Fish are a popular food in our country. It is rich in calcium and minerals, which are so essential to bone tissue. It's not for nothing that even in Soviet times, Thursday was considered a fish. On this day it was customary to eat dishes exclusively from it.
However, the same pike or carp is very easy to spoil if not observe the rules of handling and cooking. In particular, when you are dealing not with a fresh, but frozen product.
Representatives of most fish species have too soft structure. Therefore, with a quick defrost, many housewives are faced with the fact that the fillet simply crawls and turns into minced meat, from which it is possible to cook only cutlets.
How to defrost the fish
Experienced cooks and chefs recommend in such a delicate matter as defrosting, adhere to several important rules.
The slower, the better!
If you are in no hurry, use the slow defrost method. Take the carcass and leave it overnight, so it thawed on the bottom shelf in the refrigerator. So the fish gradually get rid of the ice crust without any form loss and structure density.
If you need to defrost the fish quickly
In a situation where an accelerated thawing process is necessary, wrap the steak in 2 or 3 bags and put in a deep bowl filled with water. Put this cup under a stream of cold water and keep it there until your salmon or salmon becomes elastic and suitable for cutting. In general, this procedure can take up to 2 hours. Again much depends on the size of the carcass.
If you're a thrifty mistress and do not want to waste water, you can just leave the steaks wrapped in polyethylene in a pan of cold water. Every 20 minutes, change the solution until the fish dries.
This method will undoubtedly require more time. Remember, do not put the fish in a warm liquid. This will not only ruin the taste of the product, but it will also become less useful.
How to defrost fish in microwave
For those who have such a necessary household appliance, like a microwave oven, defrosting does not cause any problems at all. The fact is that under the action of waves, thawing occurs slowly without harm to the product. You just need to correctly set the mode, time and power.
Almost all electronically controlled stoves have a standard program for defrosting fish. You just need to set the weight of the product. If you use a simple microwave with manual control, then the fish should be thawed at low power( 10-20%). Time, depending on the weight of the product, usually takes 10-20 minutes.
But for this process it is worthwhile to follow and turn the carcase from time to time so that it warms up evenly. Unfortunately, the dimensions of the oven are not too large and for defrosting, for example, a single sturgeon this method is not suitable.
And finally the tip: do not bring the carcass to a very soft consistency. When it is slightly frozen, it is easier to clean it from the scales and remove the entrails.
It is also not desirable to put freshly thawed pieces in the freezer again. They need to be cooked immediately. In any case, the fish is useful, as long as it contains vitamins and minerals. Therefore, take care of both its processing and cooking.