Fish smelt (smelt): description, features and recipes

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

One of the popular food products in our country is smelt fish. The smelt is its closest relative, which is slightly smaller, but tangible he alth benefits, convenient and quick cooking unite these two fish. Both of them belong to the smelt family and to the class of ray-finned fish.

Smelt fish. Description

There are three types of smelt: smallmouth, American (or toothed) and European, which is called smelt. The fish is distinguished by an elongated body, shiny scales, which are very easy to remove when cleaning. The "European" is slightly smaller (8-9 cm) than its closest "relatives", and its dorsal fin is located in the central part of the body. The fish has a short lateral line. The body consists along the axis of only eight to twelve scales.

Habitats

Snetok is a fish that lives in Lake Ladoga, the B altic Sea, the Gulf of Finland, Lake Onega and in the reservoirs of the northern part of Russia. Thanks to excellent acclimatization, the European smelt can descend to the Kuibyshev, Saratov, Gorky and Rybinsk reservoirs. The fish live long enough- about three years. It weighs an average of six to eight grams.

Useful properties

Smelt fish is recommended for use by people suffering from diseases of the heart, skeletal system and blood vessels. The composition contains a balanced amount of vitamins and useful trace elements. The fish is almost twenty percent composed of easily digestible protein. The composition contains magnesium and phosphorus, indispensable for humans, calcium and potassium, molybdenum and iron, nickel and sodium.

Specialists have proven that smelt fish (constantly or periodically eaten) will provide reliable protection of the nervous and muscular systems, help to avoid problems with blood vessels, hormonal levels and high insulin levels in the blood. Smelt normalizes the functioning of the digestive tract, improves the functioning of the heart, brain, lungs, relieves swelling and reduces inflammation.

Catching features

Smelt is a fish that you don't have to buy in grocery stores. You can easily catch it with your own hands. Smelt fishing becomes especially active with the onset of cold weather. In the central part of the country, for example, in the Gulf of Finland, fishermen go out on the ice already in early December. Active biting falls precisely on the winter period. At this time, you can catch about five kilograms of fish, in which there will be about four hundred pieces.

Certainly, European smelt fishing requires a certain dose of patience, perseverance and skill. But believe me, the result is worth it.spend time on this. Smelt is a fish, the recipes for which are very diverse. It can be dried and dried, s alted and fried, smoked and baked in the oven.

Soup

The easiest and fastest dish that can be prepared from a product such as smelt fish.

For this you will need:

• Two large potatoes.
• One bulb.
• Celery root.
• Parsley.
• Black peppercorns.
• S alt.
• Bay leaf.
• Pinch of nutmeg (ground).
• Smelt fish and smelt are one and the same. We take the one that is in the store or that we managed to catch. In total, you will need about ten to fifteen pieces for a two-liter saucepan of soup.

First, you need to prepare a fragrant and rich vegetable broth. To do this, pour one and a half liters of water into the pan, put peeled, diced potatoes, celery, a whole onion. After the broth has boiled, add spices: bay leaf, black peppercorns (to taste), a pinch of nutmeg and the same amount of s alt. Cook until the vegetables are soft. After that, turn off the fire, remove the saucepan from the stove. We take out the onion, bay leaf and celery - they have already played their role in cooking.

Now it's the fish's turn. It must be washed, cleaned, removed head. We put in the broth and let it boil for another ten to fifteen minutes. The soup is ready. Before serving, add some fresh herbs, a piece of butter.

Friedsmelt

Fried smelt fish is one of the most popular dishes. It only takes a few minutes to prepare, but the result is surprisingly tasty and satisfying. So, to prepare this dish, you will need vegetable oil, some s alt, a couple of tablespoons of flour for breading, a frying pan and, of course, a peeled and decapitated smelt.

After the fish carcasses are cleaned and washed, place them in a large container and sprinkle with s alt, pepper and fish spices (optional). Mix thoroughly. Add flour and mix again. Smelt is a fish that does not need to be given too much attention. Breading every little fish is just a waste of time.

Pour vegetable oil into the pan. We spread the fish in even rows and fry on one side for three minutes. Then we turn the carcasses over, cover the dishes with a lid and fry the fish for another five minutes. Fried fish is ready. The recipes and cooking descriptions are as simple and straightforward as the process of frying this fish.

Smelt with white sauce and onions

If you want a more original dish, we advise you to pay attention to the recipe, where the seemingly ordinary smelt turns into an exquisite product that is not ashamed to serve on the festive table and treat unexpected guests.

In order to prepare such a dish, you will need to take the following products:

• Smelt - 10-20 pieces.
• One onion.
• A little vegetable oil.
• S alt mixed with black pepper or fish seasoning.
• 300 ml milk or heavy cream.
• One bunch of fresh herbs (parsley, dill).
• A couple tablespoons of flour.
• Some dry white wine.

How to cook

Onions will need to be chopped very finely. After that, fry it in vegetable oil until a “blush” appears. Put the fried onions on a separate plate. Try to leave the oil in the pan.

Now you can move on to making the sauce. To do this, put a piece of butter in a frying pan and melt it over low heat. As soon as the butter changes from a solid to a liquid, flour can be added. It is recommended to fry it for about two to three minutes.

As soon as the flour begins to change its white color to a darker shade, we begin to gradually pour in the cream (milk) in a thin stream. We arm ourselves with a whisk and carefully mix all the ingredients in a pan. It is important that there is not even the slightest hint of unpleasant-tasting lumps in the sauce. Slightly add the sauce and leave it on low heat until it thickens completely.

It's time to cook the fish. The smelt must be cleaned, all entrails removed and the head removed. Now rinse the fish under running water and pat dry with a paper towel. We take a small saucepan (stewpan), put the smelt there and add the fried onion and finely chopped greens on top. Pour half a liter of water and dry wine. Put the dishes onslow fire and simmer until the smelt is ready.

Back again with the sauce. To make it more fragrant and tasty, it is recommended to add a couple of ladles of wine and fish broth in which smelt was boiled. Bring to a boil again, reduce heat and wait for it to thicken. The resulting mixture can even be filtered. Put the boiled smelt on a plate with a colander spoon and pour white sauce on top. Boiled rice will be the best side dish for such an exquisite, but very simple and quick dish to prepare. The second option is to fry the smelt and then dip it in white sauce.