Smoking pike perch: calorie content, hot and cold methods, storage

Which fish is best?

Pike perch is a versatile fish that is suitable for preparing first courses, appetizers, salads and original delicacies.
To prepare products at home in a smokehouse, you can use fresh or frozen fish. It is important that the carcasses are not re-frozen, otherwise the quality of the meat will be spoiled. Choosing quality fish is the key to an ideal result, so you should pay attention to:

• brightness and transparency of the eyes;
• redness of the gills;
• light sea scent;
• presence of shine and absence of mucus on the scales;
• elasticity of the meat (when pressed, the dent is quickly restored).

It is better to take carcasses of the same size so that you can evenly salt and smoke the fish.

Hot smoked pike perch

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Hundreds of dishes are prepared from pike perch. Fashionistas on a diet often eat it. The fish is lean. But hot smoked pike perch does not taste dry if smoked correctly. Its aroma makes your mouth water involuntarily. The taste is such that it is impossible to stop until the fish is finished. Smoked pike perch retains valuable nutrients.

Ready fish is consumed as a cold appetizer for drinks, as an independent dish with a side dish of rice, vegetables, potatoes, and herbs.

The cold smoking method is not used for pike perch. It is smoked with hot smoke.

How to smoke pike perch in a hot smoker

For salting you need:

• coarse salt,
• bay leaves,
• allspice peas.

The process of preparing pike perch for smoking

The fish are cut along the belly and the entrails are carefully removed. Heads can be left if desired. Fishermen do not recommend removing scales, cutting out fins and gills. Thanks to them, the meat remains soft. The scales are not removed: soot collects on it and does not penetrate inside.

After cleaning, the carcasses are wiped, salt, pepper, and chopped bay leaves are poured inside. Pour salt generously under the gills and rub into the outside of the carcass. The fish is laid in layers, adding salt. They press with oppression.

Keep in the refrigerator at the rate of 1-2 hours of salting per kilogram. During this time, the pike perch will absorb a sufficient amount of salt and salt evenly.

Preparing and smoking large carcasses takes longer.

After the salting time has passed, the carcasses are washed and ventilated for half an hour in the open air.

Preparing pike perch for smoking

The preparatory stage includes gutting the fish and salting. These procedures allow you to remove harmful substances from meat, as well as provide better curing, which will affect the taste of smoked meat. Before smoking pike perch, you should remove the insides. To do this, an incision is made along the abdomen. The gills, fins and head are retained. The scales are not cleaned because they act as a barrier:

• prevents juice leakage, which makes the meat tender and soft;
• prevents soot from getting directly onto the fillet.

After cleaning, the carcasses are thoroughly wiped of excess liquid and dried with paper napkins or towels.

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To obtain smoked meat with a pronounced fishy aroma and taste, only coarse salt is used for salting. The carcasses are generously coated inside and out and placed under pressure. After this, the workpiece is placed in the refrigerator. For salting 1 kg. fish is enough for 1-2 hours. If the carcasses are large, it will take longer. You can add ground black pepper and bay leaf to the salt.

Marinade

Less commonly, liquid marinade is used for pickling. The amount of water is taken depending on the volume of fish. For brine, or brine, take 0.5 kg of salt. The pike perch is laid in layers and filled with the prepared liquid. After this, the container with the fish is sent to a cold place and kept in a salt solution for 2.5-3 hours.

Salting pike perch

Before smoking pike perch in a smokehouse at home, you should remove excess salt and dry the carcasses.

To do this, the fish is washed in water and then hung in a ventilated place to dry. Pickling can be done using the traditional method using salt, or by adding original ingredients.

Seasonings for pike perch

Seasonings and spices help add a sophisticated flavor when hot or cold smoked. Walleye may smell like algae. To get rid of it, before smoking pike perch, sprinkle it with vinegar, lemon juice or add a little mustard. Also, in addition to salt when salting, use:

• Bay leaf;
• pepper mixture;
• celery;
• rosemary;
• carnation;
• thyme.

Adding a small amount of sugar will help create a beautiful crust on the surface of the carcasses. The recipe can be adjusted depending on personal taste preferences. It is recommended not to use more than 2-3 seasonings at the same time, as this may overwhelm the natural taste of the fish.

How to smoke pike perch

Hot smoked pike perch is a delicious fish whose aroma evokes a serious appetite.
If you prefer home-cooked dishes, but don’t know how to smoke hot smoked pike perch, a simple, time-tested recipe will help you. The main thing is that the chosen cooking method - hot smoking of pike perch in a smokehouse - preserves the nutrients and beneficial substances of the fish meat. Fish is smoked much less often, although everyone loves to eat smoked fish. Smoking fish, of course, requires certain skills, time and equipment. However, the result is always amazing.

The easiest way to smoke fish is using the hot method. Those who seriously engage in hot smoking have special smokehouses.

For those who are not so often overcome by the desire to taste their own smoked fish, a simple iron bucket with a lid will be enough.

You can smoke fish directly while fishing, on a hike, or at the dacha. The main thing is to have branches of fruit trees, juniper or alder on hand. For smoking, you should choose fish of approximately the same size. Gutting and cleaning fish or not is everyone’s personal choice.

If you don't really like to be distracted during your meal, it is better to clean and gut the fish before smoking. To prepare, you need a smokehouse: professional equipment or a closed grill with a sieve and a bottom for laying chips and wood shavings.

In the latter case, the heat is supplied from a fire made from below the grill - the fish should in no case be above an open fire - this is the whole process.

In general, a smokehouse is a hermetically sealed stainless steel container, at the bottom of which branches or sawdust are laid out that will produce smoke. One or more fish racks are placed higher in the smokehouse.

There is no need to make the smokehouse very high, otherwise the fish on the lower grill will be “over-smoked”, and on the upper grill it will be raw. Handles are required, with the help of which the smokehouse can be placed on the fire (into the fire) and removed from the fire. As for the branches, each smoker has his own opinion on this matter.

Some like alder, others like willow, others only recognize apple and plum branches, and still others smoke juniper shavings.

The best material from which a smokehouse should be made is stainless steel. Everything else is much worse, and you will have to: control the fire very strictly: either adding it or reducing it.

The lid must be very tightly adjusted so as not to include access to oxygen, and be securely fixed. Size and shape are a matter of taste. The main thing is that the height of the smokehouse does not exceed 50-60 cm.

, otherwise the top layer of fish may remain unsmoked, while the bottom layer will darken, become dry, bitter and unsuitable for consumption. After the 5-10th smoking cycle, the smokehouse must be cleaned of tar and carbon deposits, and the grates even more often.

Convenient handles should be mounted on the box to remove it from the fire, or you should have comfortable grips with you. Do not remove the smoker from the heat with unprotected hands.

Always keep thick mittens, gloves, and, at worst, solid scraps of rags on hand. And one more thing: try to buy a stand for the smokehouse, since there are not always stones on the pond, and the logs that act as supports are constantly burning. The stand should be no more than 30-35 cm high and. of course, reliable enough to prevent the smokehouse from tipping over.

First, a few basic rules of what not to do:

• smoke eel if you don’t know how to do it: preserved raw blood poses a threat to human health and life;
• smoke fish of different sizes at the same time;
• smoke on the first flammable material that comes to hand;
• open the drawer of a smoker that is standing on the fire or has just been removed from it. A flash fire may occur and you may suffer skin burns.
• You definitely need to know the smoking mode, the strength of the fire, and the holding time for each size of fish.
• There should be a container of water next to the smokehouse in case of extinguishing a sudden fire, and medications to relieve the burn should be on hand;
• do not listen to any outside “advisers and assistants”. Do everything yourself.
• Make sure that no one comes near the smokehouse during smoking, especially children.

Most often, fish is smoked on alder, wood chips and shavings are suitable, you can wet them, it’s good to add raw twigs and leaves to the shavings. You can use willow.

However, it is classically believed that it is best to use alder or juniper wood to produce wood chips.

They also use hazel, oak, apple, ash, pear (it is better if these are branches that were obtained during spring pruning), as well as birch. Each tree will give the product its own special aroma.

You can also use wood chips from different types of wood. Before splitting wood, it is first necessary to remove the bark, since the bark contains a lot of resin. It is for this reason that wood from coniferous trees cannot be used.

The tree must be crushed to cubes 2-3 cm in size, but no more. Before pouring wood chips into the smokehouse, it should be slightly moistened and then spread in an even layer along the bottom of the smokehouse.

If you are using a bucket-sized smokehouse, then 200-300 ml of wood chips by volume will be enough.

The smokehouse is loaded and placed on the hearth (in the fire, on the tile). This action must take place in the open air, otherwise the apartment can become ugly. As soon as white smoke appeared from under the lid of the smokehouse, you know that the process has begun, the fish has begun to smoke.

Therefore, reduce the heat a little so that the smoke comes out in a very small stream. When the smokehouse warms up, you can remove the burning logs and cook the fish only on the coals. For an average fish, the process takes about half an hour to forty minutes.

In general, the smoking time depends on the strength of the fire, the size of the smokehouse and the amount of food.

During smoking, it is better not to remove the lid from the smokehouse, otherwise there is a possibility that all the twigs and shavings inside the smokehouse will burst into flames, and you will end up with burnt fish rather than smoked fish. Once smoking is complete, remove the smoker from the heat and leave to cool. As soon as the smoke stops coming from under the lid, open the smokehouse and take out the dark golden, aromatic fish.

Large fish are smoked for about 50 minutes, small fish – half an hour, or even less. The smoke will still seep through the smoker a little. It is very important not to overheat the smoker. The temperature inside should not be quite high, especially at the beginning of the process. The process can mainly be divided into two stages. The first is drying, which takes ¼ of the time.

The second is the smoking itself - the rest of the time.

The temperature inside the smokehouse during drying should not be more than 80-90 degrees, and during smoking itself - 120 degrees.

The temperature inside the smokehouse can be determined by a simple method - if you drop water on the lid, it should evaporate without hissing, and not boil. At this temperature, the food will be smoked correctly and not cooked.

It is necessary to regulate the temperature - by decreasing or increasing the fire in the fire under the smokehouse.

Before opening the smokehouse, you need to wait until it has cooled down and smoke has stopped pouring out of it. The fish is ready if it has acquired a dark golden, sometimes reddish hue. If the fish is light, it is still raw

Salting fish before smoking

The taste of the smoked product depends on the degree of saltiness of the carcasses. Therefore, at this stage you need to be more careful and trust your intuition. During the salting process, fish loses its specific smell, since salt promotes the coagulation of proteins and the fish fibers become denser.

For salting, take a wooden cutting board, preferably of a large area (plywood will also do), sprinkle it with salt and lay out the carcass and also sprinkle it with salt.

Next, we begin to move the fish along the board with light pressure, rubbing salt into the carcass. Rub the inside of the fish with your fingers.

If there are fleshy parts along the spine, then we make a cut there and rub a little salt into this cut (we don’t pour salt, but rub it in).

Next, put all the fish in a suitable container, cover with cling film or parchment paper, cover with a smaller plate and press down with a press. If you smoke fatty fish, for example, flounder, halibut, silver carp or mackerel, then provide it with additional protection from oxygen - fish oil quickly oxidizes and the product may acquire a not very pleasant smell.

Therefore, after rubbing in the salt, each fish must be carefully wrapped in parchment paper, placed in a bowl, covered tightly with parchment for safety, pressed down with a plate and pressed.

Most often, we buy fatty sea fish frozen in the store. Such fish takes longer to salt than fresh fish - up to a day.

We keep fresh fish in salt for the following time:

• Small fish – an hour is enough;
• Medium fish – a couple of hours;
• Large fish – up to 3 hours.

Source: https://ahota.in.ua/gotovim-rybu-vkusno/kak-zakoptit-sudaka.html

Cooking methods

There are several options for how to smoke pike perch. You can choose a technology for smoking outdoors and for cooking in an apartment. Each method has features that should be taken into account to achieve an ideal result.

Hot smoking

Hot smoked pike perch turns out juicy, tender and soft. For cooking, it is better to use alder chips, possibly with the addition of branches of fruit trees and juniper. A tray is installed above the sawdust for draining fat so that it does not spoil the taste of the smoked product. Compliance with technology is an important condition for an ideal result, since with proper smoke treatment the content of carcinogens is minimized.

After preparation, the pike perch is laid out in a hot smoked smokehouse. It can be placed on grates or hung on hooks. The fish are not placed too tightly so that the smoke can circulate freely throughout the chamber. The carcasses are pre-greased with vegetable oil.

Hot smoked pike perch is prepared at a temperature of 90-100°C. The temperature should be maintained at this level. The speed and quality of smoking depends on this. At the initial stage, the fire is turned to maximum to cause the wood chips to smolder. Once enough smoke has been produced, the fire is reduced to maintain the smoldering process. Smoking pike perch using the hot method takes minimal time. We smoke small specimens for 20-30 minutes, larger ones for 1.5-2 hours. The lid should be opened periodically to release excess smoke.

Cold smoked pike perch

A longer method is the cold cooking method. This technology allows you to store smoked pike perch for a long time. Cooking is carried out in a smokehouse at a temperature of 25-30°C. A higher rate will lead to spoilage of the fish. Cold smoked pike perch turns out to be more elastic, dry, but soft and tender. For cooking, use store-bought units with a smoke generator or home-made units with a firebox and a long chimney. Cold smoked pike perch is prepared for 1 to 3 days, depending on the number and size of carcasses.

Smoking in the oven

For apartments, an excellent option is smoking in an oven. There will be a lot of smoke during cooking, so it is better to place the cabinet under the hood. For cooking, you can use sawdust or use the “Liquid Smoke” aromatic additive. The smoking process looks like this:

• salted pike perch is watered with a small amount of liquid smoke;
• the workpiece is wrapped in foil;
• the fish is placed on the oven rack;
• the cabinet can be adjusted to a temperature of 200°C;
• The pike perch is smoked for 60 minutes; the fish must be turned over every 15 minutes.

Smoked meat prepared using this method turns out to be aromatic and tasty, and is practically no different from fish from a smokehouse.

Hot processing method

First, the fish is gutted. Thermal stress destroys the surface layer, so in most cases the scales are left behind. It also prevents excess carcinogens from entering the meat.

The pike perch is generously rubbed with salt, poured into the gills, chopped bay and ground pepper are added and placed under a press for several hours. For example, for 1 kg of carcasses it will take 2 hours. The fish will take as much salt as it needs.

For a recipe for hot smoked pike perch at home in a smokehouse, use the following composition.

For 1 liter of water you will need:

1. bay leaf - 4-6 pcs.;
2. salt - 2 tbsp. l.;
3. pepper - 1 tsp;
4. sugar - 1 tsp.

Then the fish is ventilated in air for up to an hour. The smoking process will not last long: a carcass weighing up to 1 kg requires 20-30 minutes of processing.

Sequencing:

• Pour sawdust into the bottom of the smokehouse chamber; the best option is alder chips; you can add juniper and bay leaves to it.
• Place the carcasses, greased with vegetable oil, on the grill in the machine, close the lid.
• Light a fire that should cause the wood chips to smolder quickly and allow smoke to reach the fish. The temperature for hot smoking pike perch should be optimal - 90-110 degrees.
• When smoke comes out of the hole, scatter the wood to reduce the intensity of the fire. It is better to transfer the flame to the coal stage as for a barbecue.
• Periodically open the lid and release excess steam.

The smoking time for hot smoked pike perch depends on the size. It will take 20-30 minutes to cook small fish, 1-1.5 hours for medium and large fish.

A sign of readiness is the golden color of the fish product, the meat comes off the bone. Hot smoked pike perch tastes tender and juicy.

Ready-made hot smoked pike perch

Calorie content, benefits and harm

Pike perch meat is considered dietary; 100 g of product contains 87 kcal. Calorie content changes during heat treatment. If boiled, the energy content is 97 kcal, frying - 130 kcal, stewing - 113 kcal. The calorie content of hot smoked pike perch is 88 kcal.

Fish meat is useful for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and thyroid pathologies.

The product has a positive effect on visual functions, skin, hair, nails and bones. Stimulates the activity of the central nervous system.

The content of nutrients in fish resembles lettuce leaves:

• vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, D, F, E and PP;
• macro- and microelements - potassium, sodium, zinc, calcium, phosphorus;
• high molecular weight protein;
• Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.

Pike perch is the champion among fish in terms of the concentration of protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids and cobalt. Fish oil lowers blood cholesterol levels. Cobalt promotes the breakdown of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Calcium, fluorine, phosphorus are useful minerals for the bone structures of the human body. They also help control nerve and muscle functions, strengthen blood vessels, and reduce cholesterol. Iodine normalizes thyroid function.

Pike perch is a wonderful source of antioxidants - vitamins A and E, which fight cancer, slow down the aging process, improve hair and skin, remove toxic substances, and eliminate puffiness.

Protein helps you lose extra pounds and strengthen muscle tissue. Ratio of BZHU hot smoked pike perch per 100 g:

1. protein - 19.11 g;
2. fat - 1.02 g;
3. carbohydrates - 0.00 g.

Hot smoked pike perch brings benefits and harm to the body. Fish is contraindicated if you are allergic to seafood and may be unsafe if basic precautions are not taken during production.

Hot smoked pike perch is a carrier of parasites. There is an opinion that predators do not suffer from opisthorchiasis (flatworms in the body of fish). However, medical experts deny this fact. So you need to adhere to the cooking conditions so that the fish turns out to be sufficiently processed.

Firms producing fish products prepare hot smoked pike perch in compliance with GOST, coordinating technical conditions with the State Sanitary and Epidemiological Supervision Authority and the register in Gosstandart.

Storing hot smoked product

It is better to store hot smoked pike perch in the refrigerator at a temperature of up to 5 degrees Celsius. Shelf life: 3 days.

If it is necessary to extend the time, the fish is placed in the freezer. The product will remain there for up to three months. To defrost, simply place the fish on the refrigerator shelf. Nettle leaves and sawdust will help preserve the freshness of smoked products in nature. They need to transfer the fish and wrap it in paper, put it in a dark, windy place.

Useful properties of smoked pike perch

The main advantage of home-smoked pike perch is the guaranteed absence of harmful chemicals. At the same time, the smoking method allows you to preserve all useful vitamins, macro- and microelements, amino acids. Eating fish has a positive effect on:

• immune system;
• condition of blood vessels;
• nervous system;
• organs of the digestive tract.

Vitamins of groups A, B, C, D, PP have a positive effect on vision, skin, hair and nails.

Cold processing of fish

You will have to spend more time smoking pike perch using a cold method. The process itself is not complicated:

• the carcass is prepared for cooking in the same way as described above;
• for pickling, a marinade is prepared from salt and spices, the product is completely immersed in it for 12-16 hours;
• then the fish is washed and dried a little for 1-2 hours;
• Then the fish is placed in a smokehouse and left there at a temperature of +25 degrees for 1-3 days.

We recommend: How to quickly salt and marinate fish for smoking

Experts say that the most delicious cold-smoked pike perch can only be smoked in a Russian oven.

How to store

The right conditions are the key to long-term storage of smoked meat and preservation of taste. This must be done in the refrigerator at a temperature of +2-+3°C. In this mode it is possible to save:

• hot smoked delicacy – 3-4 days;
• cold smoked fish – 21 days (depending on the duration of cooking).

To prevent the smoked smell from being absorbed by other products, the carcasses are wrapped in foil or parchment paper.

In some cases, freezing of the product is allowed, which will increase the shelf life by 1.5 times.

Smoked pike perch is an exquisite and original product that can be made into other dishes or served as a separate delicacy. Store-bought smoked products have a high cost, but do not have a guarantee of quality, so a delicacy prepared with your own hands using cold or hot smoking is an excellent alternative to store-bought products.

How to salt fish for smoking

Many summer residents have mastered the smoking process; fortunately, you can not only make smokehouses yourself, but also buy ready-made ones.

Modern devices provide the opportunity to smoke a wide variety of products both hot and cold. Smoked fish is one of the favorite dishes for many, but having a smokehouse is not enough.

Beginners first of all face the question of how to salt fish for smoking and how long it will take.

Why add salt?

Preparing fish for smoking is a very important stage. The fact is that the smoke in the smokehouse penetrates better into pre-salted fish and the smoking process will go faster.

Preparation

Before smoking, it is necessary to prepare the fish, that is, salt it. But, before starting this process, the carcasses need to be properly processed, and this depends on the size, fat content and type of fish. In any case, it must be rinsed thoroughly under running water.

For large fish, it is necessary to remove the gills, take out the entrails and remove the dark film from the ribs in order to improve the taste. For especially large specimens, the head is cut off, then the carcass is flattened or divided into steaks.

The medium fish is gutted if hot smoking is to be done, and if it is cold smoked, it is left whole, but if desired, the insides can be removed.

Small fish do not need to be gutted; they are salted and smoked whole.

It is better to leave the scales: they will not allow harmful substances in the smoke to pass through and will help maintain moisture, which means the finished product will be juicier.

After the carcasses are processed, they are dried with paper napkins.

You can salt or marinate fish for smoking in different ways; there are many recipes. Here everything will depend on what smoking method is chosen, cold or hot, as well as on personal taste

General rules for salting fish before smoking

Salting can be done dry or wet. When dry, the carcass is rubbed with salt; when wet, it is placed in a concentrated salt solution - the so-called brine. When preparing fish for smoking, saltpeter is usually not added during salting.

For dry salting, the carcasses are placed in a container in rows, evenly sprinkling each of them with salt. The direction of the fish in each row is alternated - tails to heads.

If the fish is fatty, each carcass rubbed with salt is wrapped in parchment paper and placed in layers in a bowl to form a small mound.

Place another sheet of parchment on top, press it with a lid and tie it with rope or wire.

Salting using the wet method is faster; the whole process takes two hours. So much salt is placed in the brine, or brine, so that the egg does not sink in it.

The salting time will depend on which smoking method is chosen and, of course, on the size of the carcasses. Before smoking using hot technology, less time is required for salting, before cold smoking – more.

For the hot method, large fish are salted for about 12 hours, small ones - about 4 hours. Next, it is washed, sent to the refrigerator for 2-3 hours and only then placed in a smokehouse.

Before cold smoking, you need to salt for a day or more (up to 8 days).

Spices are usually added to the brine only when salting fish with a specific taste. These are pike, grayling, eel, carp and others. You can choose seasonings to your taste from those that go well with fish. They can be bought ready-made. Often, when salting, especially fatty varieties, caraway seeds are added. It is recommended to scald spices with boiling water before adding them to the brine.

Before salting, small types of fish should be strung on a string through the eye sockets and tied

When strung on twine, the number of carcasses is no more than 10, the length of the twine is about a meter. Large fish are tied with twine half a meter long, two pieces at a time, making holes near the tail. Gutted carcasses and pieces of large fish are tied with twine.

Salted fish should be elastic and hard; if it is soft and not elastic, then it is not suitable for smoking. It was probably not fresh to begin with or spoiled during pickling.

Species such as salmon need to be gutted and the scales left on to make the finished fish more juicy. Large specimens must be cut into pieces. A concentrated brine is prepared, the fish is placed in it and left for half an hour. Black peppercorns, several bay leaves, sprigs of dill and onions are usually placed in the belly. Before smoking, spacers are inserted into the bellies.

Small fish are salted under oppression, as well as representatives of large species: catfish, ide, carp, pike, carp, chub, carp, pike perch. Before salting under oppression, fish must be gutted and cut along the ridge for better salting. Sprinkle the fish with coarse salt and place a weight on it. For small ones, 8 hours is enough, for large ones – about 12 hours. The resulting brine is drained, and the carcasses are placed in water for 2 hours (it is advisable to rinse it under running water).

If the fish is salted dry in a bag, there is no need to wash it first. The small ones are left entirely. Large and medium-sized specimens are gutted and the head and spine are removed. Before stacking, each carcass is sprinkled with salt, and a layer of salt is poured into the bag.

Then the first layer of fish is placed there with the flesh down, the second layer is placed with the flesh up, after that salt is poured again, followed by the fish with the flesh down, then the flesh up, and so on. After laying each layer, the bag must be shaken so that the fish is compacted.

Thus fill the bag halfway. Twist the top edge of the bag so as to create pressure on the fish. Bury the bags in sand, which also needs to be compacted properly.

With this method, fish is salted quickly - in one day, and small ones even faster - in 12 hours.

Preparing pike perch for smoking has its own characteristics. For gutting, its abdomen is cut not at the bottom, but at the side, where the ribs are. Each carcass is sprinkled with salt, put into a plastic bag, and buried in the ground for an hour, large ones for an hour and a half.

An hour later, it is dug up, turned over and buried again for the same period. When the fish is salted, it is washed under running water and hung upside down to dry.

When it wilts a little, you need to put black peppercorns (3 peas in each carcass), bay leaf and chopped garlic into the bellies. 

Classical

In this marinade, the fish turns out spicy with a delicate lemon aroma. Ingredients for one liter of water:

• salt - 2 table. spoons;
• bay leaf – 3 leaves;
• onion - 1 onion;
• lemon - half;
• cinnamon – 1 teaspoon;
• granulated sugar – 1 teaspoon;
• pepper – 1 teaspoon;
• thyme, sage and rosemary - a pinch each.

Procedure:

1. Place water on the stove, bring to a boil, add salt.
2. Coarsely chop the lemon and onion, put in water, add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Keep on fire for 7 minutes, then remove and cool.
4. Place the fish in the resulting marinade for 10-12 hours.
5. Place the fish in a ventilated place, after an hour you can smoke.

With red wine

Cloves will give the finished product a special aroma, and the wine will make it tender and soft.

Ingredients for 1 liter of water:

• wine – 150 ml;
• salt – 2 tablespoons;
• cloves - 4 pieces;
• cumin – ½ teaspoon;
• allspice peas – ½ teaspoon.

Place the water on the stove, add salt and cloves and cook for about ten minutes. Remove from heat, wait until it cools, and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir the prepared brine thoroughly and place the fish in it for 4 hours.

With white wine

A mixture of spices gives the fish flavor, and lemon juice and white wine make it very tender.

Ingredients for 1 liter of water:

• salt – 50 g;
• dry white wine – 100 ml;
• soy sauce – 50 ml;
• lemon juice – 80 ml;
• brown sugar – 50 g;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• pepper mixture;
• basil;
• coriander.

Preparation:

1. Heat water to a boil, dissolve salt and sugar in it, let cool.
2. Pour wine, lemon juice and soy sauce into the brine.
3. Crush the garlic and add to the mixture, add all the other ingredients and stir.
4. Place the fish in the marinade until it is completely submerged.
5. Place in the refrigerator for 10 hours.
6. Remove the salted carcasses from the marinade, dry them and can be placed in the smokehouse.

With kefir

The fish acquires a fresh minty hue and extraordinary juiciness and softness due to kefir.

Ingredients:

• kefir - a glass;
• vegetable oil – 50 ml;
• salt - tablespoon;
• brown sugar - teaspoon;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• mint – 4 branches;
• ground black pepper.

Preparation:

1. Pour oil into kefir, add salt, pepper, sugar, chopped garlic and mint, mix well.
2. Place the carcasses in the kefir marinade. After 6 hours you can start smoking.

With honey

Due to honey, a beautiful crust forms on the fish, and the flesh acquires a sweetish taste.

Ingredients:

• lemon juice – 100 ml;
• olive oil – 200 ml;
• salt - teaspoon;
• natural honey – 100 ml;
• garlic – 2 cloves;
• fresh herbs;
• ready seasoning for fish;
• ground pepper.

Preparation:

1. Combine olive oil with honey and lemon juice, add salt, fish seasoning, pepper, finely chopped parsley and garlic.
2. Dip the carcasses into the marinade and put them in the refrigerator for 6 hours.

Salting in brine

Prepare brine at the rate of 0.25 kg of salt per 1 liter of water:

1. Put salt in water, put on fire, bring to a boil, cool.
2. Place the fish carcasses in the brine until they are completely covered and leave for 5 days.
3. Remove the fish from the brine, soak for 2 hours, then hang in a draft for 12 hours.

The carcasses are ready for smoking.

Spicy marinade

To prepare it you will need the following ingredients for 2 liters of water:

• salt 0.5 kg;
• white wine – 0.5 l;
• granulated sugar – 80 g;
• garlic – 6 cloves;
• lemon – 2 pieces;
• herbs: basil, coriander, thyme, rosemary.

Brine recipe for smoking chicken

Preparation:

1. Put water on fire, bring to a boil, add sugar and salt, remove from heat, cool.
2. Pour wine into the brine, squeeze lemon juice from 2 lemons, add chopped herbs and garlic, stir.
3. Place the carcasses in the marinade for 4 days.
4. Remove from brine and dry in a draft for 5 hours.

Now the fish can be smoked.

Dry pickling

Pour a layer of coarse, preferably sea, salt into the pickling container. Wash the fish, peel it and place it in a dish in layers, sprinkling each layer with salt. Top the carcasses with another layer of salt.

Place a lid on top, which should be smaller in diameter than the pan. Press down on top with a weight and leave for several days (from 3 to 7).

The carcasses need to be turned over periodically so that they are evenly saturated with salt.

After salting, put them in cold water for 5 hours, then dry in a draft for one day. Now you can send it to the smoking machine.

Preparing mackerel for smoking

This fish is perhaps more often than others chosen for self-cooking.

Mackerel is ideal for both cold and hot smoking

Salting before smoking

First, the fish must be kept in cold water for two hours. Then gut it, cut off the black films from the inner surface of the abdomen, remove the gills, rinse thoroughly, and wipe with a cloth. You can smoke both hot and cold.

For wet salting you will need 120 grams of salt and 10 grams of granulated sugar per 1 liter of water. Spices can be added to your taste.

Put the water on the fire, add sugar and salt; when the water starts to boil, add the spices and remove from the heat. Cool the brine completely and pour it over the mackerel carcasses. Place a weight on top and put it in the refrigerator for two days.

When the fish is salted, rinse it in cold water, and if it seems salty, soak it for two hours.

For the dry method, you need to take 100 grams of salt per kilogram of mackerel. Rub the carcasses thoroughly with salt on all sides, pour it into the abdomen and into the holes near the head where the gills were. Pour a layer of salt about half a centimeter thick into the bottom of a suitable container.

Lay the carcasses in layers, sprinkling each with salt, place a weight on top and put it in the refrigerator for two days. During this time, the mackerel needs to be taken out and rearranged several times so that it is evenly salted. You can add spices if you wish, but this is not necessary.

At the end of salting, rinse the mackerel to remove excess salt and place in the smokehouse

Many may wonder which method of salting before smoking is better. Mackerel does turn out a little different. After dry salting, the pulp is denser. After wet it is less dry and softer, it is believed that it also wins in taste, but it all depends on personal preferences.

Marinating before hot smoking

You can marinate fish with different spices, for example, coriander and bay leaf. To prepare for smoking three carcasses you will need the following products:

• liter of water;
• a tablespoon of coriander;
• two tablespoons each of salt and sugar;
• five bay leaves;
• carnation;
• pepper.

Place a pan of water on a gas burner; when the boiling process begins, add salt, sugar, coriander, cloves, bay leaf and pepper.

Remove the container from the heat, cool the resulting marinade, place the carcasses in it for 12 hours (maximum for a day). Then remove the mackerel from the brine and dry it before smoking.

To do this, hang it upside down for 2 hours so that the liquid flows faster than glass, or place it on a wire rack.

Now it is possible to simplify the process of preparing fish for smoking by purchasing lightly salted carcasses in the store, but, according to true masters of home smoking, preparing it yourself will make the final product many times tastier, the main thing is to follow the cooking technology.

Source: https://edaTuristu.ru/ryba/kak-solit-kopcheniya