How to make smoked mackerel at home?

The full value of the diet is often determined by the presence of sea fish. Smoked mackerel is preferred by many, because it has absorbed a lot of useful properties. Culinary experts appreciate this fish for its delicate piquant taste of meat, thanks to which it is possible to diversify dishes prepared from it. The product contains a lot of minerals and vitamins necessary for the body, as well as fatty acids.

To keep all the nutrients in the fish, it is better to cook it at home. It is not necessary to have your own site or a special smoking device. It turns out that there is another technology that allows you to do this in an apartment. The result will be simply amazing, and the product will turn out no worse than the production one. We will look at how to make smoked mackerel.

How to choose quality fresh fish?

The choice of mackerel is a fairly simple process, but at the same time decisive. After all, the taste of the delicacy depends on this. No need to hesitate to check the product for smell when you buy it in the market. After all, we want to eventually bring smoked meat to the table with a pleasant smell, without impurities. An important criterion when choosing is the condition of the carcass itself. It should be elastic, not loose when pressed on it. The skin of fresh fish is usually smooth, without spots. If greenish streaks are present on the surface, this indicates a spoiled product. It is necessary to pay attention to the eyes. If they are hollow and muddy, then the product is stale, it has already been lying on the counter for a long time. The gills of fresh mackerel are clean and pink.

What should I look for when buying frozen fish?

But the quality of frozen mackerel is more difficult to determine. In addition, she will have to devote more time to processing and preparing, using some culinary subtleties. How to make smoked mackerel from frozen billets, we will describe below. And in order not to be mistaken with the choice of a product, you need to pay attention to the volume of ice in the briquettes. If there is too much of it, then the fish was re-frozen, and this significantly affects its quality. Such a product will no longer have enough nutrients. And it will taste different.

Training

When preparing frozen carcasses, it is important to preserve their natural taste. To do this as much as possible, you need to very slowly bring them to a mild state. This is the only way to preserve the true qualities characteristic of seafood. For this purpose, carcasses are immersed in ice water or placed in a refrigerator.

Before smoking, fresh fish should be washed well under running water. Then open the belly, gut the insides, cut off the head. And it’s better to leave it whole without even removing the tail. Then you can start the cooking process.

Smoke treatment is, in fact, the smoking that can be cold or hot. The second option involves the thermal treatment of fish, and the first - cooking through cold smoke (pathogenic microorganisms in this method die due to salt). In our case, these are recipes with heat treatment. However, due to some secrets in the use of products, the effects of both cold and hot smoking will be achieved. Moreover, the fish crust acquires a golden color and looks very aesthetically pleasing. This nuance will also be mentioned in our recipes. Take note of how to make smoked mackerel at home, and please your home with healthy dishes.

Recipe with onion peel and black tea

This method is suitable for lovers of all natural. Here, the effect of cold smoking is achieved by a certain technology using onion husks and tea. Thanks to this, you can get a classic skin tone and the same taste of fish as that purchased in a store. You need to take one freshly frozen carcass and place it in ice water. It will require the following ingredients:

• tea - a tablespoon or 4 packets;
• onion peel - about 3 handfuls;
• sugar - 1 tablespoon;
• set of spices - coriander, allspice, cloves, salt, bay leaf;
• vegetable oil - a little to lubricate the skin;
• water - 1 liter.

If all the ingredients are ready for you, then master the culinary process of how to make smoked mackerel in onion peels. So let's get started:

1. When the carcass is completely thawed, it needs to be washed and dried using napkins. Then it is necessary to extract the insides from it, cut off the head, remove the fins.
2. To prepare the marinade, pour water into the pan, pour the husks, tea, salt, sugar into it and add all the spices at once. Bring the liquid to a boil, after which we continue to cook for another five minutes.
3. Turn off the stove and put the carcass into the hot brine. Three minutes will be enough for the fish to absorb all the necessary taste.
4. Then you need to clean the carcass of husk and tea leaves, let it dry. To make it look beautiful, you need to grease the skin with vegetable oil and lay the mackerel on a special dish.

You can serve it hot to the table or wait until it cools down. It would be nice to decorate the delicacy with parsley branches.

In cold brine

We offer a recipe using cold marinade. In it we will use onions through non-waste production. For two large fish, we need to take the following ingredients:

• water - 2 liters;
• salt - 7 tbsp. l (without slide);
• onions - 1 large head;
• peppercorns (10 pcs. allspice and 20 pcs. black);
• black tea without additives - 3 tbsp. l .;
• coriander - a small pinch;
• bay leaf - 4 pcs.;
• sugar - 4 tbsp. l

Cooking process:

1. Remove the peel from the onion, cut it into small cubes.
2. Pour water into the container, in which we will prepare the brine, and pour salt and sugar into it, stir well.
3. Add the onion along with its husk and all other components, put on fire until it boils.
4. Set the marinade to cool, then filter.
5. We put whole carcasses in a large jar, fill it with brine and leave it in a cool place. In two days they will be ready.

With tea leaves

The arsenal of experienced culinary specialists has a secret of how to make smoked mackerel at home with tea leaves, in order to get a classic hot smoked product. For two large carcasses we will need the following ingredients:

• one liter of water;
• sugar - 2 tbsp. l .;
• rice of any grade - 150 g;
• salt - 1–1.5 tbsp. l .;
• loose tea (black) - 2 tbsp. l .;
• bay leaf - 2 pcs.;
• coriander - 1 tsp;
• peppercorns (black) - 10 pcs.

Stages of cooking:

1. First you need to soak the rice in water and let it swell well. To do this, you need to leave it for a day.
2. Then the grains must be mixed with dry tea and placed in foil. Wrap the mixture in such a way that there is a small hole for the release of smoke.
3. The marinade is prepared according to the same principle that has already been described above (with a boiling process). Prepared fish carcasses are placed in it using a press and put everything in the refrigerator for two days.
4. Then we dry the mackerel in a suspended state. And finally, we pass to the most interesting stage. You will now learn how to make smoked mackerel at home using a kind of smokehouse.
5. The bottom of the pan should be covered with foil, put in it a wrapped mixture of tea and rice. Incandescent container and wait for the moment when the ingredients begin to release a slight smoke.
6. Then we place the lattice on the edges of the pan, put fish on it and cover it with a fairly tight lid. After 20-30 minutes, the carcasses should be turned over and smoked on the other side. It is necessary to monitor the fire, the temperature must be set no higher than average.

How to Make Smoked Mackerel with Liquid Smoke: A Step-by-Step Recipe

Liquid smoke is a ready-made solution designed for the wet smoking process. A flavored product is able to endow the product with all the appropriate qualities. It is worth saying right away that this method is less useful, therefore it can be applied to those people who do not have problems associated with the digestive tract. If everything is all right with you, then prepare fragrant mackerel, enjoy its taste and surprise your guests. For three large carcasses, you need to take the following list of ingredients:

• one liter of water;
• four tablespoons of salt;
• 800 ml of liquid flavor;
• one tablespoon of sugar.

Making smoked mackerel with liquid smoke at home is quite simple. Even beginner culinary specialists can do it. The whole process consists of several successive stages:

1. The preparation of carcasses in this case consists in eliminating the viscera; tails and heads need not be cut off.
2. Next, we proceed to the preparation of the marinade: pour the necessary amount of water into the container, bring it to a boil. Then we dissolve the bulk ingredients in the liquid, boil for another minute and turn off the fire.
3. As soon as you remove the hot brine from the stove, immediately add liquid smoke. Stir well the resulting composition.
4. Then you can immerse the fish in brine and press down. In this form, it is left for three days.
5. Then we get the mackerel, rinse thoroughly. Divide it into portions, and the delicacy is ready.

Water-free recipe

Another recipe for how to make smoked mackerel, but already closer to the production product. There is no water in the ingredients, but the amount of liquid smoke has been increased. You just need to take 3 prepared carcasses, a special flavored product in a volume of 50 ml, spices according to your preference (it is better to use only salt and pepper).

Cooking:

1. The processed fish should be washed again under running water.
2. Next, we rub each carcass on all sides with spices and salt.
3. We put it in a container suitable for it in size and fill it with liquid smoke from above. We put the goods and send them in the refrigerator for two days.
4. At the end of the allotted time, the fish must be removed and dried. The final step in this process is weathering. It is necessary for the mackerel to find a cool place and leave it for several hours.

In suspension, the carcasses will be short-lived. However, if you have chosen a place on the balcony or street, then they should be covered with gauze, thus protecting from flies.

Conclusion

Now you know how to make smoked mackerel at home. However, the culinary techniques made with seafood do not end there. After all, there are many recipes for salads, where this fragrant fish acts as an honorable ingredient. Perhaps you have already tried to cook such dishes, then share your secrets with others.