Content
Cold smoked or hot cooked tuna is an exquisite and very delicate delicacy. The taste of the fish is close to steamed veal. Smoked tuna at home retains excellent juiciness and does not lose its original taste. The fillet is suitable as a cold appetizer; you can use it to make salads and sandwiches.
Benefits and calorie content of the product
Cold smoked tuna, whose calorie content per 100 grams is only 140 kcal, is nutritious and dietary at the same time. But it’s not even this that is important, but a balanced chemical composition, rich in vitamins and minerals. Just 30 g of sea fish per day - and the risk of developing vascular and heart pathologies will drop significantly, and testosterone levels will be normalized. The valuable microelements contained in fish activate the functioning of the brain.
With proper processing, valuable meat does not lose its nutritional and taste properties; it is not susceptible to microbes or pathogens. The calorie content is low, so you can safely include the delicacy in your diet menu.
The rich composition causes a number of beneficial effects from eating fish:
- improvement of metabolism;
- strengthening the immune system;
- normalization of pressure;
- restoration of blood microcirculation;
- preventing blood clots;
- stabilization of heart rhythm;
- improvement of brain activity;
- strengthening joints and bones;
- removal of bad cholesterol;
- cleansing the liver, restoring the functioning of the pancreas;
- reduction in the severity of depressive syndrome.
Tuna is an effective means of rejuvenation. A diet based on this fish will prolong life, cleanse the body, and help achieve longevity. The Japanese consume tuna all the time, and the average life expectancy in the country is more than 80 years.
Restrictions and contraindications
Cold smoked tuna meat can accumulate mercury, so if you have kidney failure or a tendency to allergies, you should not eat it. Pregnant women and small children also do not need the delicacy. Other contraindications are gastrointestinal pathologies and gastritis.
Good, fresh tuna is very healthy, but precautions should not be forgotten
Selection and preparation of tuna for smoking
Cooking hot smoked tuna at home is easy, but troublesome.First, the carcass is cleaned and salted. The benefits and safety of the product depend on the correct execution of the manipulations.
They buy fresh, beautiful elastic fish with brightly colored meat. You can use frozen tuna, in which case it is first allowed to thaw. For uniform cooking, select individuals of equal sizes and cut them into neat pieces. The cutting sequence must be followed:
- Remove the entrails from the cut on the belly.
- Remove the head.
- Cut off the tail and fins.
- Remove the skin.
If the smokehouse is small, it will be better to fillet the fish. An incision is made on the back to separate the meat, and the carcass is divided into 3 pieces. The fillet is smoked, an exquisite delicacy, it can be marinated and seasoned with special sauces.
Marinating and salting
To properly salt tuna for hot smoking, you need to use standard dry marinating. It will help achieve maximum natural taste of the fish. Salting technology:
- Fillet and fish carcasses are coated on different sides - take a tablespoon of rock table salt on the fish.
- The product is infused for half an hour at room temperature.
- After salting, the tuna is sprinkled with lemon juice and sent to the smokehouse.
The fish will have original taste and aroma properties if the marinating procedure is carried out correctly. For dressing, it is best to take a few glasses of water, one and a half soy sauce, a little honey, salt, garlic, ginger, and a mixture of peppers. You can use any marinade recipe - there are no restrictions.
The final color and taste depend on the preparation of the fish.
Hot smoked tuna recipes
Tuna can be cooked using the hot smoking method. You need to take fresh fish with a uniform color. The presence of stains indicates that the product is stale, cloudy eyes too.
In the smokehouse
In the smokehouse to prepare the dish you take:
- 4 fillets or 2 medium-sized fish;
- a tablespoon of salt per fish;
- lemon;
- wood chips
Rub the carcasses with salt and let them stand for half an hour. Then heat the coals, put wet sawdust in the smokehouse, and place the device in the grill on the coals.
Before sending the fish to the smokehouse, sprinkle it with lemon juice, place it on a grate coated with oil, and close the box. After the smoke appears, you can time it and smoke the tuna in the smokehouse until it’s ready for about half an hour. Cool and place in the refrigerator.
Smokehouse tuna should be consumed within 3 days
On the grill
A popular method of hot smoking is on the grill. Ingredients:
- tuna steaks – up to 1 kg;
- marinade – 100 ml;
- honey - 1 tbsp. l.;
- pepper, cumin, fish seasoning.
Whisk honey in soy sauce, add fish seasoning and other spices. Steaks can be replaced with fillet if desired. The meat is poured with marinade, kept in the refrigerator for several hours, or overnight.
Then you can start smoking the tuna on the grill. The average readiness time is half an hour, it is important not to overdo it.
It’s easy to overcook carcasses on the grill; this should not be allowed.
In smoking paper
Delicious fish comes out in smoking paper. Products:
- tuna – approximately 500 g;
- sauce - to taste;
- special paper – 4 sheets.
This amount is enough for 4 servings. The paper acts as wood chips and gives the finished dish a luxurious aroma.
The paper is soaked in water for 10 minutes, the fish is cut into pieces, laid out on the paper along the stripes, coated with sauce and butter. Afterwards, all that remains is to tie the strings, place the rolls on the grill and smoke for 10 minutes on each side.
Tuna in paper comes out juicy, served with vegetables
Cold smoked tuna recipes
For cold smoking, a smoke generator is usually used - a productive device that is easy to use. The main thing is to set the temperature correctly. The cooking process takes about 5 hours at 30 degrees. The grill is also used.
Cold smoked tuna fillet with honey
To cook juicy, tasty fish in honey, you need to take:
- dishes and cutlery;
- tuna;
- coals;
- honey;
- seasoning
First, the meat is prepared - washed, dried, marinated. For the marinade, use oil, soy sauce, pepper and salt. Young onions are cut into thin rings.
Light the coals in the grill and make sure the heat is even. The grate is sprayed with oil, and pieces of tuna are placed on it, skin side down. Serve the finished dish on a wire rack, first sprinkle with honey.
A good fillet will produce delicious smoked meat.
Cold smoked tuna belly recipe
Belly bellies prepared using cold smoking technology will be saturated with smoke and will be very aromatic. Products:
- tuna bellies – 1.5 kg;
- alder sawdust;
- marinade sauce
Honey, ginger, garlic, pepper, and salt will add piquancy to the sauce. The fish is cleaned, cut, and spices are ground. Peppers and other spices are ground with a spoon, honey is added, and ground again. Add water and soy sauce, mix, pour over the meat, and put it in the refrigerator for a day. After drying, place on the smokehouse grate and simmer for a couple of hours at 40 degrees. The dampers should be opened a little. Then the temperature is raised to 60 degrees and the bellies are kept for another 6 hours.
Cold smoked tuna looks very appetizing
Storage rules
In industrial conditions, special equipment is used for storing smoked meats. For long-term savings, the following conditions are necessary:
- high-quality ventilation;
- stable temperature conditions;
- optimal air humidity indicators.
Fish that has been hot smoked at home is stored for no more than three days at a temperature of -2+2 °C. In production, this period can be much longer.
The optimal air humidity in the room where smoked fish is stored should be 75-80%; 90% is suitable for freezing. Cold smoked tuna lasts much longer because it contains a lot of moisture, salt, and bactericidal components. At temperatures from -2 to -5 °C, the meat will remain calm for 2 months. You need to monitor the fish so that it does not become moldy.
At home, smoked tuna is usually kept in the refrigerator, first wrapped in parchment or foil. If this is not done, the strong odor will spread to other products and is difficult to remove from the refrigerator compartment. It is prohibited to store spoiled or insufficiently fresh dishes next to fish.
It is much safer to use a salt composition than paper. Water and salt are taken in a ratio of 2:1. A piece of thin fabric is soaked in the solution, the product is wrapped, thick paper is laid on top, and the meat is sent to the lower section of the refrigerator. Parchment is used for freezing - it holds the aroma well. In private homes, fish are usually placed in cloth bags and hung in the attic. You can put smoked tuna in small boxes, be sure to sprinkle it with sawdust and chopped wood.
Average recommendations for storing homemade smoked tuna in the refrigerator:
- 3 days for the hot method;
- 10 days for cold.
The air must be dry, otherwise the risk of mold formation will increase significantly. If the product is frozen, the shelf life will increase to 90 days.
Smoked fish, including tuna, do not last long
Conclusion
Cold smoked tuna takes longer to cook than hot smoked tuna. The fish is tasty, healthy, and does not lose minerals and vitamins during processing. In the case of hot smoking, it is important not to overcook the meat, otherwise it will be “enriched” with carcinogens and will be too dry. Cooked tuna does not sit for a long time; it is very important to follow the rules for storing it.
