Content
Pike is a popular river fish, which is often used for making fish soup, stuffing and baking. But you can get an equally tasty dish if you smoke it. Anyone can do this at home. However, possible errors can negatively affect the taste of the final product. Therefore, you need to smoke pike, following the cooking technique, which will result in a tasty fish with juicy meat and a pleasant aroma of smoke.
Pike meat is very dry, fibrous and has a peculiar muddy smell.
Is it possible to smoke pike
This fish is great for hot and cold smoking. The main thing is that the pike suits your taste preferences, because many people believe that its meat is very dry and fibrous. But this is not true if the fish is cooked correctly.After all, she has all the necessary qualities for this.
It has the following properties:
- moderate fat content;
- elasticity of the cover;
- suitable carcass size;
- meat structure.
Benefits and calories
The meat of this freshwater fish, even with slight heat treatment, becomes soft, so it is easily absorbed by the human body. It contains a complex of vitamins and minerals, and also contains Omega-3 and 6 non-fatty acids. This feature of fish helps normalize fat metabolism and reduce the amount of bad cholesterol in the blood. Regular consumption of pike improves vision and bone structure.
Fish can be eaten even if you are on a diet
Pike has a low calorie content. There are about 84 kcal per 100 g of product. It contains 18.9% proteins, 1.15% fats and 2.3% carbohydrates.
Principles and methods of smoking pike
There are two smoking methods: hot and cold. The only difference is the temperature of exposure to pike meat. The cooking principle is that with optimal heating, the wood does not burn, but smolders. This contributes to the release of a large amount of smoke, which penetrates the fibers of the meat and gives it a unique taste and aroma. With this processing, most of the beneficial substances are completely preserved.
To achieve excellent results, it is necessary to maintain the temperature at the same level during cooking. If the smoking mode is lowered, the pike meat becomes dry and insipid. And when it rises, the wood chips begin to char and release carcinogenic substances, which subsequently settle in the form of soot on the fish.Deviation from the permissible norm leads to the fact that smoked pike becomes unsuitable for consumption.
To prepare a delicious delicacy, you need to choose the right sawdust. The best option is chips of alder, rowan, as well as fruit trees and shrubs. This allows you to give the pike meat an appetizing golden hue and saturate its fibers with the aroma of pleasant smoke.
It is also permissible to use birch wood, but before processing it is necessary to remove the bark from it, since it contains a large amount of tar.
How to select and prepare pike for smoking
The quality and taste of the final product directly depends on the correct choice of fish. The best option is freshly caught pike, but chilled pike is also suitable. You cannot use a frozen carcass for smoking, as this negatively affects the taste and quality of the final product.
Before proceeding directly to smoking, the pike must first be prepared. To do this, cut the belly and carefully remove the insides. Fish weighing up to 1.5 kg can be cooked whole, but large specimens should be cut into 2 parts along the ridge.
Pike intended for smoking should not be scaled. This prevents the meat from cracking during cooking, as well as the deposition of soot on the surface of the carcass.
Gutted fish should be rinsed with water and blotted with a paper towel.
How to pickle pike for smoking
The next stage of preparing the carcass allows you to add the necessary taste to the dish. Therefore, you need to salt the pike for smoking. According to the standard recipe, you need to take 1 tbsp. l. salt per 1 kg of carcass weight.You can also use aromatic herbs and spices if desired.
Salt should be rubbed evenly over the top and inside of the fish. After this, put it in an enamel pan under pressure. The duration of salting depends on the size of the pike and can range from 12 hours to 2 days. During this time, the container with fish should be in the refrigerator. At the end of the waiting period, the fish should be kept in clean water for 15-20 minutes to remove excess salt. And then thoroughly wipe the carcass on all sides with a paper towel.
How to marinate pike for smoking
For lovers of exquisite taste, you can prepare fish according to a different recipe. In this case, you should marinate the pike for hot or cold smoking in a special solution. To do this, add 100 g of salt to 1 liter of water and ground black pepper to taste, as well as 5-6 allspice peas. If desired, the marinade should be supplemented with bay leaf and garlic.
Then soak the pike in it until the liquid completely covers it. Keep the fish in the marinade for at least 3 hours. Then take it out and pat dry with a paper towel. The output should be fish with light fins, with a pleasant aroma of seasonings, without the smell of mud. Using this recipe, you can cook hot and cold smoked pike at home and outdoors.
How to smoke pike correctly
Before starting the cooking process, you must first air dry the fish for 3-4 hours so that a thin crust forms on its surface.This helps remove remaining moisture and improves the quality of the final product.
Hot smoked pike recipes
This cooking method can be performed in several ways, depending on personal preferences and capabilities. Therefore, in order to choose the most optimal one, you should consider each of them separately.
How to smoke pike in a hot smoker
This method requires a special smokehouse with a smoke regulator. Such a device automatically supplies smoke and allows you to maintain the same temperature throughout the entire cooking process. In this case, smoking hot smoked pike will not be particularly difficult.
After installing the device, lubricate the upper surface of the grill with vegetable oil. Then place the carcasses or pieces of pike, keeping a distance of 1 cm between them. At the end of preparation, cover the smokehouse with a lid.
At the next stage, you need to put moistened wood chips into the smoke generator and set the temperature to +70-80 degrees. According to the recipe, smoking hot smoked pike in a smokehouse lasts 40 minutes. After this, you cannot immediately take out the fish, otherwise it will lose its shape. Therefore, you need to leave it there until it cools completely, and then ventilate it in the air for 2 to 24 hours. This will remove the pungent odor and give the meat an appetizing aroma.
A smokehouse with a smoke regulator greatly simplifies the cooking process
Hot smoked pike at home
In this case, you can use a smoking cabinet. An iron box with handles on the sides is suitable for this. Inside it, at the top, there should be a grill for fish, and it also needs to have a lid.
Before you begin, you should light a fire in the grill and place a smoking cabinet on top for heating. Then cover the grill with foil, make holes in it and carefully arrange the carcasses, leaving a small space between them.
Place wet wood chips on the bottom of the smoking cabinet. After smoke appears, you can install the grill with fish, and then cover the box with a lid. Cooking time: 30-40 minutes. During this time, it is necessary to periodically remove the lid and ventilate the cabinet.
Hot smoked pike should be served after it has cooled.
How to smoke hot smoked pike in the oven
This method allows you to prepare a dish even in the absence of special devices. In this case, an electric oven will help, which should be placed outside or on the balcony to prevent smoke.
Initially, you need to put the wood chips in a foil pan and fill them with plain water for 15 minutes. After this, the liquid should be drained. This will prevent the sawdust from igniting. Then the prepared wood chips need to be placed at the bottom of the oven, since when heated, the smoke will rise upward.
The fish should also be wrapped in foil, leaving only the top surface exposed. Then it needs to be greased with vegetable oil to give it a golden hue. After this, place on a wire rack and put in the oven. A deep baking tray should be installed one level lower so that fat does not drip onto the wood chips during cooking, otherwise acrid smoke will spoil the taste of the product.
Set the temperature to 190 degrees. It takes 30-40 minutes to smoke hot smoked pike this way.
Every 10 min. The oven needs to be opened slightly and excess smoke released
How to smoke cold smoked pike in a smokehouse
If you choose this method, the cooking process will take several days. To smoke, salted pike should be hung on hooks in the upper part of the smokehouse.
Then place moderately damp wood chips into the smoke regulator and set the temperature to 30-35 degrees. The process of cold smoking pike at home lasts three days. The same regimen should be maintained throughout.
The readiness of pike can be determined by external signs. The fish should have a pleasant reddish-golden hue. After this, the pike should be allowed to cool in the smokehouse and then kept in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
Temperature changes during smoking negatively affect the quality of fish
How long does it take to smoke pike?
The duration of cooking depends on the chosen method. For hot smoking, 30-40 minutes is enough, depending on the size of the carcass or pieces. In the case of cold smoking, the duration of the process is three days, subject to the correct temperature conditions.
Storage rules
You need to store the delicacy in the refrigerator, observing the product proximity. This means that it should be placed away from foods that absorb odors.
Hot smoked pike is a perishable product. Therefore, its shelf life at a temperature of +2-6 degrees is 48 hours. Cold smoked fish can retain its qualities in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
To increase the shelf life of the product, it must be frozen. In this case, the storage period is no more than 30 days.
Conclusion
Knowing how to properly smoke pike at home, you can easily prepare a delicacy that will leave few people indifferent.The main thing is to follow the fish preparation technology and strictly maintain the specified temperature regime. After all, not only the taste of the final product, but also its beneficial qualities directly depends on this.
