Hot smoking mackerel

It’s hard to find a person who wouldn’t like hot smoked mackerel cooked in a smokehouse. Having tried this unusual dish, almost everyone wonders how to prepare it at home. In this article we will tell you how to cook it at home in a cylindrical smokehouse.

1. What is required to make hot smoked mackerel at home
2. The process of smoking mackerel at home
2.1. Fish cleaning
2.2. Salting out
2.3. Drying
2.4. Preparing the smokehouse and smoking
2.5. How to serve hot smoked mackerel
3. Additional tips
4. Video: hot smoked mackerel

What is required to make hot smoked mackerel at home

Let's look at the recipe for 4 people. We will need four mackerel carcasses and four tablespoons of salt. In addition, the following equipment will be needed:

fresh mackerel;
set of bowls;
knife;
stainless steel tray;
cling film;
smokehouse and firewood for it;
alder sawdust.

The process of smoking mackerel at home

It consists of the following steps:

1. Cleaning the fish

Mackerel is usually sold frozen, so first you need to defrost it properly. Pour cool water into a bowl and place the mackerel in it - after an hour and a half, the defrosting process will be completed.

After defrosting is complete, cut off the heads of the fish carcasses and remove the entrails. We carefully wash the carcasses and wipe them dry.

After this, we make a hole in the tail of the carcass, thread a twenty-centimeter piece of twine into it, the ends of which are then tied in such a way that a loop is formed - it will be useful for hanging the carcass in the smokehouse.

2. Salting

Pour salt into a deep plate. We take the mackerel carcass, place it in a metal tray, and rub it with salt. You should not be too zealous in this process, otherwise you can tear the skin off the fish and it will lose its attractive appearance.

One spoon of salt will be enough to rub the mackerel carcass with it inside and out.

Place the fish processed in this way in a metal tray, wrap it tightly in cling film and put it in the refrigerator for eight to ten hours.

3. Drying

After the designated time has passed, remove the tray with fish from the refrigerator and carefully rinse the mackerel carcasses under running tap water. Next, the fish needs to be dried, and for this purpose we can hang it, for example, in the kitchen - an hour at room temperature will be enough for the fish to dry.

Along with drying the fish, we prepare alder sawdust for use. To do this, place them in an iron bowl and moisten them with water - for two handfuls of sawdust, four tablespoons of water will be completely enough.

4. Preparing the smokehouse and smoking

Place moistened sawdust in an even layer on the bottom of the smokehouse. After this, to heat the smokehouse, we set fire to the wood, adjusting the flame so that the fire is medium. We string fish carcasses onto the iron bars inside the dryer using loops, and we do this in such a way that there is a gap of five to six cm between the hung fish.

Cover the smokehouse with a lid and keep it like that for fifteen minutes. Then we open the container, release smoke from it (if this is not created, then the fish may taste bitter), after which we place the lid on the space. After 30 minutes, the smoking process will be completed, remove the fish from the smokehouse, remove it from the crossbar and place it back in the tray. After it has cooled, hang the carcasses on a rope in a cold place and leave for four to seven hours.

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

5. How to serve hot smoked mackerel

Cooked fish can be served in a variety of ways, from various salads to cutlets for sandwiches. In addition, mackerel can be served as a snack with various types of alcoholic drinks. In addition, almost all housewives have their own recipes for dishes made from smoked mackerel, so you can also show your creativity in this matter.

Additional tips

In conclusion, here are some useful tips that will be needed when making hot smoked mackerel at home:

A low heat is suitable for smoking mackerel, but you need to smoke fish on it for at least 2 hours.
If you are the owner of a home electric smokehouse, then you need to set the temperature in it to one hundred degrees and keep the fish there for an hour and a half.
Apart from alder, sawdust and other deciduous trees are completely suitable for smoking. The only condition is that they must be without bark, otherwise the fish will have a specific taste.
If desired, in addition to salt, various spices can be used when making hot smoked mackerel - it all depends on your taste.

Video: hot smoked mackerel

Smoked mackerel

Hot smoking
Pickling Methods
Benefit and harm
In onion skins
Cool smoking

Mackerel is perfect for smoking. You can smoke mackerel using hot or cool methods. The first method is to cook fish at a temperature of 80–120 °C. Hot smoked fish cannot be stored for a long time, no more than 2-3 days in the refrigerator.

Cool smoking of mackerel is the longest process at a temperature of about 30 °C. This is not heat treatment, but saturation of the product with smoke. When prepared at home, it will be stored for 10–14 days.

At home, it is best to smoke mackerel in a smokehouse using the hot method. It is simpler, faster and safer, since the fish is heat treated.

Hot smoking

To smoke mackerel in a smokehouse, you will need the following ingredients:

fatty fish (several pieces of similar size);
ground dark pepper;
seasoning for fish;
salt.

Prepare the fish: remove the entrails of the fish and throw in the heads. Wash under running water and dry with towels.
Rub the carcasses with moth, pepper and seasoning.
Place the fish in a container and cover with film. Place in the refrigerator for at least three hours, ideally overnight (that is, in the dark) .
Place a thin layer of wood chips into the smoker. You can take alder, bird cherry or apple.
Place currant leaves on the net so that the fish does not stick, then the carcasses (head to tail), so that there is a distance between them.
Close the smoker and smoke over low heat for about 20 minutes.

Pickling Methods

You can marinate mackerel for smoking using other methods.

Seasoned

Recipes for smoked mackerel vary in the composition of the marinades.

To create a seasoned marinade, you need the following ingredients:

a tablespoon of salt;
a teaspoon of sweet sand;
three pieces of cloves;
½ teaspoon turmeric;
one bay leaf;
5 coriander seeds;
seasoning for fish (optional).

It’s better to cut the fish before it is completely defrosted - it’s more convenient. Gut it, cut off the head, wash it.
Mix salt, turmeric and sand. Grate the carcasses both inside and outside, put coriander, cloves, and crushed bay leaf in the belly.
Cover the fish with cling film and put it in the refrigerator overnight (that is, in the dark) .
In the morning, wash the fish under running water, dry it and put it in the smokehouse for 30 minutes.

If you don’t like the bitterness of turmeric, you don’t have to put it in the marinade.

In brine

To make it, you will need the following components:

4 liters of water;
250 g sweet sand;
0.5 kg salt;
75 ml lemon juice;
allspice;
garlic powder;
two teaspoons of snow-white ground pepper;
spoon of onion powder.

Mix all ingredients until salt and sugar are completely dissolved.

While the fish is marinating, prepare the smoker. Grease the mesh with oil so that the mackerel does not stick. Remove the fillet from the brine, wash, air dry and place the fillet skin side down. Close the smokehouse with a lid and smoke for about 20 minutes after smoke appears.

Benefit and harm

Smoked products, including mackerel, cannot be classified as healthy. It’s tasty, but harmful, so eating too much is often prohibited. If the freshest fish is a source of necessary substances, then previously salted and treated with smoke, it acquires many harmful parameters.

In onion skins

This mackerel is not essentially smoked. She remembers it thanks to onion skins and tea leaves, which give it the appropriate color.

two large mackerel;
two huge handfuls of onion peels;
three huge spoons of salt;
one and a half spoons of sugar;
½ cup of strongly brewed tea;
1 liter of water;
dark peppercorns;
aromatic peppercorns;
a teaspoon of coriander seeds;
two bay leaves.

Pour water into a saucepan and place on the stove.
When it boils, add the onion skins and cook for about 10 minutes. Leave to infuse for 15 minutes, then strain.
Add sugar, salt, coriander, pepper, bay leaf to the broth and stir. After this, pour in the tea leaves, cover with a lid and let cool.
Cut the mackerel: gut it, cut off the heads and wash it properly.
Place the carcasses in a bowl of suitable size and fill with brine, place a flat plate on top and place a weight. Place in the refrigerator for two to three days. The mackerel needs to be rotated from time to time so that it is moderately salted and colored.
Remove the fish from the marinade, place on a paper towel and leave for 1-2 hours to dry. To make the process go faster, turn it from time to time. The fish can be hung by their tails to drain the liquid.
Grease the surface of the carcasses with vegetable oil, then you can cut and serve.

In appearance, this mackerel is very similar to smoked mackerel and has a unique taste.

Cool smoking

This is the most critical process, requiring strict adherence to manufacturing technology.

If for the hot method you need a smokehouse, in which the source of smoke is located specifically under the chamber for goods (you can smoke on a grill or on a fire), then for the cool method you need a different unit, where the hearth is located at a distance so that the smoke has time to pass through the chimney cool down.

A smokehouse for cool smoking consists of a compartment for goods, where there are nets or hooks for hanging goods, a smoke source remote at a distance, and a chimney connecting the smoking chamber to the fire source.

Both the preparation process and the recipe for smoking mackerel differ. It is important to keep in mind how much time to smoke. If everything is done correctly, the fish will not disappoint.

What you will need for dry salting:

mackerel - several pieces;
salt – 100 g per 1 kg of fish;
sugar – 10 g per 1 kg of fish;
Bay leaf;
garlic;
peppercorns.

Gut the mackerel and wash it. Grind and mix all ingredients for pickling. Rub the dry mixture onto each carcass inside and out, place it in a basin, sprinkle the fish with salt on top and put it in the refrigerator for two days. It is important not to forget to spin the fish from time to time.

Wet salting involves making a brine, which requires the following ingredients:

120 g of salt per 1 liter of water;
bay leaf and other spices to taste.

Bring water to a boil, add salt, bay leaf and other spices. When the salt has dissolved, remove the container with brine from the stove and cool. Place the prepared mackerel in a bowl and pour in brine so that the fish is completely covered with it. Three medium carcasses require approximately 1 liter of marinade. Keep in the refrigerator for two days.

When two days have passed, you need to check how the fish has been salted. To do this, cut off a small piece and test. If there is a lot of salt, the fish must be soaked for about 2 hours. Then wash the mackerel in running water and hang it out to dry by the tails, spreading the belly and inserting matches.

How to properly marinate and smoke mackerel

Mackerel is a tasty, necessary, nutritious sea fish, representing the perciformes. It can be worn out with a generous mineral and vitamin composition. Vitamins (a group of low-molecular organic compounds of relatively simple structure and diverse chemical nature) that are found in large quantities are essential for the human body - B, PP, D, A. As for smoked fish, its cost is several times higher.

In order not to waste extra money, you can quickly and deliciously smoke mackerel at home. There is nothing complicated about it, just choose excellent, proven manufacturing recipes. If you cook it correctly, you will get a very tasty, satisfying snack. Despite the huge number of recipes, the calorie content per 100 grams of the dish is similar, namely 317 kcal.

Smoking hot smoked mackerel in a smokehouse

Fish prepared with your own hands is much healthier and tastier than store-bought fish. If you eat it often, you can enrich your body with valuable substances and strengthen your immune system. The presence of the product in the diet prevents heart pathologies and restores blood circulation (blood circulation throughout the body) . It is excellent for smoking because it contains a minimum of bones, has the most tender meat and a pleasant aroma.

To smoke hot-smoked mackerel using a smokehouse, you need to take care of high-quality brine. Before smoking, you should carefully prepare the carcass and wash it with running water. Cut off the tail, fins, head, remove the gills - no need!

Create a small hole in the tail, thread 20 cm of twine. Its ends should be tied so that a loop is formed. This is needed for hanging in the smokehouse. The next step is salting the mackerel . Place the carcass in a bowl and rub generously with large salt. There is no need to rub too hard so as not to pull off the skin. Wrap in cling film and put in the refrigerator. Salting lasts at least eight hours. After the designated period of time, you can prepare the mackerel for smoking. It should be washed with running water and dried by hanging it in the kitchen.

At the same time, alder sawdust is prepared. It is recommended to place them in an iron container and moisten them with water. If you take two handfuls of sawdust, 4 tablespoons of water will be enough.

Knowing how to smoke hot-smoked mackerel, you can forever forget about store-bought products. One of the main steps of the process is preparing the smoker itself for smoking. Place slightly wet sawdust on the bottom and smooth it out. To warm up, you should light the wood; the fire level should not be very powerful. It is important that the smoking temperature is at around 70-80 degrees Celsius. Of particular importance is the question of how long to smoke mackerel. The approximate time ranges from 1 to 3 hours. You can determine readiness by color.

There are crossbars inside the dryer; carcasses should be strung on them by the loops. The distance between the fish is at least five centimeters. Next you need to cover the smokehouse with a lid and leave for 15 minutes. After the designated period of time, open the container to release the smoke. This is very important, otherwise the mackerel will have a bitter, nasty taste. After this manipulation, install the cover back.

We smoke the mackerel for forty minutes, take it out of the smokehouse, and place it in a special tray. After cooling, hang it in a cold room on a rope and leave it for seven hours. Remove the twine from the finished fish and keep it in the refrigerator. Almost everyone is concerned about the shelf life of fish smoked at home. Using this recipe, the snack can be kept in the refrigerator for no more than 4 days. Long-term storage is dangerous, the smell may appear unpleasant, and the taste will spoil.

Video about smoking mackerel

Hot smoked mackerel in a smokehouse: recipe

In order for homemade fish to turn out no worse than store-bought fish, it is important to find out how to properly salt smoked mackerel, what kind of sawdust to use, and how long to keep it in the smokehouse. The main secret of success is the hot smoking temperature.

The essence of this method is that the product will be affected not only by smoke, but also by special heat treatment. It is important that the fireplace produces a sufficient amount of heat and smoke. The hot smoking method involves a temperature of 60 - 140 degrees. The duration of the carcass’s stay in the smokehouse is about 1 – 3 hours. This will allow you to make it immediately smoked and baked. The product is perishable, so it should not be stored in the refrigerator for more than 3-4 days. Knowing at what temperature to cook fish, you can pamper your household with a healthy, tasty, nutritious treat.

List of ingredients:

mackerel weighing 300-400 grams - 3 pieces;
fish seasoning – 1 sachet;
large salt, sugar - to taste.

Cook the fish, remove the intestines and gills, and wash thoroughly with water.
Combine spices in a container and rub the fish inside and out. Wrap in cling film and put in a cool place for 5 – 6 hours. There is enough time for the meat to marinate.
Before placing the carcasses in the smokehouse, they are placed on a cardboard towel.
Hot smoking involves the use of two handfuls of sawdust - alder, plum, apple, or any fruit tree. Lightly moisten with water; they should not be very wet. Place in an even layer on the bottom of the smokehouse.
Place the fish on the net. Cover with a lid and put on fire.
Open the lid after fifteen minutes to let the steam escape. Then close and wait another 15 minutes.

Cooking hot smoked mackerel on a smokehouse

Hello, dear readers.

Mackerel is a very good option for hot smoking, because it is rich in beneficial substances for humans. Almost everyone is not very fond of mackerel, but in the form of smoked fish even those who do not like it in any other form will enjoy it. Naturally, there are a huge number of options for smoking fish, but now I would like to talk about hot smoking, in a smokehouse over a fire.

This is how the fish acquires an indescribably appetizing color, smell and taste that cannot be repeated in the same oven. When we are at the dacha, every time I ask them to smoke a fish for me, well, I really love it. This fish will be good as an independent dish or together with some side dish. And in particular, it comes into play at the formal table and during the feast.

It is best to choose large and fatty mackerel for smoking, because during smoking there will be a large loss of water and the meat may simply end up dry. It is best if the mackerel is fresh frozen with heads and not gutted. Be sure to make sure that there is not a lot of ice and bruises in the bag, because this will mean repeated freezing.

Preparing and salting mackerel for smoking

In order for the fish to be tasty, without bitterness and juicy, it must be prepared for smoking.

1. First of all, if the fish was frozen, you need to defrost it by simply putting it in a basin and letting it defrost on its own.

2. Now you need to gut the mackerel, carefully cutting the belly, and also remove the gills, but do not cut off the heads. If you cut off the heads, the cut space will become smoked, dry out, and a huge amount of water will be lost through the cut.

3. Now the fish needs to be salted and this can be done using 2 methods: generously coat the mackerel with salt inside and out, or salt it in water. Both methods are suitable.

4. Coat the mackerel generously with salt and put it in a bowl for one and a half or two hours, while doing this, do not forget to rotate it for any half hour.

5. After two hours, the fish should be thoroughly washed to remove salt and allowed to dry slightly.

6. Now she will be ready to take on a bronze tan and hit the table.

Proper hot smoking of mackerel

In order for the fish to be properly smoked, it can be pulled along the length of the carcass with twine, so that during smoking the rib part does not stick to the mesh and becomes dry. Naturally, it is not necessary to create this, but almost everyone advises to create it.

Our fish is ready and now the most important moment of production is obviously a smokehouse, which is needed and no matter whether it is homemade or purchased.

The smokehouse must be installed on a fire and the fire should not be small or huge, but at the same time it should moderately heat the entire bottom of the smokehouse.

Because a material is placed on the bottom of the smokehouse that produces smoke, from which the fish will take on color and taste; for this, the bottom must be heated moderately. When the bottom is heated at a point, there is a possibility of the material igniting, emitting smoke and, accordingly, deterioration of the prepared product.

For smoking, twigs, wood chips, blocks and sawdust of the following types of wood are used: alder, apple tree, cherry, oak, birch. The main wood species for smoking will be alder, and all others are only additional.

Smoking process:

1. Place a flail or alder blocks on the bottom of the smokehouse, sparing them moderately along the bottom. In addition to the alder we add branches of apple and cherry. On top of all this you need to sprinkle wet sawdust from birch wood.

2. You need to put foil on the sawdust so that the juice and fat from the fish drips onto it, and not onto the smoldering wood, then there will be no bitterness in the fish. This will also prevent unexpected fire and damage to the product.

3. The mesh must be lubricated with oil or fat so that the fish does not stick during smoking.

4. Place the mackerel on a net so that there is enough space between the fish and it does not touch together.

5. Set the net with the fish to a sufficient height for smoking and close the smokehouse with a lid. After that, the smokehouse can be installed on the fire for smoking.

After the fish is cooked, you need to remove the smokehouse from the heat and let it sit for 2 minutes, after which you can take out the net with the fish. Let it cool a little and you can transfer the fish to a plate.

Hot smoked mackerel with lemon and pepper

There is little other good recipe for smoking mackerel in a smokehouse, and it involves salting the fish in a different way. By and large, we need to do everything we did before, but the salting will be different. For pickling, we need lemon, a little mint and pepper.

We need to finely chop the mint, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and also squeeze in lemon juice. Mix everything well and coat the fish with this paste. It is also salted for about one and a half or two hours.

If desired, you can put oiled foil on the mesh, and then place the fish on the foil. But oh, so this method doesn’t amuse me very much and I always put the fish directly on the net, and put the foil on the sawdust underneath.