Types of smoking
The technology of smoking fish at home allows you to preserve all the beneficial properties. The meat should separate easily. After smoking, fish can be stored for a long time. There are three main cooking modes:
- Cold smoking – carried out at temperatures from 15 to 35 degrees. The duration of the process is from twenty-four hours to two days.
- Warm smoking (or semi-hot) – carried out at a temperature of 35 to 60 degrees. The duration of the process is from three to six hours.
- Hot smoking – occurs at a temperature from 60 to 80 degrees. The fish takes from one to three hours to cook.
Using a homemade and specialized smokehouse
For the industrial production of smoked fish, specialized smokehouses are used. At home, you can make such a device yourself.
You can use an old refrigerator or a metal barrel as a chamber where the product will be processed with smoke. If you are going to regularly prepare a delicacy, you can build a permanent building made of brick or wood. A firebox is built separately in which a fire is lit. From it, smoke enters the smokehouse through a special pipe 4-8 meters long (Figure 5).
It is important that the pipe goes into the lower part of the smoking chamber. Then all products will be evenly processed by smoke.
There are also disposable devices. They are very convenient if you need to prepare a delicacy while fishing. Everything you need for cooking is included in the kit: alder chips, salt and pepper, as well as two trays. A larger container is used to light a fire, and a smaller tray with holes is filled with fish and placed on top. The entire structure is covered with a lid and placed on top of the smoldering coals. It is important that the distance between the fire and the fish itself is large enough, otherwise the meat will simply cook.
Figure 5. Construction of a home smokehouse
Regardless of the type of device used, the cold smoking process can last from 18-20 hours to 4-5 days, depending on the size of the fish.
Wood selection
The technology of smoking fish involves careful selection of wood. This gives the final product different flavors. Coniferous trees are not suitable for smoking due to their high resin content. This will give the fish a bitter taste. Juniper and alder are ideal for smoking. Also used:
- maple;
- beech;
- oak;
- hazel;
- ash;
- Apple tree;
- cherry;
- pear;
- Rowan;
- plum.
Each type of wood adds a special taste, shade and piquancy to the finished product. Some craftsmen use birch for smoking, but then the fish will acquire a tarry smell, and only a narrow circle of gourmets like it. Several types of wood can be used for the process.
Dry wood will give the product a golden hue and a delicate taste, while wet sawdust and coals will give the fish brighter colors and a tart aroma. The bark is completely stripped off before smoking.
The wood is then reduced to sawdust and chips. Material affected by mold or fungus should not be used for smoking. Otherwise, the release of harmful substances can cause human poisoning.
Preparing for smoking
The technology of smoking fish in production and at home begins with the preparation of carcasses. They are thoroughly washed and sorted by size. Fish up to 700 g are usually smoked without gutting or removing scales. Individuals up to three kilograms are deprived of their entrails. The scales remain to protect against soot. Large fish are gutted, large fins and heads are cut off.
After this, the prepared carcasses are washed and dried to remove excess moisture. Then the fish is rubbed with salt and pressed under pressure for three hours. If frozen carcasses are taken for smoking, then it is left at room temperature for several hours to get rid of the cold. Then the above-described actions are repeated with it, but the carcass must remain under the yoke of the carcass for a day.
Cold smoking
Cold smoking of fish is a simple technology, but it takes a long time. Carcasses are processed at temperatures from 16 to 40 degrees. The duration of smoking can be from three to four days. This process requires a special large unit with an inclined chimney of seven to ten meters.
If you wish, you can build it yourself, but this requires a lot of space. Therefore, the technology for producing cold smoked fish is mainly used in large industries. Salted carcasses are strung on wooden or iron twine through the eyes. Large fish are additionally attached through their tails.
The fish is hung out to dry in the fresh air. After 2-3 days, the carcasses are moved to the smokehouse (large barrels can be used for small areas). Fish should be treated with cold smoke. Smoldering sawdust is used as a heat source. It is necessary to constantly maintain a certain temperature regime.
Fish quality
High-quality fish raw materials have a number of distinctive characteristics: a bright red tint of the gills under the plates, a neutral odor without foreign impurities and putrefaction, bulging shiny eyes, elastic flesh that fits tightly to the bones.
When cutting fish for cold smoking, large scales should be cleaned in advance against growth using a knife or fish scraper. Small salmon scales can be left behind. For fish such as sockeye salmon, perch or eel, it is better to remove the skin.
For carcasses with spiny fins, the needles should be removed to eliminate the risk of injury and cuts. Semi-finished products for smoking can be of the following types: whole with heads, ungutted small specimens, with and without gills, balyk back, fillet plates, pieces.
Semi-hot (warm) smoking
Half-hot smoking of fish is a technology for processing carcasses with smoke at an optimal temperature of 50 to 60 degrees. Before the procedure, carcasses are salted for 18 hours. If the individuals are small, the time is reduced to twelve hours. Then the fish is washed and dried with a towel.
For smoking, either a special apparatus or a regular potbelly stove can be used. The fish is suspended by the tail or eyes in a place where smoke and air mix. Carcasses are smoked for 10 to 12 hours. All this time it is important to maintain the desired temperature. This method is quite complicated and for beginner smokers it is better to use other processing methods.
Hot smoking
The hot technology of smoking fish differs from previous methods. This method requires light salting at the rate of 16 kg of initial product per 1 kg of salt. Large fish will definitely be gutted. An incision is made on the spine and sprinkled with salt. Small specimens are prepared whole, without cutting.
Fatty fish is rubbed with salt and wrapped in parchment or tracing paper to prevent oxidation. Then the carcasses are placed in an enamel container. The top of the fish is again covered with parchment. The container is pressed down from above with pressure. Small fish remain to be salted for a day, large specimens - from two to three days.
Then the fish is dried for 60 minutes. Then it is washed with clean cold water, hung or placed on a smoking rack. Sawdust and wood chips are poured into a layer of 20 millimeters at the bottom of the unit. Carcasses must be processed under strict temperature conditions from 65 to 85 degrees. The duration of the procedure is 2-4 hours.
During the smoking process, the lid of the unit must be tightly closed so that the wood does not ignite. At the very beginning of processing, a strong fire is maintained, but the fish should be at a decent distance from it so as not to burn. The carcasses are turned over periodically.
After half an hour, the desired temperature is set in the smokehouse, which is maintained throughout the entire process. The fish must be cooked completely through. This is determined by the color and density of the finished product. The meat should separate from the bones easily. The finished product has a golden or brownish crust.
Smokehouse equipment
To smoke fish, you need a smokehouse of a special design.
Device
The smokehouse for this smoking method consists of the following parts:
- The smoking chamber is a plywood cabinet or a cabinet made of non-coniferous boards with hangers or racks for carcasses located at equal distances in height. To prevent smoke from escaping from the smokehouse through the cracks, sheets of plywood or boards are joined very tightly, the smokehouse door is equipped with reliable latches and is sealed around the perimeter using a seal. A tray is installed at the bottom of the cabinet to collect the fat dripping from the smoking carcasses.
The smoke exits through a small ventilation hole located at the top of the smokehouse.
- Smoke generator - a metal pipe with a length of at least 500 mm and a diameter of 100-130 mm. Three legs are attached to one of the ends of the pipe at a distance of 20-25 cm using bolted connections. A grid is placed on the bolt studs protruding inside the pipe, and the end of the pipe is tightly closed with a removable lid.
To ignite sawdust or wood chips, make two holes just above the grate level. A cap is placed on the other end of the pipe, into which a ½-inch plumbing tee of the “nut-fitting-nut” type is screwed in, and its external thread is secured in the cap with a nut.
A fitting for connecting the compressor and a long bend are screwed into the remaining two branches of the tee. In order for the suction and supply of smoke to occur more efficiently, a thin (6-8 mm in diameter) tube is inserted into the fitting from the inside.
A compressor for normal smoke supply is selected with a capacity of at least 50-60 l/hour. It is connected with a flexible hose to the fitting on the tee, tightly secured with a worm clamp. I attach a pipe or flexible hose to the squeegee screwed into the tee, supplying smoke to the smoking cabinet.
Let's celebrate! When cooking fish in this way under field conditions, a fire with a ditch (groove) extending from it is used as a source of smoke, located below the level of a smoking cabinet or other container.
What kind of wood chips should I use?
For smoking, you should use wood chips or sawdust from the following wood species:
- Apple tree;
- pear;
- cherry;
- apricot;
- nut;
- alder;
- willow;
- beech;
- Rowan;
- poplar.
Sawdust and coniferous wood chips are not used for smoking. An exception is juniper - several of its branches can be added to the smoke generator when smoking to give the carcasses a golden hue and a pleasant taste.
Let's celebrate! When smoking, it is best to use wood chips or shavings, and not small sawdust - when sawdust is burned, the resulting dense ash mass allows air and smoke to pass through very poorly, which is why smoldering and the supply of smoke to the smokehouse almost completely stops.
Industrial smoking
The technology of hot smoking of fish in production differs in its scale and processing methods. Initially, the carcasses are cut up and salted. Then they are placed on the grates. Fish goes through three stages of processing: drying, boiling and smoking. The finished product is then cooled and packaged.
Another peculiarity of industrial smoking is that after drying the fish, it is taken out of the oven and coated with a layer of sauce with a thickener. Then the carcasses are returned to the smokehouse until fully cooked. This method helps to significantly reduce moisture evaporation and produce new, varied flavors. Modified starches are used as thickeners.
Technology of cold smoking fish at home
The smoking process consists of preparation and the process itself.
Preparation
Frozen fish caught or purchased in a store should be carefully prepared:
- Fresh fish is thoroughly gutted and washed. Large specimens are cut into several pieces, the spine, large rib bones, and gills are removed.
- The fish is salted dry - all carcasses are thoroughly rubbed with salt both inside and outside and placed in layers in a large container. Each layer is additionally sprinkled with a significant amount of salt on top. A load is placed on top of all layers - oppression, which accelerates the displacement of moisture from the fish and the formation of brine. Salting lasts at least 4-5 days.
- After salting, the carcasses are washed under running cold water for 4-5 hours to remove excess salt.
- After washing, the fish is dried for 24 hours, hanging in the attic, under a canopy. In order to protect carcasses from flies, they are covered with gauze soaked in vinegar or placed in special dryers.
Smoking
After the fish is dried, proceed directly to the smoking itself:
- Depending on the design, the carcasses are hung or laid out on hooks or racks inside the smokehouse, respectively.
- Chips are poured inside the smoke generator.
- The compressor turns on.
- Using a blowtorch or a large lighter, the smoke generator is ignited through the pilot holes. Under no circumstances should wood chips be wetted with any flammable liquid for better combustion.
- The average duration of smoking fish using this method is at least 24 hours. Large specimens are smoked for 3-4 or more days.
- When smoking, it is very important to maintain a constant flow of smoke during the first 8 hours of the process.
Smoking with liquid smoke
There is also a technology for smoking with liquid smoke. This method is considered a new development. First, the wood is burned in the stove. The smoke that is generated is passed through the water. The result is a liquid rich in smoke aroma. Then it is cleansed of harmful compounds. The result is a solution containing several times less carcinogens than smoke from a regular fire.
You can make the product yourself or buy it ready-made in stores. The smoking technology is very simple. The fish is taken, cut into large pieces and salted. Liquid smoke is added to the same water. After a few hours, the fish is cooked on a grill over a regular fire.
