Content
- 1 Is it possible to smoke carp
- 2 Benefits and calorie content of the product
- 3 Principles and methods of smoking carp
- 4 How to prepare carp for smoking
- 5 How to smoke carp in a hot smoker
- 6 Recipe for hot smoked carp with spices
- 7 Recipe for smoked carp marinated with apples
- 8 Cold smoking carp
- 9 Recipes for smoking carp at home
- 10 Storage rules
- 11 Conclusion
Homemade hot smoked carp is very tasty, and the process is quite simple. You can smoke it not only in a smokehouse at the dacha, but also in an apartment in the oven or on the stove.
Is it possible to smoke carp
Carp can be a source of parasites that are dangerous to humans. Therefore, it should be thoroughly cooked before use. It is recommended to smoke it only hot.
Benefits and calorie content of the product
The calorie content of hot smoked carp is 109 kcal. The energy value of cold-cooked fish is 112 kcal.
Principles and methods of smoking carp
The easiest way to smoke carp is in a hot smoker. To do this, the chamber with fish and wood chips is placed directly on the fire source.At the dacha this could be a barbecue or a fire, in an apartment it could be a gas or electric burner. They build such a smokehouse from what is at hand, for example, from an ordinary bucket with a lid, into which 2 grates are installed.
You can prepare sawdust yourself, but it’s easier to buy them at any supermarket. Wood chips from beech, apple, alder, maple, linden, oak, cherry, and elm are well suited for cooking. Conifers and birch are not used. In addition to wood chips, additionally add small branches of fruit trees to obtain better taste and smell.
At what temperature and how long should you smoke carp?
The smoke temperature during hot smoking is 80-150 degrees. The smaller the fish, the lower the indicator. Small carcasses are cooked at a temperature of 110 degrees.
The smoking time for carp depends on the cutting method and the size of the fish and ranges from 40 minutes to 3 hours. If the carcass is small or cut into pieces, 1 hour is usually enough. In addition, you need to pay attention to the type of product and the color of the smoke. The dish is ready when a golden brown crust has formed and the smoke has turned white.
How to prepare carp for smoking
It is smoked whole or cut in different ways. In any case, the entrails must be removed from the fish. For whole carcasses, the head is left and the gills are removed. As a rule, smoked with scales.
Then you need to salt or marinate the carp for hot smoking. This can be done dry or wet. The simplest method is dry salting, which uses only salt, sometimes along with sugar.
How to marinate carp for smoking
The classic marinade for smoking carp consists of the following ingredients (based on 3 kg of fish):
- salt – 200 g;
- sugar – 20 g;
- ground red pepper – 20 g;
- ground black pepper – 20 g.
Procedure:
- Mix all the spices.
- Carefully remove the insides, do not touch the scales. Rub the carcasses with spices. Place in a cool place for 12 hours.
- Rinse, blot dry, hang the fish for 10-12 hours. It should air dry. This way it will lose moisture naturally and become denser.
Can be marinated in wine brine.
Ingredients:
- small carcasses – 3 pcs.;
- water – 2 l;
- salt – 2 tbsp. l.;
- dry white wine – 2 tbsp. l.;
- lemon juice – 3 tbsp. l.;
- soy sauce – 3 tbsp. l.
Procedure:
- Sprinkle the carcasses with salt, put a weight on them, and place them in the refrigerator for 2 days.
- Rinse the fish. Let dry overnight.
- Mix water with lemon juice, then add soy sauce. Heat the mixture, but do not bring it to a boil.
- Cool, add wine.
- Place the fish in the prepared brine and put it in the refrigerator overnight. It needs to be dried before smoking.
How to pickle carp for smoking
The easiest way is to generously rub it with salt. Next, you need to place the carcasses under pressure and put them in the refrigerator for 3 days. After this, rinse the fish with tap water and hang to dry for 24 hours.
You can immerse the fish in brine. Per liter of water you will need 200 g of salt. A little granulated sugar is often added.
Procedure:
- Mix salt in water and bring to a boil.
- When the brine has cooled, immerse the fish in it. Cover and refrigerate for 3 days.
- Rinse it out of the tap and dry it in the fresh air for 2 hours.
How to smoke carp in a hot smoker
The procedure is as follows:
- Prepare a smokehouse and a grill that will serve as a heating element.
- For smoking, use cherry and alder wood chips. You can add dry juniper branches. Place the wood chips in the smokehouse (layer thickness – 3 cm).
- Install gratings. Cover them with foil, place the carcasses on it, and cover. If you want the fish to develop a dark crust, smoke without foil, but you will have to grease the grill, otherwise the carcasses will stick.
- Smoke for approximately 1 hour from the moment the camera is installed on the grill. First, cooking takes place over moderate heat. After 15 minutes, the heat should be gradually increased so that for the last 20 the temperature is 120 degrees.
- After 1 hour, remove the smokehouse from the grill, but do not open it. Leave it for about one hour to allow the carp to ripen in the smoke.
Recipe for hot smoked carp with spices
Ingredients:
- mirror carp – 2 kg;
- water -1.5 l;
- salt -80 g;
- grain mustard – 3 tsp;
- freshly ground black pepper – 2 tsp.
Procedure:
- Cut the carp along the spine, cutting off the ribs on one side, and lay it out like a book so that the carcass becomes flat. Remove the entrails and tear off the gills.
- Pour salt into the water, stir until dissolved, pour over the carp, put in the refrigerator for 1 day.
- Remove the fish from the brine and pat dry with a napkin.
- Roll in a mixture of pepper and mustard seeds.
- Place on the smoker rack. Place scales down.
- Smoking time for mirror carp is 25-30 minutes.
Recipe for smoked carp marinated with apples
Required ingredients:
- carp – 3 pcs.;
- green apples – 2 pcs.;
- salt – 2 tbsp. l. with a slide;
- sugar – ½ tsp;
- seasoning for fish - to taste.
Procedure:
- Cut the fish. Salt it dry: stack one on top of the other, sprinkle with salt, sugar and seasoning.Place in the refrigerator for several hours.
- Get the fish. Cut the apples into slices, insert them into the bellies and place them on top, let them stand.
- Send the preparations to the hot smoked smokehouse. Cook for approximately 45-60 minutes.
Cold smoking carp
Smoking carp fish using the cold method is a complex and lengthy process.
Required ingredients:
- carp – 2 kg;
- salt – 200 g;
- black peppercorns;
- allspice peas;
- Bay leaf.
Procedure:
- Cut up the carp. Cut along the spine, lay the carcass flat, remove the gills and entrails, make transverse cuts down to the skin.
- Dry salting. Sprinkle a layer of salt on the bottom of the dish and place the fish back down. Sprinkle salt, pepper, bay leaf on top, place under pressure and put in a cool place for 4 days.
- Next, rinse the fish in cold water, add it again and leave for half an hour.
- The fish should be medium salted. It can be used as an independent dish. The fish is ready to eat.
- Hang to dry for a day.
- The next day, start smoking in a smokehouse equipped with a smoke generator.
- Smoking time is 3-4 days.
- Then you need to leave it for two days to ripen.
Recipes for smoking carp at home
You can smoke hot smoked carp at home in a compact smokehouse or without it. Use the top burners of the stove or oven as the fire source.
In the oven
To smoke fish in the oven you will need the following accessories:
- a package for home smoking made of heat-resistant foil with wood chips;
- fish tray;
- cling film;
- a sheet of foil (its size is twice the size of the smoking bag).
The ingredients you need to take are:
- carp – 1.5 kg;
- sea salt – 2 pinches;
- lemon – ½ piece;
- dill – 1 bunch;
- seasoning from vegetables and dry herbs - 2 tbsp. l.
Procedure:
- Gut the carp, cut off the gills, and rinse thoroughly. Wipe the scales with a rag to remove all the mucus. Dry the fish.
- Make 4 transverse cuts on the side of the carcass.
- Cut the lemon into slices.
- Mix salt and seasoning and rub the carp on all sides. Place dill and lemon slices into the belly.
- Place paper napkins in the tray, place the carcass in it, and cover with several layers of cling film.
- Place the fish in the refrigerator for 10 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
- Remove the tray from the refrigerator.
- Place the smoking bag on the table so that the side with the double bottom where the sawdust is located is at the bottom.
- Fold a sheet of foil in half, forming something like a plate with sides the size of a carp. Place the fish in it and place it in a smoking bag. Wrap the ends and press tightly so that there is no smell of smoke in the house.
- Place the package on the bottom of the oven without a baking sheet or wire rack.
- Close the oven and smoke for 50 minutes at 250 degrees. After the time has passed, turn off and leave the fish in the oven for about half an hour. Then carefully remove it from the bag and place it on an oval dish.
On the stove
There are models of household smokehouses that can be used in a city apartment. The simple metal structure in the form of a box with a lid has compact dimensions and can be installed on a gas burner.
Next, you should use the recipe for smoking carp in a hot smoked smokehouse in an apartment on a stove. To do this, you need prepared fish and wood chips - cherry, alder, beech.
Procedure:
- Pour wood chips into the bottom of the smokehouse and place a tray on it to collect fat.
- Place fish carcasses on the grilles.
- Close the box with a lid.
- Along the perimeter of the upper edge of the smokehouse, where the lid fits, there is a groove that needs to be filled with water. This is a water seal that prevents smoke from escaping. The lid has a hole with a fitting. If the smoking process does not take place outside, but indoors, put a hose on the fitting and direct it out the window.
- The smokehouse is placed on a gas or electric burner. The time is counted after the appearance of smoke.
You can take a bucket, cauldron, pan and smoke in them according to the same principle as in a smokehouse.
With liquid smoke
The simplest recipe for hot smoked carp is to cook it with liquid smoke.
You need to prepare the following ingredients:
- carp – 500 g;
- liquid smoke – 3 tsp;
- salt – 1 tsp;
- black pepper – ¼ tsp.
Procedure:
- Gut the carp, wash and dry.
- Mix pepper and salt and rub inside and outside the carcass. Then pour liquid smoke over it.
- Pack in foil, carefully wrapping all edges.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
- Place the foil-wrapped fish on the grill.
- Cook for 1 hour. Every 15 minutes the package needs to be turned over to the other side.
- Cool the finished fish without unrolling the foil.
Storage rules
Hot smoked carp should only be stored in the refrigerator. In a common chamber at a temperature of 0 to + 2 degrees, the carcass can lie for up to three days. If frozen, the period will increase to 21 days at -12 degrees, up to 30 days at -18 and below.
The optimal air humidity at temperatures up to +8 degrees is 75-80%. When stored in the freezer - about 90%.
Cold smoked fish can be kept in the common chamber of the refrigerator for up to 7 days, frozen – up to 2 months.
Conclusion
Hot smoked carp is a delicious fish that you can catch yourself and immediately smoke. Preparation is not difficult, especially if you use the right recipes and follow them exactly. You can experiment with marinades by introducing various spices and savory additives.