Fried carp in a frying pan: recipes, cooking steaks, fillets, whole fish

Fish of the carp family (crucian carp, crucian carp) are very tasty when fried. Their large relative carp is no exception. If for the holiday table it is often baked whole, then for everyday lunch or dinner it is much easier and faster to cook it in a frying pan, cutting it into portions. Fried carp is not inferior to baked carp in its organoleptic qualities, and your family members gathered at the table will certainly be satisfied with such a treat.

Cooking features

It is recommended to cook fish, especially freshwater fish, fresh and recently caught. However, if there is no fisherman in your family, then you will most likely have to purchase frozen carp. To prevent it from becoming loose and dry, you need to defrost it correctly. Proper defrosting of fish involves its gradual thawing, without sudden temperature changes. First, they let it sit in the main chamber of the refrigerator, then at room temperature, and only after that they start cooking. Trying to speed up the process of defrosting carp using a microwave will not lead to anything good.
When buying fresh carp at the market, pay attention to its appearance. It should be covered in shiny, non-sticky mucus, have clear eyes and bright pink gills. If its gills are pale, its eyes are cloudy, and its scales are covered with sticky mucus, then it is already spoiled. Such fish is neither tasty nor safe. Also beware of purchasing carp without a head, as it is often removed by unscrupulous sellers in order to hide the staleness of the product from the buyer.
Before frying, the carp must be scaled, gutted and washed. It is more convenient to clean the scales by immersing the carp in a basin of water so that they do not fly apart. If you plan to fry skinned carp fillets, you can remove the skin and scales. When gutting carp, be careful not to damage the gall bladder, otherwise the fish will acquire an unpleasant bitterness.
When you gut a carp, you can find caviar inside. It can be salted or used to make caviar cutlets, so there is no need to throw it away.
Fry the carp, cutting it into steaks or fillet portions. The choice depends on the specific recipe. In rare cases, when very young carp weighing up to 0.5 kg became the fisherman's prey, they can be fried whole.
Before frying, fish pieces must be breaded. The crust that the breading creates traps the juice inside, making the fish juicy. You can use crackers, flour, semolina as breading. Not only wheat flour is used, but also buckwheat, corn, and oatmeal. The crispiest crust is created by corn flour and semolina; from wheat and buckwheat flour, the breading comes out tender and almost weightless.
Carp has an unpleasant muddy odor, which you need to try to get rid of. To neutralize the specific smell of mud, fish can be soaked in milk or water acidified with vinegar, marinated in a mixture of lemon juice, herbs, and a mixture of allspice. Fried carp will have a more pleasant smell if it is cooked with onions, carrots, garlic, dill, and sour cream.
To obtain a crispy crust, pieces of carp are fried over medium heat without a lid, then the fish is ready in 15-20 minutes. If you need small bones to soften, then you need to fry the fish over low heat; this will take 2 times longer. Marinating fish also helps soften the bones.

Preparing fried carp:

Step 1: prepare the carp.

Step 2: prepare fried carp.

Step 3: Prepare the greens.

Step 4: serve fried carp.

Tips for the recipe:

– – It will be easier to remove the scales of the sazn if you first put the fish in hot water for 1 minute.

– – Carp can be served with fried onions.

– – Before breading, fish pieces can be sprinkled with lemon juice.

– – If you have carp with milk, then you can fry them in the same way as fish.

– – Carp is best served with white wine.

– – This recipe can also be used to cook carp.

Fried carp - tasty, fast and healthy. And what’s equally important is that it’s accessible. How to fry it correctly? Very simple! Anyone can do this in their own kitchen. Now a little more detail.

A simple recipe for fried carp

Compound:

carp – 1.5 kg;
dill – 15-20 g;
green onions – 15-20 g;
flour – 50 g;
salt, ground black pepper - to taste;
refined vegetable oil – 120 ml.

Cooking method:

Clean the carp and gut it. Rinse the carcass and dry it with a kitchen towel. Remove the fish's head, tail and fins. Cut the carp into steaks about 2 cm thick.
Sift the flour, mix with salt, pepper and finely chopped dill, pour into a bag.
Place the fish pieces in the bag. Tie it and shake it so that the dry mixture covers each piece of carp.
Heat oil in a frying pan.
Place carp pieces in boiling oil in one layer. Fry them over medium heat on both sides, giving each side 7-8 minutes.
Place the fish on a napkin to absorb excess oil.
Cook the remaining fish in the same way.

Place pieces of fried carp on plates, cover with finely chopped green onions and serve.

Express recipe

This fish cooks very quickly, so it remains juicy and soft inside. This recipe for carp fried in a frying pan is designed for a minimum amount of time spent. In this case, only key components are used. The calorie content of one 200 g serving will be about 400 kcal.

Ingredients:

carp 1 piece;
flour;
sunflower oil;
spices.

The cooking process directly depends on the condition of the carcass. If it is a whole fish, it must be cleaned and washed. It is also worth separating the carp caviar. It is also very tasty and healthy. If this is a finished fillet or steak, you can move on to the next stage.

Each piece of fish must be salted and peppered. Of course, you can add other spices if you wish. Next, the carp should be rolled in flour.

To understand how long to fry fish fillets, pay attention to the thickness of the pieces. On average, 2-3 minutes are spent on each side.

To get a crispy, tasty crust, you should fry the fish as quickly as possible over high heat.

You can save the caviar for next time or cook it right away. It needs to be freed from films. Next, it should be salted and formed into arbitrary cakes. You can fry carp caviar in the same way as the main part of the fish. This is a real delicacy for seafood lovers.

Carp, whole fried in sour cream

Compound:

carp – 0.3-0.4 kg;
lemon – 0.25 pcs.;
salt, fish seasonings - to taste;
sour cream – 40 ml;
refined vegetable oil, flour - how much will be needed.

Cooking method:

Clean and gut the carp, rinse and dry with a napkin. Make oblique cuts on the carcass to destroy the bones and make them less dangerous.
Rub the carcass with seasonings and salt, pour lemon juice over it.
Leave the carp to marinate for 30-60 minutes.
Dip the fish in flour and place in a frying pan with boiling oil.
Fry the fish for 20 minutes, turning it occasionally with a spatula.
Grease the carp with sour cream. Cover the pan with a lid. Reduce the flame intensity and simmer the carp in sour cream for 5-10 minutes.

How to fry carp in a frying pan, recipes

Due to the high fat content in carp meat, a small amount of oil is needed to cook it.

Fry in flour with onions

For 1 carcass you need:

1-2 onions;
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon of butter;
a bowl of flour;
fresh chopped greens (any);
a pinch of salt and pepper.

Clean the fish and cut into narrow (2 cm) steaks.

Cut the onion into half rings and simmer in vegetable oil until half cooked. Add butter and continue to fry the onion until it turns golden. Remove the onions to a plate, leaving the remaining oil in the pan.

Add salt and pepper to the fish. Dredge each piece in flour, tapping the steak a little on the bowl at the end to knock off excess flour (otherwise it will burn in the pan).

Fry in the remaining oil (can be until half cooked).

Place the steaks in a clean frying pan, cover with fried onions, and sprinkle with herbs. After pouring a little boiling water into the frying pan (literally a few spoons), cover the carp with a lid and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.

Carp in batter

The batter could be like this:

double - first the fish is rolled in beaten egg, and then in flour (white or mixed with spices) or breadcrumbs;
sour cream (egg + flour + sour cream + a little parsley);
mayonnaise (egg + flour or starch + mayonnaise);
dairy (flour + milk + vegetable oil + eggs);
cheese (finely grated cheese + eggs + spices);
beer (beer + a little vegetable oil + flour + eggs + salt).

As a rule, ingredients are added to the batter by eye. It needs to be brought to the consistency of thick sour cream. Don’t throw away the unused batter: fry it in a frying pan after the carp, you’ll get a spicy, fishy-smelling pancake.

Carp in a frying pan with potatoes

This recipe requires a frying pan that has a detachable handle or is made of metal so that the pan can be placed safely in the oven.

Processing fish in nature

If you caught carp in the river while fishing, then, naturally, you want to cook it right there on the fire. In this case, you can clean the fish from scales with a simple knife. How to clean carp? They always start working from the tail, moving towards the head.

The knife is held at an angle to the body of the fish, prying the scales with the tip. Movements should be sharp and quite strong, since the carp’s scales are firmly embedded in the body. On the belly, be sure to cut off the fins along with the inner bones to avoid hardening. The scales on this part of the body are small, so you need to be patient and, after processing, run your hand over the belly of the fish, checking that nothing remains. If you notice residue, clean the area again.

Fish cutting

Gutting fish is not as difficult as it seems.

To save time and effort, it is recommended to adhere to the following recommendations:

Take a sharp knife and make a cut from the gill plates to the vertebra.
Using the tip of a kitchen tool, cut the back upwards towards the head.
Cut off the tail fin, and then use the blade of a knife to pry the fillet part of the flesh, thereby separating it from the ribs. Repeat the steps on the other side of the carcass.
Place the fish on a cutting board, meat side up, and cut down the middle without touching the skin.
Run the knife along the skin, as close to it as possible - this will help separate the fillet.

Video: Cutting fish

Another method of gutting occurs as follows:

Wrap the cutting board in plastic wrap - this way it will definitely not absorb the smell and will not need subsequent thorough washing.
Place the carp on its surface with the abdominal cavity facing up.
Using a sharp knife, make 2 small cuts: one near the tail, the other closer to the head.
Use a knife to cut a line connecting these two cuts. It should be shallow, approximately 2–3 mm.
Open the fish and remove all the insides, being careful not to touch the gall bladder. If this does happen, you must immediately cut out the area of the pulp where the caustic substance got in, and also rub the area with salt.
Cut out the gills or cut off the head, depending on the recipe you choose.
Rinse the carp thoroughly under cold running water.

Important! It is not advisable to throw away all the remains of the fish (skin, head, tail), since they can be used to prepare a rich first course.

Is carp bony?

Carp differs from other representatives of the Cyprinidae order in that it has very tender and nutritious meat, and is also relatively non-bony , which allows it to be included even in children’s diets. Almost all fish bones are large and easily removed, but occasionally you can find small ones in small quantities.

It is also worth noting that the larger the specimen you choose, the less bone tissue you find, and all of it is quite large. Experienced cooks claim that if we compare carp and other freshwater fish in terms of bonyness (for example, silver carp), the first one definitely wins.

Useful properties of carp

Based on the taste and tenderness of the meat, carp is considered one of the best carp fish. The average commercial carp weighs up to 2 kg, but catches include specimens weighing 20 kg or more. The abdominal cavity of feeding old carp contains a lot of fat.

Cooks fry and stuff carp, and also prepare dishes from it in a variety of sauces.

Sesan fish contains little sodium, making it a good choice for salt-free diets. Carp contains potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron.

The content of potassium and magnesium in fish meat is low, but there is quite enough of them in the entrails. Fish that is eaten “whole” (sardines, sprats) satisfies this need. But the amount of iron in carp is quite high. Swedish studies have shown that iron deficiency anemia cannot occur with sufficient fish consumption.

Cleaning Tools

If you catch a lot of fish while fishing, but you don’t have scissors with you to get rid of sharp fins, then you can make a scraper for cleaning carp right on the spot. To do this, make a homemade tool by nailing a couple of beer caps to a wooden stick. You can take care in advance of how to quickly clean carp from scales by taking a purchased scraper with you.

Its edges are serrated or teeth made of metal, which can easily cope with even such coarse scales as those of carp.

How to clean it properly

There are several ways to quickly and without consequences in the form of scales scattered around a carp.

Important! It is not recommended to use a sink for this method, since scale residues risk clogging the drain.

The first assumes the following sequence:

Cover the kitchen table or any convenient surface with newspapers or thick paper.
Put on rubber gloves and place the fish on the table.
Use sharp kitchen scissors to cut off the fins.
Press the head of the carp with your fingers and a knife (if you have one, you can use a scraper), clean off the scales diagonally, and when the main part is removed, continue from the tail to the head. The procedure must be performed dynamically, grabbing the scales and pulling them upward.
Rinse the carcass under cold running water.

The following option will allow you to clean one fish in less than 2 minutes if you proceed as follows:

Take a basin and fill it with running water - this way all the scales will not be scattered around, but will remain in the container.
Place the fish in a container and lightly wet it.
Take a spoon and, starting from the tail, pick up the scales and lead to the head, using force. This way the plates will be layered on the kitchen utensils, which will allow you to quickly clean the carp.
Periodically wash off any remaining scales with water.
Repeat the sequence on the other side of the carcass.
Take a knife and also, from the caudal fin to the head, remove a thick layer of scales from the sternum.

If you can see uncleaned islands somewhere, just pour boiling water over them, wait a few seconds and remove them with a knife.
In addition to the methods described above, you can use:

with a special grater for cleaning fish, before placing the carcass in a basin or sink;
pour boiling water over it for 2–4 seconds, and then use a knife to remove it in a thin layer along with the skin;
Place in the freezer for 6-8 hours, then remove and place in the sink for 2 hours before cleaning;
using salt;
a grinder or a drill - the method is effective, but the entire interior around you will be covered in scales, which will take a very long time to remove.

Did you know? In Japan, for its extreme wisdom, the carp is called the “father of all fish,” and they often say about cunning people: “Smart as a carp.”

Carp

Carp is a large freshwater fish, similar to carp. This fish lives in almost all bodies of water. Looks for wide and deep areas with weak currents or standing water, with a soft clay or moderately muddy bottom. It does not avoid the hard bottom, unless it is rocky. Carp loves warm water and prefers overgrown reservoirs. Stays deep.

Carp meat is dense, juicy, there are not many bones, so it is suitable for any method of culinary processing. It can be fried, baked, stewed, and delicious meatballs and cutlets are made from the minced meat. The domesticated form of carp is carp.

Accuracy in work

Before cleaning a carp, carefully examine its structure. The dorsal and anal fins of the carp have spiny rays (files) with jagged edges. You can get seriously pricked by them, and the wound from such damage causes pain for a long time.

Before cleaning the carp, use kitchen scissors and cut off all the fins and, if necessary, the tail of the fish. Only after this procedure begin cleaning the carp from scales.