Many people are madly in love with fish and seafood. A skilled housewife will be able to cook truly royal dishes from sturgeon.

Who is the sturgeon

The sturgeon, as well as the well-known sterlet or beluga, belongs to the sturgeon family. It is almost impossible to buy such a delicacy caught in natural habitats. Industrial fishing of this fish is prohibited, since individuals reach maturity only in the 8th year of life, and the species was endangered. For sale, sturgeon is grown in specialized freshwater hatcheries and sold live. When buying fish, you should not pay attention to the fins, as they are always dark in color. The average weight of an adult sturgeon ranges from 15 to 30 kg, but young individuals weighing about 3 kg are put up for sale.

Growths on the skin

Cutting the sturgeon begins with its preliminary freezing, for which the carcass must be put in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or kept in the freezer for about an hour, but no more, otherwise it can be frozen. Slightly much more convenient to butcher and remove excess congealed blood.
After it is frozen, the cutting of the sturgeon begins. To do this, cut off the head along with the head fins. It should be borne in mind that in raw fish there is a screech that is poisonous to the human body. Moreover, her intestines are a carrier of spore-forming rods, so it is very important to learn how to clean a sturgeon correctly. Everyone is capable of learning this.

After the head of the sturgeon is cut off, with a sharp knife along the entire body to the anal fin, carefully open the belly and pull out the insides. We do this carefully, trying not to crush the gallbladder, since bile is poisonous to humans. In the presence of caviar, it is separated from the rest of the insides and washed with water.

If we talk about how to clean the sturgeon safely, then it is better to do it with gloves, in order to avoid getting stab wounds. The growths along the body of the fish are easily cut off with an ordinary knife, as well as the dorsal ones, and to remove the plaques, it must be doused with boiling water.

It is not necessary to clean the scales, as with other fish, the skin is also not removed, especially when cooking over an open fire. This completes the cutting of the sturgeon, now it remains to be cooked.

Viziga (vyaziga)

Screech, or vyaziga, is the dorsal chord (veins) passing through the vertebral cartilage of the fish. Cutting a sturgeon differs from cleaning other fish in that it is imperative to get a screech out of it. If it is not immediately pulled out, it begins to secrete poison. After heat treatment, it acquires a gelatinous state.

If you need to save the whole carcass, then in order to pull out the squeal, two incisions are made - one along the head to the vertebral cartilage, and the second along the tail, the vertebra is broken. At the fracture site, a white screech will be visible, about 3 mm in diameter, and it must be slowly pulled out so as not to tear. If the carcass is cut into pieces, then it is even easier to pull out the squeal - you need to cut off the head and tail, turn the carcass perpendicularly, and it will slip out.

Head and fins

After the head of the sturgeon has been cut off along with the pectoral fins, it is necessary to remove the gills from it (gill membranes that are attached to the intergill opening, but do not form a fold). From the head you can cook a delicious ear.

The easiest way to cook fish soup from a sturgeon head is to cut it in half, rinse it under running water, put it in a saucepan, pour boiling water over it, add salt, spices, pepper, carrot, whole onion and cook for 30 minutes (before the meat starts to move away from heads). You need to pull out the head, strain the broth, add potatoes, pearl barley, etc. to taste.

Sturgeon dishes

Methods of cooking sturgeon do not differ from the preparation of other types of fish. It can be baked in the oven, boiled fish soup or barbecued, fried in a pan or grill, steamed or used as a filling for baking. And what cutlets and kebabs are obtained from it! Given the bright taste, fat content and lack of small bones, the fish becomes ideal for any dishes.

One of the most delicious and beautiful dishes on the festive table has always been. To do this, the whole carcass (with head and tail) must be cut, as indicated above, the insides should be pulled out by making an incision from the anal fin towards the head. Any filling fits into the resulting niche, for example, from potatoes, carrots and greens (the filling must be ready). The incision should be sewn up with threads, on top the sturgeon carcass must be salted, peppered, smeared with spices or mayonnaise and baked in the oven for 30 minutes in foil. Then the foil should be removed and baked without it to get a golden crust.

No matter how you cook sturgeon, the dish will surely delight you and your loved ones with its unsurpassed taste.

Sturgeon, sterlet, beluga, stellate sturgeon and bester belong to the sturgeon family.

These are freshwater fish whose meat is a delicacy. Currently, commercial fishing for these species of fish (except for sterlet and bester) is completely banned. They are bred artificially in freshwater reservoirs. They always sell live, and if you want to treat yourself to a delicious dish, you will have to try.

These types of fish are very similar and cut in the same way. I'll tell you on the example of a sterlet. First you need to put her to sleep, for this it is enough to put her in the freezer for 1 hour. The main thing is not to forget. Well, or for a couple of hours in the refrigerator.

In principle, you can not clean the fish, but cook it with the skin, which will then go away perfectly, but you can also try for your loved ones. In general, it is not necessary to clean sturgeons like river fish, although the skin feels like sandpaper to the touch. It is enough to cut off the growths on the skin - they are called "bugs" - a row on the back and sides. We cut off the dorsal bugs with a knife,

and the side ones - we clean off, like the scales of an ordinary fish, from tail to head. Next, you need to gut the sterlet and get the gills.

Well, there was one more small nuance - to get a screech (or vyazig). What is viziga? This is because sturgeons do not have vertebrae, they are replaced by cartilage. No vertebrae means no bones. Instead of a central spine, there is also cartilage, inside which veins pass. These very veins are the screech. It must be taken out so as not to tear. When the squeal is boiled soft, it turns into a gelatinous white mass. In the old days, it was used to prepare the filling for pies. Why get a squeal if it is edible and boiled soft? Yes, because if fresh sturgeons do not get this very screech immediately, that is, the meat is dangerous - it becomes poisonous. But how did the screech used for the filling, you ask? She was not just taken out, but also cleaned of her internal contents (from the "creak"). That's when you can eat it and they say it's even useful. I will not bake pies, so less words more deeds.

This is done as follows: we make two cuts - at the tail of the fish and the head. In depth - to the middle. The screech is white and will be visible.

We pull slowly. That's all. Do not forget to rinse the fish well under cold water and you can start cooking it: bake, cook fish soup from it, etc.

About 5 years ago I made an ear. Everything according to the "classics": at the beginning of the roach, crucians scavengers. Then a couple of small carps, about a kilogram each. After that, 2 sterlets, about a kilogram each (we specially went to the nursery and brought them alive, taking crushed ice). Vyazigu did not remove it: no matter how much he tried to understand where it was, he could not. The hot taste was not bad, however, with some strange tint. Knowing that if it stands, then the cold will be much tastier, left it overnight. And it was fatal: I, perhaps, have never tasted such strychnine in my life.

Thanks a lot. Just did everything as written. A friend who brought me this sturgeon from the tundra said that this is exactly what should be done.

Mar 22, 2016 at 10:02 am

My husband and I fought to death! Until I went to the search engine and poked my nose! He did not know what a squeal was, and the fishermen in their own way call it "thread"! So he was looking for this thread.

Mar 25, 2016 at 02:45

They also brought us fresh sturgeon and, first of all, they told us to remove the "cord" that runs from head to tail. At first they did not know how to approach this fish. Didn't take any knife. Fortunately, the belly was ripped open (apparently someone had already cleaned up the caviar). They began to look for this "cord", to no avail. And no, open the Internet and read)) we were exhausted with it, as a result, the ridge was completely cut out, and only then, the husband realized what kind of cord it was. It really is where the spine should be. Approximately 1 cm thick, white. Stretches, not to say that it is easy. Looks like you need to get your hands on this one. But the fact that you can’t cook with this thing, they say the truth. Poisonous!

Before cooking sturgeon fish, it is very important to properly cut it. It has its own structural features that must be taken into account when processing. This directly affects the quality of the finished dish.

How to butcher a sturgeon

This fish has no bones. Cartilage and a chord run along her back, which is often called a screech (it is required to be removed). The surface of the skin is covered with hard cartilaginous formations, which also need to be disposed of.

How to butcher a sturgeon - remove cartilaginous formations and a chord

The step-by-step process of cutting can be represented as follows:

1. Remove the head along with the fins and humerus. This is easily done with two oblique cuts in the gill area.
2. Cut off the bugs located on the back, and with them the dorsal fins. This requires a sharp knife. Remove the skin carefully.
3. Remove any remaining fins. The abdominal and anal are cut flush with the surface. Remove the tail in a straight line perpendicular to the dorsal cartilage.
4. Now you can gently pick up the squeal and slowly pull it out. This is a dense vein that acts as a chord. She has the peculiarity of accumulating toxic substances after the death of the fish, so it must be removed without damaging it.
5. The carcass must be divided into links. Each of them should be cleaned, rinsed well from blood clots.
6. If the fish is large, then divide the link into 2-4 parts so that the mass of each of them does not exceed 5 kg, and the length is 60 cm.

Subsequent processing manipulations depend on the method of preparation of sturgeon.

Cutting sturgeon at home

Before cooking whole links, they need to be poured with boiling water - the remaining mucus will be washed off so easily, and further processing will be faster. Clean the entire surface of the skin with a knife, getting rid of small cartilaginous bristles - bugs. In this case, protein formations will appear.

After cleaning, rinse well with cool water. To avoid deformation during and after cooking, the link is tied with twine

Before frying the links, you need to cut off the cartilage, pour boiling water over it and clean off the bugs. To prepare portioned pieces, they must be scalded immediately before heat treatment. To do this, they are placed in water with a temperature of 97-98 degrees for 2 minutes. For 1 kg of fish you need 4 liters of boiling water. From this procedure, the carcass will lose 10-15%. Then rinse again with water.

If the fish is frozen, you need to let it thaw under normal conditions at room temperature. This will take 6-10 hours.

Fish dishes are a source of a large amount of vitamins and nutrients, which are so necessary for each of us. Nutritionists are sure: it is necessary to eat fish at least once a week, whether it is baked sturgeon or hake cutlets. But what to do if there is a very useful fish of the sturgeon family in the refrigerator, and there is absolutely no experience in its preparation? First of all, you need to figure out how to properly clean the sterlet, and then proceed to the study of recipes.

Sturgeon and its characteristics

Fish of the sturgeon family is a product that is not too cheap, but very useful. When buying sturgeon, housewives often choose sterlet. This fish is not as big as a sturgeon, and most often weighs 3-6 kilograms, which is quite enough for an average family dinner or a small picnic. The sterlet is easily recognizable. It is distinguished from other fish by:

Sterlet and other sturgeons are expensive for a reason. This type of fish is very whimsical to the environment in which it lives. Therefore, having bought a sterlet, the buyer does not have to think about the conditions under which it was grown or caught. In dirty and muddy water, this fish simply does not live. This delicacy 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 the work of the heart;
• prevention of atherosclerosis;
• help in the fight against stress and depression;
• support for high mental stress.

Basic cleaning rules

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

In order to butcher a sterlet, it is necessary to prepare a sharp knife and a large cutting board. Also, work gloves will not interfere, so as not to injure your hands on the sharp spikes of the fish.

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

Sterlet and other sturgeons are covered with a semblance 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, put it to sleep in the freezer for an hour. Then you need to follow the steps in this order:

• pour boiling water over the whole fish: this will help remove the mucus that covers the skin of the sterlet from the surface;
• cut off the "bugs" - these are bone shields on the back of the fish;
• remove the bugs on the sides. You need to do this from the tail to the head, as we remove the 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 insides are removed. All actions must be done very carefully, since, firstly, it is necessary not to damage the gallbladder of the sterlet (if this happens, the meat will be bitter). Secondly, there may be milk or very tasty sturgeon caviar in the abdominal cavity, which are also better cooked in a beautiful “whole” form.

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

Sturgeon screech

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

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

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

There is an opinion that the screech 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 doubtful.

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

After removing the squeal, 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 a sterlet is not difficult at all. But there are a few points that will greatly facilitate the cleaning process:

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

Attention, only TODAY!

Sturgeon is a large freshwater fish that in nature reaches very impressive sizes. Because of this, cooking a whole sturgeon is a rather big problem, but now in supermarkets it is possible to purchase live fish weighing 1.5–2 kg, which even a novice cook can bake at home.

How to clean a sturgeon

So that the scales, which are located along the sturgeon's ridge, depart well, pour boiling water over the carcass. Then clean the fish with a special knife. Remove the gills and eyes from the head.

Make an incision on the abdomen and take out all the insides. Rinse the fish thoroughly with cold water, first inside and then outside. Let the carcass dry. On the back to the ridge, make cuts every 3-5 cm (depending on the size of the servings). Now the fish is ready for cooking.

Sturgeon is a delicacy, the meat is delicious on its own, but adding spices and marinating it a little is still worth it, this will give the fish a special piquancy and aroma. To bake a whole sturgeon, you will need: - black pepper; - white pepper; - dried thyme; - dried parsley, dill; - lemon; - vegetable oil; - dry white wine; - greens.

Rub the carcass with salt, white and black ground pepper, sprinkle with dried herbs (dill, parsley, thyme). Drizzle the meat inside and out with lemon juice and dry white wine. Lubricate the skin with vegetable oil. Let the fish marinate a little, at room temperature 15-20 minutes will be enough.

Line a deep baking sheet with 2 layers of foil. Put the sturgeon on it belly down. Top with another sheet of foil and seal the edges.

Since the fish is large, it will not fit on a baking sheet even in its entire length, so lay the sturgeon in a semicircle

Heat the oven to 200°C. Place a baking sheet with sturgeon in it for 10 minutes. Then take out the fish, remove the top layer of foil. Reduce the temperature and place in the oven. This time, the fish should be baked until done. Turn off the oven and let the sturgeon rest in the oven for another 5-10 minutes.

Now the most crucial moment - you need to transfer the sturgeon to a dish so that the fish does not fall apart. Place the dish next to the baking sheet, bend it a little and carefully move the baked sturgeon along with the foil, which is then removed by lifting the fish with a spatula.

Decorate the dish with lemon, fresh herbs and vegetables. Cut the lemon into thin slices. Insert them into the incisions on the back of the sturgeon. Stick an olive in the eye sockets, you can prepare a special sauce. Put vegetables and parsley, lettuce around the fish and invite your loved ones to taste the royal dinner.