How to smoke mackerel. Smoked mackerel

Hot smoked fish – mackerel, pink salmon, trout or herring, everyone probably likes it. You can buy it in the store, but it is not always possible to buy real smoked fish, since in the store it can be treated with liquid smoke. Real smoked fish can be prepared at home using a smoker. I want to offer a recipe for hot smoking. The fish in the smokehouse turns out very tasty, juicy and aromatic.

Products:

• fresh frozen – 3 pieces;
• spices for fish – 1 sachet;
• salt to taste.

Smoked mackerel in a smokehouse - recipe

Thaw freshly frozen mackerel. It is advisable not to buy too much big fish, but medium in size. Large mackerel may not be smoked in places. Then gut the fish and rinse thoroughly.

Then you need to prepare a saline solution. For 1 liter of water 50 grams of salt. Pour over the mackerel saline solution, so that the solution lightly covers the fish. Leave to salt for 1.5 hours. If you like it not too salty, you can rinse it with water. And if you want it saltier, don’t rinse it.

Next, rub the mackerel with fish spices on top and inside. Tie the fish with thread to prevent it from falling apart when smoking. Now prepare the smoker. To do this, pour alder chips of the same size into the bottom of the smokehouse. Alder chips can be purchased at the store.

Then place a drip tray to prevent the fat from burning and adding a bitter taste to the fish. Then install a wire rack on which to lay the mackerel belly down. This allows the fish not to break and have a marketable appearance.

You need to smoke fish over medium flame. After 10 minutes, open the smokehouse lid to allow excess smoke to escape. Then close the lid again and smoke for another 15 minutes. On average, fish is smoked for 20-25 minutes. Once the smoking time is up, remove the smoker from the heat and let it cool slightly. That's it, the mackerel is ready. Take it out of the smokehouse and carefully remove the string from the fish. Serve either hot or chilled.

Step 1: clean the fish.

The initial preparation of mackerel depends on what kind of fish you bought; if it is frozen, then the carcasses need to be defrosted naturally, that is, simply put them in a deep bowl and put them in a cool place or in the refrigerator for 1 - 2 hours During this time the fish will completely melt. Never try to defrost fish in warm water this can ruin the entire mackerel, its meat will become soft and fall away from the bones.
After the fish has melted, we place each carcass one by one on a cutting board, cut off their heads, gut them from the entrails, rinse them under cold running water and dry the mackerel with paper kitchen towels to remove excess moisture.
Now, using a sharp, thin knife, we alternately make one small longitudinal cut with an approximate length in the tail part of the carcasses 1 centimeter. Take a thick thread or oiled twine and cut it with scissors into lengths up to 20 centimeters and thread 1 rope into the slits on the tails. Then we tie the ends of each twine with a tight knot to form a loop. Pour salt into a deep plate, the first preparation is completed, it’s time to start salting.

Step 2: salt the fish.

We place a couple of stainless steel trays on the kitchen table. Take one fish carcass in your hands and start rubbing salt into the mackerel, first inside all the rib bones.
Then from the outside into the skin of the fish. We don’t try too hard, the fish will be salted in any case, and with increased friction the skin may come off, this will make the finished product not of very aesthetic quality.
Light, unobtrusive salting on all sides and inside is quite enough, but we don’t skimp on the salt, about 1 tablespoon for each carcass.
We place the salted mackerel carcasses in trays, cover the containers with plastic wrap so that there are no gaps, and put them in the refrigerator for 7 - 8 hours, or best of all, overnight.

Step 3: dry the fish.

After the required time has passed, remove the trays of fish from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap from each. Transfer the fish to the sink and rinse the carcasses under cold running water to remove excess salt. Then we dry the mackerel with paper kitchen towels and let it dry a little more. For example, we stretch a rope in a convenient place, put the carcasses on it and let them hang in this form at least 1 hour. If you have a heater that's even better, just place it next to the hanging mackerel and turn it on average temperature, in 30 minutes the fish will be dry.
We also prepare alder sawdust, if they are dry, put them in a deep bowl and pour in a small amount of water, for 2 handfuls sawdust approximately 4 – 5 tablespoons ordinary running water. The sawdust should not be dry, but it should not be completely wet either. In the first case, if they are very dry, they will start to burn, as a result the fish will burn, and if the sawdust is very wet, then they may stop producing smoke and the fish will not be smoked well, which can lead to poisoning.

Step 4: prepare the smokehouse and smoke the fish.

Now it all depends on the type of smokehouse you have, in my version it is an ordinary old machine with primitive devices, so smoking will be a little primitive. Place an even layer on the bottom of the smokehouse 1 centimeter lay out alder sawdust soaked in water. We put the smokehouse on the fire. If you have a gas one, then turn on the gas, if it’s a regular one, then light a small fire from wood in the lower compartment. The fire should always be medium! We put dried mackerel carcasses on metal poles so that there is a small distance between them, that’s enough 5 – 6 centimeters free space and install them on the smokehouse that has begun to puff.
Cover the machine with a lid and smoke the mackerel for 15 minutes, then remove the lid and release the smoke from the smokehouse, this will relieve the fish of bitterness. Then we cover the “hot machine” again with a lid and smoke the fish some more. 25 - 30 minutes before full readiness. Afterwards, remove the lid from the smokehouse, remove the poles with fish from it and transfer the carcasses back to the trays. Let it cool slightly, put it back on the rope and dry it in a cool place from 3 to 8 hours.
After the required time has passed, transfer the fish back to the trays and remove the oiled twine from each.
Then we wrap each carcass in plastic cling film to keep the mackerel from drying out, put the fish back on the trays and put the containers in the refrigerator. Such fish should only be stored in a cool place at a temperature from -2 to +3 degrees preferably no more 3 – 4 days.
With longer storage, oxidation of fatty tissue occurs, the taste and smell of fish deteriorate. So if you have prepared a very large portion, share the hot smoked mackerel with your loved ones and enjoy a great fish!

Step 5: serve hot smoked mackerel.

Hot smoked mackerel is delicious both hot and cold. It makes excellent salads, fish pates, aromatic cuts for sandwiches and an excellent snack for light or strong aperitifs. Some gourmets prepare wonderful casseroles, pies and crispy pizzas from this fish. Mackerel prepared according to this recipe is tender, the connective tissues of the fish are soft with a pronounced smoked aroma. Cook and savor with pleasure! Bon appetit!

- – Mackerel can be smoked over low heat, but for 2 hours.

- – If you have a small home electric smokehouse, then you need to set the temperature in it to 100 degrees Celsius and smoke the prepared fish for 1.5 hours.

- - In addition to alder sawdust, you can use sawdust from trees such as apple, plum, cherry, oak, beech, aspen, walnut, birch. The sawdust should be without bark; it contains tar, which during smoking can give the fish a bitter taste. Corn cobs, poplar sawdust and walnut shells are sometimes used for barbecue smoking.

- – If desired, you can add spices to the salt such as ground red pepper, ground black pepper, crushed lemongrass or any other spices that are suitable for smoking.

You can have aromatic smoked mackerel without special effort cook at home. The taste of such fish cannot be compared with the product purchased in trading network. And if you consider that now almost every manufacturer uses various preservatives, flavor enhancers, etc. in the production of the product, then the advantages of smoked mackerel homemade compared to store-bought fish, they increase a hundredfold.

If you already have your own, or you are going to purchase it or build it on your site, but do not know how to properly smoke mackerel at home, then this article is just for you.

How to smoke mackerel in a hot smoker?

Before smoking, we clean the mackerel carcasses from the insides, rinse them, rub them generously with salt and put them in the refrigerator for ten to twelve hours. Then we wash off the salt crystals and let it dry by hanging the fish by the tail or wiping it with paper towels. If you wish, you can also pre-marinate the mackerel in various spices, but this is not for everyone. IN classic version Only salt is used.

Place wet alder chips on the bottom of the smokehouse. If necessary, soak them briefly in water before the smoking process. Then we install a grid on which we place the fish carcasses at some distance from each other. We recommend that you tie the mackerel with twine before doing this and do not remove its head, thereby preserving more fat and internal juice of the finished dish.

We close the lid of the smokehouse tightly and place it on a grill with burning wood or any other such device. Maintain high heat until steady white smoke emerges from under the lid. Now we lower the heat supply a little and let the medium-sized carcasses stand for twenty minutes, and the larger ones for half an hour.

Some experts advise opening the smokehouse lid slightly during the process to release excess smoke and thereby protect the fish from excessive bitterness. But we would not recommend doing this, as it is dangerous and you can get quite severe burns. And to avoid the bitter taste of mackerel, it is enough to use well-moistened, rather than dry, wood chips.

After the smoking time has passed, carefully remove the smokehouse from the heat, let it sit for a while, and only then carefully open the lid and remove the aromatic and appetizing fish.

How to smoke mackerel in a cold smoker?

Thanks to the cold smoking method, the fish acquires an amazing taste and aroma, as well as the ability to for a long time stay fresh and have a longer shelf life. This happens thanks to natural chemicals, which is part of the smoke. With this type of smoking, mackerel is not subjected to heat treatment, thereby retaining all its beneficial properties.

Just like before hot smoking, we remove the insides of the fish and wash it. When cold smoking, you can also remove the head. Rub thoroughly with coarse salt and let stand in a cold place for twelve hours. Then we wash off the salt and hang the carcasses for about two hours to dry.

Now we place the fish in the smoking chamber. It is fundamentally different from a hot smoking chamber, since the smoke with which the products are processed in it must enter it already cooled to twenty-five degrees. This is the main and important condition, which must be observed during the cold smoking procedure, both mackerel and other products.

So, our fish is already in the smokehouse. After twenty-four hours of constant smoking at a temperature, as we have already said, no higher than twenty-five degrees, we can get a ready-made, most aromatic snack. It is completely ready for use. Bon appetit!

Recommend to your friends:

Probably, each of us has heard about the dangers of smoked fish for our body. And we decide to eat healthy ourselves and feed our family and friends only healthy food. But it’s not so easy to give up established tastes and taste preferences.

Will help you in the difficult task of struggling for healthy eating and teach you how to cook “a la” smoked mackerel in onion skins at home. Onion peel will give the fish a golden color as if smoked, and will also give mackerel and piquancy and unique taste. Besides mackerel, prepared as suggested recipe, will serve as a wonderful decoration on the holiday table.

Recipe a la smoked mackerel

Required ingredients:

Two large frozen mackerel;

One liter of water;
Three tablespoons of salt;
Two full handfuls of onion peels;
One and a half tablespoons of sugar;
Half a glass of strong tea leaves;
Black and allspice peas;
One teaspoon of ground coriander seeds;
Two bay leaves

First, let's prepare the marinade for the fish. To do this, take an enamel pan, which you don’t mind, because it will be stained by onion skins.

Pour water into a saucepan and bring it to a boil, put the onion skins in it, boil for ten minutes, then let it brew for another fifteen minutes.

After this, strain the onion broth

Then add salt, sugar, pepper, coriander and Bay leaf, mix well and add tea leaves. After this, you need to completely cool the fish marinade by covering the pan with a lid.

During this time we will prepare the mackerel. The mackerel must first be thawed, then the heads should be separated, the belly should be cut, the entrails should be removed, the black film should be removed and the belly should be washed thoroughly. If you do not want to cut the belly, then carefully remove the insides of the fish through the hole where the head is.

Place the prepared fish in a large bowl or flat vessel of a suitable size, pour the cooled marinade over the fish and place a plate on top so that the fish does not float up. We put the fish in the marinade in the refrigerator or on the balcony and let it sit for two to three days, periodically turning the mackerel on the other side so that it is colored evenly on both sides and salted evenly.

When the fish is salted, it must be removed from the marinade, placed on napkins, and lightly blotted.

Leave the mackerel on the table for a couple of hours to dry, turning it over from time to time. Or you can hang the mackerel by its tail over the sink so it doesn’t glass excess liquid. After this, lightly grease the surface of the mackerel vegetable oil and can be served.

When you cut it into portions, you will see that it looks no different from smoked store-bought mackerel. My guests destroyed this mackerel first of all; the fish turned out to be moderately salted, and tea and a decoction of onion skins gave it an interesting taste, similar to smoked.

No festive feast is complete without fish. Smoked mackerel is especially often served as an appetizer. It goes well with vegetables and other foods and is included in many salads. Mackerel sea ​​fish, very tasty and healthy. You can easily buy this fish on store shelves, but often its quality leaves much to be desired. And to avoid purchasing a low-quality product, we suggest making your own cold-smoked mackerel at home.

There is nothing difficult in preparing this delicacy. Even a beginner can do it. If you do not have a home smokehouse, then as an option you can use other recipes using liquid smoke, or cook delicious mackerel in onion peels in three minutes. In any case, your home-smoked mackerel will turn out unique, aromatic, tender and very tasty, and your family and friends will thank you very much.

How to cook smoked mackerel at home

Cooking classic cold-smoked mackerel consists of several stages: choosing fish, defrosting, cutting, salting, smoking and resting. Special attention It is worth paying attention to the choice of fish. Usually fish is sold frozen and it is quite difficult to determine its quality. Good fresh mackerel is firm, without mucus. It does not have an unpleasant odor, the gills should be pink and clean, the eyes should be transparent. If there is a lot of ice in a frozen briquette, it means that it was defrosted and then re-frozen. This fish should not be used for smoking. To preserve the taste of mackerel as much as possible, it must be defrosted slowly. This can be done in the refrigerator or in ice water.

Classic cold smoked mackerel recipe

Ingredients:

• Mackerel – 1 kg;
• Salt – 100 g;
• Sugar – 10 g;
• Allspice – 3 pcs.;
• Black pepper – 10 pcs.;
• Bay leaf – 3 pcs.;
• Black tea – 15 g;
• Cloves – 3 pcs.
• Water – 1 l.

Preparation:

1. Thaw mackerel by placing it in cold water.
   
2. Open the bellies, remove the entrails inside the fish, and remove the black film. Cut off the heads, although you can smoke with the heads, in this case cut out the gills. Rinse the carcasses again and dry with a paper towel.
   
3. Ways to properly salt mackerel for cold smoking

   There are two main recipes for salting mackerel: wet salting and dry. Competent fish ambassador end result will give a unique, delicate and aromatic taste. With the wet salting method, a salty marinade with spices and spices is prepared, and fish is placed in it for several days. When dry salting fish, salt and other ingredients are rubbed into the carcasses and inside, laid in layers, sprinkling each row with salt. Our recipe involves wet salting, since it is easier to prepare at home with a small amount of fish.

4. 
   
5. Pour water into a saucepan, heat to boiling water. Pour tea into a glass and brew it with water from the pan. Add salt, spices, bay leaf to the rest of the water. There is no need to add sugar; when boiling, it caramelizes and can spoil the final taste of the product. Boil the marinade for 10 minutes, cool, add sugar, stir until completely dissolved.
   
6. Place the fish in a suitable container and fill with brine. Place pressure on top so that the fish is completely covered with marinade. Place the container in a cool place with a temperature of 4-6 C. It will have the right place in the refrigerator on the top shelf. Mackerel is salted for cold smoking for 2-3 days.
7. After 3 days, remove the fish from the marinade and rinse with running water. If it tastes too salty, then soak it for 2-3 hours. cold water. Hang in a cool, ventilated place. Insert matches or toothpicks into the bellies. If ventilation takes place outside, then it is necessary to cover the fish with gauze, protecting it from insects. Drying lasts 10-12 hours, usually hanging out overnight. During this time, the fish will dry out and be ready for the next stage.
8. Place the mackerel in. Place the carcasses loosely, one at a time, so that they do not touch each other in the smokehouse. Pour wood chips into the smoke generator. The taste of the finished smoked fish also depends on the quality and choice of wood.
9. Each type of wood chips adds its own taste and aroma to smoked meats. Most often, alder or beech wood chips are used for smoking fish products. You can add wood chips from fruit trees, apple trees, cherry trees, plum trees, etc. to the base wood chips. With experience, the selection of wood chips becomes easier for each smoking recipe; a specific mix is ​​selected. Juniper berries, leaves and twigs of fruit trees can be used as natural flavoring additives for the individual taste of mackerel.
10. Set the smoking temperature to 20-25C. Apply smoke and smoke for 8-12 hours, sometimes the cold smoking process extends for a day. The time it takes to smoke fish individually, how much cold smoked mackerel is smoked depends on several parameters, including the volume of the smokehouse, the weight of the fish, and the flow of supplied smoke. Readiness can be determined by color; it should be slightly golden.
    
11. After smoking, it is necessary to ventilate the fish for at least 24 hours. During this time, the pungent smell of smoking will disappear, the taste will be balanced and distributed throughout the product. After such a daily exposure, you can start tasting the delicious delicacy.
    

How to store smoked mackerel

How long can smoked fish be stored and under what conditions? Cold smoking itself extends the shelf life, since the smoke is an antiseptic. But there are still necessary storage standards that must be observed so that the product does not spoil. Mackerel and other cold smoked fish can be stored at low temperatures -2 - 5C for 45-60 days. It can remain in the refrigerator for seven to ten days without any consequences; it is advisable to wrap it in foil so that the rest of the products do not smell of smoke from smoking.

Mackerel in onion skins - a recipe in three minutes

Sometimes it is not possible to smoke fish in a smokehouse. And here they help out more simple recipes, allowing you to get an almost classic taste of cold smoked mackerel. Lightly salted mackerel in onion skins cooks very quickly, resulting in a delicious appetizer in a few minutes. Golden color comes from onion peels and tea leaves. This fish can be quickly prepared for a picnic or unplanned holiday. Unlike long-term smoking, mackerel in onion skins will be ready in 3 minutes.

Compound:

• Fresh frozen mackerel – 1 piece;
• Onion peels 2-3 handfuls;
• Black tea – 1 tbsp. l;
• Water – 1l;
• Granulated sugar – 1 tbsp. l.;
• Table salt 3 tbsp;
• Coriander – 0.5 tsp;
• Allspice – 2 pcs.;
• Cloves – 1 pc.;
• Bay leaf – 2 pcs.;
• Vegetable oil.

How to do:

1. Defrost the fish, wash and dry with napkins. Pull out the entrails, cut off the heads and fins.
2. Prepare the marinade. Pour water into a saucepan, add tea and onion peels, spices, salt, sugar. Bring the brine to a boil and cook for 5-6 minutes.
3. Turn off the marinade and place the fish in it. Mackerel will be ready in 3 minutes in onion skins.
4. Remove the fish and remove the skins. Let dry and grease with oil. Serve either hot or chilled.

Mackerel recipe with liquid smoke

Another simple way to cook mackerel without smoking is to use liquid smoke. This flavoring will give the fish both the appropriate color and smell.

To prepare you will need:

• mackerel – 3 pcs.;
• salt – 80 g;
• liquid smoke – 50 ml;
• black pepper – 1 tsp.

How to cook:

1. Defrost the fish. Remove all entrails, rinse with cold water and dry.
2. Rub the mackerel with salt and pepper.
3. Place in a flat container and fill with liquid smoke. Place a weight on top and place in the refrigerator.
4. After two days, salting of mackerel stops. Remove the fish, rinse with water, and dry with napkins. Hang in a cool place for several hours to air out.

Benefits and harms of smoked mackerel

The healthiest mackerel is home-cooked mackerel with your own hands. This sea fish contains a lot of vitamins and a bunch of useful substances. Fish meat is very tender and rich in vitamins (A, B 12, D, E), fatty acids, microelements (iodine, potassium, magnesium). Fish cooked with cold smoke is much healthier than hot smoked fish. Retains when cold processed more quantities useful substances and vitamins that are not destroyed by hot temperatures during the cooking process.

Smoked mackerel:

1. Improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
2. Improves metabolism;
3. Improves memory;
4. Strengthens the nervous system;
5. Increases the level of hemoglobin in the blood;
6. Levels cholesterol levels;
7. Strengthens the immune system.

Of course, there are contraindications to this product. Smoked mackerel a very high-calorie product, 100 grams of fish account for 150 kcal. Therefore, obese people should avoid it. It is also contraindicated for people with acute diseases kidneys and liver, as well as hypertensive patients. Nutritionists advise consuming this delicacy no more than 1-2 times a week. And eat no more than 50-70 grams per day. Otherwise, there is a danger of harming your body.