How to smoke pike perch at home

Pike perch is one of the most common freshwater fish, found in reservoirs throughout Eastern Europe and Asia. Resistant to harsh climates, it is found not only in lakes, but also in freshwater zones of coastal seas. The average weight of pike perch is up to 3 kilograms, although there are individuals weighing 15 kg. It is a predator, that is, it contains relatively little fat. And it is for this reason that it is ideal for smoking.

Useful properties of smoked pike perch

In addition to excellent taste characteristics, pike perch can “boast” of the presence of a large amount of vitamin PP (nicotinic acid), which in the human body is involved in the breakdown of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. The same microelement takes part in tissue respiration.

Smoked pike perch also contains large quantities of iodine and cobalt - these substances are involved in the development of the hormonal system, in particular the gonads. And it is for this reason that pike perch was previously necessarily added to the diet of adolescents aged 12-15 years - this significantly reduced the likelihood of abnormalities occurring in their reproductive system.

Pike perch meat also contains fluorine and phosphorus, which are necessary to strengthen bone tissue. It also contains chromium in small quantities, one of the most important elements for the body’s natural cleansing of toxins (detoxification). And with all this, smoked pike perch is low-calorie. There are only 84-88 kilocalories per 100 grams of product. But the protein content is as much as 18.8 grams (per 100 grams of meat). So for those who want to build muscle mass or are actively involved in strength sports, pike perch should be preferred for smoking.

REFERENCE! The pike perch carefully chooses the place of its promise. It is important for him to have a large amount of oxygen in the water. Therefore, it will not be possible to find it in wetlands. In general, pike perch can be called one of the “cleanest” fish.

How to select and cut fish

The ideal option is to use fresh catch. If this is not possible, then when buying fish you should pay attention to the following factors:

The pike perch's eyes should be completely transparent, with bright orange pupil halos. If they are whitish, then the fish is stale.
The surface of the carcass should not be slippery. The presence of mucus is also a clear sign that the fish has been stored for a long time.
Fresh pike perch have light pink gills. If they are dark red, then with a high degree of probability it has been stored for more than a day.

And it is also advisable to buy carcasses of the same size. This is so that you don’t have to monitor each of them separately during smoking and remove them when ready. The optimal weight of each individual for smoking is up to 2 kilograms.

Which fish is best?

Pike perch is a versatile fish that is suitable for preparing first courses, appetizers, salads and original delicacies.
To prepare products at home in a smokehouse, you can use fresh or frozen fish. It is important that the carcasses are not re-frozen, otherwise the quality of the meat will be spoiled. Choosing quality fish is the key to an ideal result, so you should pay attention to:

brightness and transparency of the eyes;
redness of the gills;
light sea scent;
presence of shine and absence of mucus on the scales;
elasticity of the meat (when pressed, the dent is quickly restored).

It is better to take carcasses of the same size so that you can evenly salt and smoke the fish.

Preparing pike perch for smoking

When cutting pike perch, only the gills and entrails are discarded. The head should also be removed (left on the ear). But you shouldn’t remove the scales - they retain moisture during smoking and prevent the carcasses from drying out (during hot smoking). And after cooking, it is easily removed (cleaning fresh pike perch is not so easy, because the fish belongs to the perch family, which has the hardest scales).

If you need to remove the smell of algae, then after cleaning the fish, it is recommended to soak it in water with lemon juice for several hours. Alternatively, you can simply spray with table vinegar from a spray bottle. But real connoisseurs prefer to do without all this, and also not to use liquid marinades (and even more so “liquid smoke”).

Next you will need to salt the pike perch. A common mistake newbies make is using too little salt. This will not have the best effect on the taste, and the permissible shelf life of the finished product will be short. And all because salt acts as a conservative. Therefore there should be a lot of it! And you need to not only cover the pike perch with salt, but also thoroughly rub the fish with it from the inside.

You don’t have to be afraid to over-salt - the meat will “take” as much as it needs. And for additional taste, you can add ground black pepper and carefully chopped bay leaf, lightly sprinkled with vinegar or lemon juice, to the salt.

Salting of pike perch is carried out under pressure. Pressure will literally squeeze out most of the liquid from the fish, which, when mixed with spices and salt, acts as a marinade. After about 2 hours, the pike perch is thoroughly washed.

How to smoke pike perch in a hot smoker

For salting you need:

coarse salt,
bay leaves,
allspice peas.

The process of preparing pike perch for smoking

The fish are cut along the belly and the entrails are carefully removed. Heads can be left if desired. Fishermen do not recommend removing scales, cutting out fins and gills. Thanks to them, the meat remains soft. The scales are not removed: soot collects on it and does not penetrate inside.

After cleaning, the carcasses are wiped, salt, pepper, and chopped bay leaves are poured inside. Pour salt generously under the gills and rub into the outside of the carcass. The fish is laid in layers, adding salt. They press with oppression. Keep in the refrigerator at the rate of 1-2 hours of salting per kilogram. During this time, the pike perch will absorb a sufficient amount of salt and salt evenly. Preparing and smoking large carcasses takes longer.

After the salting time has passed, the carcasses are washed and ventilated for half an hour in the open air.

How to properly smoke pike perch in a hot smoker

The traditional ritual is to add moistened sawdust or fine wood chips to the smokehouse. Do not use wood that releases resin. It will worsen the taste. Alder and all fruit species are suitable.

Fans place lemon slices in the bellies of fish before smoking.

A smokehouse can be special equipment, a metal box, a bucket, a pan, or a tightly closed grill. Fish should not be smoked over an open fire over a fire or in a barbecue, only over well-burnt coals. In rare cases, over low heat, keeping the heat constant. Keep for 20-30 minutes, then remove the coals and leave the fish in the smokehouse for another 15 minutes.

Any recipe for ready-made pike perch includes recommendations: do not immediately remove it from the smokehouse. When hot, the fish has a delicate consistency. When slightly cooled, it retains its shape.

Tips for Newbies

A small handful of sawdust is evenly distributed along the bottom of the smokehouse. The quantity depends on the size of the smokehouse.
A pallet is installed at a small height from the bottom. If there are no special tools, pebbles about 4 cm in diameter will do. A tray is required so that the liquid released from the fish does not flow onto the sawdust, otherwise the acrid smoke will spoil the taste of the fish.
A grate is attached above the tray, on which the fish is laid out so that it does not touch the walls of the smokehouse and neighboring carcasses.
If you sprinkle the laid out fish with lemon juice, the pike perch will acquire a subtle lemon aroma.
When whole fish are smoked, spacers are inserted into the bellies so that their walls do not stick together and are evenly smoked from the inside.
If you want to immediately cook a large amount of hot smoked pike perch, install several grates in the smokehouse, placing them evenly on top of each other.
The appearance of smoke above the smokehouse indicates that the smoking process has begun. The countdown of time begins from there. The lid is periodically lifted and steam is released.
If the smell of pike perch is not felt during smoking, the smoking is done correctly.
The process ends with the heat being removed and the fish left in the smokehouse until it cools naturally.
Smoking time depends on the temperature and size of the fish and is determined experimentally.

Hot smoked pike perch is stored for a short time, for three days at a temperature of 1–5°C. How to preserve a large amount of smoked fish? Place in the freezer. Storage will last up to 1–3 months. If necessary, small portions are defrosted on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.

Hot smoking

So, before smoking already salted pike perch in a smokehouse, you need to prepare wood chips. Juniper or alder are ideal for this recipe - they will give a golden hue and a slightly bitter aroma. As a last resort, you can use cherry, apple or pear. The rest will not be suitable; they will not give a really good aroma to the fish.

In a hot smoked smokehouse with a lid, pike perch will need only 18-20 minutes (about 20 minutes per 1 kilogram). But there are a couple of nuances:

3-4 minutes before completion, remove the lid to get rid of condensation inside;
after that the coals are removed, the smokehouse is closed again for another 15 minutes so that the pike perch “reaches” and turns out not as fatty as the “store-bought” one.

This is a traditional recipe, that is, for those who have a normal smokehouse. But you can do without it! Smoking on the grill is also possible. But this method has a disadvantage: to maintain a low temperature inside, you will need to install a tray with a small amount of water. That is, pike perch after such smoking remains a little damp and it is advisable to dry it additionally (within 24 hours). The algorithm for how to properly smoke on a grill is as follows:

First, soak the wood chips in water for 30 minutes (if you use firewood for smoking, you do not need to soak them);
to ignite, fill the starter halfway, scatter the smoldering braces only along the edges of the grill (do not use coals - they create too strong a ball);
An aluminum tray is placed in the center, between the briquettes, into which a small layer of water is poured (so that there is no direct heat zone);
close the grill lid and heat for 20-40 minutes;
place a handful of wood chips on the smoldering braces;
place the fish in the center of the grill, directly above the pan with water;
smoking time - from 30 minutes to 1 hour.

If there is no grill, then smoking in a cauldron over a fire is possible. And, by the way, the taste of pike perch is no worse than grilled. But before you prepare a fire, you need to cut a grate under the cauldron. You can make it yourself from thick wire. It is necessary that it stays approximately in the middle of the cauldron (in height). It will turn out to be a kind of mini-grill. The only drawback is that only 1-2 small pike perch can fit in a regular cauldron.

So, smoking is done like this:

a fire is lit (any damp wood will do - you just need the heat);
lightly moistened wood chips are laid out on the bottom of the cauldron (soak in water for 10-15 minutes), covered with foil on top for baking in several layers;
a grate is installed;
wait until only burning coals remain from the fire, then install the cauldron;
another layer of foil is placed on the grill, pike perch on top, covered with a lid;
Smoking time: from 50 to 60 minutes (depending on the intensity of the fire).

And here, too, 5–10 minutes before the end, remove the lid, remove condensation from it, and cover the cauldron again.

There is another option for smoking pike perch. Moreover, this one is “hiking”, that is, it can be used during hikes. The fish is cooked in a disposable foil smoker. They can now be purchased in mass markets and travel stores. Among the disadvantages: the size of such “smokehouses” is small, it is quite possible that even 1-1.5 kilograms of pike perch will have to be divided into 2 parts.

How to diversify the recipe for hot smoked pike perch

A variety of taste is achieved by using different seasonings. Most recipes call for three ingredients: salt, bay, allspice. This is a classic option. The biggest deviation is adding a teaspoon of sugar when salting before smoking.

What do gourmets use? Celery root and greens, herbs - rosemary, thyme. Bunches of greenery are placed inside the abdomen and under the gills, and tender shoots of garlic and onion are added. They use parsley, dill and other herbs.

Gourmets select wood according to their taste: cherry, apple, hornbeam, rowan, pear, raspberry, eucalyptus, currant. Instead of sawdust, thin twigs covered with bark are used. Small fish are smoked, tightly closed. Larger ones - in a non-airtight container.

Bon appetit!

Cold smoking

It will take significantly longer to smoke pike perch using the cold method. If hot fish is smoked at a temperature of 80 to 100 degrees, then in this case it is only at 30.

Advantages of this method:

richer taste;
fish retains more nutrients;
the finished product can be stored longer (large amounts of smoke contain substances that destroy bacteria).

One of the disadvantages of this cooking method is that even a slight violation of the smoking technology can lead to damage to the product.

Smoked pike perch is prepared in a cold way using the same materials. That is, you will need a special smokehouse (with a separate compartment for smoldering, so that smoke enters the main chamber at a temperature of only 25-30 degrees) and wood chips.

Smoking time - from 1 to 3 days. The most important thing is that during this entire period the temperature inside the smokehouse must be maintained at a set temperature of 25 degrees. If it falls lower, the smoke will not settle properly on the fish, and it will simply begin to rot (due to bacteria). If the temperature is higher, the pike perch will simply fry.

And before smoking pike perch, it is recommended to place it in a very salty marinade with spices for 12-16 hours. This is also necessary in order to reduce the likelihood of rapid growth of bacteria. In the first 8 hours from the start of smoking, it is strictly forbidden to open the lid! It is during this period that smoke actively settles on top of the fish, and the layer formed on it acts as an antiseptic.

Storing smoked fish

If the pike perch is not planned to be stored for a long time, then it is simply placed in the refrigerator in a food container. Hot smoked fish can be stored for up to 3 days, cold smoked fish for up to 9 days.

For longer storage, use the freezer. After freezing, hot smoked pike perch is stored for 1 month, cold smoked pike perch is stored for 3 months.

If there is no refrigerator nearby (for example, you were smoking on a camping trip), then the pike perch is covered with nettle leaves or sawdust, and then wrapped in fabric. You can store fish this way for up to 24 hours in the open air.

Overall, there is nothing complicated about smoking pike perch. But those who want to cook fish this way regularly should still get a good smokehouse. And for residents of apartment buildings, the best option is hot smoking in a slow cooker or oven using liquid smoke. By the way, what do you think about its use in cooking? Do you notice a difference in the taste of regular smoked fish from the one that was prepared using liquid smoke and which one, in your opinion, tastes better?

Storage rules

Since salt is a fairly strong preservative, the shelf life of hot smoked products is relatively long. The finished dish easily retains its consumer properties for two weeks from the moment of preparation. Optimal conditions are kept on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator, where the temperature is kept around 3-5 degrees.

Important! If you store the hot smoked delicacy in the freezer, it can preserve its consumer qualities for up to 3 months.

Given the special method of preparation, pike perch must be stored in airtight packaging. The smell of smoke will easily transfer to the neighboring product. To preserve the delicacy, it is wrapped in wax paper and then placed in a separate box for vegetables and fruits.