How to smoke fish - cold, warm, hot with description

Fish selection

The main condition when choosing raw materials for hot smoking is freshness.
The main condition when choosing raw materials for hot smoking is freshness. It is better to use freshly caught fish. Frozen individuals are suitable, but you should check the quality of the carcasses:

• the amount of ice does not exceed 5%;
• eyes are bright, without a cloudy veil;
• the gills have a bright, pink or red tint;
• the surface is elastic;
• the meat fits tightly to the bone.

It is better to take carcasses for hot smoking at home of the same size. This will ensure even salting and smoke treatment.

The best types of fish for smoking

Different breeds of fish have their own characteristics of taste and smell. Using the hot smoking method, you can make a real delicacy out of any fish. The fatty types are considered the most delicious:

• pink salmon;
• asp;
• sterlet;
• mackerel;
• greenling

You can also prepare an exquisite delicacy from pike, crucian carp, and perch. Even small-sized fish are suitable for smoking in a smokehouse. It smokes faster, the taste and aroma are divine.

Preparation

Before preparing hot smoked fish, you should carefully prepare the raw materials. This is a guarantee of ideal taste and aroma qualities and safety, since fish contains substances and microorganisms that can negatively affect health. Proper marinating will help remove them.

Proper cutting of specimens will make it possible to obtain a better taste and smell, eliminate the aroma of mud when smoking river fish, and prevent the appearance of bitterness during cooking.

Carcass cutting

The issue of gutting fish before smoking is considered controversial. Some fishermen advise not to clean carcasses. This simplifies and speeds up the cooking process. Others insist that thorough cleaning is necessary, since some of the insides can give off a bitter taste.

How to cut depends on the type and size of the fish. Small fish can be smoked whole, since gutting will take a lot of time, and the disassembled carcass will fall apart during hot smoking. The technology for preparing individuals is as follows:

1. Removing the gills.
2. Cleaning the insides.
3. The scales are left in because they will help retain maximum juice in the smoked product.
4. The head is cut off at will.
5. The black film on the inner surface of the abdomen is removed.

When cutting, it is important to keep the gallbladder intact. If a rupture occurs, the carcass should not be used as it will turn out bitter.

Large specimens are cut into pieces or milled. It is possible to prepare two equal parts by cutting the fish along the ridge and separating the meat from the bone, or by cutting the carcasses crosswise.

Salting or pickling

Salting allows you to give the product a characteristic taste, eliminate the smell of fish, and prevent spoilage of carcasses. The procedure is carried out using various methods:

1. Dry salting. This method involves thoroughly rubbing the surface with salt, possibly with the addition of pepper. The workpiece is placed in a cool place. How much to salt the fish before hot smoking depends on the freshness and size of the fish. Freshly caught carcasses will be salted in 2-5 hours, frozen fish will take about a day. During salting, the container with the product is wrapped in cling film. This is especially important for oily fish, since fish oil undergoes an oxidative reaction, which is accompanied by an unpleasant odor.
2. In liquid brine. Brine is prepared from salt with the addition of pepper and bay leaf. To check, an egg is dipped into water. If it floats, then there is enough salt. The fish is soaked in liquid and placed in the refrigerator for 3-5 hours. This salting option allows the salt to penetrate deep into the fibers and destroy pathogens.
3. Pickling. Marinades with original ingredients allow you to add a refined taste to the smoked product. Typically, soy sauce, mustard, lemon juice and other citrus fruits are used for salting. Recipes for marinades are varied; they should be selected taking into account the expected result.

Knowing how to properly salt fish, you will be able to get the maximum benefit, while the taste of the smoked product will be unforgettable. After salting, the carcasses are soaked in water. This allows you to remove excess salt. If marinade was used for salting, then long soaking in water is not required. It is enough to simply rinse the specimens for hot smoking fish.

Drying

Before smoking hot smoked fish, the carcasses should be thoroughly dried. To do this, individuals are wiped with paper napkins, towels, and hung in a well-ventilated area. Drying the carcasses for 1 hour is enough, then rinsing again in water and wiping with napkins. Before drying, the fish is wrapped in twine. This will help maintain its shape and prevent it from falling apart. Excess moisture in the product will result in hot smoked fish at home being boiled and not smoked.

About the benefits and harm

The benefits and harms of hot-smoked fish are a debatable issue. Due to the high smoke temperature, it cooks quickly. The price for speed and excellent taste is the amount of carcinogens noticeable by our body. It is even more dangerous if the fish was bought secondhand - it could well be smoked using “liquid smoke”, and this is a complete “chemistry”. Moreover, the bulk of substances hazardous to health are contained in its skin.

As for the benefits, it should be recognized that hot smoking of fish leads to the destruction of most of its beneficial properties

Alas, such fish is an undeniable delicacy, having an amazing taste, but containing almost nothing useful for human health.

However, when it comes to hot smoked fish, little things like healthfulness or vitamin content definitely fade into the background. True fish gourmets are not deterred even by poisonous fugu, not to mention benzopyrene and other carcinogens.

Chips for hot smoking

Alder is ideal for smoking.
Also used are aspen, oak, beech and maple. The resin content in the listed rocks is minimal. Coniferous trees are not recommended. They add bitterness and emit a lot of tar. To enhance the taste, add chips from fruit trees: cherry, pear, apple tree. You will get an original aroma if you make a mixture of different types of sawdust during smoking. Juniper and grapevine will make the taste brighter and more refined. Before smoking, the prepared wood chips are moistened in water and dried. This will prevent fire during the cooking process.

About smokehouses

Smoking fish at home in a hot smoked smokehouse can be done in special or homemade devices. The correct unit must be sealed. For this purpose, there are covers with gaskets that ensure a tight fit to the body. Units with a water seal are popular. Such smokehouses can be used even indoors, but such an installation will not smoke, since the water seal prevents smoke leakage.

At the dacha, homemade ovens for smoking fish are often built.

A smokehouse for fish with your own hands can be assembled from various devices, such as buckets, barrels, stainless steel sheets, gas cylinders, etc. The main condition when assembling such a unit is tightness. A self-made smokehouse is economical, since it can be adapted for different types of smoking, while the costs are minimal.

How to smoke hot smoked fish step by step

If you properly cook fish at home, it will not oxidize. This means that the dish will turn out not only healthy, but also tasty.

The hot smoking technique is divided into two stages. You need fillet or whole fish:

1. Dry. To do this, it should be doused with intense steam. This will remove excess moisture. It will take 15-25 minutes for the fish to be completely dry.
2. Smoke. The required temperature is 80-90 degrees. You should not put more, otherwise the meat will start to burn.

The smokehouse for preparing this dish must be chosen correctly. It is believed that not every wood is suitable. So, pine should not be used. It will give the snack bitterness and an unpleasant odor. Moreover, this tree species is harmful to the body. At high temperatures, resins will begin to be released from it, which can lead to intoxication.

It is best to take oak, maple or ash. They are completely harmless. Fruit trees such as apple, pear and cherry are also suitable.

How to hot smoke

Hot smoking of fish is carried out according to a certain algorithm:

1. Wood chips are poured into the bottom of the smokehouse.
2. A container for collecting fat is fixed.
3. Prepared carcasses are loaded.
4. The lid closes.
5. The smokehouse is installed on a heater: fire, grill, stove.
6. The product is aged for the time specified in the recipe.
7. The smokehouse is removed from the heat and cooled along with the fish.
8. The smoked meat is kept in the fresh air for about an hour, after which it is ready for consumption.

The technology is suitable for smoking any type of fish, and each variety has its own cooking characteristics that should be taken into account in order to get the ideal result.

mackerel

The described algorithm is suitable for smoking mackerel. The fish is quite fatty, so when salting it is necessary to limit the access of air to avoid oxidation and the release of an unpleasant aroma. We smoke medium fish for 25-30 minutes. You should not overexpose the fish, otherwise it will fall apart. 10 minutes after the start of smoking, open the lid to release excess smoke. It is also a good idea to turn the fish over during cooking to ensure they are evenly cooked.

Bream

Before smoking fish in a hot smoker, it must be properly processed. This is especially true for river bream. The use of seasonings and spices will eliminate the unpleasant odor and completely saturate the meat. Bream should be tied with twine before drying and smoking to prevent the fish from becoming deformed. When placed in a smokehouse, wooden sticks - spacers - are inserted into the bellies. They will eliminate the development of pathogenic microorganisms and ensure uniform smoke treatment.

Sterlet

A useful product is smoked sterlet. It is easy to prepare such a delicacy at home, but you must follow a few rules. Carcasses are usually large in size, so they are filleted or cut into transverse pieces.

To make the crust a beautiful golden color, add 1 tsp to the wood chips. Sahara.

You can make fish more appetizing and aromatic at home if you do not immediately remove it from the smokehouse, but let it cool and become completely saturated with smoke.

pink salmon

Hot smoked pink salmon is healthy and nutritious. The fat content in it increases during cooking, which makes it juicy and tender, while increasing its calorie content. Not only the dacha is suitable for cooking. Using special smokehouses, the delicacy can be made in the apartment. If pink salmon is smoked on hooks, be sure to tie it with twine, otherwise it may fall apart during high-temperature processing. To enhance the aromatic qualities, place a sprig of saffron or dill in the belly. After hot smoking at home, it is better to place the carcasses in the refrigerator. Fish aged in this way becomes tastier.

How to make smoked fish at home in a hot smokehouse

The semi-finished fish product is pre-prepared for processing, taking into account its type, grade and size. It doesn't hurt to pay attention to fat content and weight. For example, there is no need to gut small items.

Gutting

Uneviscerated fish may taste a little bitter after being smoked, so usually the insides with a dark film on the ribs and gills are removed. Here are some preparation tips:

• Small items weighing up to 400 g do not need to be gutted. Bream or carp weighing up to 700 g are also smoked whole.
• A medium-sized animal weighing from 1 to 3 kg can be left without its scales and its head left on. It is worth saying that it is not even advisable to remove the scales, since they will protect the meat from soot.
• Large carcasses are always gutted and flattened, for which they are divided along the back. The spine and fin are not removed.
• Equal-sized pieces, cut across and vertical to the spine.

How to properly salt fish

Fish products of different sizes and types must be salted separately. For carcasses up to 500 g, simply rub the top with salt and sprinkle it on the inside. This necessary process is done 30-60 minutes before smoke treatment, which is quite enough time for salting. The workpiece is placed on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Important - be sure to rub salt against the scales.

To prevent fish smoked at home from quickly disappearing in a hot smokehouse, salted small fish are placed under pressure. It will prevent the formation of gas bubbles in which putrefactive bacteria can appear.

Large specimens take longer to salt. Approximately for each kilogram you need to add 1.5-2 hours. Such fish can stay in the refrigerator for a day or two, after which it will have to be washed. The level of saltiness of the product is a matter of taste; not everyone likes overly salty smoked meats.

Pickling

Soaking products in a salty solution or pickling is also practiced. Traditional recipe for marinade per liter of water:

• Bay leaf – 4-6 pcs.
• Onion – 1 pc.
• Salt – 2 tbsp. spoons.
• Ground pepper – 1 teaspoon.
• Sugar – 1 teaspoon.
• Thyme, sage - to taste.

If you already know how to smoke shanks, then the procedure for preparing the marinade is already familiar to you. It is almost completely identical. The water is brought to a boil, then salted and the remaining components of the marinade are added. Boil for another 5-7 minutes, cool. Place the fish in the liquid for 12-14 hours.

Brine

Everything is simple here - the mixture is prepared according to the 1:5 scheme. For example, 1 kg of coarse salt is used for 5 liters of water. The salting lasts 1.5-2 days, the duration depends on your own preferences.

Correctly carried out salting is a guarantee of successful smoking. It should be uniform, blood should not be present in any form.

Drying

The salted and washed semi-finished fish product must be hung for an hour or two in a ventilated place to dry. In this way, a large cycle of product maturation will be completely completed, the smell of raw meat will disappear, and a pleasant aroma and taste will appear, which are characteristic of the finished product.

How to smoke fish

We found out which fish is best suited for hot smoking in a household smokehouse, salted it, and dried it. The last stage remains, consisting of several transitions:

• Place sawdust on the bottom of the chamber, place the fish carcasses on the grid or on the rods, and close the lid tightly.
• Light a fire under the smokehouse; at the first stage, the flame must be solid to cause a sharp smoldering of sawdust and an influx of clean smoke to the product.
• As soon as smoke emerges from the top hole or from under the lid, the firewood should be scattered immediately to keep the fire low. Even better results will be shown by a fire brought to the stage of coals “for barbecue”.
• After 20 minutes from the start of the process, open the lid and release excess steam and smoke. The aroma of the fish will not suffer from this, but will only become more refined.
• Close the lid of the smoking chamber and let the smoker stand on low heat for an hour and a half.

After preparing the snack, you need to let it cool and settle. This is the only way it will be toasted, strong and fragrant. Various additives will help expand the flavor palette. For example, two slices of lemon and half a teaspoon of cognac, which should be placed in the belly of the fish, will give an amazing result. In general, don't be afraid to experiment.

How long to smoke fish

How long to smoke fish in a hot smoker depends on several factors. Key ones:

• working temperature;
• carcass sizes.

Readiness is often determined by the presence of a golden crust. In this case, an incorrectly set temperature will cause the crust to appear earlier, and the fish will not be saturated with smoke. To eliminate such situations, you should adhere to technology. Usually 25-30 minutes are enough to smoke small fish. Large specimens are kept in the smokehouse longer. Large fish can take up to 2 hours to cook.

Smoking without a smokehouse

It happens that a smokehouse is not always nearby, but you have a chance to get hold of some fish. Or you saw an interesting recipe, but haven’t purchased the device yet. In this case, ordinary foil will come to the rescue. You need to wrap the fish in several layers of foil, and then make holes with toothpicks. In this form, the product is sent to the grill. Fatty fish, for example, carp, are suitable for this smoking method.

Smoking fish with foil

You can also smoke hot smoked fish in a smokehouse using scrap materials. A bucket or barrel is used as a base. If this is a bucket, then sawdust or shavings from hardwood are placed on its bottom. The layer is approximately 2 cm. Don’t forget about juniper twigs or berries: it will give the fish an excellent smell and appetizing appearance. A tray is placed above the sawdust to drain grease. Since the smokehouse is made from scrap materials, a plate is placed in the bucket. It is impossible to ignore the provision of a tray, as the dripping fat will begin to burn and spoil the product.

Next along the structure of the smokehouse is the grate. It is difficult to find a round grate suitable for a bucket in the house. Therefore, we build a lattice of branches. We take the size of the twigs so that it can be placed in a bucket in a spacer. The finished grate is placed at the level of the middle of the bucket. The fish prepared for smoking is placed on the branches. The pieces are placed so that they are located at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other. Then the bucket is covered tightly with a lid. The tight fit of the lid is an important condition. In order for the bucket to stand stable, it must be placed on brick supports, and a fire must be lit between them.

Smoking fish in a bucket

Now all that remains is to provide a fire under the homemade smokehouse. We remember that for hot smoking of fish, the fire corresponds to the size of the structure. A fire that is too active will cause the sawdust to burn, while a weak one will not provide enough smoke and the required temperature inside the unit. A very important point: do not use wood chips that are too dry. If there is no other option, then the dried fuel is sprayed with water, or preferably whiskey. As soon as smoke appears from the bucket, we note the time allotted for smoking.

Proper hot smoking of fish is directly related to maintaining the optimal temperature in the smokehouse. To do this, you just need to drop water on the lid. If the water immediately begins to hiss and evaporate quickly, the temperature in the smokehouse is higher than required. The bucket must be immediately removed from the heat for 15-20 minutes.

Hot smoked smokehouse from a bucket

The duration of smoking depends on the amount of product and the size of the pieces, and the intensity of the fire also affects. Typically, the cooking time for the product ranges from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. But if the fish is very small, then 20 minutes is enough.

If you are smoking for the first time and have no experience at all, then periodically look under the lid to control the cooking. Just do this carefully so as not to get burned by hot smoke.

Useful tips

To make cooking comfortable and effective, you should follow certain tips from professionals:

1. If frozen fish is used as a raw material, then it must be defrosted under natural conditions. Intensive defrosting will lead to a change in the fiber structure, causing the product to fall apart before it has time to cook.
2. It is important not only to choose the right type of fuel, but also to determine its size. Small chips and sawdust will produce more smoke, ensuring the efficiency of the smoking process.
3. In a hot smoked smokehouse, a tray for draining fat is required. To make cleaning easier, the container is pre-wrapped in foil.
4. If the smokehouse does not have a smoke exhaust, you should periodically open the lid slightly to remove excess smoke. Excessive smoking will cause bitterness.
5. When smoking, it is important to monitor the formation of condensation on the lid. Dripping liquid will cause a bitter taste. In this regard, smokehouses with a water seal and a gable roof-house are considered the most effective.
6. Cooling the product together with the smoker and ventilating it in the fresh air after smoking allows you to achieve a better aroma and taste, although the fish can also be consumed immediately immediately after smoking.

Depending on the chosen hot smoked recipe, there are other secrets that can make the taste and smell of smoked fish unforgettable.

Composition and properties of smoked fish

The harm and benefits of hot smoked products is a controversial issue. When treated with smoke at high temperatures, carcinogens and other harmful substances penetrate into the fish along with the smoke. Formed as a result of fuel combustion. Most of them settle on the skin, so it is not recommended to eat it. At the same time, it has been proven that the amount of useful vitamins and other elements in a smoked product is greater than with other cooking methods. Fish contains proteins necessary for the body, and fatty acids have a beneficial effect on many body systems.

At the same time, smoked meats do not contain carbohydrates, which are difficult for the body to digest. Hot smoked fish, depending on the type, contains:

• 15-20% proteins;
• 5-10% fat.

Vitamins of groups A, B, C, D, E help improve appearance, normalize the activity of the nervous system, and have a positive effect on the visual system. Micro- and macroelements help in optimizing the functioning of the following systems:

• digestive;
• musculoskeletal;
• cardiovascular.

To get more benefit than harm, you should stick to the norm. Moderate consumption of hot smoked fish is recommended by nutritionists even for people on a diet.

Smoker's ABCs

To hot smoke fish, you will need a special device that will close hermetically. This can be either an industrially produced smokehouse for hot smoked fish, or a homemade container based on a large pan, barrel, bucket or metal box. For a “designer” smokehouse using improvised means, you will need a reliable grate for food. The smokehouse itself must have a protective internal coating that will not release anything harmful to the fish.

The second important part of preparing the entire process is the correctly selected fuel for smoking. And finally the recipe. The end result of the whole thing - delicious hot smoked fish - is impossible without the necessary smoke, which will make it aromatic and appetizing.

Storage rules

Fish prepared by hot smoking is not intended for long-term storage. It is not recommended to keep it in the refrigerator for more than 3-4 days. In this case, the temperature should be no more than 3°C. It is important to pay attention to humidity. The indicator should be at the level of 90%. Before placing in the refrigerator, the smoked meat is wrapped in foil. This will help prevent the absorption of foreign odors.

In some cases, the hot smoked product is placed in the freezer. This will extend the shelf life to 15-20 days. But freezing negatively affects the structure and after defrosting the smoked meat will not be as tasty as immediately after cooking.

Hot smoked fish is a favorite delicacy that can be easily and quickly prepared at home. With your own hands you can make a fragrant and tasty masterpiece that will be suitable for gatherings with friends and will decorate a festive banquet.