Home sprats from Baltic herring

Sprats - a fish no longer than 12 centimeters and weighing about 15 grams, belonging to the herring family. It lives in the Baltic Sea, in small quantities found in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

From this fish for many years make canned food, which are called "Sprats". At present, different small fish are used for preparing canned food. We eat sprats from Baltic herring, sprat, sprat, etc. And only at the Baltic fish-processing plants they traditionally prepare "Sprats" from the corresponding fish.

Thanks to a unique technology that does not change over the years, canned preserves its original taste regardless of the type of fish.

Some interesting facts

Accidental finding (workers in the repair of the old building found unused packaging for sprat) suggests that sprats (canned goods) were produced in Riga from 1890 on Malaya Molochnaya Street by Maurice and So. Canned food was recommended to be used in a chilled form (it was indicated on the label), and they were called "King's sprats".

Fish in cans fit differently. It depends on the time of the year when it was caught. In winter, the fish are laid back up, and in summer - the belly up.

Summer fish is more oily, does not move much in warm water, the back cracks when cooking.

A monument has been erected to the sprats: a small fish jumps out of a bronze can. The monument was opened in 2008 in Mamonovo, where there is a large combine for the production of canned fish.

How to prepare canned sprats

Fish for canned food is thoroughly washed, the head is removed, stacked in rows on a special baking tray and sent to the smokehouse for three hours. Next, the fish are densely packed in cans, poured with oil, seasoned with salt and pepper. Banks are sealed and sterilized.

Important: real sprats are prepared only with the use of vegetable oil, salt and pepper. No other additives and spices are allowed, if they are indicated on the sprat bank, then, most likely, the fish in them are of poor quality.

Recently, some manufacturers save on smoking fish. Prepared carcasses are simply treated with chemical "liquid smoke," which saves the manufacturer's money, but is extremely unhelpful to the health of the consumer.

In order to be sure of the quality of the fish and the way of smoking, it is possible to prepare the home sprats from Baltic herring.

Recipe "Homemade sprats in the oven"

Preparation of sprats according to the proposed recipe is a simple process and is available to any hostess. As a substitute for "liquid smoke" tea and onion husks are used. Sprats from Baltic herring, the photos of which are presented below, are prepared from the following products:

• Frozen herring - 1 kg;
• Sunflower oil - 200 grams;
• Leaf tea (black) - 2 tablespoons;
• Bay leaf - 8-10 pieces;
• Black pepper (peas) - 10-12 pieces;
• Salt - 2 tablespoons;
• Onion peel - 20 grams.

Onions husk washed, pour 2 cups of water and boil for 15-20 minutes. Decoction cool and drain.

Brew tea in 2 glasses of water, cool, strain.

Fish defrost, rinse, decapitate and gut.

Lay the fish tightly in a heat-resistant dish with a thick bottom. Salak stack back up, as in canned food.

Pour fish with pepper (peas) and bay leaf, add oil. All carefully move-pokonknyat, so that the oil fill penetrated between the carcasses of the fish.

Mix the tea, infuse onion peel, add salt. Stir well until all the crystals of salt have dissolved.

With the saline solution, pour the fish.

Put herring in a preheated oven to 150 degrees, bake at the same temperature until the solution boils, then reduce the heat, lower the temperature to 120 degrees, cook for about 2 hours.

Then let the dish cool, and then take out the ready-made sprats.

The recipe can be changed to your liking:

• Add the carnation;
• To strengthen it more firmly;
• Increase the time of "languishing" in the oven (in this case, the bones will become completely soft);
• Increase the amount of strong tea (the fish will become harder).

Preparation sprat from Baltic herring on the plate

If you are not interested in messing with onion peel, tea and an oven, and you want to make sprats from Baltic herring at home, then use the following recipe.

Products:

• Baltic herring with / m - 1 kilogram;
• Sunflower oil - 4 tablespoons;
• Pepper black peas fragrant and bitter - 10 pieces each;
• Bay leaves - 3 or 4 pieces;
• Salt food - 1 teaspoon without a slide;
• Vinegar (preferably fruit) - 1 tablespoon;
• Sugar - 1 teaspoon without a slide.

Fish defrost, thoroughly rinse, decapitate, gut. Put herring in a saucepan with a thick bottom, salt, sprinkle with pepper, sugar, put a bay leaf, pour vinegar and sunflower oil. Pour the contents of the pot with water so that the fish is half in the water.

Cover the pan and put on a slow fire. The cooking time is about 2 hours. Then remove the pan from the heat, completely cool, take out the ready sprats.

To speed up the cooking process, you can use a pressure cooker or multivark, in which case the fish will cook for 1 hour.

Sprats based on soy sauce

The original recipe for sprats from Baltic herring involves the use of soy sauce. The dish is cooked on the stove and marinated for 24 hours.

Required products:

• Freshly-frozen herring - 1,2 kg;
• Soy sauce - 1/2 cup;
• Tea-making - 1 glass;
• Sunflower oil - 1 glass;
• Salt food - 1/2 teaspoon;
• Sugar - 1 teaspoon;
• Bay leaf - 3 or 4 pieces.

Fish defrost, thoroughly rinse, decapitate, gut, put in a pot with a thick bottom or kazanok, pour soy sauce.

Mix tea tea with butter, put sugar, salt and bay leaf. All mix well.

Pour the mixture into a fish.

Pour the pan on the fire, close the lid and cook over low heat for 1 hour.

Do not overturn fish and do not remove. Pour the pan with fish for a day in the fridge. Then sprats can be taken out and served on the table. Delicious food is ready.

Sprats from small fish

The proposed recipe allows you to prepare sprats from Baltic herring (shallow), capelin, viper, sprat and other small fishes.

Required ingredients:

• Fish (small) - 1 kilogram;
• Sunflower oil - 0,5 glasses;
• Salt cooked - 1 tablespoon without top;
• Vinegar (apple) - 1/4 cup;
• Bay leaves - 4-5 pieces;
• Onion - 2-3 pieces;
• Pepper black peas, cloves, parsley root - to taste.

Fish should be thawed, thoroughly washed, gutted, and removed from the head and fins.

Peel onion, wash, cut into rings.

At the bottom of the Kazanka lay a layer of onions, lay a layer of fish on top, then a layer of onions, a layer of fish, etc. Between the layers put a laurel leaf, parsley root, cloves, black pepper between peas.

Vinegar diluted in a glass of water.

Mix the diluted vinegar with sunflower oil and salt.

Pour the mixture into the fish, close the lid with a lid and put on a small fire. The dish should be cooked for 1.5 hours.

To the taste of sprats are not inferior to canned shop.

Conclusion

Sprats from Baltic herring, capelin, sprat and other small fishes are easy to prepare at home. The recipes given above do not require special skills, exotic products and plenty of time. But, following them, even an inexperienced mistress will be able to cook a delicacy that will not be worse than store canned sprats. And the usefulness of the dish will not cause doubts: sprats from Baltic herring at home are always fresh and do not contain harmful impurities.

Cook with love, please yourself and your loved ones.

Bon Appetit!