The best recipe for Jewish stuffed pike: cooking features, recommendations and reviews

Fish is a very healthy and tasty product. It has a wonderful, unique taste and the most delicate fillet, which contains a huge amount of healthy microelements. Omega-3 polyunsaturated amino acids, phosphorus, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin PP are just some of the substances that make fish such an indispensable product.

Fish has a positive effect on brain activity, the state of the musculoskeletal system, skin and hair, stomach, general hormonal levels and other aspects of human health.

To prevent rickets, children are given fish oil, which is rich in vitamin D.

There are a huge variety of recipes for cooking fish. Today we will look at a recipe for stuffed pike in Jewish style, reviews of which are always good.

Let's talk about pike

Pike is a deep-sea river fish that is a predator and lives in Eurasian countries and North America. It is considered a delicacy; it is not only caught in the wild, but also bred for consumption in artificially created reservoirs.

This fish can and should even be consumed during a diet, as it contains a large amount of protein and almost no fat. However, because of this feature, its fillet is quite dry, so most often the pike is stuffed, making it more juicy with the help of additional ingredients.

Pike prepared in this way is a frequent guest on the New Year's table. The recipe for Jewish stuffed pike has different variations; we will look at the most successful ones, in our opinion.

Choosing fish for stuffing

Before Jewish stuffed pike appears on your holiday table (we will describe the recipe for its preparation in detail a little later), let's talk about how to choose the right fish for this dish.

If you are a fisherman, you can safely skip this section, since you probably know how to distinguish fresh fish from spoiled fish and what size pike is suitable for stuffing. But if you are a city resident and for the first time you are going to surprise your loved ones with an exquisite fish dish, then carefully study our advice.

You will have to buy fish in large supermarkets or at the grocery market. Be especially meticulous when determining the freshness of fish. A predator suitable for cooking has clean, transparent eyes, bright red gills, and its scales should be smooth without damage or mucus.

The recipe for stuffed pike in Jewish style assumes the presence of fresh, not frozen fish.

Fish size

For many recipes, the law applies: the younger the animal, the tastier and more tender its meat is, and therefore, the more beautiful the dish it will turn out to be. This rule does not apply to Jewish pike, since stuffing young pike is quite problematic. They have thin skin, are small in size and contain more bones than meat.

One and a half or two kilogram fish is best suited for the dish we are describing here.

Jewish stuffed pike: preparation features

To properly prepare fish for stuffing, you need to put in a lot of effort, but the result will be worth it.

If at this stage you make any mistake, the product will be spoiled and will not be suitable for stuffing.

So, let's look at the stages of preparation:

• First, remove the scales from the fish. Clean the pike against the growth of the scales carefully, pressing lightly with a knife so as not to damage the skin.
• Then you need to remove the gills using a knife, scissors, or you can even pull them out with your hand.
• Wash the fish under running water.
• Carefully cut off her head, leaving as much of her body as possible. Set the cut head aside; we will need it for further cooking.
• The most crucial moment has come - skinning. With one hand, hold the pike by the spine, and with the other, gently pull the skin towards the tail, placing your finger under it and bending the removed part, like a stocking. When you reach the fins, cut them from the inside with special scissors. After the skin turned inside out reaches the tail, cut it off with a knife from the inside so that you have a bag of pike skin with a whole tail and fish fillet lying separately.
• Turn the skin right side out.
• Clean the remaining carcass from bones, fins and internal organs; you don’t have to worry about the integrity of the fillet; you still need to turn it into minced meat. Make sure that there is not a single bone left in the fish, otherwise the entire impression of your holiday dish will be spoiled by the sight of a choking guest.

Here, in principle, are all the stages of preparing fish, now let's look at the recipe for Jewish stuffed pike.

Jewish-style pieces

Many people believe that fish should be stuffed in portions. The advantage of this method is not only that the finished dish does not even need to be cut, but it also takes much less time to cut up the carcass. This is the simplest recipe for Jewish stuffed pike.

The following products will be required:

• fish weighing 2 kg;
• a spoonful of ground pepper and sugar;
• 3 medium onions;
• a slice of white loaf;
• a pair of hard-boiled eggs;
• 1 tsp. salt (it will go into minced meat);
• large beets and carrots

Step-by-step preparation:

1. Remove the scales from the carcass without damaging the skin.
2. Do not open the belly, but cut the fish into portions.
3. Remove entrails and films.
4. Carefully cut out the flesh with bones. You should get rings from the skin with a half-centimeter layer of meat on them.
5. The head should also be cleared. Don't touch the tail.
6. Make minced meat from the pulp with half an onion, bread and boiled eggs.
7. Season the mixture. Carefully stuff the fish “rings” with it, as well as the head.
8. The beets and carrots should be chopped into thin strips, and the onion should be cut into half rings.
9. Place half of the vegetables on the bottom of the saucepan, and place pieces of fish tightly next to each other on top and cover with the remaining ingredients, season with seasonings.
10. Then lay out the minced meat that did not fit into the fish rings and cover with egg glaze.
11. Place the dish in the oven for a few minutes. Do not close the door. During this time, a crust forms on the egg.
12. Then add water to the fish so that it slightly covers the vegetables. Cook over low heat for about an hour.
13. In the Jewish culinary tradition, any fish is cooked for at least 1.5, or even 2 hours. But for pike, 30 minutes is enough.

Remove the finished fish and place all the pieces on a plate so that you get a whole carcass. Serve cooled with thickened broth and boiled potatoes. You can also use the vegetables it was cooked with.

Advice! Stuffed pike is often made into aspic. To do this, boil fish broth and dilute gelatin in it. They let me stand. And chilled, pour the pieces.

Ingredients

Jewish stuffed pike (the recipe will be described step by step after you learn about the necessary ingredients) is made in different ways. For the option that we will describe today, you will need the following ingredients:

• Pike 1.5-2 kg.
• Onions – 4 large onions.
• Semolina - 1 half glass.
• Butter bun – 100 grams.
• Salt.
• Pepper.
• Milk to soak the bun.
• Egg.
• Carrots, beets and bay leaves for the pillow - 2 pieces each (optional).

Pike stuffed with mushrooms

Pike stuffed with the addition of mushrooms produces a special flavor, and the dish’s nutritional value also increases.

What ingredients will you need?

Stuffed pike contains:

For decoration you need to prepare green onions, lemon slices and fresh parsley.

Step-by-step cooking process

The process of stuffing a carcass is carried out in compliance with the following steps:

1. The pike needs to be cleaned of scales, giblets and gills removed. After this, the carcass must be rinsed in running water.
2. Then you need to carefully remove the skin from the pike and cut off the tail.
3. Place the bread in a bowl with the milk and leave to soak for about 10 minutes. After this, you need to remove the bread from the milk and lightly squeeze out any excess liquid.

4. Clean the fillet from small bones and remove the spine.
5. Next, you need to use a food processor or meat grinder to simultaneously grind the fillet and bread. Add 1 egg, salt and ground pepper to the resulting mass. Mix the ingredients thoroughly.
6. Then in a food processor you need to chop the carrots along with onions, mushrooms and dill. Place this mixture in a frying pan with butter and fry over moderate heat for about 10-15 minutes.
7. Combine the fish mixture with the mushroom mixture in a deep bowl. The frying oil should be poured into the minced meat.
8. After this, you need to turn on the oven at 180 degrees and leave to warm up.
9. Fill the pike skin with minced meat and place it on a greased baking sheet.
10. Then you need to beat the remaining egg and brush the stuffed carcass with it.
11. Place the baking sheet in the oven to bake for about 60-80 minutes.

Place the finished pike on a dish and garnish with lemon, onion feathers and parsley. Serve cool.

Gravy for pike

Pike stuffed in Jewish style (the step-by-step recipe receives purely positive reviews) will be tasty simply baked, but you will like it even more if it is stewed in gravy.

Here are the ingredients that make up the gravy:

• Onions – 2 large onions.
• Carrots – 2-3 pcs.
• Packaging of tomato juice – 1 liter.
• Sugar, salt, bay leaf, black pepper.

Preparing the gravy:

• Cut the onion into small cubes.
• Fry it in a small amount of vegetable oil.
• Grate the carrots and add them to the onions.
• Fry the carrots until soft.
• Pour tomato juice over onions and carrots.
• Add sugar, salt, pepper and two medium-sized bay leaves.
• Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat.
• Simmer the sauce for 40 minutes.
• We cut the finished fish into slices 2-3 cm thick and place them in a saucepan with the gravy along with the head (do not stir or turn over so as not to break it).
• Simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Jewish stuffed pike recipe - step by step instructions

So, I present to a wide audience a recipe for Jewish stuffed pike from Grandma Rosa and her granddaughter!

To prepare this dish we will need the following ingredients:

• Pike – 1.5-2 kg;
• White bread loaf – half;
• Egg – 1 pc.;
• Butter with a high percentage of fat content – ​​50 grams;
• Milk – 0.5 cups;
• Onion – 2 pcs.;
• Carrots – 2 pcs.;
• Beets – 1 pc.;
• Granulated sugar – 1 teaspoon;
• Salt – 2 teaspoons;
• Bay leaf – 6 pcs.

So, to prepare our traditional Jewish stuffed pike, you need to, armed with the sharpest possible knife and cutting board, peel the main component of our dish. We take a pike, which should be of impressive size, and cut off its heads very carefully. Cut out the gills and fins. We get rid of the entrails, but here - attention! – the belly of the fish should remain untouched. Therefore, very cunningly, in Jewish style, we insert our knife into the belly along the side wall of the fish. We do this carefully, slowly and without nervousness, so as not to damage the delicate skin of our fish. We cut the insides that are attached near the anus and pull them out through the incision. We thoroughly wash the fish in the middle and dry it a little. If there is caviar in the pike, it will be just super! However, if it is a male, then you should not be upset, the milk is also perfect for minced meat.

Next, we cut our fish into pieces, approximately 5 centimeters each. We cut out the meat from each piece, using a very sharp knife to avoid breaking the delicate skin. As a result of our efforts, from one portioned piece of pike only the horns and legs should remain - I’m joking, of course - what remains is the skin with the bones of the spine and ribs attached to it. You can cut out the entire fillet from the tail, which we will need to prepare minced meat.

The next step in our process is to work on the fish mince. To do this, cut the white loaf into pieces and soak it in milk. Leave for a while so that the loaf completely absorbs the milk. Next, take the previously prepared fish fillet and send it to the meat grinder. Throw in the peeled onion and the loaf that has absorbed the milk. We scroll everything together several times - the softness and tenderness of the dish in the end depends on this. Therefore, if you scroll through the above components 3-4 times, it will not hurt, but will only improve the dish. Salt and pepper our minced meat, add the egg, butter and beat everything thoroughly with a mixer. Stuff the pieces of fish and the head with the resulting mass so that you can later form a whole fish.

Cut the carrots and beets into thin slices or strips and place them in the pan. Add some water, add the fish's head and tail. Next, place the stuffed pieces of fish on top of the vegetables. Then another layer of vegetables. Fill everything with water until it covers the top layer of vegetables. Add the bay leaf and put the pan on the fire. Reduce the heat to minimum and leave to simmer for about 1.5-2 hours.

After the time has passed, remove the pan from the heat and let cool. We take out the pieces of fish and strain the remaining broth. It is advisable to add gelatin to obtain a more tenacious and durable result. You can also boil the potatoes and use them as a garnish.

Take a large dish and put pieces of fish there. We do it beautifully and elegantly - the dish is aristocratic! We also put boiled potatoes there, cut into slices. Pour the broth with gelatin over everything and put it in the refrigerator for a while. You can decorate everything with slices of lemon and herbs. And so, miraculously, we got Jewish stuffed pike, the recipe for which Grandma Rosa gave us with joy and undisguised pride. Bon appetit everyone!

Decorating the finished fish

You already know the recipe for Jewish stuffed fish, now let's take a look at several ways to decorate it.

• You can serve the fish on a platter decorated with baked vegetables, placing it whole and attaching the head close to the body. Place half rings of thinly sliced ​​lemon and cranberries on top of her carcass.
• Another option: cut the pike into steaks 2 cm thick, place it in a semicircle on an oblong dish along with the head and decorate the head with a crown cut out of lemon.

• If you are serving fish slices stewed in gravy, place them on a round dish using a spatula, each piece separately, pour the gravy on top of them and garnish with herbs.
• Place the whole fish on a rough wooden board, garnished with lemon wedges, herbs and green olives. Place small bowls or gravy boats around it with a variety of sauces that go with it.

How to cook Gefilte fish

We clean the fish, trim the fins and rinse thoroughly. Then cut the carp into pieces approximately 3 cm thick.

And use a sharp knife to cut out the flesh from each piece. We do this carefully so as not to damage the skin.

In the tail part, cut out the pulp along with the bone.

Let's peel the vegetables. We don’t throw away the onion skins; we will need them. Grate one beet and one carrot on a coarse grater, cut two onions into cubes.

Fry the onion in vegetable oil until light golden brown, then add beets and carrots to it.

And fry for 10-15 minutes over low heat.

Soak matzah or slices of bread in milk.

We pass the fish pulp with bread through a meat grinder (do not squeeze out the milk) and fried vegetables.

Add salt, ground black pepper, nutmeg. You can add a raw egg. And mix everything well.

Cut the remaining vegetables into slices and place them in a roasting pan or a mold with high sides. A layer of onions, then carrots and beets. Add bay leaf, allspice and a couple of pinches of salt and sugar.

We fill the pieces of fish where there was meat with minced meat. Cut the head of the carp and press it down a little. Place the tail bone, fins and crushed head on the vegetables. And then tightly lay out the stuffed pieces of fish.

Add the remaining pieces of onion, carrots and beets, add onion peels. Fill it all with boiling water, not reaching the top 2-3 cm.

Now there are two options: you can cook the fish on the stove (cook for 2 hours after boiling over low heat) or simmer it in the oven. Cover the fish with foil and place in an oven preheated to 200 degrees. When it boils, reduce the temperature to 90-100 degrees so that it gurgles quietly, and cook for about 3 hours. After an hour and a half, taste the broth for salt, add if necessary.

Then remove from the oven, remove the onion skins and wait for everything to cool. Place in the refrigerator and serve the next day.