Smoking is a special treatment of meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, fruits with smoke, which is formed during the slow combustion of sawdust.
The smoking process gives the products an appetizing aroma, unique taste, beautiful color. Of course, smoked ham, sausage, salmon steak or smoke-treated mackerel are unlikely to please anyone.
Smoked products retain freshness and taste for a long time. During the treatment with smoke, bacteria are killed, the products partially lose moisture and are preserved.
Even our primitive ancestors processed their prey on an open fire, that is, they smoked. Since then, people have come up with many devices and marinade recipes for smoking fish, meat and other delicacies.
Smoking methods
Phenols, acetic and formic acids, and fractions of resinous substances and aldehydes give a special taste and aroma to smoked products. They are produced in the process of special heat treatment by smoke during smoking.
There are several smoking methods that depend on the temperature of the smoke and the duration of the treatment:
Any method is based on the principle of constant circulation of the smoke stream through the cooked product; treatment with open flames is not allowed (the smoking product should not be baked or fried).
The process of processing products with smoke is carried out in a special device - a smokehouse.
What method of smoking to choose
Cold smoking involves smoke treatment with a temperature of 12 to 24 degrees, humidity in the range of 75-85 percent. The product is prepared in such conditions from three to five days, sometimes the process can take several weeks. When cold smoked, the liquid from the meat or fish leaves slowly, the products are slowly saturated with the aromas of smoking, dehydrated, but retain fat. The finished product is stored for a long time.
Half-smoking is carried out on a smoldering haze at a temperature of 30 to 50 degrees and humidity more than 80 percent. With this method, the product is prepared no more than 24 hours, its shelf life is not more than two weeks.
Hot smoking is the fastest and easiest way to get delicious fish or meat. The process takes only two or three hours. Smoking products, which are subsequently supposed to cook, occurs at a temperature of 40 to 60 degrees. To get a completely smoked product ready for use, the cooking process must be carried out at a temperature of 100 degrees. Ready-made smoked meats by this method are not stored for long.
Wet smoking is used to accelerate the "ripening" of raw sausages or ham. Smoking is done at a haze temperature of about 25 degrees and high humidity (up to 100 percent).
Smoking: fish preparation
At home, you can smoke anything you want: meat, fish, sausages, cheese, chicken, vegetables and fruits.
Perhaps the most popular product for smoking is fish. In order to cook a high-quality delicacy, it is not enough to have a smokehouse, set the correct temperature, and provide the desired humidity. The taste of smoked meats depends on the preliminary preparation of the product. It is important to choose a suitable marinade for smoking fish.
For all methods of smoking, the following rules should be observed:
- the fish should be thoroughly washed;
- gut large fish, remove entrails and head;
- the fish should be salted (grate with salt or pickle in saline);
- before smoking in the smokehouse, prepared fish must be dried.
Below we offer some simple marinade recipes for smoking fish at home.
Marinade for fish: a universal recipe
We offer a universal marinade for smoking fish at home. The recipe is simple, a small amount of ingredients is required. Fish prepared according to it can be smoked in any way (hot or cold) as desired.
Required Products:
- fish - two pieces of medium size;
- soy sauce - one glass;
- white wine (semi-sweet) - one glass;
- citric acid - one tablespoon;
- spicy herbs (rosemary, thyme), spices for fish - to taste;
- bay leaf - to taste;
- granulated sugar - 1/2 or 1 spoon (teaspoon).
Wash the fish thoroughly, clean it, put it in the refrigerator for one hour.
Dilute citric acid in a glass of cold water (can be replaced with one glass of natural lemon juice).
Pour soy sauce, diluted citric acid, wine into the pan, add herbs and spices to taste, granulated sugar, mix everything.
Put the pot with marinade on the fire and heat it up (do not bring to a boil!).
Remove the pan from the heat, cool the marinade a little.
Remove the fish from the refrigerator, make transverse cuts, put bay leaves in them. Then put the fish in the marinade.
Fish should be completely covered with marinade. If there is not enough liquid, then you should additionally prepare another portion.
Put the marinade-filled fish in the refrigerator for eight or ten hours (the longer, the better).
Remove the pickled fish from the pan, grate with spices.
The product for smoking is ready.
The proposed marinade recipe for smoking fish in the smokehouse allows you to get a fragrant delicacy with a delicate taste.
Spicy pickle
To prepare a spicy marinade for hot smoked fish, you need:
- water - two liters;
- food salt - four tablespoons (tablespoons);
- lemon - one piece;
- an orange is one thing;
- onion - two pieces;
- bay leaf - six pieces;
- granulated sugar - two spoons (teaspoons);
- ground cinnamon - to taste;
- ground pepper (red, black) - to taste;
- rosemary, sage, thyme - to taste.
Wash the fish thoroughly, clean, gut, remove the head, put in the refrigerator for one hour.
Large lemon, orange, onion.
Pour water into a saucepan, put on fire, bring to a boil.
Pour salt, granulated sugar into boiling water, put chopped onions, orange, lemon, bay leaf, pepper, cinnamon and herbs. Boil the marinade for 10 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat, cool the marinade.
Remove the fish from the refrigerator, pour cold brine, marinate for 10 or 12 hours.
Remove the pickled carcasses from the brine, leave in the air for two hours.
Smoke hot.
Spicy marinade for hot smoked fish allows you to get a delicacy with a delicate taste and spicy citrus aroma.
Cold smoked marinating (long)
Any fish is suitable for cold-smoked fish, but it is better to give preference to carp, mackerel, salmon and silver carp.
Before cold smoked fish should be salted. This procedure disinfects and disinfects carcasses of fish from germs and parasites.
There are two types of salting (pickling) of fish before cold smoking.
The first method involves soaking the cleaned and gutted fish in a strong saline solution. To prepare it, you should dissolve 100 grams of salt in one liter of water.
Put the prepared carcasses into a container, fill with a solution and leave in a cold place for 12 or 14 hours. One and a half parts of the solution are relied on for one part of the fish, that is, 1.5 liters of liquid should be taken per kilogram of fish.
Fast marinating for cold smoked
The second method involves the following marinade recipe for cold smoked fish.
Required Products:
- edible salt - based on 200 grams per liter of water;
- ground pepper (black, white) and allspice - to taste;
- bay leaf - a few pieces;
- nutmeg - to taste;
- oregano - to taste;
- thyme - to taste;
- dill - to taste.
The marinade is prepared on the basis of the calculation: one liter of fish requires 1.5 liters of solution.
Dissolve the required amount of salt in water, add spices. Pour the cleaned and gutted fish with the prepared marinade for two hours.
Then remove the carcass from the liquid, tie it with a string and leave it in the open air for about one hour. The fish should dry. Then you can begin the smoking process.
Tips experienced
There are many recipes for preparing marinade for pre-processing fish before smoking. Above are some of the simplest, but they will allow you to get a tasty and fragrant smoked meat. It’s not difficult to cook a delicacy at home. To do this, it is not necessary to go fishing or buy a fresh catch, even frozen fish from the supermarket is quite suitable for smoking. And you can build a smokehouse from a bucket or other containers at hand. As they say: "There would be a desire ..."
In their reviews, fish lovers recommend:
- for smoking it is better to choose fresh fatty fish;
- delicious smoked meats are obtained from mackerel, carp, mackerel;
- many believe that ideal products come from cod, bream, perch;
- salmon and salmon when smoked are rather dry, but tasty, you can’t eat a lot of them;
- Smoke is preferred on alder sawdust;
- hot smoked fish tastes better on the second day after cooking;
- even the simplest marinade or pickle makes smoked fish a delicacy.
Bon appetit and tasty catch!