Picarel is one of the least expensive fish along the Aegean and Marmara coasts. It stays about palm-sized, so it is fried whole rather than filleted. Its fine bones lie close to the body, so the crispy fish is held in the hand and the flesh is picked off. That is why it is served hot after the cold appetizers at tavern tables.
Pan-Fried Picarel | Aegean-Style Whole Tavern Fish
Picarel is one of the least expensive fish along the Aegean and Marmara coasts. It stays about palm-sized, so it is fried whole rather than filleted. Its fine bones lie close to the body, so the crispy fish is held in the hand and the flesh is picked off. That is why it is served hot after the cold appetizers at tavern tables. dadagastro.com
4 servings 20 min + 20 min Easy
Step by Step
How to make it?
1
Clean the picarel
12 min
Using a short knife, slit each fish’s belly from the vent toward the gills and remove the innards. Pull out the gills with your fingers. Leave the head and tail on; picarel stays juicier when fried whole. Scrape away the dark membrane inside the belly and rinse under cold water.
2
Dry and season
5 min
Arrange the fish in a single layer on paper towels and pat the tops dry as well. Wet surfaces will not hold the flour and can cause the hot oil to splatter. Sprinkle both sides evenly with salt.
3
Coat with flour
5 min
Spread the flour on a wide plate. Coat the fish one at a time, holding each by the tail and shaking off the excess. Leave only a thin, matte layer of flour; a thick, damp coating will turn doughy instead of crisp.
4
Fry
14 min
Heat the oil to 180°C / 355°F; a pinch of flour should sizzle immediately. Arrange the fish without touching, with their backs facing the same direction, and fry for 2.5 minutes per side. The fish is done when the skin along the back begins to split and blister and the eyes turn white.
5
Drain and serve
4 min
Transfer the fish to paper towels to drain. Thinly slice the onion, rub it with the sumac, and toss with the parsley. Serve hot with lemon wedges.
Reminder
Picarel is a small, thin fish and can dry out if left in the pan too long; remove it as soon as the coating turns golden.
Nutritional Values · 1 serving
Values are estimates
372 kcalCalories
30.2 gProtein
16.8 gCarbohydrate
20.4 gFat
1.1 gFiber
1.3 gSugar
799 mgSodium
2.7 gSaturated Fat
Protein 33% Carbohydrate 18% Fat 49%
Share
Reviews
Comments (2)
3.56 reviews 50% recommend it6 rated without leaving a comment
5 1
4 2
3 2
2 1
1 0
Log in to comment
You need to sign in to your DadaGastro account to rate this recipe, share your experience, and join the comments. Reading comments is free.
Küçük balıkları yüksek ateşte kısa süre kızartmak lazım, uzun tutunca kurudu. İzmarit zaten ince, iki dakika bir yüz, bir buçuk dakika diğer yüz yetti; tavaya da az koyup partiler hâlinde çıkardım, kalabalık tava yağın sıcaklığını düşürüyor.
İzmariti kurulamak kızartmanın her şeyi. Islak balığı una bulayınca kaplama yağda dökülüyor, kâğıt havluyla kuruladığım balıklarda un ince bir zar gibi kaldı.
Similar Recipes
You'll like these too
Recipes tried by those who liked this one, fitting the same table.
Suggestions, complaints or questions — we read them all.
We received your feedback
Your message has been saved. Our team will read it; if you left an email address, we will reply there when needed.
Necessary cookies always run: session and security, your preferences (e.g. your location choice) and first-party measurement that counts how many times content is viewed. To understand how you use the site, we run Google Analytics cookies only if you accept them; if you choose “Reject”, they are not loaded. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. Cookie Policy (in Turkish) · KVKK Privacy Notice (in Turkish)
Log in for this action
You need to log in to your DadaGastro account to save, comment and follow.
