Cold (hot) smoked salmon: calorie content, recipes with photos, how to marinate, how to smoke

Content

1 Benefits and calorie content of fish
2 Principles and methods of smoking salmon
3 Selection and preparation of fish
4 How to smoke salmon
- 4.1 Hot smoked salmon recipes
- 4.2 Cold smoked salmon recipes
5 Storage rules
6 Conclusion

Lake, Atlantic salmon, salmon is the name of one type of commercial fish with high gastronomic and nutritional value. The price offer for fresh products is high, but cold-smoked or hot salmon costs twice as much. You can save money and get a good quality dish yourself by using a home smoker.

Benefits and calorie content of fish

Salmon is a representative of red fish; it is considered a delicacy not only because of its unaffordable price, but also for its rich chemical composition.

The taste does not change depending on the smoking method.

Important! Without exposure to high temperature, the carcass remains more elastic, but hot processing will take less time.

There are no elements in salmon that negatively affect humans; all components are beneficial for the body.

This fish has a high level of fatty amino acids. The most valuable of them is Omega-3. Normal function of the endocrine, cardiovascular and nervous systems is impossible without this element. The protein composition of salmon is beneficial for digestion. Vitamins B and PP improve brain activity. D and E improve the elasticity of vessel walls and prevent thrombosis. Vitamin C strengthens the immune system.

Composition and effect of microelements:

magnesium stabilizes the nervous system and acts as an antidepressant;
fluoride is necessary for teeth;
potassium is involved in the blood circulation process;
iron is indispensable for hematopoiesis;
phosphorus contributes to the normal functioning of internal organs;
calcium strengthens bones;
Iodine is beneficial for the endocrine system.

Important! Salmon prepared by any method (except smoking) can be consumed without restrictions, unless there is an individual intolerance.

Before smoking, the product is pre-salted, so the salt concentration at the exit is high. During processing at home, carcinogens are deposited on salmon, especially during cold smoking. Therefore, people with chronic kidney disease, hypertensive patients and pregnant women need to limit the use of the product.

The calorie content of fresh salmon per 100 g is 206 kcal. Product contains:

proteins – 23 g;
carbohydrates – 0;
fats – 15.5 g;
cholesterol – 1.8 g;
ash – 8.35 g.

The rest of the product is water.

Salmon can replenish microelements and vitamins lost during weight loss.Fish is included in the diet to lose excess weight.

The nutritional value varies depending on the method of culinary processing, for example, the calorie content of cold smoked salmon is 202 kcal. Fat content – 12.6 g, protein – 22.4 g, no carbohydrates. The product is useful for people leading an active lifestyle. It is necessary to normalize energy balance.

The lowest caloric value is found in hot smoked salmon, it is only 155 kcal, fat in the product is 8 g, protein is 20.1 g, and there are no carbohydrates. The presence of salt makes fish undesirable on a weight loss menu.

The smokehouse must include a tray for collecting fat and a grate for raw materials.

Principles and methods of smoking salmon

Smoking salmon is divided into two methods: hot and cold. The taste of the fish will not differ significantly. The methods have different technologies and cooking times.

Important! During cold smoking, the nutritional value of salmon is completely preserved.

When hot smoking, the product loses some of its nutrients due to high temperature. But the process is less troublesome, and processing will take little time.

The whole carcass or its parts are subject to smoking: ridge, head, abdomen. Salmon is mainly prepared in a smokehouse, but if there is no special equipment, you can get a product close to the taste in a convection oven. You can quickly cook smoked salmon using liquid smoke.

Salmon scales are small and fit tightly to the carcass.

Selection and preparation of fish

Salmon is one of the species that is bred in artificial conditions. The price of the product is high, but the fish is not in short supply and is available for free sale in specialized stores or hypermarkets. Salmon is sold frozen or chilled.You can find steak or meat in vacuum packaging. It is better to choose a chilled product, since it will be easier to determine the freshness of the fish.

Attention! If you buy a cut and packaged carcass, then pay attention to the processing date and the deadline for sale.

Signs of fresh chilled salmon:

The scales of salmon are light gray or white, in the abdomen they have a pearlescent tint, and there are black dots of different sizes along the ridge. Yellow areas, damaged scales, and the presence of a slimy coating indicate poor quality fish.
The eyes are transparent, with a clearly defined pupil, slightly convex. Sunken eye sockets and a cloudy surface are a sign of a stale product.
The gills are light pink, without dark areas. If they are brown, the fish is stale; if they are white or gray with bloody streaks, it is a sign that the carcass has already been frozen several times.
The structure of the carcass is elastic; when pressed, no dents should remain.

The presence of a rancid smell of fish oil can only be found in a low-quality product.

When choosing a dressed carcass, pay attention to the color of the muscle fibers. Fresh salmon has light pink meat. A bright color indicates that dye has been added to the stale product.

It is better not to use frozen salmon for smoking. After cold processing, the meat will be loose, and during hot smoking it will break down into fibers.

Cleaning and cutting

They ate small salmon carcasses; they smoked them as a whole; larger specimens were subject to cutting. Cleaning salmon does not differ from generally accepted technology:

To prevent the fish from slipping in your hands, wear regular fabric work gloves. The scales are removed from the surface of the carcass.
The abdomen is cut open and the entrails are removed.Milk or caviar is not used for smoking; they are put aside.
The gills are removed.

The carcass is washed well. It is ready for subsequent cutting:

You will need a large knife for this work. At the beginning of the process, the head is removed. To ensure an even cut, it is separated in one movement.
The dorsal fins are removed.
A continuous incision is made along the ridge. Divide the carcass into two parts.
The bone skeleton remaining on one side is removed. The ridge is cut off in a thin strip along with the caudal fin, and the remains of small bones are selected.
The fins are cut off from the peritoneum.
On the lower part there are strips with the main accumulation of fat (tesha), they can be left or cut off for separate smoking.
Important! If the salmon is large, it is divided into steaks.

Recipes for salting salmon for smoking

Dry salting of fish before smoking is one of the simple and quick preparation methods. You can use spices for this purpose, but in the classic version, one salt is enough. It is evenly applied to the inside and outside of the carcass.

Place the fish in a container and leave for 1.5-2 hours for hot smoking and six hours for cold smoking

Take out the salmon and wash off the salt. To evaporate excess moisture, lay it out on a cloth napkin.

How to marinate salmon for smoking

There are a lot of marinade recipes for salmon. They are universal or special for hot or cold smoking.

Classic recipe for any method:

water – 2 l;
salt – 35 g;
sugar – 5 g (can be omitted);
bay leaf – 1-2 pcs.;
dried dill, parsley - optional:
peppercorns – 6 pcs.

All ingredients are mixed and boiled for ten minutes. After the marinade has cooled, add the fish and leave for eight hours. Take out and dry until the liquid has completely evaporated.

Marinade for cold smoked salmon:

water – 1 l;
salt – 250 g;
garlic – 3 cloves;
wine (red) – 100 ml;
sugar – 75 g;
lime – 2 pcs.;
mint, basil - to taste.

Preparing the marinade:

Heat water, add salt and sugar, boil for 7-10 minutes
Chop the garlic and add to the boiling liquid.
Squeeze the lime and pour in the juice.
Add herbs and pepper.
Pour boiling marinade over the fish in a container and leave for five days.

Air dry the salmon for four hours.

How to smoke salmon

Alder or fruit trees are used as a source of smoke. They do not leave any bitterness after processing. For hot smoking, use wood chips, not sawdust, since the latter quickly burns out and does not have time to raise and maintain the desired temperature. Processing methods differ according to technology.

After heat treatment, the fish turns out soft, with easily separated fibers

Hot smoked salmon recipes

The process of hot smoking salmon (pictured) involves processing raw materials at a given temperature. A smokehouse is used as equipment in an open place.

You can prepare the product at home in an air fryer.

Smoking salmon in a hot smoker

To properly smoke hot smoked salmon, it is necessary to maintain a certain temperature in the smokehouse. The equipment must be made of thick metal, the wall thickness is at least 3-4 mm, otherwise it will be possible to control the process. A low indicator will not give the desired result; the fish will turn out half-baked. Too high a temperature will dry out the workpiece and it may even burn.

Classic recipe for hot smoked salmon in a smokehouse (in its entirety):

Wood chips are placed at the bottom, the equipment is closed and put on fire.
When smoke comes out from under the lid, install a grease tray and grate.
Lay out the fish loosely so that hot air can pass between the carcasses unhindered.
The smoke should be uniform and white.
Raise the temperature to + 250 0C. If the smokehouse is not equipped with a thermometer, then determine the optimal heating with water. To do this, drop onto the surface: if the water evaporates with a hiss, then the temperature is normal, if it rebounds, then it is too high and needs to be adjusted.
The smoking process lasts 1.5 hours.
The salmon is removed from the grill and the dish can be served immediately.

Hot smoked salmon ridges

The ridges are smoked in the same way as whole carcasses. The process differs in time and temperature. It takes 30 minutes for the product to be ready. For the first 15 minutes the process takes place in a closed smokehouse, the rest of the time without a lid, as this is necessary for the evaporation of moisture. The temperature in the equipment is maintained no higher than + 120 0C.

After completing the process, remove the smokehouse from the heat and ventilate the ridges for 2-3 hours on the grill

Bellies, fillets, heads of hot smoked salmon

All parts of the fish can be cooked at the same time, since the temperature and time until done are the same. A crosspiece will be required as additional equipment.

Smoking:

All workpieces are tied with twine.
Suspended in a vertical position on the structure.
The crosspiece is installed in the smokehouse when smoke comes out of it.
Raise the temperature to + 80 0C.
Leave for 40 minutes, remove from heat and leave the smokehouse closed for 1.5 hours.

Before serving, remove the twine from the salmon

How to cook hot smoked salmon in an air fryer

Preparatory dry salting is not suitable for hot smoking salmon in an air fryer.Use any marinade recipe.

Preparation:

The low grill of the air fryer is coated with oil so that the carcass does not stick to it.
Lay out the raw materials.
A high grille is installed on top.
A container for wood chips is placed on it and the material is filled. The container can be replaced with foil folded in several layers.
The device is closed and the temperature is set to + 200 0C. The required time is 40 minutes.
Advice! To prevent the smell of smoke in the room, place the convection oven under the hood or take it out onto the balcony.
If the sides of the salmon begin to burn, do not change the temperature, but reduce the smoking time

Smoking salmon steak at home

Pre-salted fish is cut into steaks of a convenient size. Smoking can be done at home using a mini smokehouse.

Preparation:

The wood chips are moistened and wrapped in foil in the form of an envelope. Make holes on the surface.
Place the bag on the bottom of the smokehouse.
Place a tray and a grid with pieces of salmon on top and close.
Place on gas and leave for 40 minutes.

To evaporate the moisture, 10 minutes before cooking, open the smokehouse, release steam and leave until the process is completed.

Allow the fish to cool before eating

Cold smoked salmon recipes

The cold smoking process is longer. The temperature inside the equipment does not exceed + 30 0C. Salting is done in a marinade, less often in a dry way. Salmon prepared using this last method will be saltier and tougher. Only well-dried raw materials are used. After removing the salmon from the marinade, ventilate it for at least two days.

The resulting fish is firm and has a bright golden color.

How to smoke salmon in a cold smoker

A recipe with a photo of cold smoked salmon will help you prepare a good quality product:

Use equipment equipped with a smoke generator.
The blanks are wrapped in gauze and hung on hooks in a wooden or cardboard box. To keep the salmon in the smoke, the box is covered.
Turn on the smoke generator and create a temperature of + 30-40 0C. Smoking will last 5-6 hours.
After cold smoking is completed, the fish is ventilated in a suspended state for at least a day.

Cold smoking salmon with liquid smoke

Treatment with liquid smoke is a convenient method that does not require equipment or pre-salting. The taste and color of salmon prepared in this way does not differ from the natural product.

The recipe is designed for 1 kg of raw materials:

sugar – 1 tbsp. l.;
salt – 4 tbsp. l.;
water – 1 l;
liquid smoke – 80 ml.

Cooking process:

Processed salmon can be used whole or cut up.
Boil water with salt and sugar.
Liquid smoke is added to the cooled solution.
The salmon is placed in a container and poured with cold marinade, and pressure is set.

Place in the refrigerator for three days. Take out, hang and air for 12 hours.

After removing salmon from the marinade, do not rinse it.

Recipe for cold smoking bellies or salmon fillets

After cutting the carcass, strips of the abdomen are separated from the fillet.

Advice! Males are used for this purpose; females do not have a fat layer, the lower part is thin and lean.

Salmon meat is better suited for cold smoking. During heat treatment, the fat melts, the workpiece becomes hard and dry.

The fillet is divided into longitudinal parts so that they are the same size as the steaks. This is necessary for pre-salting.

Use the dry method.Rub the workpiece with salt with or without the addition of spices and keep in the refrigerator for two hours. Then wash off the salt and ventilate the raw materials. You can use a room fan.

Smoked in a suspended form using a smoke generator. The process takes 3-4 hours. The temperature must be maintained at + 40 0C.

After completion of the process, the product is ventilated for 6-8 hours

Storage rules

Store the product at a temperature not exceeding + 4 0C. A refrigerator is used for this purpose in warm weather. To prevent the food from becoming saturated with the smell of smoking, the fish is wrapped in foil or baking paper. The shelf life of salmon depends on the cooking method. After heat treatment, the dish can be consumed for no more than three days. The cold method increases the shelf life to two weeks. If there is a lot of salmon, it is placed in vacuum bags, the air is removed and frozen.

Conclusion

Cold smoked salmon does not lose its beneficial elements and is stored for a long time. Cooking fish will require time and special equipment. The hot processing method is more economical, but the shelf life of the product is shorter. Smoked fish prepared by any of these methods is no different in taste and appearance. The video “Smoking salmon at home” will come to the aid of novice cooks.