Hake fish: photo, description, useful properties and recipes

Hake is a marine and oceanic fish, one of the most famous representatives of the Cod family. There is also another name - merlusovye, with some people mistaking them for a different kind of fish.

Hake: what kind of fish, what it looks like and where it lives

The length of hake grows to 70 cm, there are individuals up to 1.5 m. Weight - up to 3 kg. The body is elongated, with two dorsal fins of different lengths. The head can occupy up to a third of the entire carcass. The hake has a wide mouth with a protruding lower jaw and large round eyes. The fish has a dark gray back and silver belly. The meat is white or milky in color.

Hake inhabits the coastal depths on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. A huge population lives in the Pacific Ocean. The body of the fish is not afraid of great pressure, so it feels comfortable at an incredible depth for humans - up to one kilometer. Sometimes it enters the rivers flowing into the seas and oceans.

Species .

Depending on its habitat, there are 16 species of merlusa. The most common are:

• Pacific;
• New Zealand;
• Silver (found off the coast of North America);
• Argentine;
• European (caught off the coast of northern Europe);
• Chilean;
• Cape (Southwest Africa).

In Russia, the most popular is the Pacific species. Fish raised in hatcheries are more likely to be sold.

What is the difference between hake and pollack

Pollack also belongs to the Cod family, so it is easy to confuse it with more expensive Merlusa, which is sometimes used by unscrupulous sellers.

Externally the fish differs from each other in shape and color. The body of the pollock is wider at the head and narrower at the tail. Hake scales have an even gray gradient from a darker shade on the back to a silvery one on the belly, while the sides of the pollock are dotted with spots.

From a culinary point of view, hake is easier to prepare, easier to cut, and less likely to fall apart when braised and fried. It is also juicier, more nutritious and healthier. Pollack has only two major advantages: a more democratic price and a liver rich in vitamins, which is considered a delicacy.

Composition and calories

Pollack is packed with vitamins, micro and macronutrients and other vital substances. Its composition includes:

• B vitamins;
• potassium (K);
• calcium (Ca);
• iron (Fe);
• vitamin A;
• manganese (Mn);
• cobalt (Co);
• phosphorus (P);
• copper (Cu);
• zinc (Zn);
• vitamin C;
• molybdenum (Mo);
• iodine (I);
• vitamin PP;
• magnesium (Mg);
• sulfur (S);
• omega-3;
• fluorine (F);
• proteins;
• sodium (Na).

The number of calories depends on the type of herring, the fishing season, and the cooking method. The usual figure is about 87-90 kcal per 100 grams of product. The caloric value changes during cooking:

• after frying - 105 kcal;
• after boiling - 95 kcal;
• after baking - 94 kcal.

Useful properties of hake fish

General usefulness

The usefulness of this sea creature is difficult to overestimate. It has a positive effect on:

• on the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood;
• vision;
• metabolism;
• hormone levels;
• immunity;
• nervous system;
• cardiovascular system;
• cholesterol levels;
• thyroid gland;
• cardiovascular system;
• memory;
• body tone;
• digestion.

Hake eliminates inflammation and harmful bacteria and is used to treat and prevent disease. Such a useful product should be included in the diet of those who are stressed or work physically.

For women

Heck is very useful for women's health, fights hormonal malfunctions and supports the body during pregnancy and during breastfeeding.

For men

Sea raptor is also essential for the male body. The protein helps increase and strengthen muscle mass and is especially important for athletes and bodybuilders.

Pregnancy

Pregnant women should eat merlot in moderation. Useful substances will protect the health of the future mother and her baby, protect against infections, contribute to nurturance and help to more easily endure the consequences of childbirth. Calcium and phosphorus strengthen bones, hair and nails, which often suffer during pregnancy, as well as lay the baby's intellectual potential.

When breastfeeding

According to the recommendations of pediatricians and breastfeeding specialists, breastfeeding women should eat codfish 1-2 times a week. The useful properties of this product will not only have an impact on the mother's body, but through the milk will be transmitted and the baby.

For children

Hake can be introduced into the baby's diet from the age of one year. The vitamins and minerals in the fish meat strengthen children's immunity, promote growth and intellectual development.

This is an indispensable product for pupils and students, especially in periods of stress and intense mental activity. Beneficial effect on the nervous system, it helps children and adolescents to better adapt to a new environment, the team, easier to carry the excitement during exams.

For weight loss.

This kind of codfish is perfect for a low-carbohydrate diet. Low-fat fish is excellent for diet recipes and is very popular among adherents of a healthy lifestyle.

Thanks to its low carbohydrate content, merlusovye allow thinners to eat their fill and at the same time not to gain excess weight. There are fish diets in which codfish is part of the daily diet or even the only product that can be consumed for several days. The main thing is the right way to prepare it. Even diet hake, if fried in a lot of oil, is unlikely to contribute to effective weight loss.

For pancreatitis.

Merlusa is one of the few products that can be eaten with such a serious disease as pancreatitis. Fish for the patient should definitely be boiled, stewed or steamed. Other methods, such as frying, smoking, salting and even baking, will have to be excluded. Fish broth and fish-based soups are also forbidden.

For gastritis

Due to the light protein, merlusovye is recommended even for people with chronic gastritis. During an exacerbation, even such simple and easily digestible food will have to be refused, but outside the exacerbation, patients can indulge themselves with boiled or stewed hake. In salted, smoked and fried form such a product is strictly prohibited. It is allowed to bake fish in foil without oil or steam cook it. It is important not to abuse salt and spices.

In case of gout

Boiled and steamed hake can be included in the diet and with gouty arthritis. Serve it no more than 2-3 times a week.

Harm and contraindications

Even such a useful product, as hake, has its drawbacks. The list of contraindications is quite limited, but it is worth considering by all people with poor health:

1. Heck is contraindicated in cases of individual intolerance and allergies to fish.
2. Like any iron-containing product, hakes can cause constipation.
3. In raw meat can be hidden helminthes. Exotic raw fish dishes such as sushi and rolls can be dangerous, especially for pregnant women and young children.
4. Because of catastrophic environmental problems, the seas and oceans are heavily polluted with chemicals and nuclear waste. Fish, including cod, can absorb harmful substances. It is recommended to buy Merlusa raised in special artificial reservoirs.
5. Even with the most careful processing in the fillet can remain small bones, so you should be careful when feeding young children.
6. It is desirable to take products proven brand and from reliable sellers. Some manufacturers abuse synthetic agents in the processing of fish carcasses.

How to choose and store

In stores, hake is most often sold frozen. As a rule, it is a carcass without a massive head and tail fin. You can also buy fillets, steaks, minced meat, and all sorts of semi-finished hake meat.

Buying frozen fish, you should pay attention to the following points:

1. There should not be much ice on the skin.
2. The outside of the fish is clean, without blood spots.
3. Pressing on the abdomen does not leave traces.
4. The size corresponds to the weight (underweight indicates old freezing, overweight indicates repeated freezing).
5. The surface is flat and undamaged.
6. The carcass should not be unnaturally curved.
7. Good meat is white; if there is a yellowish hue, it means the fish has gone bad.

Good quality fresh fish has:

• a pleasant fishy smell without any admixtures of tuna or chemicals;
• The skin is even, with no lacerations or strange spots;
• Red gills (any discoloration is a sign of poor quality)
• clean, unclouded eyes;
• dense texture.

Frozen carcasses can be stored in the freezer for up to 6 months. Longer storage will cause the meat to become over-frozen, dry and tasteless. Once defrosted, the fish should not be refrozen, as it will lose its dense structure and fine flavor.

Fresh hake should preferably be cooked on the day of purchase or stored in the refrigerator in a separate dish for no more than 24 hours.

How to properly prepare fish before cooking

It is necessary to defrost melrose before cooking. This must be done according to certain rules.

The most gentle is considered the natural defrosting in the refrigerator or at room temperature. To do this, it is enough to take the food out of the freezer, put it in a deep container (so that the melted water can flow there) and put it in the fridge for a few hours. You can do all this in the evening, and in the morning start cooking.

If you need a quick defrost, you can use one of the proven methods. The first way is to send the iced product in the microwave and turn on the mode "Defrost". The second is to defrost in a bag under running water.

For the second option, put the fish carcass in a bag, remove all air as much as possible, place the bag in a bowl, put it in the sink and open the faucet. Cold water should fall into the bowl in a thin stream. Important: the water should not be icy, otherwise the defrosting process will take too long, and under no circumstances should it be hot. If you put frozen hake in hot water, the upper layers of meat will quickly defrost and boil, while the insides will still be hard. Such fish will become unsuitable for cooking and simply fall apart in the pan.

Thawed or fresh fish needs to be cut as follows:

1. Thoroughly wash with clean water.
2. Peel off the scales from the tip of the tail to the head.
3. Cut off all the fins. Separate the head.
4. If you need the head in cooking, free it from the gills and rinse it well, avoiding sharp teeth.
5. Mince the belly, take out the viscera, and rinse.
6. Remove the inner dark film from the belly with a knife.
7. Wash the entire carcass again.
8. Let excess liquid drain or blot the skin with a dry towel.

Subsequently, the fish can be cut into steaks or fillets. It is better to fillet with a special thin knife. Cutting is carried out in several steps:

1. Pre-clean and gut the fish, cut off the fins and head.
2. With a sharp knife make two parallel cuts on the back. The cuts should be deep and reach down to the backbone.
3. Put the fish on its side and with a careful movement from the tail to the head cut an even layer of meat, separating it from the large bones.
4. Turn the carcass over and similarly separate the fillet from the second side.
5. Examine both fillets carefully and feel for smaller bones. Take out all bones with your hands or tweezers.
6. Rinse ready meat with clean running water.

Before cooking it is desirable to marinate hake. To do this you need to take a whole carcass or steaks, salt, add spices to taste and lemon juice. Leave it to "rest" for 10-15 minutes. Of the seasonings, the best combination with codfish:

• dill;
• tarragon;
• marjoram;
• parsley;
• thyme;
• cloves;
• rosemary;
• ground black pepper;
• cumin;
• fennel;
• bayroot;
• cardamom;
• melissa.

Merlot is a versatile product in terms of compatibility with side dishes, it can be served with cereals, porridges, vegetable stews and mashed potatoes, pasta and salads. The main principle of a harmonious combination - the components must be cooked differently. For example, fried food is better served with boiled or stewed. Excellent suit and all kinds of sauces, especially cooked with white wine.

How to cook fish hake deliciously: recipes

Caring housewives can always please their loved ones with a variety of dishes from hake. There are so many recipes with merlusa that you can cook a new dish every day and enjoy its taste.

In the oven

One of the easiest and fastest options to make a delicious dinner is to bake hake in the oven. You can bake it at once with a side dish, with a sauce, or alone with little seasoning.

To get a nourishing and flavorful dish without too much hassle, it is enough to bake fish. For this purpose, take fillets, steaks or carcasses cut in several places. The meat is washed, lightly dried, salted and sprinkled with spices to taste. Then leave it to marinate for 10-15 minutes. Oven is heated to 180 °, hake smeared with lemon juice or cover with slices of lemon and send to bake for half an hour. Wrap the fish in foil to make it juicy.

In the pan

For a simple frying take a whole carcass, slightly thaw (just skin to pieces do not fall apart during cooking), cut into steaks. Pieces covered with flour or dipped in whipped egg yolk, salted and fried in oil until crispy. Fat steaks are fried for 6-8 minutes on both sides, 3 minutes per side is enough for small pieces.

In a multicooker

The latest home appliances give room for imagination. The device can steam, boil and stew almost any fish dish.

For fish stew with vegetables you need:

1. Wash and clean the hake. Divide the carcass into equal pieces.
2. Salt and season to taste and let the pieces marinate for at least 15 minutes.
3. Peel and chop an onion. Wash, peel and grate carrots.
4. In a multicooker, fry the onion and carrot.
5. Add slices of chopped tomato or two spoons of tomato paste. Bring to the boil.
6. Roll the pickled chunks in flour. Fry until brown, separate from vegetables.
7. Place vegetable mixture on top.
8. Braise for 10 minutes with the lid on "Stew" mode.

The best method is steaming. Water steam exposes the product to the necessary heat treatment, kills harmful bacteria, while preserving all the useful properties as much as possible.

For steamed fish you will need:

1. Cut the washed and peeled carcass into slices, dry with a paper towel.
2. Salt and spice each piece.
3. Pour 1-1,5 liters of pure water into the multicooker, add the bay and 5-6 peas of black pepper.
4. Place the fish on the special grid. Activate the mode "Steam.
5. Let it cook for 25-30 minutes. If you want you can add some lemon juice.

On the grill

A picnic does not necessarily have to be meat - Merlusa is also great for grilling. You can grill individual steaks or whole fish directly on the grill or wrapped in foil.

Clean, dry fish is marinated in spices, salt and lemon, covered with any vegetable oil and tightly wrapped in foil. The resulting roll is placed in the refrigerator to marinate for half an hour. The grill is placed over well-burned coals, put "rolls" on top and fry for 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the pieces), constantly turning over.

On the grill

Hake can be a wonderful fish shish kebab. Pieces of meat are marinated in advance, put on skewers along with slices of vegetables and grilled over the coals. The fish is cooked very quickly, it takes only a few minutes to fry.

Instead of skewers, you can use a lattice. Pieces or whole carcasses marinate in spices and salt for a few hours, wrap in foil and put on the grill. Fish in foil can simply be put in the coals.

How to marinate

Skilled housewives can make a wonderful preparation for the winter. To marinate it, you need:

1. Choose a clean deep ceramic or glass dish.
2. Prepare 1.2 kg of fillets cleaned of all bones.
3. Cover the bottom of the dish with meat and sprinkle with onion (you can cut it into large rings or small pieces).
4. Boil 200-300 ml of water in a separate small pot.
5. In the boiling water throw 1-2 tsp. Coriander and dill seeds, 9-10 peppercorns, cook for 15-20 minutes.
6. At the end, pour 200 g of sugar, put 5 bay leaves, pour 100 g of salt.
7. Let the liquid cool, add a 9% vinegar (no more than 400 ml), add 400 ml of boiled water at room temperature.
8. Pour the marinade into the dish with hake, put a lid with a weight on top.
9. Put the dish in the refrigerator or a cold place for 72 hours. In the morning and evening stir the pieces for even salting.

How to smoke

Smokehouse owners are unlikely to deny themselves the pleasure of making smoked Merlusa. Thanks to its low fat content, this sea predator is more healthy than many other varieties of fish.

The fish is prepared in the usual way, removing scales, head and fins. The skin is rubbed with spices, pepper and coarse salt and put under the weight for 3 hours, sprinkling it with bay leaves. In the smoker put the branches of favorite plants. The hake is placed on a grate and placed over hot coals. On average, it takes 40 minutes to smoke. Small pieces are ready in 20 minutes. A variety of trees and shrubs are used for smoking: pear, apple tree, currant, spruce, alder and even the usual black tea (gives a golden hue). It all depends on the taste and imagination of the smoker.

What can be cooked from hake: recipes

Filet and minced hake are perfectly suitable for the most different dishes and home semi-finished products.

Cutlets

For cutlets, you can buy ready-made minced meat or prepare it yourself. Be sure to take into account that in the purchased fish mass, as a rule, frozen a lot of water, which must be squeezed after defrosting.

To prepare the force-meat one should take the whole carcass or fillet, carefully wash and dry it, remove all bones and skin. The meat along with the onion is minced through a meat grinder or chopped in a blender. In the stuffing beat an egg, add salt, pepper, seasonings for fish dishes. Everything is thoroughly mixed. Roll small balls from the ready mass, knead them, roll them in flour and fry on both sides in vegetable oil until golden brown.

Fasting people can replace the egg with 2 tablespoons of starch.

You can diversify your menu by replacing the usual classic cutlets with a dish in the manner of Arabic kebab. To do this you will need: 550-600 g hake, 1 whole onion (onions), ½ purple onion, 2 tbsp oat flakes or oat flour, 100 g stressed white bread, 40 g milk, 1 tbsp mayonnaise or sour cream (at least 20% fat content), a bunch of any greens (fresh dill, parsley), salt, ground pepper, spices (optional).

Process:

1. Rinse and remove scales and bones. Separate the fillets from the backbone and bones.
2. Soak slices of wheat bread in milk until soft. Squeeze.
3. Peel onions, chop into quarters.
4. Grind the fillets, soaked bread and quarters of onion in a meat grinder.
5. Place the minced meat in a bowl. Beat the egg. Sprinkle oat flour or cereal. Chop greens.
6. Mix well until the contents of the bowl until homogeneous.
7. Salt, season, pepper and stir again.
8. Put the mass into a clean cellophane bag and beat it for 1-2 minutes.
9. Roll the stuffing into small elongated sausages. Place each "sausage" on a long skewer and wrap tightly in foil.
10. Spread the pieces on a baking tray, let stand for a while.
11. Place in an oven heated to 180°, bake for about a quarter of an hour, unroll and bake for another 10 minutes.
12. Unwrap, arrange on plates and garnish with slices of purple onions and sprigs of fresh herbs.

The kebab will have a special flavor and aroma if it is cooked on a grill or campfire.

Soup

First courses are an integral part of the diet of all people leading a healthy lifestyle. Soups with hake are suitable for all lovers of good nutrition and will diversify the menu of any family. Everyone will find a recipe to their liking.

A simple recipe:

You will need: 400 g hake, 1 large onion, 1 medium carrot, 3-4 potatoes, 100 g of millet, salt, pepper, bay leaf.

How to cook:

1. Peel the onion, carrot and potato. Coarsely chop onions.
2. Grate carrots or cut into circles, dice potatoes.
3. Pour the onions and carrots in the bottom of a pot, pour water, bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes.
4. Merlusa wash under the faucet, clean of dirt and scales, cut into pieces.
5. Rinse millet thoroughly with clean water.
6. Put potatoes, hake and millet into the broth, bring to the boil and remove the foam.
7. Season with salt, add black peas and bay leaves.
8. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until millet and potatoes start to fall apart.

Connoisseurs of unexpected flavor combinations will enjoy Spanish fish soup with orange juice.

You will need: 1 kg of hake meat, 1 tomato, 4-5 small potatoes, 2 medium oranges, 2 small lemons, 2 tbsp olive oil, 5 garlic cloves, 1 large onion, 1 tsp paprika, salt, pepper, 30 g parsley, 1.2 L water.

Process:

1. Wash, clean off scales and dirt and gut the fish. Separate the heads, backbones, bones and tails. Remove the gills from the cut heads.
2. Toss all parts of the hake, except the fillets, in a saucepan full of water.
3. Remove the skins from the oranges. Put the skins in the pot, bring water to a boil. Skim off the foam. Cook for half an hour under a lid.
4. Put the pieces of fillet in a bowl, salt and place in the fridge.
5. In a saucepan with thick walls (preferably cast-iron) pour oil, heat.
6. Crush the garlic in its peel and fry in the pan until golden.
7. Take out the garlic. Turn down the heat.
8. Add peeled and chopped onion to the pot, and fry until soft. Add the chopped tomato.
9. Pass the broth through a sterile gauze or sieve, then pour it into the pot with the vegetables.
10. As soon as the water boils, throw in the potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes.
11. Put the fillets in the soup, continue to cook for about 20 minutes after the appearance of foam.
12. Squeeze out the juice of all the citrus fruits with a juicer and pour it into the broth.
13. Season with salt and paprika, and pepper.

Garnish with fresh herbs just before serving. Garnish with fresh herbs.

Salad

Hake is able to update and embellish a long-known food. One of these traditional dishes is the salad Olivier. It is only necessary to replace the meat with fish, and the salad familiar from childhood will play with new colors.

Need: 200 g potatoes, 100 g carrots, 100 g green peas, 2 boiled eggs, 100 g hake, 50 g green onions, 5-6 tbsp mayonnaise, salt (to taste).

Process:

1. Thoroughly wash potatoes, boil them in their skins until tender. Remove the skin, cut into cubes of about 1 cm each.
2. Carrots should also be thoroughly washed and boiled in their peel (you can boil them in the same pot with the potatoes).
3. Remove the skin from the cooked carrots, cut the carrots into small cubes.
4. Boil green peas (fresh or frozen), use canned or homemade pickled product.
5. Toss the peas in a sieve or colander, allow the excess liquid to drain.
6. Boil the eggs to a hard yolk (about 10 minutes), free from the shell and finely chop with a knife.
7. Wash fillets free of small bones and cook for 15 minutes.
8. Rinse the fish in a colander, let the water drain. Finely chop fish meat.
9. Peel the onion and finely chop it.
10. In one bowl combine vegetables, eggs and fish. Mix well.
11. Salt, season with mayonnaise, add a pinch of ground pepper. Stir again.
12. Leave in the fridge for about 3 hours. Some hostesses advise to dress the salad with mayonnaise just before serving.

Interesting Facts

1. Hake in any form is most often sold without the head. There are two reasons for this: the first - it is easy to hurt yourself on the sharp teeth, the second - many buyers do not want to spend money on a large and almost useless head.
2. Merlusa swim bladder is used to make glue and some mixtures used in construction.
3. Hake contains folic acid, which is why this fish is recommended for women who are planning to become pregnant.
4. This fish is one of the most valuable and abundant sources of iodine.

Photo of hake fish