How to defrost fish in a slow cooker. How to defrost fish correctly: effective methods for the housewife to note

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Fish is useful product, containing a large number of valuable microelements. Any housewife uses fish carcasses in preparing delicious dishes.

But there is not always enough time for pre-thawing. Under such conditions, defrosting a delicate product is done in various ways.

Depending on the equipment you have in your kitchen, you can defrost fish very quickly.

The standard defrosting process takes a lot of time. It happens that there is practically no time left for thawing, and lunch time is already approaching. Then you need to weigh all the disadvantages and advantages of quickly defrosting the product, and then do right choice. In order not to damage the product, it is necessary to take into account some features of thawing a fish carcass.

1. No matter what defrosting method is used, the meat will still change its structure. Therefore, expensive varieties of fish should not be purchased frozen.
2. Defrosting should not be done completely. The product will begin to disintegrate into fibers and become shapeless. If you subsequently need to cut the carcass, you should leave the fish slightly firm.
3. The most optimal way for defrosting is considered to be thawing on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. This way the carcass will be less deformed and retain its characteristics as much as possible. beneficial properties.
4. The release of a large amount of juice during defrosting indicates an incorrectly chosen method for thawing the product. After cooking, the meat will become dry and tasteless.
5. Defrosting with cold water is quite effective, but all the beneficial substances and taste are washed out with the liquid.

Do I need to defrost fish before boiling and baking?

Fish should be defrosted so that after cooking it does not end up raw inside. In some cases, you can avoid prolonged thawing of the carcass and begin cooking immediately.

When you need to cook fish, no preliminary defrosting is required.

The only thing you need to do is clean and rinse the carcass so that after cooking the product is immediately ready for consumption. The same rule applies to baking.

Similar methods heat treatment require more time than cooking thawed pieces.

Effective ways to help defrost fish at home

Rapid defrosting, no matter the conditions under which it is carried out, can still lead to a loss of taste. Therefore, these methods should be used only when absolutely necessary.

Cold water

Plain water will easily melt the snow from a delicious fish carcass. If you don’t mind the precious resource, you can place the fish directly under running cold water. This will take a lot of time - about 1.5 hours.

A more economical option is to place the carcass in a container of water. Periodically, you can drain the fluid and replace it with a new one.

Under no circumstances should you fill the carcass with warm water. This will completely ruin the product - the piece will lose its shape and destroy the fibers.

If you really can’t bear it, you can use defrosting in cold water; the fillets are first placed in several plastic bags.

Microwave

A microwave is available in every kitchen. Such household appliances will help defrost in a matter of minutes. The only downside is that you can’t put large fish inside the oven.

Before putting frozen pieces into the microwave, they should be washed in cool water and dried with a paper towel. For defrosting, use a special mode with reduced power.

To ensure that the fish melts evenly, you need to open the oven every 5 minutes and turn the carcass over.

Double boiler

Instead of a double boiler, you can easily use a slow cooker. The method is gentle. This type of defrosting is suitable for fish that will subsequently be cooked. You can combine business with pleasure, and after gradual defrosting in a double boiler, immediately steam it.

It is necessary to defrost the product by setting a program on the multicooker with minimal heating of the bowl. It takes about 20 minutes for the carcass to completely thaw.

Use of salt

If the fish is covered with a layer of ice, you can generously sprinkle the surface of the carcass with fine salt. When all the ice has melted, you need to start further cutting the meat. The disadvantage of this method is that only the surface layer is defrosted. For the carcass to melt inside, you need to wait some more time.

Water bath

You can defrost the pieces using warm air. To do this, place a large pot of water on the stove. As soon as the liquid boils, reduce the heat as much as possible. Place a colander and a smaller container with fish on top of the vessel. After some time, you need to turn the pieces over so that they defrost evenly.

To ensure complete thawing, you can pierce the piece with a fork. A soft fillet will indicate the end of defrosting.

Place the pieces on a paper towel for further drying.

Oven

You should be very careful when using the oven to defrost fish. There is a high risk that the surface of the carcass will dry out, but the inside will remain completely raw. Therefore, thawing of fish pieces should be done at a temperature not exceeding 30°. Unfortunately, not all ovens have these characteristics.

More often on modern models ovens have an additional program for defrosting food.

The approximate time for defrosting fish is 15 minutes.

Hairdryer

The method is quite funny, but fast. When you don’t have special utensils for defrosting fish at hand, even a hair dryer will do. To melt the carcass, you must set the device to a mode that has a cold air flow. The main thing here is not to set the speed too high. This risks causing the surface of the fish to become weathered.

The fish is placed in a plastic bag, and a small hole is left at the exit through which air is directed to the carcass. You can periodically move the hair dryer smoothly to blow the fish evenly.

To prevent the hair dryer from overheating, you need to turn it off periodically.

The entire defrosting process will take approximately 40 minutes.

Prohibited defrosting techniques

• replace cold water with warm and, even more so, hot;
• bend the fish carcass from side to side;
• leave the fish open, not covered with film.

Shelf life of fillets in the refrigerator

Fish, like meat, is not recommended to be stored after defrosting. After directly thawing the carcass, you should immediately begin preparing the dish.

If, nevertheless, it becomes necessary to postpone the cutting of a thawed carcass, then the maximum time for storing it in the refrigerator should not exceed 2 hours.

Moreover, the pieces of fish must be placed in a food container and tightly closed with a lid. Alternatively, instead of a container, use a damp cloth in which to wrap the carcass.

Thawed fillets should not be stored under any conditions. The fibers will lose their shape, and the fish will lose its taste.

Can it be re-frozen?

There are times when the amount of defrosted fish turned out to be excessive. Out of habit, the remaining fish pieces are sent back to the freezer. This is absolutely not possible. After defrosting again, the cut carcass will turn into a shapeless mass with no aroma.

When fish is frozen, it is protected for a long time from the development of bacteria under the influence of negative temperatures.

As soon as the carcass thaws, microorganisms that have entered the product in various ways can begin to act on its surface.

Their prolonged presence on fish leads to its spoilage. Therefore, you need to defrost as much product as you need to cook for lunch.

Attention and leisure are the main helpers in defrosting fish. Usage useful tips save the housewife from spoiling the product and wasting money on purchasing a huge carcass.

Many types sea ​​fish They are sold today in fresh frozen form. This is understandable: this way you can significantly increase the shelf life of the product without reducing its useful characteristics (of course, with the correct freezing mode). Ideally, if the correct technology is followed, the fish does not lose its properties and can be preserved for quite a long time. But not all housewives know how to quickly defrost fish if, for example, you need to cook it urgently, but there is no way to wait. We’ll talk about this and some other folk wisdom in our article.

How to quickly defrost fish and should you rush?

In fact, the most correct way is gradual defrosting. The fact is that fish is very delicate in structure and must be handled accordingly. Defrosting products requires a special and delicate approach. By the way, it should be frozen in a fast way deep frozen, and should be stored at low temperatures temperature conditions(well, or fresh, but for a very, very short time). If you decide to defrost the fish, then you need to start cooking it right away. It is under no circumstances recommended to freeze such a product a second time: fish re-processed by cold loses most of its beneficial qualities, and besides, when cooked, it then does not hold its shape and tends to fall apart.

Slow way

Therefore, the slow method is considered the most correct. To do this, the carcasses of cold-blooded animals are placed in a container without a lid and simply placed at the bottom of the refrigerator, where, as a rule, the temperature is above zero. There the fish is defrosted slowly and gradually. On average, this process takes six hours (depending on the thickness and size of the carcass). So if you decide to cook something fishy, ​​but bought not a fresh, but a frozen product, then it would be best to let it defrost overnight, and by the morning it will definitely be ready for further use.

In the microwave

How to quickly defrost fish if you don’t have to wait for six hours? Place the required amount of fish in a microwave-safe bowl. Many modern kitchen devices of this type have a special “defrost” mode and even a “fish” subsection. We set the modes. Let's start the process. Periodically we stop and rearrange the pieces or carcasses so that it thaws more evenly. Within a fairly short period of time, the fish is defrosted without much damage to the structure and largely retaining its natural qualities. A significant drawback in this case is the size of microwave ovens. They do not allow large carcasses to be defrosted a priori. So such products should already be cut into pieces corresponding to the size of the oven.

How to quickly defrost fish without a microwave

If you don’t see this magical invention of mankind in the kitchen - a microwave - you can try to bring the fish to condition in other ways.

Running water

The main condition for defrosting is that the liquid should not be hot, otherwise many vitamins and microelements “leave” from the thawed product. For the rest, we follow the following, rather simple algorithm of actions.

1. We take the frozen fish out of the freezer of your refrigerator. Immediately the carcasses must be wrapped in several food grade polyethylene bags. This procedure is done so that the natural taste of the product itself, which is being defrosted, is not affected by these actions (as this occurs from the penetration of excess moisture). Moreover, for purely practical purposes - so that the fish does not stain everything around.
2. How can you quickly defrost fish? Place the resulting package in a sink that is half filled with cool water. Periodically unscrew the tap with cold water, and pour the water in which the defrosted fish was located into the appropriate hole, thus creating flow. Or you can, if you don’t mind the water, turn it on in a thin stream for the entire defrosting time. The main thing is that a flowing environment is created, since the liquid in which the frozen product is located will quickly lose temperature and must be removed and replaced with a new one.
3. The process continues until the selected product is completely defrosted. Depending on the size of the specimen, it usually takes about an hour. For particularly large sizes it may take much longer. But still, against six hours this is a mere trifle, since quickly defrosting fish in running water is one of the most effective ways. At the same time, as already mentioned, the product will remain the most integral in its structure and retain the maximum amount of deliciousness and usefulness.

Another “water” method

IN lately It is customary to save water resources. And utility tariffs are growing and growing every day. Therefore, this method is most suitable for those people who, for some reason, are forced to save. After wrapping the fish in a bag, you need to place it in a bowl of cool water (under no circumstances use hot or even warm water!). Every half hour we change the liquid, draining the previous portion. This method will slightly lengthen the defrosting time, plus it is still not as effective as thawing in running water.

Fillet

How to quickly defrost fish fillets? After all, all the recommendations of experienced chefs boil down to the fact that it is categorically impossible to thaw fillet or minced meat with water. In this case, they say, both the beneficial properties and the appearance of the semi-finished product are completely lost. What can be advised in such cases? Well, first of all, follow the rules: defrost the fillet at the very bottom of the refrigerator, where the temperature is highest. But this process may take 3-4 hours. You can, of course, fry, for example, unfrozen fillets (and even professional chefs sometimes do this). But at the same time it can shoot very strongly (the water defrosts and falls on the boiling oil). And the appearance of the prepared product suffers: it wrinkles and dries out as a result, and you can’t roll it in flour or breadcrumbs. So what you can do using physical laws is to increase the temperature environment. Then the defrosting process itself will speed up. Place a covered bowl of fish near a heated stove, for example. And in the hot summer, take the fillet (covered from insects!) to the balcony, where the temperature is higher than in the kitchen. By the way, the following folk method of defrosting is also associated with the laws of physics.

"Glamorous"

They say (by big secret) that this method was invented by blondes! How effective it is is up to you to judge. But if necessary, you can try to use it. What if everything works out?

Hake and pollock

And finally, the last nuance that I would like to discuss within the framework of the topic: “How to quickly defrost fish.” Hake or pollock are the most readily available and cheap enough to be purchased frequently. And they are most often sold frozen. How to properly prepare them for the cooking process? We do the same as with other types of frozen cold-blooded animals, using, for example, running water. By the way, many still recommend using the natural, air method of defrosting, since it is preferable to quickly defrost fish - pollock or hake - naturally, then it does not absorb water into the muscle mass and does not release juices.

Cooks know several options for how to quickly defrost fish, but they use these approaches only in the most extreme cases. It is best to simply leave the workpiece in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours and wait until it thaws completely. Any attempts to speed up the process, even if done correctly, will lead to a change in the texture of the product fibers. This will not only worsen the taste of the finished dish, but will also practically deprive it of useful components.

You should not resort to using the microwave too often in this matter. It will take no more than half an hour to bring the ingredient to the desired state, but even in this case it will not at all resemble its fresh counterpart. Particular attention should be paid to fish fillets, which, ideally, should not be frozen at all.

So that defrosted fish meets all expectations and, after heat treatment, turns into a nutritious and healthy dish, you need to learn how to choose correctly food product. In general, it is better to initially buy fresh or chilled ingredients that can be refrigerated for no more than 8-10 hours. If this is not possible, pay attention to the following points:

1. There shouldn't be any ice at all. Only a slight dry crust is allowed. If the item is literally placed in a clear ice capsule, this indicates that it has most likely been defrosted once before being frozen again.
2. Fish fillets cannot be frozen (including dry and quick freezing). Such a product can subsequently only be used for preparing minced meat.
3. You should not buy frozen fish, cut into pieces (of course, if it is not huge salmon or salmon). But no one forbids freezing a product in this way at home, but everything should be done correctly.
4. By the way, small-sized fish, including those that have already been cut into pieces, defrost faster. But you should not try to cut the frozen product to speed up the ice melting process. You should keep it in the refrigerator at least a little before this, otherwise the fibers will become deformed and the dish will not look appetizing.
5. There should be no streaks on the surface of the ice, and no sticking of several pieces is allowed. These are all signs of a component freezing failure.

Before defrosting the fish, it is worth inspecting it for dents on the surface of the skin and assessing its smell. A quality product will have red gills and a perfectly smooth surface. There should be no smell; even the presence of a fresh fishy aroma may be a sign that the product has been stored in the refrigerator for too long or not quite correctly.

Features of frozen fish that need to be taken into account

Before purchasing frozen fillets or fish products in any form, you should familiarize yourself with a number of points characteristic of working with such products:

• You need to understand that the structure of the meat will change, no matter how much time it spends in the freezer or special refrigerator. Therefore, you should not buy too expensive frozen fish and you should not freeze it yourself.

Tip: If the fish is one of those rare breeds that do not require removal of bones after heat treatment, it can be slightly bent in different directions during the defrosting process. This will speed up the freezing process of the fibers. It is better not to do this with other types of product, as this can break the bones, parts of which will later end up in the finished dish.

• If after defrosting the fish turns into an unappetizing mess, you don’t have to throw it away. You need to carefully sort through the mass and add it to the minced meat.
• It is strictly forbidden to keep the product in hot or even warm water to speed up its thawing. Although such techniques will help, they will completely change the texture of the meat and practically deprive it of useful components.
• Some housewives believe that fillets and small fish carcasses can be defrosted naturally at room temperature. Some even place a bowl of food near the stove or radiator. In fact, the fish forms a cloud of cold air around itself, so the heat does not affect it and it will not be possible to achieve the desired result faster.
• You should not defrost the fish until it is soft; it must remain firm and elastic, otherwise the meat will disintegrate into fibers during cooking.

After you have managed to defrost the fish, you need to evaluate its quality. If, after removing the ice, an unpleasant odor begins to emanate from the fish or the color of the meat has changed, it is better to throw away the product, as it can cause poisoning. But if the product falls apart into separate pieces or looks like a heterogeneous mass, the recipe will have to be changed by preparing minced meat from this composition.

Correct ways to defrost food

If time is running out, you can try to defrost the fish in one of the following ways:

• Use of salt. It’s not for nothing that this component is sprinkled on sidewalks and roads; it is really effective in combating ice. Just sprinkle the product with table salt, preferably fine salt, and wait until the ice comes off it. True, this approach will only defrost the upper layers of the fish, after which you will have to wait until it thaws inside.
• Microwave. A fairly effective approach that allows you to defrost fish in about 20-30 minutes. The product should be rinsed in cold water, dried with paper towels, placed in the oven and started at minimum power. The fish must be turned over every 3-5 minutes so that it defrosts evenly. True, this approach will not work for processing large fish.
• In the refrigerator. We also wash the fish under cold water, wrap it in a cloth soaked in salt water, place it in a bowl and put it in the refrigerator. From time to time, the fabric needs to be rinsed and moistened again in the salty composition.
• In the water. If you don’t mind the water, you can let it flow and keep the fish under it until it defrosts. You shouldn’t do this with fillets; the product will be seriously damaged. In this case, it is better to soak the component in cold water, after wrapping it in 2-3 bags. The fluid should be changed regularly, but do not increase its temperature.

All selected options speed up the process of defrosting fish without having a negative impact on the product. But this does not mean that they can be used every time. These are only emergency methods that should be used in isolated cases.

Radical options and their features

Before using the methods below, you need to consider that they can spoil the product or change its taste characteristics.

• In a steamer. Simply place the workpiece in a tray with holes and start the device. The duration of the manipulation is determined by eye. After the steam begins to flow very actively, remove the lid from time to time so that it does not accumulate and cook the fish.

Tip: Thawed raba will be much more tender and pleasant to the taste if you keep it in fresh milk for a quarter of an hour before boiling, stewing or frying. The same technique will help make minced fish more juicy.

• Using a hairdryer. Most often, this technique is used to defrost large fish with dense scales. It is important to remember one thing: the product is affected not by hot, but by cold air. Otherwise, the fillet will turn into dry paper. Before the procedure, it is recommended to keep the product in the refrigerator for at least a few minutes, this will preserve its taste.
• In a steam bath. In this case, place the fish in a colander, which is placed over boiling water in a pan. It should be turned over from time to time so that the meat does not cook.

The success of the event depends on the observance of the nuances and attentiveness of the hostess. But, in any case, the taste of the finished dish will not be as pleasant and rich as usual.

How long can defrosted fish be stored?

Experts never cease to remind thrifty housewives that defrosted fish should not be stored at all. She is immediately allowed to prepare dishes. As a last resort, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 2 hours, in a hermetically sealed bowl or piece of damp cloth. The fillet cannot be subjected to even such tests; it is immediately fried, baked or boiled. Re-freezing of such products is strictly prohibited. Not only will such experiments completely ruin the product, they can also lead to poisoning.

Despite the fact that chefs try to prepare a variety of dishes from defrosted fish, it is best to use it for frying. In this case, there is still a chance that the final product will not lose its shape, and possible extraneous aromas will be overwhelmed by the smell of fried crust.

It is difficult to say how much faster the fish will defrost using the above approaches. This depends on the size of the product, the type of exposure and the correct implementation of the method. But the waiting time will definitely be reduced by 2 or even 3 times.

All kinds of rolls, casseroles, meatballs, stews - this is not a complete list of dishes that can be prepared from frozen fish after it has been defrosted.

Why is everything so complicated

During the freezing process, the water contained in the fish turns into a crystalline state.

During rapid freezing, water crystals form quite small, occupying the same space as before freezing; therefore, mechanical damage to the muscle tissue of the fish during subsequent defrosting (thawing) practically does not occur.

Slow freezing is a different matter: the size of the water crystals formed during slow freezing is much larger, the volume of frozen fish increases noticeably, and the structure of muscle tissue undergoes significant changes.

When purchasing frozen fish, it is impossible to determine how the fish was frozen, quick method or slow. Therefore, to prevent the destruction of the structure of the fish and the loss of cell juice during defrosting, it is necessary to properly defrost it.

Defrosting rules

You can defrost fish in the refrigerator at a temperature of +5 0 C. To speed up the process, although this is not welcomed by food technologists, you can defrost the fish in air at room temperature, but cover it with film to reduce the loss of liquid due to evaporation.

The most optimal way is to defrost the fish in cold water, subject to the following condition: for one kilogram of fish you need a volume of water equal to 2 liters with one teaspoon of table salt dissolved in them.

With this gentle type of defrosting, the fish will gradually absorb water and its weight will increase by about 10%. This will be a kind of compensation for the loss of moisture that is inevitable when storing fish in a frozen state. And the loss minerals will be replenished by kitchen salt dissolved in water.

Water has a very beneficial effect on defrosted fish; the fish meat becomes lighter, juicier and tasty.

How not to defrost fish

Never place the product to be defrosted in hot water!

At a temperature of about 40 0 ​​C, denaturation of part of the proteins that make up the muscle tissue of the fish will occur. The amount of water that proteins are able to hold will sharply decrease and the fish will give up a large amount of muscle juice along with mineral salts.

Instead of muscle juice, hot water will be absorbed by the fish's tissues. The volume of the fish will increase noticeably and it will fall apart during cooking, or even during defrosting.

We wish you that all the dishes you prepare from defrosted fish have a delightful aroma and incomparable taste!

Bon appetit!