Please help-How to make ground fish into loaves

amother

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 11:26 am

I’ve been making gefilte fish from scratch every pesach for years but it’s so time consuming because I make many balls of fish.
Can someone please explain to me how to make the ground fish into loaves?
I don’t understand how to get the gooey mixture into a regular loaf to freeze.

amother

Celeste

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 11:39 am

You have to roll it up in parchment paper, freeze the rolls & then cook frozen.

amother

Ginger

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 11:42 am

Put about 1 lb of fish in the center of a piece of parchment paper. Fold it in half, then tightly roll the paper to form a roll, roll the edges. Freeze or refrigerate overnight then you’ll cook it with the paper.

amother

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 11:49 am

amother Ginger wrote:

Does it come out like a regular loaf? Can you cut regular slices?

amother

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 11:50 am

amother Celeste wrote:

You have to roll it up in parchment paper, freeze the rolls & then cook frozen.

I just don’t get how to roll it.

amother

Celeste

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 11:51 am

amother OP wrote:

I just don’t get how to roll it.

The way amother Ginger explained.
It comes out like a regular loaf & you can slice it like a regular loaf.

amother

Olive

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 12:05 pm

The more you knead the fish mixture with the dough hook, the better it will hold together and the more firm the consistency.
Knead as long as you would challah, yes I'm serious.
Then wet a large piece of parchment paper. Scoop fish into a log shape onto the paper. Roll paper tight like you would a roll of kishka until you get a tight neat log. Then twist each end like they do with a candy wrapper. Freeze the loaves solid for at least a day, before cooking like you would any loaf of gefilte fish.

Goldengoose

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 12:08 pm

I wonder if there's a narrow pan that can help with the forming.
anyone know?

Amarante

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 12:20 pm

I was going through some cookbooks for inspiration and was reading Joan Nathan's latest cookbook.

She has a recipe for a molded Gefilte Halibut but obviously it could be adapted to any recipe using her instructions as a template.

ETA - Cooking in the Bain Marie (water bath) ensures that the fish isn't dried out and cooks properly. The best cheesecakes as well as custards are also cooked in a Bain Marie.

Halibut Gefilte Terrine with Fresh Herbs”

Excerpt From: Joan Nathan. “My Life in Recipes

Preparing the gefilte fish in a mold or a springform pan omits fussing with the bones and skin to make a fish stock that you need when making patties, which creates more work and odors in the kitchen. In addition, the white of the fresh fish contrasts beautifully with the fragrant green herbs and the orange carrots, creating a more appealing and colorful dish. Gefilte fish is usually made from a freshwater fish, as found in Eastern European lakes. But saltwater fish is just as flavorful, and easier to find. As usual, Jewish dishes vary according to what is available. Living part of the year in New England, I was surprised at how delicious northeastern halibut could be in this dish.

Serves about 12

Cooking spray
2 large sweet onions, like Bermuda (about 2 pounds/907 grams)
2 large carrots, peeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds (1⅓ kg) halibut, cod, or grouper fillets
4 large eggs
6 tablespoons matzo meal
2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste
2 teaspoons freshly ground white pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
½ cup chopped fresh dill, tarragon, and/or chervil
¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, plus more for garnish
Horseradish sauce, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, and grease a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray.

2. Dice the onions, and shred the carrots on a box grater. Sauté them in the oil over medium-high heat until the onions are golden and soft. Set them aside to cool.

3. If you can have someone at the fish market grind the fish, all the better. Otherwise, you can pulse it in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, making sure you remove the membranes that may attach themselves to the blade—or use the grinding attachment of a stand mixer.

4. Put the cooled onions and carrots into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, along with the ground fish and the eggs, matzo meal, salt, white pepper, sugar, ½ cup (118 ml) water, and herbs. Mix at medium-low speed for about 10 minutes, or until everything is well blended and smooth.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared Bundt pan, and smooth out the top. Set the filled Bundt within a larger pan with 2 inches of warm water up the sides of the Bundt. Bake for about an hour, or until the center is solid and a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean.

6. Cool for about 15 minutes, blot away any water on top, and run a knife around the edges of the pan. Swiftly invert the gefilte fish onto a flat serving plate.

7. Refrigerate it for several hours or overnight. Slice it as you would a torte, garnish the slices with parsley, and serve with horseradish sauce, either red or white. Leftovers keep for about 5 days.

Last edited by Amarante on Wed, Apr 10 2024, 12:28 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Blushpink

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 12:30 pm

You use the dough hook? I've been using the K-paddle.

amother

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 1:26 pm

amother Olive wrote:

I do use the dough hook. The mixture is heavier than dough I think. The part where I’m loosing you is by the rolling part. I don’t know how to roll kishka. I’m afraid I would end up with a thin, flimsy lump of fish. How do I know how much to put on the parchment paper? And what size parchment paper?

amother

Slategray

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 4:03 pm

amother OP wrote:

I’ve been making gefilte fish from scratch every pesach but it’s so time consuming because I make many balls of fish.
Can someone please explain to me how to make the ground fish into loaves?
I don’t understand how to get the gooey mixture into a regular loaf to freeze.

Can you bake it in loaf pans in the oven?
Saves time, pot washing, and creates a shape.

amother

Olive

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 4:24 pm

amother OP wrote:

See the way this person takes cookie dough and rolls it into a log on a piece of parchment paper, and then twists the ends tightly until the dough log is firm and tight with no extra space or air?
Same idea.
Just scoop the fish mixture into the center of the parchment paper, kind of like a thick line in the center, almost like a log that hasn't been formed yet.
Then pull over one side of the parchment over the pile of fish, and start rolling to get it into a log. Then tighten the ends by twisting twisting until the log if very firm.
https://youtu.be/FuL-c-IXcsc?s.....ULFiM
Freeze fish rolls on a flat surface.

amother

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 6:39 pm

amother Olive wrote:

Thank you, this is helpful.
I think my fish mixture is a little too gooey. I do keep it in the mixer for a long time. The mixer actually gets very hot. I hope it will actually form a loaf shape.
I can barely get it to form fish balls. I use wet gloves because it’s so sticky and drop into water and somehow it cooks in the shape of a ball.
But it’s time consuming so I hope I can make a few loaves instead.
Thank you for your help.

amother

Olive

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 6:43 pm

amother OP wrote:

It needs to be gooey, in order to hold together and not fall apart when cooking. It needs to knead like 15 minutes.
It will be much easier to just put some of the gooey fish batter down in the middle of a parchment paper, and then use the paper to roll it into a log. Less touching of the actual fish.
Good luck!

effess

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 9:00 pm

Another option is to scoop it into the moistened parchment paper a few inches down and fold down the top like you would a blintz.
Then fold in the two sides. Then fold/roll it down three times.
Freeze.

amother

Watermelon

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 9:40 pm

I’ve never made it,
But I think if you wet the parchment paper first, wring it or very well.
Then spoon the mixture into the center
As you twist the ends it should form into a roundish log shape
I think it happens automatically

amother

Beige

Tue, Apr 09 2024, 10:13 pm

Wet hands . Gloves don’t cut it