Delicious smoked mackerel at home. smoked mackerel

Mackerel, like no other fish, is perfect for smoking. Moderately fatty, with a small amount of bones, fragrant fish will decorate any table. Cooking mackerel is not difficult, because the craftsmen who can make a homemade smokehouse from an ordinary steel box are not gone.

Ingredients for cooking hot smoked mackerel:
- medium sized mackerel;
- salt;
- spices to taste.

mackerel preparation

It is important to consider two points here:
1. If you bought frozen fish, carefully inspect the fins. The presence of the slightest redness in the color of the fins indicates that the fish was repeatedly thawed and frozen again. If the fish is by all criteria good, defrost it without water or heat - naturally at normal temperature.

2. If the skin of the fish is damaged, then you should not buy such a mackerel - when smoked, the meat will “crawl out” from cracks and holes, the fish will simply look unappetizing.

The fish should be gutted, the gills and the black film inside the abdomen should be removed so that bitterness does not appear. Rinse carcasses and pat dry with paper towels. Then salt the fish. Put the fish in the bag. Add salt at the rate of ½ teaspoon per fish. We tie the package, put it in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours. We turn the package over from time to time so that the fish is salted.

After salting, we wash the mackerel from salt residues, dry it with a towel, put it on an open, non-solar place so that the fish dries.

We put alder chips or thin twigs at the bottom of the smokehouse, lightly sprinkle them with water.

We put a tray directly on the branches, which closes the grate with fish from strong heating during smoking.

We close the lid (in our smokehouse there is a side lid to make it convenient to put the grate with fish), put the smokehouse on the fire stand.

We put three fish on the grate, but so that they do not touch each other.

Open the smokehouse, put on the shelf for 15 minutes.

We check the readiness of the fish with a toothpick on one side.

Cooking time: 30 min

4 servings

What is required to cook hot smoked mackerel at home

Consider the option in which you need to cook this dish for four people. To do this, you will need four carcasses of mackerel and four tablespoons of salt. In addition, you will need the following equipment:

• fresh mackerel;
a set of bowls knife; stainless steel tray;
• food film;
• smokehouse and firewood to it;
• alder sawdust.

The process of smoking mackerel at home

It consists of the following steps:

Fish cleaning

As a rule, mackerel is sold frozen, and the carcasses must first be thawed. To do this, pour cold water into a bowl and place the mackerel there - after an hour and a half, the defrosting process will be completed.

Attention! To speed up the defrosting of mackerel in hot and even warm water it cannot be placed: the meat will soften and may move away from the bones, as a result of which the fish for cooking will be unsuitable.

After defrosting is completed, the heads of the fish carcasses are cut off and the insides are removed, after which they are thoroughly washed and wiped dry.

After that, we make a hole in the tail of the carcass, we pass a twenty-centimeter piece of twine into it, the ends of which we then tie in such a way that a loop forms - it will be needed to hang the carcass in the smokehouse.

Salting

Pour into a deep bowl required amount salt. We take a mackerel carcass, put it in an iron tray, and rub salt there. You should not be overly zealous in this process, otherwise the skin can be torn off the fish, and it will lose its attractive appearance.

One tablespoon of salt will be enough to rub the carcass of mackerel inside and out.

The fish processed in this way is placed in an iron tray, wrapped tightly in cling film and put in the refrigerator for eight to ten hours.

Drying

After the specified time has passed, we remove the tray with fish from the refrigerator, and thoroughly rinse the mackerel carcasses under running tap water. Next, the fish must be dried, and for this purpose it can be hung, for example, in the kitchen - an hour of time with room temperature enough to dry the fish.

In parallel with drying the fish, we prepare alder sawdust for use. To do this, put them in a metal bowl and moisten with water - four tablespoons of water will be enough for two handfuls of sawdust.

Attention! In this process, it is important that the sawdust ends up not too dry and not too wet. In the first case, they will simply burn, and the fish along with them, and in the second, they will not give enough smoke, which will affect the quality of smoking.

Preparing the smokehouse and smoking

Soaked sawdust is laid out in an even layer on the bottom of the smokehouse. After that, to heat the smokehouse, we set fire to firewood, adjusting the flame so that the fire is medium. We string fish carcasses onto the metal crossbars inside the dryer with the help of loops, and we do this in such a way that there is a gap of five to six centimeters between the hung fish.

We cover the smokehouse with a lid as tightly as possible, and keep it in this state for fifteen minutes. Then we open the container, release smoke from it (if this is not done, the fish may taste bitter), after which we put the lid back in place. After thirty minutes, the smoking process will be completed, we remove the fish from the smokehouse, remove it from the crossbar and place it back in the tray. After it has cooled, we hang the carcasses on a rope in a cool place, and leave for four to seven hours.

Then we remove the fish, remove the twine from it, and it, being placed in a tray and put in the refrigerator, can be stored for three to four days.

Attention! Longer storage is undesirable, as mackerel may deteriorate in taste and develop a specific smell.

How hot smoked mackerel is served

Cooked fish can be served in various forms starting from variety of salads and ending with cutting for sandwiches. In addition, mackerel can be served as an appetizer under different types alcoholic beverages. In addition, many housewives have their own recipes for smoked mackerel dishes, so you can also show your creativity in this matter.

To conclude this article, we would like to present a few useful advice, which are useful when cooking hot smoked mackerel at home:

• A small fire is quite suitable for smoking mackerel, but you need to smoke fish on it for at least two hours.
• If you are the owner of a home electric smokehouse, then you need to set the temperature in it to 100 degrees and keep the fish there for an hour and a half.
• In addition to alder, sawdust and other deciduous and coniferous trees are quite suitable for smoking. The only condition is that they must be without bark, otherwise the fish will have a specific aftertaste.
• If desired, in addition to salt, various spices can be used in the preparation of hot smoked mackerel - it all depends on your taste.

Video: hot smoked mackerel

Smoked mackerel is a fish that sometimes really wants to treat yourself and your loved ones. Many people think that it is impossible to cook real smoked meat at home without a smokehouse. However, there is a way - mackerel in onion peel. We offer several interesting delicious recipes cooking mackerel, which is not inferior to expensive store-bought smoked meats.

The aroma and color of such a fish is really similar to. In addition, this dish can also be considered healthy, since it contains only natural ingredients.

For cooking you will need:

• 1 freshly frozen mackerel;
• 1 liter of water;
• 2 large handfuls of onion husks;
• 30 g of rock salt;
• 20 g of sugar;
• 100 g of strong tea leaves;
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander;
• 3-4 peas of allspice and black pepper;
• 3 pcs. bay leaf.

How to cook mackerel:

The fish will be cooked in the marinade. To do this, you need to take an enameled container, pour in water, boil. Add the washed husk, boil for 15 minutes. Remove the container from the heat, cover with a lid, leave for another 15 minutes. Then strain the broth through a strainer, add tea, all spices, mix thoroughly so that the sugar and salt dissolve. Leave until completely cool.

While the brine is cooling, prepare the fish itself (previously defrosted). Trim the tail, head, get rid of the insides. Rinse well, dry with a kitchen towel. Dip the mackerel in the cooled marinade, cover with cling film or a lid, leave in a cool room or refrigerator for 3 days. Turn the carcass a couple of times a day so that it is salted evenly.

Then take out the carcass, put it on a flat plate and let it dry for 2-3 hours. The fish is ready. Before serving, brush it with any vegetable oil, cut into beautiful slices, decorate with fresh herbs.

Recipe number 2. Smoked mackerel in a hurry

This recipe is perfect for when unexpected guests are on the doorstep. It cooks very quickly, almost instantly. The result is delicious smoked mackerel in onion skins.

Ingredients:

• 1 carcass of fresh mackerel;
• 3 handfuls of onion peel;
• 1 liter of water;
• 1 st. coarse salt;
• optional - black pepper, white.

Cooking:

Cut the fish: remove the insides, gills, rinse. The tail and head can be left. Be sure to remove the black film inside the abdomen. It can add bitterness to the finished dish. Wash onion skins, pour into a container, pour water. Put salt, pepper if desired, put on the stove, bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.

Dip the prepared carcass completely into the boiling brine, cook for only 3 minutes. Then remove the fish from the broth, put it on a paper towel, let it cool. Instant smoked mackerel is ready. Slice the fish, garnish with lemon slices, fresh dill and taste boldly.

Recipe number 3. Mackerel cooked in "cold smoked" onion peel

The taste of the finished dish is very similar to cold-smoked fish. The recipe may well replace a truly smoked fish, and take its rightful place on the festive table.

Required Ingredients:

• 2 freshly frozen mackerels;
• 1 liter of water;
• 2 large handfuls of onion husks;
• 30 g coarse salt;
• 15 g of granulated sugar;
• 2-3 cloves;
• 5-6 black peppercorns;
• 2 bay leaves.

Cooking:

Rinse the husk, place it in a saucepan with boiling water. Boil for 20 minutes, add spices, mix. Remove from heat, cover and leave to cool completely.

Gut the fish, remove the head and black film in the abdomen. The tail should not be cut. Lower the fish carcass into, cover with a lid and put oppression so that the fish does not float during the salting process. Place in the refrigerator to marinate for 3 days.

After getting the carcass out of the brine, rinse with water and hang by the tail in a ventilated place (you can on the balcony). If cooking in the warm season, be sure to wrap the fish with a layer of gauze to protect it from insects. Mackerel should hang for 48 hours. During this time, it will dry out and become dried.

smoked mackerel at home in onion peel is ready. Serve fish with fresh vegetables, boiled potatoes and herbs. Such an appetizer will not leave anyone indifferent.

Recipe number 4. Mackerel in onion skins with "liquid smoke"

This recipe will be as similar as possible to smoked fish, since it will be used here. In small quantities, this product is completely harmless. However, you should not use such smoked meats regularly.

Ingredients:

• 2 freshly frozen mackerels;
• 2 large handfuls of husks;
• 1 liter of water;
• 2 tbsp. spoons of kitchen salt;
• 1.5 st. spoons of "liquid smoke".

How to cook:

First, make the marinade. Pour onion peel with water, put on the stove, after boiling, cook for 15 minutes. Strain hot broth, add sugar, salt and smoke. Mix everything well, leave to cool.

At this time, prepare the fish. Remove the insides. If you wish, cut off the tail and head, but you can not do this. Rinse the carcass thoroughly, dip in the smoked marinade. It will marinate for 2 days.

Remove the salted mackerel from the marinade, put on a cutting board to drain excess liquid. You can also hang the fish by the tail over a container or sink for 1-3 hours. Excess moisture will go away, and the mackerel will turn out to be unusually tasty.

1. For these recipes, you can use both fresh and frozen fish. On the palatability ready meal it won't be reflected.
2. Defrost fish in the refrigerator. That way it stays tight.
3. When cooking the marinade, onion peel stains dishes, so choose a container that can be easily washed later.
4. During salting, periodically turn over the fish carcasses, so they are evenly colored and salted.
5. For convenience, mackerel can be marinated in plastic bottles. To do this, cut off the narrow neck, place the carcass in a bottle, pour the marinade and cover with cling film on top.
6. Before serving, for spice, the fish can be sprinkled with fresh lemon juice.

Taking advantage of such simple recipes, you will get a delicious smoked mackerel home cooking. Enjoy a wonderful dish, cook with a positive attitude. Enjoy your meal.

When we start talking about smoked fish, which would be affordable and inexpensive, for some reason we remember mackerel. This representative of mackerels has truly won the love of our consumer, and not only because of the price. Mackerel meat is quite fatty, which makes it unusually tender and soft, and a small number of bones makes it possible to feed even small children with fish.

Useful qualities of mackerel meat

Mackerel can be cooked in any form, and in any form, a deliciously cooked product is obtained, which, moreover, has great benefits for the body, and a detailed analysis chemical composition- confirmation of this. Mackerel meat is rich in proteins, fats, vitamins and trace elements.

Proteins have never hurt anyone, and for those who are active, they are simply necessary. Some dieters try to exclude proteins from their diet. Here they make a gross mistake. It has already been scientifically proven that vegetarianism does not benefit the body, but all because plant foods do not contain those amino acids that are generated from meat. There is no longer any talk of protein, in order to replenish the daily allowance, you will have to eat an incredible amount of “grass”. The fish is able to fill the body with half the norm.

Fats break down very quickly, and they are not deposited in their pure form, which means that it is simply impossible to gain weight from fish. Even the calorie counts prove this statement. 100 grams of mackerel gives an energy output of 190,000 calories. Of course, for fish, the indicator is even lower, but in relative terms, this is not much.

The complex of vitamins contained in mackerel covers all groups. It is even difficult to imagine another such universal product, from which the body would replenish its pantry. Medicine claims that vitamins are able to normalize all vital processes. So, vitamin A has a direct effect on visual acuity, vitamin B stabilizes the central nervous system, improves memory, vitamin C is responsible for immunity, vitamin D is needed for children in the formation of the skeleton.

Microelements also play an important role. In addition to the fact that quite rare metals are present in fish, it is also difficult to find them in their pure form in other products. Smoked fish is one of the cooking methods. Despite the fact that smoked meats are not recommended to be consumed in large quantities, the benefits from them are greater than the harm. When smoked, a lot is preserved useful substances, which cannot be said about boiling or frying.

It is not a problem to buy smoked fish in the store, but hot-smoked products, as you know, will not be stored for a long time, so you are buying a pig in a poke. And, what is important to emphasize, home-cooked hot-smoked mackerel looks much more presentable, and it has no competition in taste.

Choosing fish for smoking

Unfortunately, not every supplier or seller can boast of an impeccable reputation. Today, there are many ways to imitate the freshness of a product that has long expired. That is why when choosing a fish you will have to rely only on your knowledge.

Any literature will indicate that the best raw material for home smoked is live, freshly caught fish. In central Russia, mackerel on the counter can be found smoked, pickled, chilled and frozen. For obvious reasons, the first two options are not considered. Next, I want to prioritize chilled fish. But look at the map, find the area of ​​its commercial production, and then compare the period of transportation with the period of storage of chilled carcasses. Have you changed your mind?

Unfortunately, freezing is considered the best and safest storage method. But if you are sure of the freshness of the fish, then, of course, you should buy chilled mackerel. There are simple rules for choosing fish, which, perhaps, are suitable for each species. If in doubt about the expiration dates indicated on the price tag, then pay attention to the following signs:

• carcasses should not be covered with a sticky opaque substance;
• the film on the eyes is transparent, the eyes themselves are not sunken;
• there is no foreign smell;
• when you press your finger on the meat area, the depression should quickly disappear, indicating proper storage conditions.

Popular recipes for preparing for smoking

Before proceeding to the description of specific actions that should be performed step by step, let's talk about what is meant by the recipe, because the ability to supplement the dish with your own fantasies depends on this understanding. If the smoking process always proceeds in the same way, then it is impossible to say the same about salting.

There is a basic principle that allows you to cook meat or fish so that they become suitable for consumption, it is based on the need to salt the product, and then expose it to temperature. As a result of this, the structure of the protein changes, and the fish can be eaten.

All differences in the process are aimed at the use of certain ingredients that can only emphasize the taste, add smell, increase the shelf life. But the preparation of the carcass itself remains the same.

• Work begins with defrosting. Under no circumstances should fish be soaked. hot water Or put it in the microwave. In this case, the structure of the fibers is disturbed. If there is no time to wait for the natural melting of ice, then the correct and fast way defrosting consists in immersing the carcasses in cold water.
• We cut the fish by extracting the entrails and the separation is ready. The black film covering the cavity must be removed, otherwise it will ruin delicious delicacy adding bitterness. The resulting carcass is properly washed in water. Now you can start implementing the recipes.

The most trivial way to salt mackerel at home is to use a dry marinade. It includes salt, as the main component, black pepper (ground) and other seasonings to taste. These seasonings can be replaced with chopped bay leaves.

To navigate the proportions, you should calculate the ingredients as follows: for 100 grams of salt, there are 5 grams of pepper and 10 grams of seasonings.

Salting mackerel for hot smoking takes place within 5-6 hours after each carcass is abundantly sprinkled with the prepared mixture. This ambassador is also called dry pickling. For more effective preparation of fish, you can salt it with oppression. Oppression promotes the release of moisture from the fibers, which mixes with salt and re-impregnates the meat. After lying in the refrigerator, the mackerel is ready for laying in the smokehouse, but first it will have to be dried or, at least, wiped dry with a napkin. Note that this recipe does not require soaking carcasses after salting. The thing is that fish meat does not absorb too much salt, so you can do with the usual wiping.

The following recipe will allow you to pickle fish at an even lower cost, because properly prepared natural mackerel needs only salt. Experts say that extra seasonings will only break the bouquet that is typical for fresh fish meat, especially for mackerel. The manipulations here are simple: it is enough to rub each carcass or each piece abundantly, and put it all into enamelware. The fish should lie down for a day, and after that it is washed in water, dried and sent to the oil lamp.

Pairs well with fresh and smoked fish lemon flavor. But not everyone knows at what stage and in what form this ingredient should be added. To marinate fish in this way, in addition to the traditional ingredients, you need to prepare one lemon. The fish is rubbed with salt, as in the cases described above, and the lemon should be cut into slices and placed in the abdominal cavity. After 10 hours, the fish is dried and you can start smoking. But mackerel should be smoked with this method of hot smoking directly with lemon. Its juice will saturate the fibers without harming them, but it will make the meat more fragrant and juicy.

We will tell you how to prepare a liquid marinade. With such salting, less salt is required, and the process itself will be faster. It is necessary to add 50 g of salt and those spices that you consider necessary to water brought to a temperature of 80 ° C degrees. hot marinade must cool, and only then they are filled with fish. It is salted within a couple of hours, and the degree of salting can be slightly adjusted. If there is a desire to make the fish lightly salted, then you will have to soak it in water.

hot smoking process

Not every sawdust will be appropriate in a smokehouse. It is advisable to use fruit trees (apple, cherry). But the easiest way to get alder chips, it is sold in the store and is inexpensive. One bookmark will require three handfuls, so it makes no sense to buy large volumes. Wood chips are spread evenly on the bottom of the box, which, in turn, is installed on the grill. So that the sawdust does not flare up, they are pre-soaked in water.

Directly under the sieves, where we will cook our fish, we will have to place a pallet. It can be a ready-made dish or a bowl made of foil, which serves to collect liquid, because getting juice from fish carcasses into wood chips is unacceptable.

Cooking smoked fish in an apartment is quite possible, but technically requires a more complex fixture. The lid of the smokehouse must be equipped with a water seal. There is a ready-made convection oven that blows smoke into a special chamber. You can also simulate smoking with liquid smoke, soaking carcasses in it. Heat treatment is carried out in the usual way in the oven. But the process itself, and the result of smoking in nature, in the country can not be compared with any imitation.

One way or another, after 30 minutes of smoking, the product will be completely ready. But they are in no hurry to extract it from the smokehouse. First you need to wait for the box to cool completely, and then it is advisable to ventilate the fish from excessive smoke. It is noteworthy that hot smoking will allow you to enjoy your favorite dish on the same day when cooking was started.

How delicious is smoked mackerel in a duet with boiled potatoes. However, not everyone knows that such a delicious golden-skinned fish can be easily cooked at home! You will be surprised at how simple and easy it is - fill the fish with brine and simmer it in it for about 2-3 days - that's the whole secret of cooking.

No one who has tried such a fish delicacy will guess that mackerel was not purchased in a store! Write down this wonderful recipe so that when the holidays come, be sure to use it.

Ingredients

• 1 fresh frozen mackerel
• 2 tea bags
• 50 ml liquid smoke
• 2 tbsp. l. salt
• 1.5 tsp granulated sugar
• 5-10 ml vegetable or olive oil
• 1 empty plastic bottle with a capacity of 1.5-2 liters.

Cooking

1. Frozen mackerel should be allowed to defrost for 4-5 hours at room temperature, or else move it overnight from the freezer to the refrigerator. After that, the fish must be cut off the head and take out all the insides. At the same time, do not cut the abdomen - take it out through the cut from the head. Be sure to rinse the carcass after cleaning both inside and out.

2. Brew strong tea in a container using 0.9-1 l of boiling water. It is advisable to take a very strong variety of tea so that the tea leaves turn out to be almost black!

3. Pour into it granulated sugar and salt, then pour in liquid smoke stir well so that all the crystals dissolve in the tea leaves. Let the brine cool down.

4. C plastic bottle remove the cork and press it lightly, and then cut off the neck with scissors. Rinse it inside and pour in the prepared brine. Gently lower the washed mackerel carcass directly into the bottle, into the brine, holding the tail. Since the water will push the carcass out, it is necessary to dip it completely into the brine with an effort, and pinch the tail with clothespins or come up with another option, otherwise it will not stain. In this form, mackerel must be kept for about 2-3 days, every day turning the carcass into a new position so that there are no unpainted areas on it.

5. After this period, remove the carcass from the brine and let it dry.