Smelt is an excellent independent dish that is sure to please all family members, especially males. You can simply serve it with vegetables, or you can prepare some kind of side dish. Baked smelt goes well with rice, especially if the fish was cooked in sauce.

Ideal for baked or fried potatoes. You can make mashed potatoes for this fish, depending on who you like. But smelt is usually not served with pasta, buckwheat or other cereals. Although here everything depends on the preferences of the household and the housewife herself.

Ingredients:

How to cook smelt in the oven

1. Clean the fish, removing the head and giblets.

2 . Drizzle with oil and juice of half a lemon.

3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

4 . Place a sheet of foil on a baking sheet. Place fish on top.

5. Sprinkle with dried herbs. If the greens are fresh, then sprinkle them on the prepared smelt.

6. Cover with another sheet of foil and place in an oven preheated to 180-200 degrees.

7 . After 25 minutes, remove the baking sheet upper layer foil (careful, hot!). Place the fish in the oven for another 5 minutes.

Delicious smelt in the oven is ready

Bon appetit!

Those who have ever been to St. Petersburg at the end of April will remember the smell emanating from everywhere for the rest of their lives. fresh cucumbers and posters of all formats with the words “Fresh smelt”. Well, to watch all this and not try this wonderful fish is simply blasphemy.

What is smelt

Snetok is the second name of the inhabitant of the Gulf of Finland, Neva and other rivers of the Leningrad region. This fish is appearance resembles a sprat. Its size varies significantly. By the way, the price of the St. Petersburg delicacy also depends on this.

Smelt meat is tender and quite fatty, but not particularly high in calories, only about 100 kcal for every 100 g. Smelt is also rich in a wide variety of substances beneficial to our body - amino acids, minerals and, of course, vitamins A, B, D and all the others .

Features of preparation

You can prepare smelt in a thousand ways. But no matter which one is chosen, the fish must first be prepared. You should start by cleansing the scales. You can do this with a regular knife, but it is more convenient to use a special grater. In this case, the scales will not scatter throughout the surrounding area. When this cleaning is completed, the fish must be rinsed under running water. running water and only after that start gutting.

The size of smelt can vary greatly from one another. There are fish weighing no more than 100 g, but there are also 300-350. But regardless of weight, gut the fish before heat treatment definitely necessary. Otherwise, the finished dish may be slightly bitter, which will significantly spoil its taste.

There is no point in describing the gutting process, since most housewives, at least once in their lives, had to free the fish from its entrails. It is worth paying attention only to the fact that smelt often ends up in nets with caviar. This product should not be thrown away. Smelt caviar is even healthier than the fish itself. Freed from internal organs The fish must also be thoroughly rinsed with cold water.

Smelt is served to the table in almost any form: fried, boiled, stewed, pickled and, of course, baked. The last method of preparing smelt will be discussed below. Why specifically about baking? It’s just that in this form, smelt is tastier and much healthier than fried, since for its preparation additional fats are used in minimal quantities.

There are many ways to bake smelt in the oven. Of course, you can simply place the prepared fish on a baking sheet and put it in the oven. But it’s difficult to call this option cooking. It is much more interesting to bake the smelt, for example, in foil. Although the previous method can also be used, you just have to improve it a little.

Smelt baked with flour

This is the easiest way to bake fresh smelt. To serve such a dish, you will need to take about a kilogram of Neva fish, about 6 tablespoons of flour, salt and various spices, as well as a little lemon juice.

In this case, you can do the same as with any other fish.

In a separate bowl, mix flour with salt and spices. Roll each prepared smelt thoroughly in the resulting mixture and place on a baking sheet that has been previously greased. vegetable oil.

Sprinkle fresh squeezed lemon juice on top of the fish. Place the baking sheet in an oven preheated to 180°C and leave for 20-25 minutes.

Smelt baked in foil, recipe 1

To prepare smelt in this way, you need to take the fish itself (about 1 kg), 2-3 onions (preferably blue or white), 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, the juice of half a lemon, vegetable oil, salt and spices to taste.

Cut the onion into half rings and put in a deep bowl, put the prepared smelt in there, add spices and pour in soy sauce. Gently mix the contents of the bowl with your hands so that the spices are evenly distributed throughout all the fish.

Line a baking sheet with a piece of foil twice the size. Lightly grease the foil with vegetable oil and place the smelt on it. It is best to lay out the fish alternating with the head or tail first. This way more of them will fit on the baking sheet. The onion should also be placed along with the fish.

Sprinkle the smelt with lemon juice, cover with the rest of the foil and place in an oven preheated to 200°C. You need to bake the fish for about 20 minutes, after which it should be carefully opened by unscrewing top part foil and leave in the oven for another 10 minutes. During this time, it will have time to brown enough.

After this, the smelt can be immediately served to the table, either as an independent dish or together with some side dish - potatoes or rice.

Smelt baked in foil, recipe 2

In this way, it is better to bake smelt not on a baking sheet, but in a rectangular tray. To do this, you need to prepare a kilogram of smelt, two heads of onions, 100 grams of butter, 2 tablespoons of flour, 100-150 ml of cream, 100 ml of water, 50 ml of white table wine, spices, salt and herbs at the discretion of the hostess.

Rub the smelt with a mixture of salt and your favorite spices and leave for 7-10 minutes. Chop the onion into half rings, fry in butter and place in a foil-lined pan. Place the fish on top, sprinkle with flour, pour in cream, water and wine. Cover the pan with foil and place in the oven, as in the first option, for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil from above and cook until golden brown for 10 minutes. The oven temperature should be kept around 200°C.

The finished smelt should be placed out of the mold onto a flat dish and poured with the sauce remaining on the bottom.

Smelt baked with sour cream

It will take a little more time to prepare the smelt this way. Although, taking into account the fact that it takes a lot to clean fish, it can hardly be considered that such a dish takes too long to prepare. True, you will also need a little more food for such a lunch/dinner. Specifically, you will have to purchase:

• kilogram of smelt;
• flour;
• egg;
• breadcrumbs;
• butter (100 grams butter and a little vegetable for frying);
• onion and garlic;
• cream (50 ml);
• 200 g sour cream;
• salt and spices.

Finely chop the onion and garlic and fry in vegetable oil. When the onion turns golden, add cream, sour cream and butter. Salt the mixture, season with spices and when it boils, remove from heat. Pass the cooled sauce through a blender to obtain a homogeneous mass.

First roll the prepared smelt in flour, then dip it in a beaten egg and roll it again, but in breadcrumbs. Place the fish in a greased metal baking dish and place in the oven for 15 minutes. The oven must first be preheated to a temperature of 180°C.

After the specified time has passed, pour the sauce into the pan and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Place the finished fish on a dish, pour over the sauce and sprinkle with herbs.

Smelt baked with cheese

For this method of preparing smelt, a small fish is best suited. You need to take about a kilogram of it. In addition, you need to prepare semi-hard cheese, such as Russian, Poshekhonsky or Dutch, salt, pepper, adjika, a small onion and lemon juice (about 2 tablespoons).

Peel the onion and grate on the finest grater. Pour lemon juice into the pulp and mix well. Grate the cheese on a large shredder and mix with adjika.

Spread each smelt with the onion mixture, salt and pepper, place on a baking sheet and cover with the cheese-adjika mixture. Smelt should be baked at a temperature of 200°C. Baking time – 20-25 minutes.

Video “Oven-dried smelt”

Recipe for smelt baked with onions in the oven. The smelt season has begun in our city! Traditionally, smelt is fried in a frying pan in oil, sometimes pre-breaded in flour, and then the initially dietary fish turns into a high-calorie dish, not at all suitable for proper nutrition. However, there are other ways to prepare smelt - for example, baking in the oven. With this method of preparation, smelt turns out to be no less tasty, but definitely more healthy. The calorie content of one serving of baked smelt (130 grams) is 100 kcal, the cost of a serving is 35 rubles.

Ingredients:

To prepare this dish we will need (for 4 servings):

fresh smelt (not gutted) - 500 grams (300 grams of cleaned fish); onion - 100 grams; red onion - 100 grams; olive oil - 1 tsp. (5 grams); balsamic vinegar - 1 tbsp. (10 grams); salt, spices, bay leaf.

Preparation:

First, we wash the smelt, remove the scales (to do this you just need to rub it a little with your hands under water), remove the head and entrails. Tails and fins do not need to be removed.

Red and onion peel and cut into half rings.

Place the peeled smelt and chopped onion in a bowl, add salt, spices, one tablespoon of balsamic vinegar (can be replaced with apple or table vinegar), one teaspoon olive oil. Mix everything, cover the bowl with a lid or film, and put it in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.

Place the smelt evenly on a baking sheet and sprinkle with pickled onions. There is no need to grease the baking tray with oil.

Cover the baking sheet with foil and place it in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, open the oven, remove the foil from the baking sheet, and bake the smelt for another 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven, let our dish cool a little, and now you can put it on plates)

Smelt baked in the oven with onions is ready! Bon appetit!

Smelt is a small oblong fish that lives in the Neva and the Gulf of Finland, from where it is caught in huge quantities. You can buy it frozen, chilled, dried and dried. Moreover, the last two varieties are found most often, since smelt is in great demand among beer lovers.

A few words about the delicacy

Many housewives believe that this small fish requires a lot of fuss and is nothing special, but in reality this opinion is wrong. Those who know how to properly process this delicacy often prefer it. After all, smelt has tender and fatty meat that can be cooked different ways. But at the same time, it is not so high in calories that it will affect your figure. In addition, this fish has an unusual and extremely pleasant taste. And if you also remember the many useful microelements in its composition, it will become clear that this delicacy is definitely worth the money.

There are many recipes for cooking this fish in a frying pan and in a slow cooker. But smelt, containing many useful substances, baked in the oven is the fastest and easiest way to preserve its quality, wonderful aroma and incredible taste. Try any of the suggested recipes to see how appetizing this treat is and how easy it is to prepare.

Food preparation

Smelt baked in the oven in own juice with spices and lemon juice, is the easiest way to prepare it. Believe me, you definitely shouldn’t underestimate such a simple recipe, because the fish turns out incredibly delicate and soft, and its flesh is saturated with the aromas of herbs and marinade.

To prepare you will need:

• 0.6 kg smelt;
• half a lemon;
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil;
• 0.5 teaspoon salt;
• allspice, several bay leaves;
• any greens - rosemary, dill, basil or parsley.

Recipe for smelt baked in the oven with photo

If you have frozen fish in your supplies, the first thing you need to do is defrost it. This needs to be done naturally. Then the carcasses need to be cut: cut off the head, remove the entrails, remove scales and wash.

• Place the prepared fish in a deep bowl.
• Squeeze lemon juice on them.
• Add pepper, salt and vegetable oil here.
• Mix the fish thoroughly with your hands so that each smelt is coated with the sauce.
• Now all that remains is to find out how to bake smelt in the oven in foil. To do this, line a baking sheet large sheet foil. Place the carcasses on it in random order or in rows. Only one thing is important - the layer of fish must be uniform so that it bakes quickly.

• Place bay leaves and greens, cut or sprigs, on top of the smelt.
• Cover the baking sheet with another sheet of foil and seal the edges tightly.

The final stage

Place the delicacy in an oven heated to 200 degrees for 20-25 minutes. After the required time, remove top sheet foil and return the fish for another 5-10 minutes. This is necessary so that the carcasses are browned and covered with an appetizing crust.

That's all - the oven-baked smelt is ready. It is very important to carefully remove the carcasses from the baking sheet so that the tender meat is not damaged, and the fish itself remains whole and appetizing.

It is advisable to serve the delicacy on a large plate, adding sprigs of herbs and fresh vegetables to the composition. And potatoes are perfect as a side dish.

Second way

Baking in foil is far from the only option for preparing smelt baked in the oven. An original and very unusual recipe is fish in cheese batter. Such a treat is worthy not only of a simple family dinner, but also of a gala table.

If you want to bake smelt in the oven with a crust, this recipe is what you need. Perhaps there is nothing more appetizing and tastier than tender fish in cheese batter. In addition, preparing such a dish is much easier and faster than it might seem at first.

In the process you will need:

• 0.6 kg smelt;
• 100 g hard cheese;
• a glass of breadcrumbs;
• 2 eggs;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil;
• 0.5 teaspoon salt;
• pepper to taste;
• herbs to choose from - rosemary, dill, basil or parsley.

The process will take approximately an hour.

How to bake smelt in the oven without foil

• First defrost frozen fish. Then clean it of scales and entrails, cut off the head and wash thoroughly under running water.
• Now the carcasses need to be profiled: without dividing into pieces, cut along the tummy deeper than the giblets and pull out the skeleton along with the ribs. Rinse the resulting fillet again and dry with napkins.
• It's time to take on the batter. Mix eggs, pressed garlic, finely chopped herbs, pepper and salt. Stir all components until a homogeneous consistency and light foam is obtained.
• In another bowl, mix finely grated cheese and breadcrumbs. Stir the ingredients thoroughly too.

• Grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil. You will need to place the smelt fillet on it.
• Dip each carcass on both sides in the egg mixture, then transfer to breadcrumbs. Roll on both sides and immediately place on the prepared baking sheet. Do the same with each fish.
• When all the carcasses are stacked, grease their tops with vegetable oil using a brush. This trick will allow you to avoid drying out the smelt and achieve an appetizing golden hue.
• Place the dough in the oven, preheated to 180 degrees, for half an hour. During this time, the smelt should brown and become crispy.

The fish prepared in this way will pleasantly surprise you with its divine aroma, appetizing golden crust and tender fillet.

Smelt in cheese batter may well take the place of a main dish, a hot or cold appetizer - in any form, this treat will certainly please your household.

Delicacy in tomato sauce

Any fish is in perfect harmony with vegetables, which can be used as a side dish, as a decoration, and as a component of a dish. Recipe for smelt baked in the oven with tomato sauce, will allow you to prepare an amazingly tasty treat with an extraordinary aroma in just an hour. This dish will certainly not leave anyone indifferent.

To prepare smelt baked in the oven with vegetables, you will need:

• 0.6 kg of fish;
• 2 tablespoons flour;
• half the amount of tomato paste;
• 2 onions;
• the same amount of carrots;
• 2 tomatoes;
• a little vegetable oil;
• several bay leaves;
• salt and pepper to taste.

Course of action

• Wash the thawed fish, remove scales, gut them and cut off the heads. To complete the preparation, blot each carcass with napkins to remove excess moisture.
• Dip the prepared smelt in flour and fry on both sides in a frying pan until golden brown. Don't forget to pour some vegetable oil on the surface. Place the fried carcasses on a baking sheet.

• Now start preparing the vegetable filling. Peel and wash all prepared vegetables. Chop the onion into half rings, grate the carrots on a coarse grater, cut the tomato into thin rings. Fry the vegetables until golden brown, then add a glass of water to them, tomato paste and any spices to your taste. Stir everything thoroughly and bring to a boil.
• Pour the prepared gravy over the fish laid out on a baking sheet. Place bay leaves on top.
• Place the baking sheet with smelt in the oven, preheated to 180 degrees, for 20 minutes.

This fish turns out incredibly tender, perfectly soaked in seasonings and vegetable juices. Place the smelt on a plate very carefully, using a spatula, so that the carcasses do not fall apart.

Even those who don’t particularly like fish will certainly enjoy such an unusual treat. Such an appetizing snack with a pleasant aroma is sure to gather the whole family around it.

You can prepare smelt in different ways: boil, fry, salt. But it is when baked that this fish acquires the greatest appetizing, beneficial and unsurpassed taste. In addition, the process of cooking smelt in the oven will probably not cause any difficulties or problems - any housewife can handle it. But still, it won’t hurt to learn about some of the features of this fish:

1. Smelt has scales. It can be cleaned quite easily, but this does not mean that its removal can be treated with disdain. After all, even a small scale can ruin the entire impression of even the most delicious treat. To prevent it from scattering during the process, it is advisable to clean the carcasses in water using a special grater. Then it should be washed thoroughly and only then should gutting begin.
2. Many domestic housewives are accustomed to cooking small fish whole, without getting rid of the entrails. But in the case of smelt, gutting the carcasses is really necessary. You need to cut off the head of the fish and then carefully pull out the insides. If suddenly you are lucky and there is caviar in the smelt, leave it - it will turn out even tastier.

Now you know how to cook delicious fish. Bon appetit!

Fried smelt or smelt is a traditional Russian dish. In St. Petersburg there is even a special holiday dedicated to smelt, which is celebrated in May. At this time, the fish comes close to the Neva banks, rushing to spawn, and fishermen catch them. Fresh fish emits a characteristic cucumber aroma.

Fried smelt in the oven, breaded in flour, acquires a golden crust

• Number of servings: 4
• Preparation time: 10 minutes
• Cooking time: 30 minutes

Smelt in the oven with flour breading

You can fry it not only in a frying pan, but also in the oven, choosing small specimens up to 10 cm long.

Preparation:

1. Line a baking tray food foil, greased with vegetable oil using a silicone brush.
2. Do not clean the fish, just wash it.
3. Add 1 tsp to flour. salt and 0.5 tsp. black pepper, stir.
4. Turn on the oven to preheat, setting the temperature to 200°C.
5. Dredge the fish in a mixture of flour and spices and place on the prepared baking sheet. If you want to do it faster, put the flour in a bag, add the smelt in it, and shake everything well.
6. Place the baking tray with the smelt for 20 or 30 minutes hot oven.
7. 10 minutes before readiness, remove the smelt and brush with vegetable oil. Place it on the top grill, turning off bottom part ovens.
8. Sprinkle the finished ruddy smelt with lemon juice.

You can serve the fish with hot boiled potatoes, rice or vegetable salad.

Recipe for smelt baked in the oven without flour breading

Very simple delicious recipe small fish in the oven. There is no need to clean it before cooking to prevent it from becoming dry.

Products:

• smelt – 500 g;
• salt – 5 g;
• allspice – 2g;
• lemon – 0.5 pcs.;
• vegetable oil – 30 ml;
• ground black pepper – 2 g;
• dry parsley – 10 g;
• bay leaf – 2 pcs.

Preparation:

1. Wash fresh smelt, if it is frozen, defrost before cooking, and dry with a paper towel.
2. Salt and pepper, season with dry parsley, sprinkle with vegetable oil.
3. Place the prepared fish on a baking sheet lined with foil and place on top bay leaves. Cover the top of the smelt with another layer of foil.
4. Place the baking sheet in a hot oven and bake for 25 minutes at 200 °C.
5. 10 minutes before cooking, open the top sheet of foil so that the smelt forms golden brown crust.
6. Sprinkle the finished rosy fish with lemon juice.

You can cook smelt in the oven quickly, in just half an hour. When breaded with flour, it turns out a little crispy, well browned, and spices and lemon juice give it an aroma and a pleasant taste.