How to make tench 🥝 quick and easy

Tench is a widespread fish. It is found in lakes, small rivers, ponds, where there are silty, overgrown sections of the bottom. This very valuable and healthy fish has fats and proteins that are quickly absorbed. You can make a huge number of tasty and healthy dishes from tench, which will please any gourmet with their unsurpassed taste, but before you start the cooking process, you need to clean the carcass in advance. Since this activity is not the most pleasant, in this article we will tell you how to clean a tench from scales without any special problems and time.

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Who is a tench?

Under natural living conditions, tench feeds on larvae, small crustaceans, and worms, which are found only on silted sections of the bottom. The depth of the fish is 1.5-2 m. The reed thickets are the optimal habitat for the tench.

For this reason, the body of the tench is rather clumsy, covered with small scales and a thick layer of mucus. Some individuals can reach 60 cm in length and have 3 kg of live weight, but most often there are representatives up to 30 cm in size.

Important! The fish got its name due to the fact that the mucus with which the fish is covered, when it comes into contact with air, begins to quickly darken. The resulting dark spots, dispersing throughout the fish, give the impression that the fish "molts". Subsequently, the darkened places are exfoliated, and under them you can see yellowish spots.

Many different dishes are prepared from tench, combining fish with other products, for example, vegetables. In ancient Russia, the fish was served at the royal table, but to improve the taste, the tench had to be kept for a long time, sometimes up to 12 hours in cold water.

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Do I need to clean tench?

Cleaning the tench from the scales is not an easy task, as the fish is very slippery. The body is covered with mucus, and therefore holding it in your hands is quite difficult. In addition to mucus, the body of the fish is covered with thin and fine scales, which are difficult to remove by the usual traditional method (that is, with a knife).

Many fishermen do not actually clean tench, as small and very thin scales are perfectly baked during cooking, and as a result it becomes crispy and very appetizing.

Thus, you can not clean the tench and then the main task is to remove the mucus. This is the most difficult stage when cutting fish. It is necessary to do this procedure under the tap, as follows:

1. Put the fish in the sink.
2. Rinse the fish out of the mud under a stream of cold water.
3. Pour boiling water over live bait (pour hot water) - the mucus will coagulate like an egg white.
4. Rinse coagulated mucus with a stream of cold water.
5. Dry the fish with a kitchen towel.

Important! Sprinkle coarse salt with your hands to prevent slipping.

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How to clean tench fish?

If you still decide to get rid of the scales, then prepare the following:

• Knife.
• Board for cutting.
• Coarse salt.
• Cool boiling water.

Cleaning the line involves the following steps:

1. 1. Put the fish in the sink.
   2. Rinse thoroughly under running water.
   3. For about 30 seconds, douse the fish with boiling water, and then immediately lower it into ice water.
   4. With a dull knife or with a spoon, get rid of the scales. Perform this procedure from tail to head.
   5. Turn on cold water and rinse the fish thoroughly. To prevent the tench from slipping, sprinkle it with coarse salt or rub with salt on your hands.
   6. Put the carcass on a chopping board
   7. Get rid of the internal organs of the fish:
      • Carefully stick a sharp knife 1-2 cm into the abdominal region.
      • With a knife, draw a line to the anus of the fish to the head.

Important! Make an incision with extreme care so as not to touch the gallbladder, otherwise the fish will become bitter after cooking.

1. 1. • Remove all entrails from the abdomen and discard in a bucket.
   8. Cut off gills and fins. Throw them in the bin.
   9. Rinse the chopped fish under running water.
   10. Tench is ready to cook.

Important! If the smell of mud comes from the live bait after cleaning, then get rid of it using the following recipe: dilute 2 tbsp in 1 liter of cold water. l salt and rinse the fish thoroughly in the solution. Pour the tench with lemon juice just before cooking.

Useful Tips:

• You can clean the tench with a grater with special sharp teeth.
• It is best to clean live bait in a sink filled with water. In this case, the kitchen will remain clean.
• Use only fresh, freshly caught fish for cooking.
• While cleaning the inside of the live bait, fold it into a plastic bag, tie it tightly and only then throw it into the bin.
• During the preparation of tench, to improve its taste, add a variety of spices and herbs.
• To relieve live bait from the river aftertaste, add spices to the fish during cooking in the pan.
• The most delicious tench dishes are boiled and stewed. When stewing, we recommend using dry white wine to make the fish tastier.

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We hope that thanks to our tips and tricks, you not only cleaned the bait fish correctly, but also prepared delicious dishes. Good appetite!