Herring recipes: cooking sprats, marinated herring

Salaka is one of the varieties of herring and is notable for its small size. It is caught on an industrial scale in the waters of the Baltic Sea, including in the water bodies of countries such as Norway and Finland. Salaka is also called the Baltic herring.

Despite the small size of this fish, you can cook a lot of delicious dishes from it. Herring meat is so tender that it just melts in your mouth. As a rule, sprats and canned tomatoes are prepared from the Baltic herring, although the methods of preparing herring are not limited to these dishes.

What are the characteristics of lettuce?

It is impossible to find a person, and even more so a housewife, who would not cook any dishes from herring. As a rule, at home, herring is fried in a pan. As for the preparation of Baltic herring in industrial conditions, it is more used to prepare canned food in tomato or oil. There are 2 types of this fish: autumn herring and spring, depending on the spawning period. Autumn herring is very popular, as it has a slightly larger size, which means it has more meat.

The Baltic herring grows up to a maximum of seventeen centimeters, although there are individuals up to 30 cm long. Despite its size, the Baltic herring in appearance resembles a small herring, which is also confirmed by its taste.

This fish is caught all year round, so you can easily buy it in any fish department of the store, regardless of the season. Moreover, herring is sold, both fresh and frozen. In many regions, herring is more consumed in canned form, smoked or salted. For the inhabitants of Finland, baked herring in sour cream, seasoned with herbs, is considered a national dish.

How to choose the right herring?

Regardless of whether it is a herring or another fish, the product is chosen according to the following criteria: the eyes should not be cloudy, the gills should be bright red or burgundy, and the carcass of the fish, when pressed with fingers, should take its original shape (should be elastic ). The smell of herring should not have foreign odors, but only a fishy smell. In addition, fish carcasses must be marketable, that is, they must be intact. If the fish does not have a presentation, then most likely it has been thawed and frozen several times. Preference should be given to factory, rather than store packaging.

In stores, spicy or lightly salted herring is quite common, while quite often this product does not have a presentation. Often the fish is fragmented, with opened bellies. It is possible that it has already been salted in such a form as a product that was not sold in a timely manner. After eating such a product, a person risks his health.

Useful Properties

Salaka, like most seafood, does not have a high calorie content, since 100 grams of the product contains only 125 kcal. Despite this, herring meat is very useful, since it contains many components that are useful for human life.

For example:

• Vitamin C, which supports the normal functioning of the immune system.
• Vitamins of group “B”, as well as “A” and “E”.
• Iodine, which is necessary for the normal functioning of the thyroid gland.
• In addition, herring meat contains components such as phosphorus, iron, calcium, magnesium, fluorine, copper and cobalt.

Many experts believe that herring, which contains the entire spectrum of vitamins and microelements, is the most useful dietary product. As a rule, all components of seafood are quite easily digested, so it is permissible to use herring in any quantity, without fear that you can gain excess weight or problems with the digestive tract may arise.

But this is not all the useful qualities of this small fish. The meat of the Baltic herring contains fatty acids of the Omega group. Thanks to this component, it is possible to lower the level of cholesterol in the blood, which reduces the risk of formation of cholesterol plaques in the vessels. The fact is that the human body does not produce omega-3 acids, but they are found in seafood. Herring is the product that can deal with such a serious problem.

Using fatty acids of the Omega group, the human body receives full support for the normal functioning of various systems.

For example:

• Normalization of the cardiovascular system. Reduces the risk of various heart diseases, including heart attack.
• Normalization of blood pressure.
• Improving the functioning of the central nervous system.
• Reduced levels of inflammation, improved vision.
• The withdrawal from the body of various toxins and harmful substances.

On a note! Salaka should be present in the human diet, as its benefits are undeniable. Since there are many recipes for its preparation, it is unlikely to get bored.

Baltic herring is delicious when cooked on the grill, but it is advisable to marinate it beforehand. This fish is tasty and healthy if it is baked in the oven or steamed. The main thing is not to overexpose the fish so that it does not turn out to be rather dry. Prolonged processing can reduce the level of useful components. Prolonged exposure to temperature destroys some of the nutrients, so it should be cooked no more than half an hour.

Herring Recipes

Salaka is a versatile product for preparing all kinds of dishes. Baltic herring is suitable for preparing a smoked product, salted, marinated, baked or fried in vegetable oil.

In combination with various spices, as well as with hot smoke, it is possible to obtain finished products that are distinguished by versatile tastes.

The disadvantage of herring is a lot of bones, but here there is a plus: the bones are easily separated from the flesh.

It should always be remembered that the quality of the finished product depends on the quality of the original. If the fish is fresh, then you can count on the uniqueness of the taste. You should never skimp on your health.

The recipe for herring sprats

You can safely say. That sprats are a delicacy product. Despite this, they can be easily prepared at home. As a rule, sprats are always present on the festive table, in the form of canapes or salad with sprats. Sandwiches with sprats are considered no less tasty – any guest will not refuse them.

Unfortunately, modern manufacturers of finished products pay little attention to the quality of canned fish, saturating them with various chemicals. Therefore, many housewives prefer seafood cooked on their own. It would never even occur to anyone to add various flavor enhancers, dyes and, especially, preservatives to the dish. Sprats are cooked with soul and with the expectation that they do not harm the health of their loved ones.

Therefore, the main advantage of home cooking is confidence in the quality of the product, since it does not contain unnecessary ingredients.

To cook Baltic herring sprats at home, you must have:

• About half a kilo of herring.
• One glass of vegetable oil.
• One tablespoon of strong tea leaves.
• A couple of bulbs.
• Black and allspice pepper, about 1 teaspoon.
• Salt and bay leaf – to taste.

Interesting to know! To prepare such a dish, it is better to use dishes with a thick bottom. First of all, vegetable oil is poured into a pot or cauldron and heated to a high temperature.

After that, they start cutting onions and brew tea, after which the tea leaves should cool down a bit.

When the vegetable oil is heated to the desired temperature, fish and onions are poured into it. Then tea leaves are poured here, and all spices are added.

It remains only to close the cooking products with a lid and leave to languish over low heat.

Sprats are prepared for about 4 hours.

It is important to know! Long cooking will soften the bones of the fish. As a result, you do not have to get rid of bones while eating. In the process of cooking, in no case should the dish be stirred.

If you stir the fish and, no matter how carefully it is done, the carcasses of the fish will still break and choke, because of which the dish will lose its presentation. In the process of cooking, you need to monitor the level of liquid and, if necessary, add boiling water. When the meat begins to separate easily enough from the bone, we can assume that the sprats are ready. It remains only to turn off the fire and allow the sprats to cool.

Salaka in marinade

This is a dish that can be eaten at least every day. Especially, it complements boiled potatoes or fresh vegetable stew.

To prepare the dish you need to stock up:

• Fresh herring, up to 1,5 kg.
• Sunflower oil, up to 1 cup.
• Three carrots.
• Three large onions.
• 200 g of tomato paste or grated tomatoes.
• 0,5 cups of flour.
• Salt and spices to taste.

Important milestone! Each fish is placed in a mixture of flour and salt, after which it is laid out in a frying pan and fried in vegetable oil.

Separately, onions and carrots are peeled, chopped and also fried in vegetable oil until golden brown. After that, tomato paste or tomatoes are added to them. Everything is cooked together for about 5 minutes.

At the next stage, a deep plate (or other vessel) is taken and a layer of fried vegetables is laid out on its bottom, and a layer of fried herring on top. The dish is laid out in layers until the product runs out.

It remains only to place the dish in the refrigerator (somewhere for the night). During this time, the fish will soak in the vegetable marinade.

Salak spiced salting

Fish prepared in this way has a piquant taste, especially since taste barriers can be regulated by the composition of the marinade. It goes well with boiled potatoes and a slice of black bread.

Availability of ingredients:

• About 700 g of fresh fish.
• About 7 liters of water.
• One st. a spoonful of coriander.
• Bay leaf – 4 pieces.
• A couple of cloves.
• About 1,5 st. spoons of salt.
• One st. spoonful of pepper mixture
• One st. a spoonful of sugar.
• One st. a spoonful of vinegar.
• Additional spices, spices or herbs – to taste.

Responsible step! First of all, the marinade is prepared. For this, an appropriate container is taken, water is poured into it and all spices are added. When the water boils, add salt and sugar. Marinade is cooked for 10 minutes.

After this time, the marinade should cool. Prepared herring is laid out in a suitable container and poured with a cooled marinade. A board is laid on top of the fish and pressed down with a load. In this state, the fish should be kept in a cold place for 1 day.

Baked herring with smoked cheese

As mentioned above, you can cook a lot of dishes from herring, and quite tasty ones. In order to diversify your diet, you can cook herring baked in the oven with hard or smoked cheese. Despite the fact that it is tasty, it is also useful. The dish goes well with cold beer.

To prepare the dish you will need:

• Fillet salaki – up to 700 g.
• Flour.
• Somewhere around 3 bulbs.
• 350 g of cheese, preferably hard.
• Seasonings and salt – to taste.
• A little sunflower oil.

Interesting to know! First you need to prepare a mixture of flour and salt, so that then roll the fish in this mixture. Before cooking, it is better to sift the flour, and prepare the fish.

After that, you need to take a baking sheet, grease it with vegetable oil, after which pieces of fish that have been in a mixture of flour and salt are laid out on it.

At the next stage, the onion is peeled, chopped and laid out in a layer on the fish. The cheese is rubbed on a coarse grater, after which it is laid out in the same layer on top of the onion. If the fish remains, then it is laid out on top of the cheese and sprinkled with seasonings and watered with lemon juice. Before sending the dish to the oven, it must already be preheated to 180 degrees. In the oven, the fish is cooked for about half an hour. In any case, a golden crust should appear, after which the fish is taken out of the oven and served on the table.

Unusual dish – fake hare

By preparing a dish according to this recipe, you can easily surprise your guests. To prepare a dish, you must have:

• About 1 kg of salaki fillet.
• About 50 g of wheat crackers.
• Up to 150 g of white bread.
• Up to 60 g butter.
• A little sunflower oil.
• A couple of medium sized bulbs.
• A couple of chicken eggs.
• Pepper, salt and spices – to taste.
• Greens taste the same.
• The zest of one lemon.

An important point! First you need to take a meat grinder with a fine grate and skip the fish through it. Soaked (but not too much) bread, eggs, chopped onions, salt, pepper, butter and lemon zest are added to the fish chopped in a meat grinder.

Minced meat is kneaded to a homogeneous consistency, after which an object similar to a loaf is formed from it. After that, it must be rolled in flour and smeared with vegetable oil.

At the next stage, the “loaf” is placed on a baking sheet, which is sprinkled with breading before that. The dish is baked in the oven at a temperature of 180 degrees until cooked (about 30 minutes). After cooking, the dish should cool down, and then it is decorated with herbs and served at the table.

This dish can also be prepared in a slow cooker. To do this, a fake hare is taken and placed in a multicooker bowl. It remains only to click the “Baking” option. A fake hare is being prepared in a slow cooker for about 45 minutes.

Seafood dishes are distinguished by the fact that they contain a sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals, which are so necessary for the normal functioning of the human body. The main thing is to cook it correctly so that the useful components do not “evaporate”. When cooking seafood and herring in particular, it should be remembered that the most useful fish can be if it is not subjected to heat treatment, especially for a long time. In this regard, we can conclude that in its raw form it retains the largest amount of vitamins and minerals. In boiled or baked form, it still has enough substances that have a positive effect on the human body. The least healthy fried fish. In addition to being less beneficial, it can also be harmful, especially for those who suffer from digestive problems.