Smoking is one of the most delicious and popular ways of cooking fish. The benefits of smoked meats from store shelves are a big question, but smoking in home smokehouses is another matter. Even if you don’t have the skills, you can cook fish yourself, so if you decide to get down to business, it’s important to take a responsible approach to choosing a product and follow the processing technology.
How long does smoked fish last?
Smoking is not only a way to give fish a characteristic taste and aroma, but also to preserve the product for some time. At the same time, the shelf life is directly affected by the method of preparation, packaging, conditions (humidity, temperature, air access) and the type of smoked fish.
Thus, the cold method produces a shelf-stable product, since it is well saturated with smoke and salt. You can store it for up to 10 days in the refrigerator, but certain types of fish spoil earlier and with careful processing, for example, mackerel, horse mackerel. Low temperature conditions and vacuum packaging facilitate long-term storage of up to 30 days, and at -18ﹾC fish can be stored for 60 days.
A product prepared by hot smoking is perishable and can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 2-3 days; for a frozen product, the period increases to a month.
How to store smoked fish?
Hot smoked fish cannot be stored in the refrigerator for a long time. The maximum storage time is no more than four days, after which the product must be disposed of.
Cold smoked fish can be stored much longer. In the refrigerator, fish can remain fresh for a long time by wrapping the carcasses in gauze or other thin cloth.
You can use canvas bags for storage and store the carcasses in this form in the cellar or attic. The use of dry sawdust for storage can also have a beneficial effect on the duration of the storage process of the finished product.
Note! Smoking fish using any of the presented methods is not so difficult, but an exciting activity, which will subsequently allow you to enjoy a wonderful fish delicacy without containing nitrates. The most important thing in the smoking process is to observe your own safety measures.
The best types of fish for smoking
Almost any fish, both sea and freshwater, can be smoked, and the final result will be significantly affected by the fat content of the product, the structure of the pulp, the elasticity of the skin, as well as the dimensions of the carcasses. Smoking methods are fundamentally different, which also needs to be taken into account when deciding which fish would be best to smoke.
For cold smoking
You can choose river or sea fish; it is better if it is fattier, then the flesh will be more tender. The processing process takes a lot of time from several hours to 5 days. The larger the carcasses, the longer they will be smoked, so it is advisable to choose small or medium-sized fish, and chop large ones.
Sea creatures are best suited for cold smoking; the most popular are salmon, chum salmon, pink salmon, salmon, mackerel, herring, and mullet, although with the right approach to smoking, river species also work well.
For hot smoking
For hot cooking, fatty fish with a thick skin that does not allow the carcass to fall apart is well suited (during the processing process, the meat becomes looser, and the skin holds its shape). The carcass inevitably loses fat during smoking, so fatty varieties will be more juicy. Bream, ide, asp, burbot, perch, and pike perch are good fish. For the hot cooking method, not only river fish, but also sea fish are suitable; mackerel, which is characterized by sufficient fat content, is ideal in this regard.
Regardless of the method used, it is best to choose fresh fish. In the absence of this, a chilled or frozen product is also suitable, but it is important to determine the quality and freshness of the carcasses. You need to pay attention to the smell, appearance and evaluate the condition of the fish, and then purchase or refrain from purchasing.
The fish should defrost naturally; you should not resort to using a microwave or other methods of accelerated defrosting, since these actions will negatively affect the structure of the fibers, and subsequently the smoking result.
You can smoke carcasses correctly by choosing fish of the same type and size. Only then can you count on uniform salting and smoking.
Preparing fish for smoking
Preparatory work includes several stages, and the next important step will be the mandatory pre-processing of the product. So, before the smoking procedure, you will need to cut and salt the fish.
Cleaning and cutting fish
Preparing fish for hot and cold smoking differs insignificantly. So, the first thing you need to do is sort the product by size, clean and gut it.
It is enough to wash small fish well, there is no need to gut it, medium-sized carcasses are freed from the entrails and gills, the head can be left, large fish are gutted and decapitated. Large carcasses are rarely smoked whole; they are usually prepared for cutting - they are cut crosswise into steaks or along the backbone to obtain fillets.
If you plan to cook whole carcasses, leave the scales. It will serve as a barrier that will prevent fat from leaking out, retain its shape and protect against the penetration of carcinogens contained in smoke. The result is a tasty, juicy and healthy fish.
Gutting is done to avoid the bitter taste of smoked fish. After cleaning, the carcass is washed and dried with napkins.
Pickling
The next stage of preparation involves salting. Salting fish before smoking most often means generously rubbing it with coarse salt on all sides, including the inside. You can add pepper, bay leaf and other spices to the salt as desired.
When the carcass has been thoroughly salted, it is placed in a suitable container, with salt also poured on the bottom, and placed in the refrigerator, where the product should be salted from several hours to two days, depending on the consistency of the meat, the size and number of fish.
If we are talking about dry fibrous fish, it is placed under pressure, sprinkling layers of salt (in the case of a large number of fish), as a result of which it releases liquid that mixes with the dry marinade. When preparing to smoke fatty varieties, carcasses sprinkled with salt are covered with cling film or wrapped in parchment.
Upon completion of salting, the fish should be washed thoroughly. When planning to cook carcasses by hanging, they are pre-tied so that they retain their shape.
Pickling
Another method and alternative to dry pickling is marinating with liquid brine. There are many options for how to marinate fish for smoking. The marinade is usually based on water or vegetable oil, and adding spices and herbs will give it a more refined taste. Most often they use basil, dill, parsley, coriander, garlic, a mixture of peppers and bay leaves, and you can experiment with spices, but you should not overdo it, so as not to interrupt the natural fishy taste. Some recipes also involve the use of marinating products such as honey, citrus juices, soy sauce and other ingredients.
You can prepare a spicy marinade for hot smoked fish according to a traditional recipe. For this you will need:
- water – 1 l;
- salt – 5 tbsp. l.;
- garlic – 3 cloves (chopped);
- coriander, thyme, ginger - 0.5 tsp each.
The ingredients are mixed and boiled for at least half an hour, then the marinade is removed from the heat and cooled. The processed fish is placed in a suitable container and filled with brine. Place the container in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours or more. The marinated carcasses are dried with napkins.
Drying
After salting, the fish should be dried, for which the carcasses are hung in a draft or in a well-ventilated area. The product should dry for at least 1-1.5 hours. You can also dry the carcasses by wrapping them in parchment and leaving them in the refrigerator for 2 hours, then proceed directly to hot smoking.
To prevent insects from touching the fish, if it is ventilated outside, the carcasses are wrapped in gauze or paper.
In the case of cold smoking, the carcasses are aired for about a day, after which the dried fish is sent to the smokehouse.
Regardless of the chosen method, there should be no moisture remaining in the fibers, otherwise, under the influence of high temperatures, the fish will be cooked and not smoked, but when using the cold method, the moisture will become a good breeding ground for bacteria and the carcasses will begin to decompose.
Technology
When hot smoking, different temperatures and cooking times are used. For familiarization, you can use technologies applied to meat. The home cooking method differs from the options used on an industrial scale.
There are three methods of hot smoking:
- hot – 30-50 degrees;
- semi-hot – 60-80 degrees;
- high temperature – 80-110 degrees.
The preparation process includes the following stages:
- Ambassador.
- Soaking.
- Drying.
Which ambassador is used:
- dry - rubbing the meat with salt, putting it in vats. It takes 15-50 days;
- wet - pouring with cold brine;
- mixed;
- short-term
At the beginning of smoking, the temperature is kept within 10-12 degrees. The process then continues for a day or more. The readiness of meat and fish is determined by appearance. After cooking, the pieces are quickly cooled and dried.
Why cut up meat?
Hot or cold processing often requires cutting meat, lard, and fish into pieces. This is an important condition for beginner cooks. If you don't cut it, the cooking process will become difficult.
Causes:
- Most smokehouses do not allow you to cook large pieces, so you have to reduce the portions to fit into the device.
- Large pieces cook unevenly. Therefore, the cook may encounter meat that is ready in appearance, but raw inside.
- Having placed pieces of different sizes in the smokehouse, it is difficult to monitor their readiness. Large pieces will be ready later than small pieces.
It is also easier to prepare meat for smoking in small portions.
Salting of raw materials
Using a suitable type of salting, the raw materials are prepared. Before you place meat or fish in your home smoker, you need to prepare it. Each cook uses his own processing method.
Process of salting raw materials:
- Meat or other product is cut into pieces. Salted. The salt concentration should be within 1.5-2%.
- Salting is done with salt or solution. It is important to maintain proportions relative to the mass of the product.
- The pieces are rubbed with salt and laid out in layers.
- The solution is taken 10-15%.
- The product is kept for 2-3 hours. Then dry.
Preparing wood chips and spices/herbs
For hot smoking methods, smoke chips, shavings, and wet sawdust are used. Homemade products are processed with smoke from deciduous and fruit trees. Needles are not used for this method of preparation, as they contain a large percentage of resins. Some lovers of smoked dishes additionally use grape vines for a memorable aroma.
For smoking, take several handfuls of wood chips into a small or large smokehouse. A large amount of sawdust or wood will cause the finished dishes to taste bitter.
Spices are chosen depending on the type of product and your own preferences. Vinegar, red or white wine with lemon juice are used for meat and fish. Spices include black, white, red and allspice. Bay leaf and mustard add flavor and spiciness. The aroma is improved with cloves. Horseradish, juniper, basil, cardamom, nutmeg, celery, thyme and cumin are added to marinades.
Important! The cold cooking method makes the food softer.
Temperature conditions and smoking time
Owners of a hot smoked smokehouse at home take a long time to adapt to the peculiarities of choosing a temperature regime. The correct selection of value is influenced not only by the product, but also by the design.
How to make the right choice:
- Red fish is cooked at a minimum of 25 degrees. Other fish products need 38 degrees.
- The minimum for meat is 42 degrees.
- The average temperature is 90 degrees.
- The most delicious meat is obtained when smoked at 80-100 degrees. If the product has been heat-treated before, 40-60 is enough. Shelf life - no more than 3 weeks.
- The temperature for fish ranges from 60 to 140 degrees. Shelf life – up to 3 days.
- Game and poultry are cooked at 100 degrees. The boiled product is processed at 60. Storage is allowed for up to 3 weeks.
- Homemade sausage is smoked at 60-120 degrees.
Advice! For aroma, cherry leaves or juniper are thrown into the smokehouse.
How to cook hot smoked delicacies
You can make delicious smoked meat and fish dishes in a home or commercial smokehouse. The advantages of homemade devices are in the optimal selection of parameters. But in this case, it is necessary to strictly follow the manufacturing technology, since errors will affect the cooking process.
The simplest cooking method occurs in several stages:
- Selection of raw ingredients, semi-finished products.
- Ambassador.
- Preparing wood, herbs and spices.
- Temperature maintenance in the smokehouse.
- Holding meat or fish at the optimal temperature for the right amount of time.
- Drying the product.
To prepare a dish correctly, you need to individually select the recipe for the type of raw material.
The process of smoking fish in a smokehouse
There are two main methods: hot and cold. They are fundamentally different, and therefore different smokehouses are used for each. We will look at how to smoke fish correctly using both methods.
At what temperature should you smoke fish?
When hot smoking, the fish is processed with smoke at a temperature of about 100ﹾC, it can vary in the range of 80-120ﹾC, depending on the specific method, but in any case, the hot method involves maintaining a high temperature in the chamber.
Cold smoking is carried out at low temperatures of about 20-30ﹾC, no more. This is the main difference between processing methods, which also determines the cooking time.
How long does it take to smoke fish?
The time of the procedure depends on several factors, and first of all it is the method of preparation. Hot smoking is done quickly, but cold smoking is a long process that can last for several days.
How long it will take to smoke hot or cold smoked fish also depends on the volume of raw materials and the size of the carcasses, therefore, in order to reduce time, large fish are usually not smoked whole.
On average, during hot processing, small fish are smoked for no more than half an hour, medium ones up to 40 minutes or an hour, and large carcasses will need a little more time, about 3 hours.
Cold processing is performed for at least 24 hours for small fish; 3-4 days or even more will be required to process larger fish.
Determine readiness based on appearance. The surface of the carcass becomes golden in color, the meat at the fins is white, and the fins themselves easily separate from the flesh.
How to hot smoke fish in a smokehouse
The smokehouse for hot smoking includes the following elements:
- capacity 10-12 l;
- a tray where fat drains during the process;
- a grid on which processed products are laid out, or slats for hanging carcasses;
- a lid that tightly closes the smokehouse.
Each recipe for preparing fish in a hot smoked smokehouse for different varieties differs in the method of marinating the product and in some nuances, but the general principle of how to cook hot smoked fish remains the same:
- the bottom of the chamber is lined with wood chips, it will be enough to take 2-3 handfuls if there is not too much fish (chips of fruit trees, alder and other deciduous trees are used, you can add some branches and juniper berries to the main wood material). The wood chips are slightly moistened to prevent fire;
- a tray for collecting fat is installed;
- above there is a grate or slats, on which previously prepared fish is then laid out or hung (the carcasses are placed at a short distance from each other, about 1 cm, so that they can be smoked evenly);
- the smokehouse is covered with a lid and placed on a fire source (grill fire, gas stove, burner);
- After about 10 minutes, the bottom of the unit will become hot and the sawdust will begin to smolder. The smoking process is measured from the moment white smoke comes out from under the smokehouse lid;
- During the process, you can carefully open the lid to control the preparation of the product.
After smoking, the product should be cooled in a smokehouse and ventilated from excess smoke in the fresh air for an hour.
How to cold smoke fish in a smokehouse
The smokehouse for preparing products by cold smoking includes:
- container for processing products;
- firebox;
- a chimney that connects the firebox to the container.
A homemade smokehouse requires control over the process, while industrial smokehouses are simpler and feature automation of the process, so you don’t need to observe and intervene during smoking.
The fish should be placed in the smokehouse, the fire should be lit, after which smoke will flow into the container, cooling along the way through the chimney (the length of the pipe is at least 1.5 m). The temperature should not exceed 30ﹾC. The process of continuous smoking lasts at least a day, and in the case of large carcasses it can last for 5-7 days. The procedure cannot be paused for the first 8 hours, so you should take care of the required amount of wood chips and firewood; then you can interrupt the process, but it is worth considering that this will increase the smoking time. The finished product must be ventilated in fresh air for at least 12 hours.
Ventilation removes toxins from the product and makes the fish taste richer. This is the final stage of cooking and should not be ignored.
How to smoke hot smoked fish
If you plan to regularly cook home-smoked fish , then for these purposes you can purchase an industrially manufactured smokehouse at an affordable price. If you just want to try your hand at this, then you can build a smokehouse from available materials: a metal box or an old barrel is quite suitable for these purposes.
An important element for the proper organization of the smoking process is the selection of sawdust or tree branches for these purposes. It should be borne in mind that not every type of wood is suitable for this. In particular, despite the fact that pine tree species (spruce, pine, etc.) emit a pleasant odor, sawdust from them cannot be used for smoking - during the combustion process they release resin, which settles not only on the walls of the smokehouse, but also on the products themselves. The most suitable for smoking are branches and sawdust of deciduous trees: oak, ash, maple, etc. Branches of fruit trees, which are found in almost every home garden, are also good for this: apple trees, cherries, pears, etc.
There are no restrictions on the types of fish for smoking, however, as practice shows, the most delicious as a result of this method of cooking are silver carp, carp, pike, pike perch, etc.
How to cook smoked fish at home without a smokehouse
There is another cooking method that involves the use of liquid smoke. So, smoking fish can be done at home without a smokehouse, although by and large, this is not really smoking.
Liquid smoke can be purchased in stores or prepared independently, which requires burning wood and passing the emitted smoke through a pipe directed into water. When the smoke is collected, the water is filtered to rid it of combustion products that could get in with the smoke. The pieces are soaked in liquid smoke for 4 hours, after which they are fried on a grill or grill.
Smoking, regardless of the method, is not a complicated process and can be done by anyone, but one must strictly adhere to the technology and observe safety measures.
DIY smokehouse
A hot smoked smokehouse at home can be made of brick or metal. A good option for an apartment can be obtained from metal sheets.
What do you need:
- metal sheets 2 mm thick, 61x156.5 cm - 2 pieces;
- welding machine;
- Bulgarian;
- meter;
- corner;
- fittings
How to do:
- Cut the sheet of metal into 4 parts.
- Weld 2 sheets using the drip method and align the joint with a corner. Cook 4 sides.
- Check for leaks.
- Cut out the bottom and weld.
- Make a lid.
- Weld the handles and rods. Make rods for hanging.
- Use an electric stove or fire as a generator.
An apartment is not the best place to use homemade structures.
Important! A prerequisite is complete tightness.
