highlight of the festive table.
Baking preparation
Cooking in the oven is a responsible process. Here you need to take into account many nuances. It is important not only to clean and cook the fish qualitatively, but also to choose it correctly. The best option is to bake a freshly caught specimen. But, it is suitable for real fishermen.
If you want to feast, but there is no time for fishing, buy fish. It is sold fresh, chilled, freshly frozen. When choosing, pay special attention to the appearance and place of the catch.
Fresh carcass has a dense structure, and pink gills. The scale is smooth, intact, the tail is slightly moist, and the eyes are transparent. Of great importance is the smell. It should not be sharp and pleasant, with light notes of mud. One of the criteria for making the right choice is size. The best solution would be a carcass weighing from 2 to 2.5 kg. Her meat will be tender and moderately dry.
Carcass processing
Before preparing a fish dish, it is important to properly process the carcass. To save time, pay attention to the following points:
- Rinse the carcass thoroughly several times and dry it with paper towels. After that, lay it on the cutting plastic board with your head to the left. To prevent it from sliding on the table, place a damp towel under it. Clean all excess dishes with paper towels.
- Sprinkle a lot of salt on the tail of the pike - this will ensure a firm hold in the hand during processing. The fins are removed with scissors.
- Scales are removed from the tail to the head. Keep the knife at an acute angle. The movements should be smooth and light. This will prevent damage to the carcass, and preserve the appearance of the future dish. At the end, rinse in a basin of water and remove the remnants of the scales.
- When the scales are removed, cut the cartilage at the junction of the head and abdomen. After that, cut and remove the internal organs from the peritoneum. If damage occurs, rub the inside with salt and rinse thoroughly. Do not forget about the gills. In the last step, remove the air bubble and blood clots.
- Next, separate the pulp from the skin. Do not cut off your head. This process is performed when stuffed pike is cooked.
It is necessary to clean immediately after defrosting or purchasing according to the described technology.
Calorie Baked Pike
Pike lives in water bodies, among a variety of algae. This explains the specific smell of meat. It belongs to the 3rd grade due to the presence of a large number of seeds. But, this only indirectly affects the dietary and biological value.
There are no carbohydrates in meat; it consists of easily digestible proteins. The energy value is 84 kcal / 100 g. Thanks to this, pike is a valuable component of diet food. Often it is used for diseases of the digestive tract. The presence of nutrients allows you to restore the normal functioning of the nervous system, prevent thyroid disease.
Pike meat contains a large amount of minerals and vitamins. The main components are:
- Choline.
- Phosphorus.
- Folic acid.
- Molybdenum and others.
Of course, you should not forget that fish meat protein is a strong allergen, so you need to use it carefully.
Bake the whole pike in foil
There are a lot of different recipes, with the help of which you can cook a delicious pike. A common option is to bake whole foil. During cooking, it is recommended to use sour cream to make a juicy and tasty dish.
Ingredients:- Pike - 500-600 g.
- Parsley.
- Sour cream - 150 g.
- Seasoning for fish.
- Lemon.
- Sunflower oil.
- Clean fish and eliminate internal organs. Neatly trim all fins. Wash the carcass under running water.
- Mix seasoning with salt, and grate the carcass thoroughly inside and out. Sprinkle with a little lemon juice. Leave to marinate for 20 minutes.
- Wash and finely chop the parsley. Then add to the glass with sour cream.
- Cover the mold with foil and grease thoroughly with oil, which will prevent sticking during cooking.
- Put the pike and grease thoroughly with the prepared sauce. Pour with vegetable oil and tightly close the foil.
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees and place a mold in it. Bake for half an hour.
To get a golden crust, after half an hour, open the foil, bake for another 10 minutes. As a side dish, rice or potatoes are suitable.
Video recipeStuffed pike
The dish has an unusual taste. It will become an original decoration of the festive table. It will take about three hours to prepare, so it is better to start preparing for the feast in advance.
Ingredients:- Pike - 1.5 kg.
- Greens - 50 g.
- Buckwheat groats - 250 g.
- Mayonnaise - 50 ml.
- Tomatoes - 3 pcs.
- Vegetable oil - 50 ml.
- Onion.
- Carrots - 1 pc.
- Bell pepper.
- Spices to taste.
- To clear the carcass of scales. Carefully open the belly, remove the insides. Separate the head, cut the fins with scissors. Wash thoroughly under running water and dry with a paper towel.
- Prepare buckwheat porridge after rinsing the cereals.
- Wash and peel the vegetables. Chop pepper, onion and tomato finely. Cut the carrots into large pieces.
- Fry onions and carrots in vegetable oil, stirring until soft.
- Add cooked porridge to bell pepper, frying, chopped greens. Salt everything and mix thoroughly.
- Season the carcass and grease with mayonnaise. Then fill with the finished filling. Gently fasten the edges of the abdomen with toothpicks or sew them up with thread.
- Cover the mold with foil and grease with oil. Put the fish, tightly wrap and send to the preheated oven. Bake for at least 45 minutes at a temperature of 220 degrees.
After the set time has passed, open the foil and send the baking sheet for another quarter hour to the oven. A golden crust forms on the surface of the finished dish.
Video cookingPike with potatoes and mayonnaise
Pike with potatoes in the oven is a great solution. Vegetables are saturated with fish juice, which will give them an original taste. The result is a tasty and satisfying dish. Cooking it at home is very simple.
Ingredients:- Pike - 2 kg.
- Potato - 6-8 pcs.
- Onion - 4 pcs.
- Mayonnaise 320 g.
- Spice.
- Clean the fish and remove the entrails. Cut the gills, otherwise they will give the taste a little bitterness. Rinse under running water.
- Mix the spices and grate the carcass.
- Peel the onion. Wash the lemon and cut into rings, and then into quarters.
- Place several slices of lemon in the belly to get rid of the specific smell of mucus. Put onion rings on the lemon. Fasten the abdomen with toothpicks or sew with threads.
- Peel and wash the potatoes. If the tubers are large, cut into several pieces. Put the potatoes in a bowl. Add mayonnaise and spices, mix.
- Prepare a form. Cover with foil and grease with oil. Put the pike in the center, and the potatoes on the sides.
- Wrap in foil and bake for 40 minutes at 200 degrees. At the end, open the dish and bake another 10 minutes.
If a large pike was used for cooking, it is worth checking its readiness. If necessary, baking time can be increased. The result is a finished dish with a side dish, which is incomparable in taste.
Delicious pike slices with vegetables
The recipe is ideal for housewives who do not have time to deal with the tedious cutting of fish. Of course, you still have to take care of cleaning and removing bad odor.
Ingredients:- Pike - 1.5-2 kg.
- Onion - 2 pcs.
- Basil and parsley.
- Carrots - 1 pc.
- Lemon.
- Garlic.
- Sour cream - 200 ml.
- Spices (black pepper, salt and ground coriander).
- Clean and gut the fish. Wash thoroughly and sprinkle with lemon. Leave on for 5 minutes. Cut into pieces. You can use the finished filet or the whole carcass.
- Cook the marinade. Add salt, spices and chopped garlic to sour cream. Mix everything. Grease the fish and marinate for an hour.
- Wash the vegetables, peel and cut into circles. Cover the baking sheet with foil and grease with oil. Put vegetables and fish.
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees and place a mold in it. Bake for half an hour.
When cooking, consider the size of the carcass. If it is large, it is better to increase the baking time.
Pike Diet Recipes
Pike refers to low-fat varieties of fish. The fat content does not exceed 3%, so it is often used in dietary nutrition. The composition of meat contains a large amount of minerals and vitamins. This is its health benefits. If you introduce such a product into the diet, you can establish the work of many body systems, and prevent the emergence of new diseases.
There are many recipes with which you can cook fish without problems. Of course, those are considered the best, as a result of the processing of which all useful properties are preserved. These methods include:
- Stuffed pike.
- Wow.
- Cutlets.
Before considering these options in detail, we will consider some recommendations of experienced chefs. First of all, it concerns the skin, which is a useless part. It is better to get rid of it right away. This also applies to the ridge with large bones.
Pike cutlets
The dish can be put on a festive table or consumed in everyday life. To cook delicious meatballs, you must follow the technology exactly.
Ingredients:- Cut pike - 1 kg.
- Loaf of white bread - 150 g.
- Onion - 2 pcs.
- Milk - 100 ml.
- Garlic - 4 cloves.
- Egg - 2 pcs.
- Butter - 2 tbsp. l
- Vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. l
- Breadcrumbs.
- Greenery.
- Spices to taste.
- Cut the fish into pieces and pass through a meat grinder. There, send onions, garlic, herbs and a loaf previously soaked in milk. Drive eggs into the resulting mass, add vegetable and butter. Season and knead the minced meat.
- Form round or oval cakes of small thickness. Roll in breadcrumbs and fry in vegetable oil.
The result is tender and juicy cutlets. They can be served with any side dish or with vegetable salad.
Pike ear
From a pike a healthy and fragrant ear is obtained; there is no tastier one in the whole world. The recipe is quite simple. Every housewife will cope with it.
Ingredients:- Pike heads - 500 g.
- Fish fillet - 500 g.
- Potato - 5 pcs.
- Onion - 2 pcs.
- Vegetable oil.
- Breadcrumbs.
- Greenery.
- Lemon juice.
- Nutmeg and Ginger.
- Peel the fish and cut into small pieces. Place in a 3.5 liter pot of water. Add a little greens, one onion and bay leaf.
- Put on fire and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes, then get out the heads and separate the meat from the bones. Return the pan to the stove and simmer the broth over low heat for an hour.
- Peel and cut the potatoes into slices. Fry with onion in vegetable oil.
- Strain the broth, and then fill in the potatoes with onions, crackers, nuts and spices. Put on fire and cook for another 10 minutes. After that, let it brew.
This is how a real traditional Russian dish is prepared - pike ear. Of course, you can cook other dishes. Their list is diverse, for example, stuffed pike in the oven will be a good option for lunch.
Useful Tips
To prepare a tasty treat without the hassle, you need to take into account some tricks of processing the main ingredient.
- To eliminate the smell of mud, it is necessary to soak the pike in water with vinegar or lemon juice. Also, milk can easily cope with this task. It needs to soak the carcass for several hours. A good option would be a lemon. Pouring meat over juice will remove unpleasant odors.
- When cooking, consider the combination of products. The best flavor composition will be with basil, allspice, parsley, carrots and onions. Therefore, pay attention to recipes where such ingredients are present.
- To improve the taste of meat, grate the carcass with spices and leave for an hour.
Despite the fact that pike belongs to fish of the 3rd grade, it is very popular. This is due to its low-calorie and tasty meat, which turns a simple dish into a culinary masterpiece. As for the main disadvantages, such as bad smell and numerous bones, they can be easily dealt with. To do this, be patient and use some culinary secrets.