Grass Carp Baked in Pieces

This is the shortest path from a caught fish to the plate: five ingredients, one dish, and no marinating at all. The grass carp here is cut into pieces rather than baked whole, which is exactly why it's ready in twenty-five minutes.

Lemon juice is poured on last, right in the dish before the oven. Fish doused with it in advance starts to "cook" from the acid, as in hoe, and over half an hour of waiting the pieces have time to turn mushy — exactly what you don't want from baked grass carp.

Ground red pepper here is more about color than heat. Grass carp has pale flesh, and without it the pieces come out looking pale even once they're done.

With more time on hand, go slower: grass carp steak with onion spends two hours in the marinade, and grass carp with vegetables and orange bakes for an hour twenty and comes out juicier.

Caloric content: 110kcal

Notes

• Cut the pieces the same size. Uneven pieces finish at different times, and while the thick ones are still cooking, the thin ones are already dry.
• Twenty-five minutes is enough. The source recommends thirty. For pieces three centimeters thick that's already too long: the edges start to dry out. We set it to twenty-five.
• Don't cover the dish. Not with foil, not with a lid: under a cover you get stewing in its own juice instead of baking.
• Add the lemon right before the oven. Fish doused too early softens from the acid and loses its texture.
• Small bones remain. Grass carp has them, and twenty-five minutes doesn't soften them. If that matters, take the back portion — it has the fewest.

Questions and Answers

How long should grass carp pieces be baked?

Twenty-five minutes at 180 °C for pieces three centimeters thick. Thicker ones need thirty.

Does it need to be marinated?

No, that's the whole point of the recipe. Salt and seasoning are rubbed in right away, and the lemon is added before the oven.

Should the dish be covered with foil?

No. Under foil the fish stews in its own juice and doesn't develop a golden crust.

What to do about the small bones?

Take the back portion, or make frequent slashes across the pieces before baking — it works the same way as when frying.

Recipe and step-by-step photos — kolizhanka.net.ua.