The red-eyed fish, unfortunately, is not a very common and popular fish in Russia, which, nevertheless, is widely known in European cuisine. It is quite fatty, tastes a bit like mackerel, with very tender meat. In European restaurants, it is most often not fried, but prepared in a different way - they make a roll of red-eyed.
What a red-eyed fish
Red-eyed belongs to the Perch squad, the Red-eyed family and is usually sold in stores as a whole frozen. The weight of one carcass is about a kilogram.
The red-eyed fish can be easily distinguished from other fish by its pinkish-silver or deep red color, as well as by its elongated "body" with very small scales. This species is fished in the coastal areas of Australia, Chile, New Zealand, off the coast of Indonesia, Japan, Sri Lanka and India. At the same time, it is believed that about 90% of the red-eyed woman on the Russian market is of New Zealand origin.
This fish is full of useful vitamins and minerals. It contains especially a lot of vitamins A and PP, as well as C, B1, B2, fluorine, chromium, manganese, sulfur, chlorine, phosphorus, potassium and sodium.
After heat treatment, the fish meat becomes very light and coarse-fibered, easily separating from the bones. The red-eyed broth is also very tasty, thanks to its amazing taste, smell and transparency, but the "red-eyed" roll is considered to be a real masterpiece of culinary.
How to make a red-eyed roll
For a delicious and aromatic red-eye roll, you will need the following products: the fish itself, one carrot, a head of onion, 3-4 raw chicken eggs, a small handful of chopped lemon peel, a slice of white bread, 20 grams of butter, 100-150 milliliters of milk, salt, pepper and "fish" spices.
Of course, this recipe is not the simplest, even quite laborious, but the result is worth all the effort spent. First, the fish must be thoroughly washed and cleaned of scales, after which, if you have this skill, you can remove the skin with a "stocking". But it breaks quite easily, so the following method will work. A deep incision is made along the entire back through the large fin, after which the tip of the tail and head are chopped off. After that, the skin is quite easily removed, and the fish remains "naked", but intact from the side of the abdomen. Do not forget about the removal of gills, which can give the dish a not very pleasant bitterness.
Carrots and onions need to be chopped very finely or grated, and then fry them until they are optimal (some people like strong frying, and some like less). Eggs also (not all, we leave one) must be cooked, boiled hard, cut the fish fillet into pieces, and soak the bread in milk. After that, all these ingredients need to be mixed and scrolled in a meat grinder.
Then add one raw egg, lemon zest, butter, salt, pepper and the necessary spices to the resulting mixture. Then all the ingredients must be mixed very thoroughly.
Now comes the turn of the most laborious stage, which requires very great care, attention and skill. The peel must be carefully spread out on a flat surface, and the filling must be spread evenly on it. After that, the incision on the side of the back must be sewn up with threads. If you are not sure that you can do all these procedures at once with the necessary skill, then first start and sew only half, and then proceed to the second part of the fish.
Do not overdo it when filling and make it very dense, since during the cooking process, the released juice can break through the thin skin and leak out. It is better to leave some of the unplaced minced meat and fry from it, for example, fish cakes.
Such a red-eye is baked in foil for only 20 minutes at a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius, and the result is a very tasty dish.
