How to clean sturgeon: tips for the housewife. How to cut sturgeon: detailed instructions

Fish dishes are a source of large amounts of vitamins and nutrients that are so necessary for each of us. Nutritionists are sure: it is necessary to eat fish at least once a week, no matter whether it is baked sturgeon or hake cutlets. But what to do if there is a very healthy fish of the sturgeon family in the refrigerator, but you have absolutely no experience in preparing it? First of all, you need to figure out how to properly clean sterlet, and then move on to studying recipes.

Sturgeon and its characteristics

Fish of the sturgeon family is not a very cheap product, but very healthy. When buying sturgeon, housewives often choose sterlet. This fish is not as large as sturgeon, and most often weighs 3-6 kilograms, which is enough for an average family’s lunch or a small picnic. Sterlet is easily recognizable. It is distinguished from other fish by:

Sterlet and other sturgeon are expensive for a reason. This type of fish is very demanding of the environment in which it lives. Therefore, having bought sterlet, the buyer will not have to think about the conditions under which it was grown or caught. This fish simply does not live in dirty and muddy water. This delicious product is also valuable because it is a source of vitamins, fatty acids and minerals. . All these useful elements have a positive effect on the human body and provide:

good brain activity;
no interruptions in heart function;
prevention of atherosclerosis;
help in combating stress and depression;
support for severe mental stress.

Basic cleaning rules

To understand how to properly clean and cut sterlet at home, you should spend a little time preparing the fish itself and auxiliary tools.

In order to cut sterlet, you need to prepare a sharp knife and a large cutting board. It would also be a good idea to wear work gloves to avoid injuring your hands on the sharp spines of the fish.

Before cutting, you need to inspect the carcass for external damage: if there are wounds and bruises on the skin, the fish may be infected.

Sterlet and other sturgeon are covered with a kind of skin, so the question of how to clean sturgeon from scales disappears by itself.

First you need to defrost the sturgeon if you bought it frozen. If the sturgeon is alive, then, on the contrary, “euthanize” it in the freezer for an hour. Then you need to perform the steps in this order:

pour boiling water over the whole fish: this will help remove the mucus that covers the sterlet’s skin from the surface;
cut off the “bugs” - these are bony scutes on the back of the fish;
remove bugs on the sides. This should be done from the tail to the head, just like removing scales from an ordinary fish.

Then you can gut the carcass like any other fish. To do this, a longitudinal incision is made on the belly from head to tail and the entrails are removed. All actions must be carried out very carefully, since, firstly, it is necessary not to damage the sterlet’s gall bladder (if this happens, the meat will taste bitter). Secondly, the abdominal cavity may contain milk or very tasty sturgeon caviar, which are also better prepared in a beautiful “whole” form.

After removing the entrails, rinse the carcass under running water. Whether or not to remove the fish head depends on your dish. If you bake the whole sterlet in the oven, then the fish with its head will look quite organic.

Sturgeon vizier

Fish of the sturgeon family have one important feature that you need to know about when cutting. This is the presence of a visigi - a tendon that is located along the ridge.

In order to see it, it is enough to cut the tail of the fish. The cut must be made in a circle, very carefully, and then pry the squeegee with a knife and smoothly pull it out. You can use small forceps or pliers for this.

You can easily find a video on how to remove vizigus from sturgeon if you still have questions.

There is an opinion that vizig is poisonous, so it must be removed from the fish. In fact, earlier this part of the sturgeon was successfully used to prepare quite exquisite dishes, so the question of whether the screech is poisonous or not is questionable.

It would be more correct to say that the viziga spoils faster than the fish itself, so it is better to remove it and thereby extend the shelf life of the fillet.

After removing the vizigi, the sterlet fillet is completely ready for further cooking. There are a lot of tips on how to cook sterlet correctly and tasty, but the choice of dish depends on your taste preferences.

Useful tricks

It turns out that cleaning sterlet is not at all difficult. But there are several points that will greatly facilitate the cleaning process:

These tricks will help to significantly speed up the process and complete it efficiently. After all, a well-cleaned and dressed sterlet carcass is the key to a delicious lunch.

Attention, TODAY only!

According to the processing method, fish are divided into three groups: scaly, scaleless and sturgeon. Fine-scaled fish (navaga, burbot) are processed in the same way as scaleless fish. The workshop should have chef's knives, hand scrapers, sieves, mortars, hoes, cauldrons with grates, baking sheets, trays and buckets.

Primary processing of fish consists of the following operations: thawing, soaking, cutting, preparation of semi-finished products. Butchering refers to the removal of scales, entrails, fins, head, bones and skin.

Sturgeon fish differs from other types of fish in that it does not have a bony skeleton and its surface is covered with several rows of bone plates - bugs

Fish of the sturgeon family, with the exception of sterlet, are commercially produced completely gutted. Natural freezing of uncut sturgeon during ice fishing is allowed

Frozen sturgeon, stellate sturgeon and beluga are defrosted in air at room temperature.

Defrosting lasts 6 - 10 hours depending on the size of the fish.

When processing a fish, the head with pectoral fins and bones of the shoulder girdle is first separated by two oblique cuts along the gill covers

After this, the dorsal bugs with the dorsal fin are cut off from the fish, the anal and pelvic fins are removed along the line of their base at the level with the skin, the caudal fin is separated in a straight line perpendicular to the spine at the level of the beginning of the rays, and the vizig is removed.

Then the fish is sliced into sections, starting from the head, along the back in the middle of the fat layer. After lamination, the links are cleaned, blood clots are removed and washed.

Links of large fish, especially beluga, are cut into two to four parts in the longitudinal and transverse directions, depending on the size of the fish. The weight of the pieces should be no more than 4 - 5 kg, and the length should be 50 - 60 cm. Such pieces are convenient for cutting into portions.

Further processing of the links depends on their culinary use.

To cook the whole links, they are first scalded and cleaned of lateral, abdominal and small bone bugs.

After cleaning, the fish is washed with cold water, also washing off the protein clots that form on the surface. To maintain their shape during the cooking process, the links are tied with twine

For frying, poaching in whole form or in portioned pieces with or without skin, the cartilage is cut off from the links, then scalded and cleaned of bugs.

Portioned pieces are scalded again before heat treatment. To do this, they are lowered for 1 - 2 minutes. into water with a temperature of 95 - 97 ° C (3 - 4 liters per 1 kg of fish). After scalding, the pieces are washed in water. Losses due to scalding are 10 - 15%.

After thawing, the sterlet, without scalding, is cleaned of bugs, the abdomen is cut, and the entrails, gills and viz are removed. In sterlet intended for poaching as a whole, the dorsal bugs are separated after heat treatment, and in sterlet intended for boiling, poaching and frying in portions - before heat treatment. To prepare portioned pieces, the gutted sterlet is flattened after removing the dorsal bugs, and then cut crosswise into pieces.

We can display a schematic sequence

Defrosting in air - removing the head with the pectoral fin - cutting off the dorsal bugs - removing the fins - removing the vizier - dividing the fish into links - scalding - cleaning from the side, abdominal and small bugs - washing - tying the links before cooking - cutting off cartilage and cutting into portions for frying - secondary scalding

This is what sturgeon fry look like

control over the individual

Ready to use

we begin to butcher

Cutting off the bugs

remove skin

Sturgeon is the most valuable commercial fish. It can be fried, stuffed, stewed, baked, salted. But first of all, the fish must be cleaned and cut. However, not everyone knows how to clean sturgeon and cut it correctly, but it is very important not to make mistakes, otherwise the taste of the dish will be spoiled and all your efforts will be in vain.

Cleaning the sturgeon

In order not to spoil the fish when cutting it, you should stock up on the necessary accessories in advance, namely a bowl for caviar, a sharp knife and a hatchet.

It is very important to buy live fish, since botulism pathogens multiply in huge quantities in the intestines of sturgeon fish. But if you bought frozen fish, then before cutting the sturgeon, you should defrost it, and this is best done by placing it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. First of all, you should pour very hot water over the sturgeon so that all the mucus comes off, then the scales on the sides will be easier to remove.

If you know that the fish is caviar, then you need to carefully rip open its belly, take out the caviar, and after it all the insides. In this case, you need to act very carefully so that the gallbladder is not hurt, because if bile spills on the meat, then nothing can save it, all you have to do is throw it away.

Cutting sturgeon

After the insides with caviar have been successfully removed, you should cut off the head of the fish along with the pectoral fins, which does not need to be thrown in the trash, since it can make an excellent jellied meat. You just need to pour boiling water over it, cut off the seals or bugs, remove the gills, chop the head into several pieces and cook.

The next stage of cutting the sturgeon will be removing the vizigi. The screech is a spinal vein that runs along the entire body of the fish; it is considered poisonous and should not be eaten without specialized treatment. To do this, you need to take the sturgeon by the tail, make a circular cut along the skin at the very base of the fish, then lift it and the vizier will easily slip out on its own.

Now we remove the plaques that run along the entire body; to do this, the carcass must be doused with boiling water. If you have a large fish, then for this procedure you will have to cut it into cross pieces. But when you don't have time to fuss with it, you can simply cut them off along with a strip of skin. That's it, the sturgeon is cut up.

The cut fish can be left whole or cut into portions, it all depends on the dish you want to prepare from this royal fish. Now you know how to clean sturgeon, and how to properly cut it, and you will get a delicious dish from this fish.

How to properly clean sturgeon and cut the carcass at home.

Fish is a valuable and unique product used to prepare dishes from various cuisines around the world. Among the representatives of the aquatic environment, the owner of healthy meat with excellent taste is deservedly noted - sturgeon. Dishes prepared from sturgeon will become the highlight of any table and will pleasantly surprise family members and guests. In most cases, it is not cleaned, and cutting up this king fish is not difficult.

1 Features and value of sturgeon
2 How to clean sturgeon
3 Gutting the carcass

4 When to cut sturgeon into layers
5 Cleaning a frozen carcass
6 Features of preparing fish for stuffing

Features and value of sturgeon

Sturgeon is one of the oldest fish on the planet, living in the aquatic environment since the time of dinosaurs. Sturgeon is rightfully considered the king fish; its tasty and tender meat is a storehouse of fatty acids, amino acids, minerals and vitamins, which has a positive effect on the human brain and cardiac activity and ensures the prevention of atherosclerosis.

tasty and healthy fish

The sturgeon has tough, sandpaper-like skin to the touch, covered with scutes of bone tissue - popularly called “bugs”. The sturgeon has no vertebrae, and therefore no bones. Cartilage is a replacement for vertebrae. A special feature of the sturgeon is the presence of a chord, which is more often called a viziga. This is a white vein that runs along the entire length of the sturgeon's cartilaginous spine. When cutting fish, the vizigu must be removed, since within 3-4 hours after the death of the sturgeon, it absorbs poisons.

When cleaning and cutting sturgeon, you must follow certain rules.

How to clean sturgeon

Before cleaning, frozen sturgeon is left to thaw in the air at room temperature, and if the fish that needs to be cleaned is alive, place it in the freezer for an hour - thereby “euthanizing” it.

Gutting the carcass

Vizig can be removed in another way without damaging the carcass:

When to cut sturgeon into layers

Trim the fins using a sharp knife or kitchen scissors. Movements with the knife should be away from you to avoid causing cuts.
If we cook the sturgeon whole, remove the gills. Otherwise, we cut off the head.
If necessary, we flatten the carcass - we place it on a cutting board with its back up and from the head we cut it lengthwise into halves, called links. The cut line during plastering should run strictly in the middle of the fatty layer of the vertebral cartilage; if this rule is not followed, the shape of the links will be incorrect and excess waste will appear. We cut each link into the number of portions you need.

Many successful fishermen and housewives make videos, clearly showing that a kadom can clean sturgeon at home. Here's one of them.

How to clean sturgeon - video

In some cases, sturgeon is cleaned and cut without defrosting, for example, to prepare planed fish, but for some, this method of cleaning fish is simply the most convenient.

Cleaning a frozen carcass

Video: how to clean frozen sturgeon fish

Sturgeon for cooking can be used both with and without skin. If the fish is baked whole, then for the aesthetics of the appearance, we do not remove the skin and head. If you decide to stuff sturgeon, you need to properly prepare the ingredients.

Features of preparing fish for stuffing

And finally, a few tips:

When choosing a sturgeon, pay attention to the outer cover - the presence of wounds and bruises indicate the danger of such a fish, since damaged areas can be infectious foci.
When cleaning sturgeon, use work gloves to avoid injuring your hands on the sharp thorns.
To remove mucus from the surface of the fish, you can use salt - rub the skin with salt and rinse the carcass with water.

By following the rules for cleaning and cutting sturgeon, you can cope with this task quite easily and quickly. Let the delicious dishes prepared from this royal fish delight you and your loved ones.

Sterlet belongs to the sturgeon family. It has long been revered for its beneficial properties and taste, just as sturgeon is considered a national Russian delicacy. The structure of this type of fish is different from the usual one. They have no scales, and their carcass contains no bones other than vertebral cartilage. Despite the seemingly logical ease of cleaning such fish, the process requires attention and adherence to some subtleties. Therefore, not everyone knows how to properly clean sterlet.

Features of fish

Sterlet is a very rare fish, listed in the Red Book; catching it in natural conditions is extremely rare, and catching this fish is allowed only at certain times under purchased licenses. Sterlet grown under artificial conditions on fish farms ends up on store shelves.

An important structural feature of the sterlet is the absence of bones, but despite this there is a very important point that you must know. Inside the only cartilage, located along the entire length of the sterlet’s body, there is a special vein called the vizig. The internal contents of the viziga are very dangerous for humans; it must be removed without damaging it. If its contents get on the meat, it will no longer be suitable for consumption. You should pull out the visigu from the vertebral cartilage especially carefully and carefully so as not to accidentally tear it.

Another difference between sturgeon and other types of fish is that they have no scales at all, their skin is covered with mucus and has several keratinous formations on the sides, so cleaning it is not difficult. It is important to gut the entrails and trim off any fins or hard growths.

How to clean fresh fish

As a rule, sterlet is found live on store shelves. This fish is sold mainly in large supermarkets where there are specially equipped aquariums for selling live fish. Therefore, the sterlet brought home will still be alive. Some people advise cleaning sterlet frozen; it’s easier, but when frozen, sterlet loses some of its benefits. Therefore, you should wait until the fish stops fluttering and start cleaning.

1. First of all, you need to remove mucus from the surface of the skin. To do this, you can simply wipe it with a napkin. Or you can rub the fish with salt and leave it for a few minutes, then just wash off the salt along with the mucus.

The next step is to cut off the keratinized growths on top and sides, while the upper scales should be cut off very carefully, as you can get hurt on them. The side ones are much easier to remove; they come off almost like the scales of an ordinary fish. You can pry them off with a knife, and if you lightly scald the carcass with boiling water, you can remove them with your hands.

The head of the fish is separated as needed. It is important to remember that it spoils very quickly and cooking must begin immediately after the fish has been cleaned or cut and immediately put in the freezer. If the head is to be used for cooking, be sure to remove the gills, remaining giblets and eyes, otherwise this will add bitterness to the dish.

The skin is also removed depending on the circumstances, if the skin is needed entirely, for example, for stuffing, then you need to carefully pick it up from the head and pull it towards the tail; if the skin does not give in, you can scald the carcass with boiling water and then the process will go faster.

The insides of the fish must be removed carefully, taking care not to damage the gallbladder. If its contents spill onto the meat, it will give it an unpleasant taste and ruin the dish. All internal films must be removed and the fish washed again.

After the fish is gutted and washed, you need to remove the vizier. To do this, two cuts are made, in the part where the body meets the head and where the tail begins. Then carefully pick up the screech and pull it out little by little.

Advice! If the sterlet is large, then it is better to pull out the vizig in stages, making several cuts along the length of the fish.

Cleaning frozen sterlet

It is believed that frozen sterlet is much easier to clean than fresh one. In fact, this is true. The scales are separated from the skin much easier, but there is a risk of damaging the skin if it is needed. In general, the process is not much different from cleaning fresh sterlet. Cleaning the insides and removing them when frozen is also easier. But it's important to remember. That in this case, to remove the vizig, the sterlet should be completely defrosted in order to freely pull out the vein and not tear it.

Once the sterlet has been thawed, it cannot be re-frozen, otherwise it will lose its shape and consistency. And also to ensure that the fillet pieces do not lose their shape during cooking and do not form protein clots, the pieces must be scalded with boiling water before cooking.