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The smoked dish is considered a delicious snack that diversifies the usual menu. It is not always possible to buy a high-quality delicacy in a store. Therefore, it is important to know the recipe for cold smoked mackerel in a smokehouse. Properly prepared fish on the holiday table will always delight guests.
Selection and preparation of fish
Before smoking mackerel in a cold smoked smokehouse, you need to select fresh fish and properly prepare it for the procedure.
It is recommended to smoke freshly caught mackerel or chilled one. When choosing fish you should pay attention to the following points:
- carcasses without a sticky, matte coating;
- pupils without clouding, and eyes without film;
- the gills should not be slippery;
- there is no mucus on the gills;
- The product is free of foreign odors.
If it is not possible to purchase fresh fish, you can take frozen fish. The layer of ice should not be large. A small test after defrosting will indicate the correct storage of such a product - when you press on the fish meat, the depression that appears should immediately disappear.
Preparing mackerel for smoking:
- If frozen carcasses are used for cooking, it is recommended to defrost them gradually, without using a microwave oven. To do this, the fish can be placed in a bowl of water and left overnight on the table to thaw.
- Fresh or melted fish are washed well with water, the head is removed, the insides are taken out and the black film that is in its belly is cleaned.
- If you plan to smoke the entire product, you do not need to remove the tail and fins.
Salting, marinating
You can salt mackerel before cooking in different ways. Whichever option is chosen, the finished dish will be tender, juicy and aromatic.
Nuances of dry salting mackerel:
- The carcasses must be rubbed with salt from tail to head. It is also recommended to pour it into the belly and under the gills. For 1 kg of fish you need to take approximately 120 g of salt.
- You can also mix garlic, onion, ground pepper, bay, cloves and salt to taste. To make the mackerel tender, it is recommended to add 25 g of sugar to the mixture.
- Pour salt or a ready-made mixture for salting into a bowl. Then the carcasses should be laid out tightly, belly up. Each layer of fish must be sprinkled with salt. It is recommended to press it down with something heavy on top.
The prepared fish is sent to the refrigerator for 1-2 days. It is important not to forget to turn it over every 6 hours.
A dry mixture for smoking mackerel will help make it aromatic, tasty and beautiful.
You can make cold smoked mackerel in a smokehouse using a liquid marinade. The brine is prepared as follows:
- Add 50 g of salt and spices to taste to water heated to 80 degrees.
- The mixture is thoroughly mixed until smooth.
Pour the prepared marinade over the fish and place in a cool place.By means of marinating, the degree of salting of carcasses is controlled. To obtain lightly salted smoked meat, mackerel is pre-soaked in chilled clean water.
The marinade helps control the degree of salinity of the future smoked mackerel
Withering
After marinating, it is recommended to rinse the fish well to remove excess salt. Then it should be dried with paper towels and hung in the fresh air for at least 12 hours. Be sure to insert wooden spacers into the bellies for better drying and further smoking.
It is important to ensure that the fish are not exposed to direct sunlight or attacked by insects.
How to cook cold smoked mackerel in a smokehouse
Before you start smoking fish, it is important to choose the right wood chips and prepare the device for the procedure. The carcasses must be hung in a smoking cabinet and cooked according to a special scheme.
Choosing wood chips and preparing the smokehouse
To ensure that your homemade delicacy is of high quality and tasty, it is important to choose the right wood. When smoked with dry wood, the fish will be rich in color and have a tart smell. Damp knots will give it a golden color and a delicate taste.
Rules for preparing woodchips:
- firewood must be cleaned of bark, which contains resin inside; it can cause the formation of burning, which will spoil the finished product and the walls of the smokehouse;
- to avoid bitterness in the finished product, you should not take pine needles for smoking;
- the chips must be free of rotten or moldy areas;
- all wood chips should be approximately the same size, since if you smoke small and large fractions at the same time, you can cause a fire and ruin the fish.
To smoke mackerel, it is recommended to use a homemade smokehouse, which consists of a cooking chamber, firebox and chimney.
Making a smokehouse:
- A hole is dug in the ground in which there will be a fire.
- From the pit to the smoking chamber it is necessary to lay a trench through which smoke will flow. The dug ditch must be covered with boards on top and sprinkled with earth.
- You can use a large metal barrel without a bottom as a camera. It needs to be covered with film. If you plan to make fish often, the smokehouse must be covered with boards or covered with bricks.
You can also cold smoke mackerel in a smokehouse from a cylinder. To create such a device, you can use empty containers.
To prepare food in an apartment, you can’t get by with a homemade smokehouse. Since for safety reasons the equipment should not smoke, complete tightness is important. For cold smoking in an apartment, it is recommended to buy a smoke generator that runs on electricity. It also consists of a cooking chamber and a container for wood chips, which are connected to each other by a special hose.
The diagram will help you make a homemade smokehouse
No matter which smoking option is chosen, you will ultimately receive positive reviews about the smokehouse for cold smoking mackerel - the finished product will have a refined, delicate, aromatic taste.
Smoking mackerel in a cold smokehouse
Cold smoked mackerel in a home smokehouse is prepared as follows:
- The prepared carcasses are placed suspended in the smokehouse so that they do not touch each other - the smoke should envelop them from all sides.
- Light a fire (in a homemade smokehouse) or wood chips (in a smoke generator). It is important to ensure that the smoke temperature does not exceed 30 degrees.
- For the first 12 hours, the smoke should penetrate the fish uninterruptedly. Then you can take short breaks during the cooking process.
At the end of the smoking procedure, it is important to hang the fish out for ventilation and only then send it to the table or for storage in a cool place.
How long to smoke mackerel in a cold smoked smokehouse
On average, smoked meats are cooked in a smokehouse for 1-2 days. The processing time depends on its quality and the conditions of this procedure.
Storage rules
The finished smoked product is packaged in film or foil and stored in the refrigerator for 10 days.
You can also freeze smoked mackerel. It can be stored in the freezer for no longer than three months. It is recommended to defrost the finished product in a microwave oven.
Smoked fish can be stored longer than other cooked fish.
Conclusion
A recipe for cold smoked mackerel in a smokehouse will help you prepare a tasty and high-quality delicacy yourself. Such fish consists of useful substances that have a positive effect on human well-being. If you follow the smoking technology correctly, you can get not only a tasty homemade product, but also a healthy one.
