Pike perch: bony or not, how to clean it and what to cook

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

Pike perch - a predatory fish that lives in rivers and fresh water. In terms of voracity, it ranks second after the pike. Due to its high mobility and aggressiveness, there is little fat in pike perch, which makes it possible to classify it as a dietary product. Its white and tender meat is suitable even for the first feeding for babies. In our article, we will present the chemical composition and nutritional value, tell you whether pike perch is bony or not, and explain how to properly clean this predator. Here we will also offer simple recipes for delicious and he althy dishes.

Nutritional value and calorie content of zander fish

Among freshwater fish, this predator takes pride of place. It lives in deep water in clean waters, so its meat has a pleasant color and smell. Many people are interested in the question of whether zander is fatty or not.

BThe meat of this predatory inhabitant of fresh water contains a lot of easily digestible protein, enough water and no carbohydrates at all. It contains a minimum amount of fat. At the same time, 75% of them are represented by mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Anyone who prefers to cook pike perch should not worry about the figure. This is a low-fat fish with a low calorie content (84 kcal) and a rich vitamin and mineral composition. The amount of proteins is 18.4 g, fat - 1.1 g, water - 80 g in 100 grams of the product.

Pike perch contains up to 20 essential amino acids for humans, as well as vitamins A, B1, B2, C, PP, E. Fish contains a sufficient amount of potassium, phosphorus, calcium, sodium, magnesium and iron.

Regular consumption of zander meat contributes to:

• harmonious development of the child;
• improve brain function;
• normalization of the stomach and intestines;
• lower blood glucose and cholesterol levels;
• improve the condition of skin, nails and hair;
• decrease in blood density;
• normalize metabolism and improve the general condition of the body.

Vitamins, minerals and unsaturated fatty acids have high antioxidant properties.

Pike perch: bony or not?

There is no doubt that the meat of this freshwater predator is useful. Pike perch fish has no less pleasant taste. The meat of this deep-sea inhabitant of the reservoirs is distinguished by a delicate texture, white color and a pleasant smell. It contains virtually no bones, which is a greatadvantage.

Pike perch is not so easy to clean because of the hard and close-fitting scales to the skin. We will tell you how to do it right below.

How to clean zander fish?

Scales can be removed with a sharp knife with a serrated edge, special scrapers or a vegetable peeler with a longitudinal blade. Clean the fish in the following order:

1. Use kitchen scissors to remove the prickly fins.
2. Clean the fish with short strokes from tail to head, lifting the scales and removing them. To prevent the fish from slipping out of your hands, it is recommended to rub it with s alt before cleaning or pour boiling water over it beforehand.
3. Rinse the cleaned fish and place on a cutting board.
4. Gut zander. To do this, make a longitudinal incision from the tail to the head, revealing the belly of the fish.
5. Pull out the insides, being careful not to damage the gall sac. Separate the fat lining the belly, milk or caviar.
6. Remove the black film inside and rinse the fish thoroughly.
7. Cut into serving pieces.

If you want to cook a fillet dish, you need to make sure that pike perch is bony or not. As mentioned above, the dietary meat of this predatory inhabitant of fresh water bodies contains practically no bones. Therefore, you can safely fillet pike perch and cook a wide variety of dishes from it.

How to cook fish?

Rich in easily digestible protein, dietary pike perch is recommended for weight loss, people with diabetes anddiseases of the digestive system and kidneys. This fish can be prepared in any way: boil, fry, stew, bake in the oven or on the grill, stuff, dry, dry, smoke, chop and make delicious steamed cutlets. However, it should be noted that during heat treatment, the calorie content of pike perch increases. For example, boiled fish contains 97 kcal, and fried fish contains 180 kcal per 100 grams of product.

We recommend cooking the following delicious pike-perch dishes: fish soup from the head, aspic, baked in foil with vegetables and sour cream sauce, and also stewed in a slow cooker in cream. A side dish of rice, buckwheat or potatoes is ideal for fish.

Zander fish soup recipe

The amount of ingredients indicated in the recipe is calculated for a 3 liter pot. An ear from the head of a pikeperch is prepared in the following sequence:

1. Cook the broth. To do this, you need the head and tail of a pike perch. They need to be well cleaned and washed. It is imperative to cut the gills from the head. Put the fish in a saucepan, cover with cold water, add 5 black peppercorns and a whole peeled onion.
2. Cook the broth for 25 minutes over low heat. Remove foam periodically.
3. Strain the finished broth through a sieve. Disassemble the head and tail, separating the meat from the bones.
4. Pour the broth into a clean saucepan, s alt and add meat to it.
5. Add chopped potatoes (2 pcs.) And carrots, chopped into strips, into the pan. As soon as the vegetables in the broth boil, pour a handful of millet into your ear. Cook soup until doneingredients. At the end of cooking, add s alt, pepper and chopped dill.

Pike perch baked in foil

Tender, juicy, fragrant and low-calorie fish can be prepared according to the following recipe. The meat is lean and very tasty.

How to cook zander fish can be described in step-by-step instructions:

1. Clean the carcass, remove the entrails and head. It can be used to make fish soup.
2. On one side, make transverse cuts to the ridge at a distance of about 1.5 cm from each other.
3. S alt and pepper the fish and leave it on the table for 20 minutes.
4. Make a sauce of mustard (3 tablespoons) and the juice of half a lemon.
5. Cut the onion into half rings, the tomato and lemon into circles, and then cut them in half again.
6. Put part of the onion on a sheet of foil greased with vegetable oil. Put the fish on top. Lubricate pike perch with sauce, and insert half a lemon and a tomato into the transverse cuts.
7. Wrap the foil tightly. Send the fish to an oven preheated to 200 ° for 30 minutes. 10 minutes before the end of cooking, open the foil so that the pike perch is browned. If desired, you can sprinkle the dish with cheese.

Aspic of zander

This dish will decorate any holiday table, especially New Year's. To everyone who still does not know whether pike perch is bony or not, and doubts whether it is worth preparing aspic, we recommend that you immediately start this process. There are no bones in this predator, so a dish from it withboth adults and children will enjoy eating.

Step by step aspic from zander is prepared in the following sequence:

1. Clean the fish from scales, remove fins, entrails and gills. Cut off the head and separate the fillets from the bones.
2. In a 3 liter saucepan, boil the broth from the head, tail and backbone. As soon as the water boils, it is necessary to remove the foam. Add whole onion, carrots, peppers, peas. After 25 minutes, s alt the broth and add the bay leaf.
3. Remove the broth from the stove and strain through a sieve or cheesecloth. Pour it into a clean pot, add the fillet pieces and cook them for 15 minutes.
4. Spread the meat into shapes. Here you can also add a beautifully chopped boiled egg, herbs and pieces of carrots. Strain the broth again.
5. Gelatin (2 teaspoons) soak in cold water for 15 minutes. Add the swollen mass to the hot broth, mix well and pour it into molds. Cool first on the table and then send to the refrigerator.

How to cook zander in sour cream?

Many housewives complain that when baking low-fat fish in the oven, it turns out dry. To avoid this, it is recommended to cook pike perch in sour cream sauce. Then the meat will turn out tender and very tasty.

How to cook zander fish, we will describe in the following step-by-step instructions:

1. Clean the carcass and cut it into 2.5 cm thick portions. The head can be used for cooking another dish.
2. S alt the fish,pepper and put on a baking sheet greased with olive oil. Sprinkle lemon juice well on top of pike perch.
3. Prepare a sauce of 15% fat sour cream, mayonnaise (2 tbsp.), 1 kg of onion sliced into half rings, s alt and pepper.
4. Pour the prepared sauce over the fish. Top with grated cheese.
5. Bake the dish at 180° for 40 minutes.

Delicious zander in a slow cooker

This recipe can be used to cook fish stew. The dish is prepared step by step in the following sequence:

1. Pike perch fillet (400 g) cut into portions. Pour the fish with lemon juice (2 tablespoons), s alt, add a little lemon zest, then cover the plate with cling film and put in the refrigerator.
2. Sweet peppers, onions, carrots and champignons (100 g) cut into strips. Mushrooms can be chopped in plates.
3. Put the vegetables into the multicooker bowl, adding a tablespoon of vegetable oil to them.
4. Set the "Baking" mode for 5 minutes.
5. Heat cream 10% fat (200 ml) on the stove. Pour them into a slow cooker with vegetables, then continue to simmer vegetables as before for two minutes.
6. Remove half of the vegetable mass on a plate. Put pike perch fillet on the remaining vegetables. Top the fish with the mass set aside on a plate.
7. Set the "Stew" mode and cook the dish for 20 minutes.