The question of how to clean the tench is quite relevant. After all, this breed of fish is common, familiar to many experienced anglers and even amateur beginners. As a rule, it is found in reservoirs and rivers, in places where the bottom is shallow and rich in vegetation, and the site itself is rich in silt.
This circumstance is due to the fact that the comfortable temperature for tench is + 18-20 Celsius. It is in these conditions that the habitat of this fish abounds in food.
It should be noted that the tench is a predator, it feeds mainly on small larvae, less often on vegetation and leads a sedentary lifestyle, which ultimately has a positive effect on nutritional properties this fish.
Experienced anglers say that they have come across individuals about 60 cm long and up to ten kilograms of live weight, even in places where other types of fish simply cannot survive.
Tench is quite unpretentious to such environmental factors as the oxygen content in the water, which makes it easy to grow this representative of the fauna even in artificial reservoirs.
Lifestyle and nutritional preferences of a living organism have a significant impact on its appearance. The tench is no exception, the body of which is covered with small golden scales, as well as mucus, which allows it to effortlessly move through the abundant vegetation and reed thickets characteristic of shallow water bodies.
Note that it is precisely because of the presence of thick mucus among hostesses that tench is not particularly popular, but this circumstance is fully compensated by the taste of this representative of cyprinids.
Some gourmets complain about the characteristic aroma of the meat of this fish, but only improperly cooked and prepared fish has a specific taste. How to clean tench, we'll talk a little later.
As mentioned above, tench has fine-grained scales, which creates some difficulties when cleaning fish.
Some fishermen prefer not to mess with cleaning at all, but bake the carcass directly with it, since during the cooking process the scales are baked and create a crusty effect, which many people like.
However, if you still decide to get rid of the scales, then get ready for a rather laborious process, which will require not only knowledge of the biological characteristics of the fish, but also some dexterity. So, to clean tench from scales at home, we need:
- salt, preferably coarse, which will serve as a kind of abrasive material. Since the surface of the fish is quite slippery due to mucus, it is quite difficult to hold it in your hands;
- a knife for cutting fish (you can also take a regular one, but the shape of the blade will not allow you to remove all the scales from the fish), some also use a spoon;
- boiling water;
- and, of course, a cutting board.
First you need to rinse the fish carcass in running tap water.
This procedure must be done carefully so that no dirt, soil particles or other foreign bodies remain on the surface of the tench, which, during subsequent cutting, can get into the fish meat.
After that, the fish must be lowered into boiling water for about 30 seconds. It is also recommended to simply pour boiling water over the tench on both sides for the same time.
This procedure is necessary in order to get rid of mucus as much as possible, which, upon contact with high temperatures, coagulates like egg yolk.
The next step is to lower the carcass of the fish into cold water. This must be done quickly.
After that, sprinkle the tench with salt and a knife or spoon (which is important to note - with a blunt surface), clean the fish from scales, which should peel off evenly.
As mentioned above, many anglers neglect to get rid of scales in the process of preparing tench. In addition to the fact that it is not always possible to find running water during fishing, the scales themselves do not pose any threat to human digestion, as they eventually turn into a kind of crust.
However, despite this, some preliminary steps in the preparation of tench are still necessary. In addition to the fact that the fish must be cleaned of mucus as thoroughly as possible, you should also get rid of the internal organs of the fish.
This is quite easy to do if you follow a certain sequence.
- It is necessary to stick a knife into the abdominal cavity of the fish 1-2 cm, hold it to the tail of the carcass. Note that the incision must be made with a sharp knife, being extremely careful so as not to damage the internal organs of the fish. A particularly unpleasant surprise will be the contents of the tench, which, when the latter is injured, gets into the meat and gives it a rancid taste, which is not easy to get rid of.
- After the abdominal cavity of the tench is cut, it is necessary to remove all the insides of the fish. Then, with a sharp knife, we get rid of the gills and fins. This is where the cleaning process can be considered complete. Further actions depend only on the preferences of the cook, because there are a huge number of ways to cook tench.
Some housewives complain about the specific musty smell of tench, due to the fact that the fish prefers to live in stagnant and muddy waters. But getting rid of it, as it turns out, is not so difficult.
To do this, dilute two tablespoons of table salt in a liter of water, thoroughly rinse the already cleaned fish in this solution, and pour the tench immediately before cooking. lemon juice.
In the process of baking, boiling or other options for preparing fish, many spices are used that will finally help get rid of the unpleasant aftertaste of the fish.
Following these simple tips, you can not only cook tench quickly and efficiently, but also fully enjoy the amazing and unsurpassed taste of fish, which has served as a table decoration at all times for good reason.
In ancient times, in Russia, tench was even served at the royal table, as the fish is rich in easily digestible proteins and fats. Of course, the rulers of ancient times did not really delve into the biological subtleties of the assimilation of food, but they noted the unsurpassed taste of tench, like many modern fishermen.
Mother of two children. I have been running a household for more than 7 years - this is my main job. I like to experiment, I constantly try various means, methods, techniques that can make our life easier, more modern, richer. I love my family.
Tench has a wide distribution, is very unpretentious to conditions, is found in most stagnant reservoirs or rivers with a slow current. Despite this, it is rarely seen among the prey of anglers. This is due to the fact that its lifestyle is very different from most carp fish. Meanwhile, it is very tasty, with tender meat, it has very few bones.
This handsome man has a color from green-silver to dark, brown. It got its name due to the ability to change color after it was taken out of the water. It looks like he really faded. This fish has very small scales, covered with a layer of mucus on top.
In addition to good taste, meat contains many vitamins and minerals. Phosphorus, iodine, zinc, sodium, manganese and many other elements necessary for the human body are contained in it. The low carbohydrate content makes fish very useful for athletes and weight watchers. No wonder they say - tench royal fish.
Getting rid of a peculiar smell
Most of the time the molt spends in dense thickets of aquatic vegetation. This is probably what influenced the specific smell, which can be more or less, depending on the reservoir. Indeed, the tench often gives off mud, which not everyone will like. In order to get rid of the herbal smell, you can hold the fish carcasses for several hours in clean water with a few slices of lemon. You can simply use various additives, such as onions, dill, ready-made seasonings. For example, in fish fried with spices, there are practically no unpleasant odors. Therefore, this method is suitable for people who do not want to perform unnecessary actions or simply do not have time for this.
Do I need to clean the tench and how to do it
There is no unequivocal opinion about this. If you cook in the oven, small scales are baked, it becomes almost invisible. The same can be said about fried lin. But for cooking fish soup, for example, it is desirable to clean the fish after all. In addition, in any case, it is necessary to remove the mucus that protects the tench from various diseases. To do this, you can douse the carcass a little hot water, after this procedure, the mucus instantly crumple, which will facilitate the work.
It is very convenient to clean the lines with an ordinary vegetable grater.
How to fry tench in a pan
Perhaps the simplest and fast way cooking tench, it is to fry it in a pan. We remove the mucus, open the abdomen, remove the insides, cut into steaks, salt and roll in flour. Pour enough into the pan. vegetable oil, warm up. The oil should be hot enough that when you put the pieces of fish in the pan, you can see the boil. The amount of oil should be such that it hides the fish by about half. We fry for a short time (the time depends on the temperature, the size of the pieces, the amount of oil), then turn over to the second side and fry it. Everything, the dish is ready.
You can add chopped onion and pepper to the fish, but this is a matter of taste. In my opinion, the more additional spices, the less the real taste of the tench itself remains.
Carefully clean the carcasses, cut off the heads and gut. Carefully remove the intestines, if the gallbladder breaks, the fish will start to taste bitter.
Rub the chopped carcasses with salt, sprinkle with black pepper and put in a frying pan. We fry for 10-15 minutes on low heat, do not forget to turn them over. If the stove is electric, then set the average power.
We coat the line with a layer of sour cream and sprinkle with a pinch of fresh herbs. Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat until fully cooked.
Ready fish, if desired, can be decorated with olives. Fried tench is very tasty. Tender, fatty meat and a small amount of bones, this dish is perfect for almost any side dish. Black pepper will add spiciness, and sour cream will add juiciness and excellent flavor.
How to cook tench in the oven by adding sour cream
We process carcasses of lines in the same way as for frying. We remove the scales (for an amateur), gut, cut off the heads, fins and tail. If there is enough free space on the baking sheet, you can bake tench with a head.
We coat with sour cream on all sides and the abdomen.
Sprinkle with salt, with the expectation that when it is absorbed, the fish will not turn out oversalted or undersalted. Add pepper to taste or ready seasoning. Let the carcasses marinate for one to two hours.
Put the tray in the preheated oven. The temperature is needed in the range of 170-200 degrees. Ideally fits electric oven heated from above and below. This allows the dish to bake more evenly and without burning. It should take about one hour to prepare. The time depends on the weight of the carcasses, the temperature and the oven itself. A sign of readiness will be the color of the fish, it will darken a little or be golden.
“You can put slices of chopped potatoes with onion rings on a baking sheet and place it all in an even layer with fish. At the output we get an amazing, juicy, ready meal with garnish!"
Oven-cooked food is healthier than fried food, as it contains much less cholesterol, which is very harmful for people with vascular problems. Such fish can be eaten at least every day, except for individual intolerance.
Among the variety of species river fish tench, which has excellent taste, enjoys special attention of culinary experts. It is low in calories and high quality protein combined with a number of beneficial amino acids. Before cooking fish, you should learn how to properly clean and gut it.
What kind of fish - tench
Freshwater fish, the only representative of the genus Tinca - tench - has a thick and massive body, covered with mucus, and elongated small scales, beautifully shimmering in golden color in the sun. Typically tench prefers to settle in coastal waters and can live in water with a low oxygen content. Getting into the air, it can change color, becoming covered with dark spots, as if shedding. The size of the fish rarely exceeds 50 cm, while the weight can reach 5–6 kg. Most often, a line weighing about 600 g becomes a trophy for a fisherman. The life expectancy of a line is 18 years, it is not among the predatory ones.
Since the fish has a special aroma reminiscent of the smell of silt, freshly caught tench is soaked for some time in clean water before cooking. In the cooking process, spices and spices are added that can drown out this smell.
Tench - tasty and healthy fish
Tench contains a large amount of vitamins, as well as copper, chromium, zinc, phosphorus, potassium, fluorine, sodium and manganese. It is especially useful for people suffering from thyroid diseases and complaining of poor stomach function. Regular use of tench has a positive effect on the work of the heart, and prevents the development of arrhythmia.
If you want to enjoy the most delicious tench, give preference to buying or catching this fish in late April or early May.
And remember that during the spawning period (begins in the middle or end of May and lasts for a month), tench is completely unsuitable for eating.
A wide variety of dishes can be prepared from tench meat by subjecting it to the process of boiling, frying and baking. In addition, tench is usually stuffed, stewed and marinated, and also served as jelly.
During the spawning period, tench should not be used for food.
Do I need to clean the tench and how to do it
Many housewives do not clean the tench from scales, because when cooked, it turns into a delicious crust. But if you decide to clean the fish, proceed as follows:
- Take the tench and wash it under running water from the mucus.
- Choose a suitable size container and fill it with boiling water.
- Dip the tench in boiling water for 20 seconds.
- Then quickly transfer the fish to cold water.
- Using a knife turned with the blunt side to the tench, scrape off the scales from it, moving in the direction from the tail to the head.
The procedure can be done differently.
- Put the line in the kitchen sink.
- Wash it off the mucus.
- Pour boiling water over it from the kettle.
- Turn on cold water and rinse the fish from curdled mucus.
- Carry out cleaning with a knife, as described above.
Advice. Rub the tench with coarse salt so that the fish does not slip in your hands during operation. It will also help remove mucus.
Instead of a knife, you can use a small metal grater. And so that the fish scales do not scatter throughout the kitchen, it is advisable to clean it by immersing the fish in a container of water.
Line can be cleaned with a knife or grater
If you need to clean tench in field conditions, you can use coarse salt.
How to clean tench - video
How to get rid of the unpleasant smell of mud
Since the tench is characterized by a special smell of dampness and mud, you have to get rid of it. To do this, you can use a solution of 2 tbsp. l. salt and 1 liter of water. The fish is thoroughly washed in it, and before the cooking process itself, it is sprinkled with lemon juice.
It is interesting. Fish scales have a high amount of pectin, so they can be used as a thickener when making jelly. The scales and the head collected after cleaning, with the gills previously removed, wrap in cheesecloth, lower into a saucepan with broth, intended for making jellied meat.
How to gut tench
For gutting fish you will need:
- cutting board;
- plastic bag.
Operating procedure:
If during gutting you still touched the gallbladder, you must carefully cut out the area into which the bile spilled. Then generously rub the fish with salt, then rinse it thoroughly in running water.
How to Gut a Fish Without Cutting the Belly
If the line is intended for holiday table, you can remove its insides without cutting the belly. This gutting option can be used for both frozen and fresh fish, when preparing it for frying and baking as a whole. Also, the line can be cut into round pieces.
- Make neat cuts in the flesh located along the edges of the gill covers, up to the spine.
- Break your spine.
- Separate the head from the line along with all the insides attached to it.
- Trim the tail and cut off the fins.
- Rinse the line.
The method of gutting fish with wooden sticks without cutting the belly - video
Features of cleaning and cutting frozen tench
Usually tench is immediately prepared without freezing. If you still have to work with frozen fish, then with improper thawing, it may lose a number of its useful properties.
Before cleaning, it is necessary to properly defrost the tench
Tench should be thawed exclusively in cold water at a ratio of the amount of liquid and the mass of fish 2: 1. For complete defrosting big fish it takes about four hours, and small - no more than two hours. To prevent the loss of valuable substances, it is enough to put the tench in salted water. At the same time, for 1 kg of lines you will need 2-3 liters of water and 15 g of salt.
When defrosting the fillet, you can do without water. It is enough to lay out the pieces on the table, cover with cling film and leave until completely thawed under conditions room temperature. Thanks to the film, the amount of evaporated moisture will be reduced, which will have a beneficial effect on the taste of the defrosted product. When working with frozen fillet, you should be aware that it does not need special hygienic treatment. Before cooking, cut off the damaged edges from it, remove dirt and rinse well.
Do not re-freeze defrosted tench, as the fish will lose their taste qualities due to loss of juice. In addition, it is advisable not to beat off and squeeze the thawed tench.
When defrosting fish, use only cold water.
- If you plan to cook the fish whole or in batches, you can leave the scales before the frying process.
- If the scales need to be removed, you should use a knife, grater or special tools that make it easy to get rid of it. After cleaning is completed, it is necessary to remove the fins by cutting them on both sides and tearing them off the carcass in the direction from tail to head.
Before preparing the soup, tench can be cut into large transverse pieces. If you plan to fry it, it is recommended to cut the fish at an angle of 45 ° C. Then salt the pieces, pepper and put in the refrigerator for 5 minutes. This will give the fish juiciness.
Tench, cut into large transverse pieces, suitable for making soups
Plastovanie thawed and fresh tench
If you have to cook a large tench, after gutting it, you can make flattening or milling. This procedure is carried out in the same way for fish of different species:
How to skin a thawed or fresh fillet
If you want to cook cutlets or quenelles from tench, you need to remove the skin from the fillet. In this case, the scales can not be removed.
- Hold the tail of the line with your left hand.
- With your right hand, cut the fillet with a sharp knife, pressing it firmly against the surface of the table, separating the meat from the skin.
- Put fish fillet rib bones up.
- Holding the rib bones with your left hand, cut the bones with your right hand, while holding the knife obliquely so that its blade looks to your left.
- Do the same procedure with the second fillet.
When removing the skin from the fillet, it is advisable to use a sharp knife, while acting as carefully as possible.
The waste remaining from the tench - fins, skin, bones - can be used to make broths. However, before the cooking process, it is necessary to remove the gills from the fish heads.
Using the methods described, you can easily clean and properly cut the tench before preparing a variety of dishes. Proper cleaning of the tench, taking into account some important nuances, will avoid disappointment when tasting already cooked fish. And a variety of cutting methods will give your dishes a great presentation.
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Very useful and nutritious is such a tasty fish as tench. It includes fats and proteins, which are perfectly absorbed by the human body. Most often, such a fish is fried or baked in the oven, certainly with spices, since tench meat smells of mud.
Tench goes well with all the spices - you can sprinkle the fish with lemon juice before cooking and let it soak for fifteen minutes. After that, rub the carcasses with salt and fry in sunflower oil with garlic and herbs, a pinch of black pepper. An excellent side dish for this dish will be fried vegetables.
When frying such a fish, you can use breadcrumbs, flour. Pre-crackers can be mixed with your favorite spices - it will turn out insanely delicious. Lin is valuable food product which rivals nutritionally the best varieties meat. It is absorbed much faster by the body and is therefore used with success in diet food. The meat of this fish is low in calories, so for those who want to lose weight, this is a suitable treat.
Of course, before you cook the fish, you need to clean it. And here there are difficulties - not every housewife knows how to properly clean the tench, which means it's time to learn this.
How to clean the tench?
For cleaning you need: a sharp knife, a cutting board and enough salt, as well as boiling water.
1. We clean the tench from mucus and mud - we wash the fish under running water.
2. We leave after washing the tench in the sink - after a few minutes, pour boiling water on the fish. As a result, such heat treatment the remaining mucus will clot like egg white. Now, in order to get rid of unnecessary residues, he again rinses the tench with cold water.
3. Sprinkle carcasses with large sea salt- the line will not slip out of your hands.
4. To remove the insides, take a knife, stick the blade into the abdomen by two centimeters and cut to the end of the carcass. The incision must be made carefully so as not to damage the gallbladder - damage will lead to a bitter taste of fish.
5. When all the insides are removed, be sure to cut off the fins and gills.
What to do with tench scales?
Many people ask the question of whether it is necessary to clean the scales of this fish? In fact, this is not required, although some still clean the fish from scales.
If you want to get rid of the scales, then first dip the fish in boiling water for twenty to a maximum of thirty seconds. After that, immediately send the fish into cold water, after which you can scrape off the scales using the blunt side of the knife - move in the direction from the tail to the head area.
You can also clean the scales from the tench using a fine grater with pointed teeth.
How to get rid of the smell of mud?
Feeling the persistent unpleasant smell of mud while cleaning the fish, prepare a special solution. We dilute two tablespoons of salt in one liter of water, wash the tench in it, then dry it with a towel. Before baking tench in the oven or frying in a pan, sprinkle the fish with lemon juice. Remember that you need to buy such fish only live, freshly caught.
Now that you have learned how to clean the fish, it's time to cook something delicious out of it.
Lin - cooking recipe:
We need a tench weighing a kilogram, three liters of water, one testicle, a carrot, five large potatoes, two onions, peppercorns, three bay leaves, five stalks of parsley and dill, salt and ground black pepper.
Cut potatoes and carrots into small slices. We cut the onion into rings. Of course, it is better to cook such a dish on a fire, but you can also cook it at home on a stove. Heat water to a boil and add boiled potatoes, carrots and onions.
Before boiling, do not forget to salt the water and throw a few peas of pepper.
Boiled vegetable broth add ground pepper and lavrushka. Let the broth boil, remove the foam. Potatoes and carrots should soften. We cut the tench into portioned pieces - it turns out about four to five pieces. Don't forget to remove the head and tail fins. We put the tench in the bubbling broth, pour in the same egg and add salt to your taste - cook for about five to seven minutes, until the fish meat turns white.
Before serving the ear to the table, add finely chopped dill and parsley. It turns out very tasty.
Tench stewed with green onion
You will need tench carcasses, fifty green onions, forty white bread, five melted butter. You will also need one hundred and fifty grams of milk or one hundred and twenty - broth, thirty - sour cream, one hard-boiled egg, pepper and herbs.
We clean and wash the tench, chop into portions, medium-sized carcasses can be left whole. Sprinkle the fish with pepper and salt, send for a couple of hours in a cold place. Finely chop the green onion, add the grated stale White bread, finely chopped parsley or dill - mix everything. Spread half of the mixture in an even layer in a saucepan, greased with oil, put the fish on top, cover with the remaining mixture and pour hot milk or fish broth with sour cream - simmer, covering the dishes with a lid, sixty minutes. Serve on a plate, putting onion on the fish, then sprinkle with chopped hard-boiled egg.
Lin is freshwater fish belonging to the carp family. She has a thick body, which is covered with elongated scales, tightly seated in the skin and abundantly secreting a secretion product. Most individuals of this species have a dark back color with a slightly greenish tint, light yellow sides and gray fins.
One of the main distinguishing features of this fish is the presence of mucus, which covers the entire body and quickly darkens in the air. After some time, the darkened mucus peels off, and yellow spots appear under it. Another feature of the tench is the characteristic moldy or silty aroma that its meat possesses. This problem is solved by keeping the caught fish in running water or by preparing tench with a lot of spices.
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Instruction
In order to clean the tench, you must:
- Clean the tench from mud and mucus by rinsing under cold running water.
- Put the fish in the sink and pour boiling water over the top.
- Turn on cold water and remove any remaining mucus.
- Lay the fish on a cutting board.
- Make an incision all over the belly, being careful not to damage the gallbladder.
- Remove the insides, cut off the gills and fins.
Cleaning tench from scales
It is not necessary to clean the fish from scales, because during the cooking process it becomes a tender and oily crust. If you still need to do this, you need:
- Dip the line in boiling water for fifteen to twenty seconds.
- Move fish to cold water.
- Using the blunt side of the knife, scrape off the scales in the direction from the tail to the head.
On the final stage, if the fish has a strong smell of mud, it is recommended to dilute one or two tablespoons of salt in one liter of water. Rinse the fish in the prepared solution, and then sprinkle the fillet with a small amount of lemon juice.
