Mackerel is an excellent fish forcooking at home. There are not many small bones in it, and the flesh itself is dense and fat. About how to make a mackerel cold smoked, we will tell in this article. Here are some simple recipes available to any hostess. Let's try to cook!
Salt plus smoke
The magic of these two ingredients has long beenknown to the culinary specialists of different countries. Smoking provides meat and fish with a unique taste and aroma. In addition, it is a great way to store the product. Some landladies think that preparing a mackerel of cold smoking in the home is difficult, because the process itself will require special equipment. But it is not so. Homemade mackerel cold smoked will turn out very tasty and fragrant, if you use the recipes listed below.
Methods of smoking
There is a significant difference between the types of smoking:cold and hot. Cold is rather a drying process at 25-30 degrees. It gives the dish a wonderful smoky aroma and a delicate taste, is a way of preserving, preserving fish. Hot - the preparation of the product occurs at a sufficiently high (up to 120 degrees) temperature.
Preliminary preparation of fish
Mackerel at the beginning should be salted, becausea similar process will remove excess fluid from the fish carcass. As a result we will get a more saturated flavor. Take the stone salt (large). Fish, placed on a cutting board or baking sheet, thoroughly rubbed on all sides and leave for half an hour to lie down. If the carcasses are large, let them soak for about an hour (the more the fish, the more salt).
Home smokehouse
Скумбрия холодного копчения в домашних условиях very well prepared in homemade smokehouse. It's easy to build from an old big pot (or one that does not mind). On its sides we drill a few holes at a height of fifteen centimeters. In these holes we insert a metal lattice on which the fish will be. The pan should also have a tight fitting lid.
The process itself
Pour a layer of sawdust at the bottom of the pan.In this case, any non-coniferous species will suit: cherry, apple, alder, oak - the most popular ones. We put the pot on a small fire. Try to keep the prepared sawdust barely smoldering (so that it does not burn, some cooks pour water from the ordinary sprinkler with the sprayer periodically to the raw material). Put pre-salted carcasses on the grate. Close the lid. Smoke should be produced quite a lot, but it should not be too hot (maximum - 40 degrees). Then cold-smoked mackerel at home is soft and soft. And the cooking method will be just cold.
If you have a private house or cottage, this is a treatYou can cook right in the yard, on the hearth, barbecue, campfire, barbecue. If you cook in the apartment, open the windows wide (and warn your neighbors, as there is a lot of smoke in the cooking process)!
Marinade
Instead of pure salt, some housewives usemarinade (pickle). It is quite simple to cook. It is necessary to dilute a pound of salt, a glass of sugar, lemon juice, a mixture of peppers, garlic in four liters of warm water and bring to a boil, but do not boil! If the marinade is too much, then you can keep the excess in the refrigerator for ten to fifteen days. By this time you may want to smoke something else. Place the carcasses of mackerel or fillet in the prepared warm brine for an hour (or better - for the night, then the fish will be completely ready to smoke and cook quickly).
Take out the fish from the brine.Dry with a kitchen towel. We lay on the greased greased with vegetable oil. Smoked on sawdust on the weakest fire. Remember that the temperature of smoking should not be high!
Time for preparing
Most likely, you will need at least half an hour,to make a delicacy. Although for the fillet sometimes enough twenty minutes. It all depends on how the future cold-smoked mackerel is pre-marinated at home: the longer, the faster the smoking process takes place. The finished fish can be stored in the refrigerator for a rather long time (if it is tightly wrapped and sent to the freezer, then in a month it will be tasty).
Cold smoked mackerel: a recipe
To prepare the dishes we need:three fish mackerel, onion peel, half a glass of salt, two large spoons of sugar, vegetable oil, liquid smoke (for those who do not know, this is a water solution of wood smoke).
- Onion peel fold into the pan (you can takeabout a kilo of onions and just peel it). Add water (about one liter). Cook over low heat for about ten minutes. At the same time liquid will get a brown shade. Turn off, then cool. We remove the cooked husk, and add salt, liquid smoke and sugar to the water.
- Now we need a capacity for smoking (inmarinade), where all carcasses could fit in well. Fill them with a solution and put on the cold for several days. Periodically turn the mackerel, so that it is well prepared. In the same way, you can make both fillets and rolls from this wonderful fish. Bon appetit to all!
