Modern Day Gefilte Fish Recipe and Tutorial
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Posted by:butterfly
Gefilte fish ( poached fish quenelles) are great any time of the year! . Everyone loves my recipe! We like to serve these with a creamy horseradish sauce Don't let people make you believe that making gefilte fish is hard or overly time consuming- it really is not. So impress your guests this year with flavorful gefilte fish! If you can make homemade soup, you can make this! Tips even your grandmother may not know ! Liberally salt the stock as well as the gefilte fish mixture with coarse kosher salt and freshly grated black pepper. When the fish cools in the savory stock, they will absorb more of the good flavor. Sugar is optional but just a bit of sugar ( 1 tsp for fish mixture , 3 to 5 tsp for stock ) will bring out the savory tastes in the fish as well as the stock without making it sweet. Some cooks also like to add a bit of paprika to the fish or to the stock- up to you. Gefilte Fish will last up to a week chilled covered in the fridge so I like to make them a few days ahead of time. And yes gefilte fish can be frozen also!
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Ingredients
Of course use traditional fish as you like but I often use what is available in my area, using a combo of firm and mild fish
Fish part:
2 lbs white, mild fish fillets/chunks ( use one part or combinations: whitefish, tilapia, sole, haddock, cod etc. )
1 lb med to firm fish fillets/chunks
( use one part of either: red snapper, tuna, sea bass , even some salmon etc.)
All should be free of any bones, skin etc.
4 eggs fork beaten
1 very large onion
Coarse salt and pepper to taste
Matzoh meal to bind ( 1/2 to 1 cup OR as needed)
sugar: 1 tsp but optional
Stock Part:
several large carrots cut up
1/2 bunch celery with leaves okay
1 large onion cut up
3 garlic cloves
few bay leaves
1 lemon quartered
1 tsp whole mixed pepper corns
Fish heads, large fish bones etc.
Kosher or coarse salt
sugar ( optional )3 to 5 tsp for the stock
Directions
- Make the fish part
- If not bought already ground: Using a food processor/or meat grinder, grind fish first , then grind onion.
- You want a ground consistency not a liquidy puree consistency.
- Place fish and onions in a large bowl.
- Add the fork beaten eggs, salt and pepper optional sugar and just enough matzoh meal to bind.
- Mix by hand with wooden spoon until well combined. Culinary tip:
- If a spoon stands up in the mixture it is just right.
- If too thin, add a bit more matzoh meal.
- Since I don't drain the ground onions, the onion juice acts as additional liquid which flavors the fish.
- Shape mixture into balls or torpedo shapes like bottled gefilte fish.
- Gently drop into the fish broth.
- Bring to a boil.
- Cover and very gently simmer 1 1 /2 to 2 hours.
- Fish will swell up a bit.
- When you test one they should be just like the jar consistency, firm enough to be formed nicely and yet a nice soft texture.
- Some like to let fish cool in the broth, others remove fish to a casserole dish.
- You don't have to cover the balls in the stock if you don't want.
- However, the stock whether reduced or not ( reduced meaning even boiled down further - which is optional ) will keep the fish moist and add more flavor.
- For presentation remove fish from the gelled stock.
- Yield: : 1 1/2 dozen of traditional oval shaped and sized bottled gefilte fish.
- Presentation:
- Place fish on a platter and surround if desired by cooked carrots, cooked celery, sprigs of fresh parsley.
- Of course horseradish and mustard for those who like it or however you want to present it.
- Optional preparation methods you may not of known:
- Baking : form fish into loaves if desired ( form fish mixture into long roll like salami but perhaps in a 3 inch width roll. )
- Bake in several inches of water along with carrots, celery, sweet onions, kosher salt , pepper and fresh thyme for about an hour at 350 F.
- Spoon on the broth over fish, several times when baking. I find that baking is not as good as the cooking in the broth but still is an easy alternative method.
- Then remove pan of fish out of oven to cool .
- When cool, place in the fridge for several hours or even over night..
- This allows the fish to cool down and firm back up so you can slice it into round or oval shapes if you have formed it into a roll.
- Deep Fry: Some people love them prepared this way:
- Form cold firm mixture into ping pong shape balls and deep fry them!
- Great with a creamy horse radish sauce or tarter sauce ! Really a must try once thing.
- Partial Pan Fry : some people actually pan fry the formed uncooked gefilte fish mixture first and then add it to the pot with the broth to finish cooking.
- The pan frying adds some flavor and texture but I feel it is not a necessary step.
- But it's nice to know !
Reader Comments
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Oct 28, 2013 (report abuse)
Ziggy says...
Hola, quisiera un poco de info de la as³ncaiiÃoc. Me gusta el Go, pero apenas he podido jugarlo ya que no conozco a nadie. Me compre un tablero cutre con el cual jugaba con algunos amigos que yo les enseñaba (reglas totalmente básica ya que soy un completo novato total) y la verdad es que a lo mejor estarÃa interesado en entrar.Un saludo¡¡
May 16, 2016 (report abuse)