How to make gefilte fish from frozen loaf

Leahh

Wed, Jan 09 2013, 11:51 pm

I always bought but recently its been different & we don't like it so I decided to try to make my own. Problem is I have no idea how. I am looking for the most basic, simplest way. Not a lot of spices, if any. Also shouldnt be soggy. Can it be baked or needs to be done on stove? What do I put in with the fish? Onion? Carrot? How much water? How long does it cook for? Covered or uncovered?

lavender_dew

Wed, Jan 09 2013, 11:53 pm

I'm sorry if I misunderstood your question... do you mean how to make your own homemade gefilte fish, or how to make the frozen loaf you buy at the store?

Fabulous

Wed, Jan 09 2013, 11:59 pm

just put it in a pot with carrot, quartered onion: sugar, salt, pepper and bit of garlic powder, add water till it almost covers the loaf, about 3/4 or a bit less. Cover, bring to a boil and then lower for about an hour - an hour and a half. You can boil it with or without the paper.

Fabulous

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 12:02 am

Oh and the quality of loaf makes a HUGE difference. Best is directly from a fish store like Freund's, second best is one like A and B.

lavender_dew

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 12:11 am

DH is Sephardic and pretends to be practically allergic to gefilte fish... but when I make mine, he eats almost all of it by himself Tongue Out

In a medium size pot, I sprinkle in some salt and pepper, then boil one loaf according to the package's directions. When it's done, I take the paper off and put it in a loaf pan. Sprinkle the top with some black pepper and paprika, then drizzle it with honey. I bake it uncovered at 350 for about 20-30 minutes. I serve it sliced at the table, so after baking it, I cut it in the middle to check and see if it's still squishy on the inside (neither of us likes that). The sweetness of the honey mixed with the pepper gives it a really nice taste, and the paprika makes it look pretty.

Fabulous

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 12:12 am

salt, is not much, maybe two teaspoons to a tablespoon. and sugar, I'd say about 3 TBS. Also a bit of pepper (maybe half a tsp) and the same of garlic powder. Sorry I'm not good with measurements, I cook by feel.

acccdac

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 12:23 am

I prefer ungar's loaves

fill most of an 8 qt pot, quarter 2 onions, 2 carrots pealed and cut in 2 pieces, 2 garlic cloves sliced, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper

boil water

put in loaf, simmer for 90 minutes.

This recipe originates from an A and B package recipe (although I think I've added the garlic)

Shmerling

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 1:23 am

acccdac wrote:

My family likes the Ungers best too.

That recipe is for ONE loaf? Thats alot of water for one loaf, I think.

BeershevaBubby

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 1:46 am

I only buy Ungars.. and seasoning is according to taste. We don't like sweet fish so I don't add any sugar. In addition to carrots and onions, I put potatoes.

The only seasoning I use is salt and pepper.

acccdac

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 1:51 am

Shmerling wrote:

acccdac wrote:

My family likes the Ungers best too.

That recipe is for ONE loaf? Thats alot of water for one loaf, I think.

I fill my 8 qt pot somewhere between half and 3/4 of the pot, I dont measure it, I just look at it, I never found the amount of water to make a difference but the seasoning of the water does.

shaini

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 3:23 am

You can also defrost or partially defrost the loaf and shape it into fish balls and boil or cook as everyone else says. If you don't like very sweet fish, don't add any extra sugar.

Liba

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 5:23 am

We like Ungers best. I put it in a glass loaf pan, fill it up half way with water (after the fish is in the pan) add two bay leaves, cover it well and cook for an hour and a quarter unless I defrost it first, in which case I only cook it an hour on 350*.

theoneandonly

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 6:54 am

Once you finish boiling it take it out of the water right away; leaving it to sit is what makes it mushy and waterlogged.

imasinger

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 7:09 am

The directions here are good. I just want to add a story. When I was becoming BT, I bought a loaf of frozen gefilte fish. Unfortunately, the directions on the package were folded a bit and frozen, so where it said "Do not remove inner wrapper. Cook in water with onion and carrot" came out as "do not cook".

So I thawed it out and served it raw to my non frum shabbos guests!

It was not a pretty picture the next day. We laugh about it now, though.

mha3484

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 7:34 am

I make it very different apparently. I take a defrosted roll (we like Ungars too) and put in a bowl. I mash it up and add pepper and garlic powder then spread in a loaf or 8x8 or muffin tin. I bake it at 375 until the top is brown and its not squishy. I've also mixed in a little marinara sauce which was very yummy. I serve it cold but that's just my own preference.

AlwaysThinking

Thu, Jan 10 2013, 7:40 am

mha3484 wrote:

That's really interesting. Where did you get the idea from?