What do you do? Do you thaw the fish fillets or cook them frozen?
Often, people doubt whether they should thaw the fish beforehand or thermally process the frozen ones. Which is better?
Opinions are divided, on one side there are housewives who claim that frozen fillets do not need to be thawed, but only steamed or fried.
there are rules if you don't defrost them, don't fry them in well-heated oil, but in half-heated oil, because they need more time to be cooked. If the oil is too hot, the crust will burn on the outside and they will not be cooked inside.
On the other hand, many professional chefs they claim that the fish must be thoroughly thawed before any heat treatment to allow excess water to drain and to brown evenly.
Frozen fish fillets are easy to prepare, but there are a few tricks to getting them cooked just like the photo in the cookbook.
How to prepare fish fillets?
1. Pay attention to the bones
Although there should be no bones, there is a possibility that they contain small bones. So inspect them carefully and remove the bones if you find them.
Do you know how to prepare fish fillets? Photo: Kampus Production / Pexels2. Do not overdo it with salt
Why? Because it attracts water and after heat treatment, it can happen that the fillets will be watery or dry, but not firm and moist. We advise you to add only a pinch of salt to the marinade, and add the rest of the spices just before putting the fish in the pan or oven.
3. How to bake them crispy?
If you want the fillets to have a crispy and golden crust, it is important to dry the fish well with a towel before baking or frying. If the fillets are too wet, they will steam and you won't get a perfect crust.
4. The oil must be hot
The fish is cooked quickly, but you should not put it in cold oil, it should only be well heated (this does not apply if we are preparing frozen fish). If the oil is not heated well, the fish will stick to the pan.
Use frozen or thaw before use? Photo: Deane Bayas / Pexels5. On which side do you cook the fish?
It is important on which side it is baked first, the side with the skin should be baked first and only then turned over.
6. Don't turn it too often
Don't keep checking to see if it's done. Wait for the underside to brown before turning over.
7. Do not bake them for too long
Fillets are really quick to prepare, so don't cook them for a long time because they will become tough and tasteless. A side of fillet should take you about 3-5 minutes, depending on the fish of course.
