Smoking fish at home in a hot smoked smokehouse: how to smoke, recipe

Today we will smoke fish without foil and without a smokehouse, using only smoke and heat from the fire and available materials. There is no need to peel the scales; you can put garlic and salt inside. Even if these ingredients are missing, the fish turns out delicious. Since there is no foil, we will smoke on leaves. Pear and alder grow here. Accordingly, we will cook on the leaves of these trees.

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You need quite a lot of leaves. First we put the pear in so that the aroma of the fruit leaves permeates the fish. Let's throw in some alder. When laying fish, you need to take into account the direction of the wind. Larger fish should be placed where it is hot, smaller fish, respectively, where the temperature is lower. Cover the top of the fish with a layer of alder leaves. It always grows on the pond where you fished. Willow leaves are also suitable, but they will be slightly bitter. With fruit leaves you will get a particularly aromatic smoked fish.

Inventions for DIYers in a Chinese online store.

You need to wait 15-20 minutes. Make sure the leaves don't catch fire. To prevent this from happening, it is advisable to have an armful of leaves in stock.

Preparing the fish

Terpug can be prepared by hot or cold smoking.
This fish is highly valued for its soft, delicate taste, the absence of small bones, lightness and ease of preparation. It is best to smoke medium-sized carcasses, weighing 1.5-2 kg. They will be completely smoked and will have a rich taste. Sea bass is sold frozen in supermarkets, so it needs to be thawed before smoking.

This can be done in two ways:

Natural defrosting on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator does not damage the fibers of the meat, but takes a lot of time. It is best to wrap the fish in plastic wrap - this will prevent the appearance of an unpleasant odor.
Thawing in salted water allows the carcass to maintain its density and elasticity, and prevents the loss of vitamins and minerals.

Do not defrost greenlings in a microwave oven or hot water. This will lead to rapid softening of the meat fibers - the fish will not hold its shape, will become loose and simply disintegrate in the smokehouse.

Then you need to prepare the carcasses - gut them, remove the head and gills. If the carcass is small, you can leave the head; it depends solely on your culinary preferences. Afterwards they should be washed under running water and you can start marinating.

For cooking, it is best to take a medium-sized greenling, weighing 1-2 kg

But how to smoke it while traveling?

The simplest smokehouse can be built as follows. In any elevated place, a shallow trench is dug, preferably with a slight upward slope. It will serve as the smokehouse's chimney. The beginning of this trench needs to be slightly expanded to accommodate the firebox, in which smoke will be created for smoking using a smoldering fire. We also expand the other end of the trench, which will be intended for the smoking chamber. Here a low pipe is laid out of bricks or stones, connected to the chimney. An old barrel or other container without a bottom that has been abandoned as unnecessary is a good choice for a smoking chamber. In a more simplified form, it is quite possible to simply expand the exit of the trench without laying out walls and additional containers. This pit will serve as a conditional smoking chamber, where the fish will be smoked.

The chimney trench should ideally be covered with iron and then covered with earth. But in field conditions, when rusty tin or even broken slate is not always lying on the road, it is enough to cut pieces of turf with a sapper shovel and close the trench.

Fish is placed in a pipe, barrel or just a smoking pit. If you smoke hot, you cannot hang the fish, as it will fall apart and fall into the firebox anyway. It is better to place it, salted at least three hours before smoking and dried, on some iron or wire grates. If there is no wire, then the fish is placed on thick rods made of living willow. They will not have time to burn during hot smoking, which sometimes lasts only half an hour during the hike. But it’s better to check the rods sometimes so as not to lose a valuable product in the fire.

Salting time depends on the size of the fish. You can also use the express method of salting fish if you can’t wait. To do this, you will need a syringe filled with strong brine. The fish is simply pierced with a syringe in the tightest places, and then immediately smoked. But longer salting is still preferable.

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You can also smoke fish over a fire.

Naturally, the finished product will be something between baked and smoked fish, although it will also be tasty in its own way.

Cold smoking is a long process

The preliminary operations before long-term smoking are the same as in the first case, but the fish should be thoroughly dried, preferably during the day. And smoking is done with cold smoke for at least 2 days.

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Hot way

So, several excellent specimens of bream, greenling or mackerel are fully prepared. What to do next and how long to smoke the fish?

First you need to carefully place the fish on a grate coated with vegetable oil. Ideally, they should not touch each other or the walls of the smokehouse. Always apply only one layer. This is necessary for free access of smoke from all sides. After this, the device must be tightly closed and placed on the grill, stove or fire.

After starting the fire, you should carefully observe the appearance of the first indicator - white smoke of good intensity. Its presence indicates that the process has begun.

How long does it take to smoke fish in a smokehouse?

10 minutes after white smoke appears and the device warms up, you can reduce the fire and remove the wood. Continue smoking only with coals. Under such conditions, continue the process for another 40-60 minutes, based on the initial volume of raw materials added. It is not necessary to delay smoking longer than an hour. One load of fish in a small smokehouse will inevitably be produced during this time.

Next, you need to remove the device from the heat and do not touch it until it cools completely.

Once the smokehouse has cooled down and no traces of smoke can be detected, it can be opened to remove the grate containing the finished product.

How is fish done?

On average, smoking 2 kg of fish takes about 25-30 minutes. Finished carcasses have a dark golden (tea) color. If the fish are just beginning to turn golden, it means they are still raw.

How long does smoked fish last?

Hot-smoked fish cannot be stored for a long time. The maximum period is three days in the refrigerator. But, as practice shows, storage for such a delicacy is not necessary: the incredibly aromatic and tasty fish is usually eaten right away.

If, however, a batch of excellent fish delicacy cannot be eaten in one sitting, then it can be used for all sorts of recipes.

The following smoked fish dishes are popular: a variety of open and closed pies, salads, delicious rolls, interesting sea pizza, various casseroles with potatoes, turnips and zucchini.

Traveling recipes: hot smoked fish

There is a huge advantage in camp cooking: liberation, complete freedom in movements and decisions. You can smoke, scatter and spray as much as you like without any damage to the interior. Moreover, some culinary techniques can only be done outdoors. For example, smoking. One of the most delicious options for preparing fish. If grayling has just been pulled out of the river, and the smokehouse has been waiting for its “exit” in the car for a long time, we will not hesitate. Let's light a fire on the shore and create hot smoked fish. A culinary masterpiece is guaranteed! There are many options for smokehouses. This recipe uses a box smoker with two grates and a drip tray.

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Ingredients for 1 bookmark:

• 3-4 grayling, 300-400 g each (small lenkas are also perfect); • salt to taste.

We gut the graylings and remove the gills. There is no need to remove scales; they retain the juice inside the fish. Rub the carcasses inside and out with salt. Leave to salt for half an hour.

During this time we make a fire. We collect thin dry willow twigs - they will give us the desired smoke. You can use wood shavings or sawdust. However, planing a thick branch takes longer than collecting what the willow itself is ready to give. Why willow, you ask? Because its smoke does not taste bitter, like coniferous smoke. Willow bushes are easy to find; they grow almost everywhere along river banks. If desired, you can use twigs or sawdust from other species suitable for smoking.

Fire burns? Begin. Place the broken branches on the bottom of the smokehouse.

We install one of the grates, the one with low legs. We place a tray on it to collect fat. Now it’s the turn of the second lattice with long legs.

By the way, about the pallet. You can, of course, do without it by installing the main grill (which is for fish) immediately above the branches. But in this case, fat and juice will drip down onto the smoking coals and burn. And the fish will come out with a bitter taste.

We place our graylings and lenoks on the grill.

We install a smokehouse stand over the fire. In our case, it was this special grille. It is inserted into a campfire stake.

Close the smokehouse with a lid and put it on fire.

We keep the entire structure on an even, moderate flame for 15-20 minutes. At some point, smoke will come out from under the lid: our willow branches have smoldered and smoking has begun.

Towards completion, the process must be controlled by removing the smokehouse from the heat and opening the lid. The finished fish should have a pleasant brown-smoky color and look delicious.

But let's get back to hot smoking.

Firewood is used from deciduous trees, preferably alder. First, make a fire in the firebox. When it’s hot enough, you can start throwing in damp branches. During the smoking process, you need to monitor the temperature of the fire. Otherwise, the carcasses may burn. If necessary, the heat can be reduced with cheese branches or leaves of the same alder. To prevent the smoke from going to waste, the smokehouse must be closed with some kind of improvised lid. It will regulate the draft, you just have to cover it or open it.

A smokehouse for preparing hot smoked fish, made from a metal pipe or some kind of box, works very productively. But it is desirable that the pipe and box have relatively thick walls. What is it for? If we talk about smoking while fishing, where this process is often carried out in fits and starts, in episodes between catching fish, then a pipe heated in the sun already automatically works even without a fire, because its walls are covered with layers of aromatic smoke. And in the sun the pipe heats up no worse than from a fire. This has already happened. Verified. It happened that I came to the smokehouse in the evening, and there was already a completely smoked and delicious fish waiting there.

Hot smoking technology

Temperature range for hot smoking – 40 degrees Celsius and above

It is very important to know how much to smoke. The duration of the process is from several minutes to two days

It depends on the original product and its size.

The essence of hot smoking lies not so much in the role of smoke, but in the complete heat treatment of raw materials. The determining factor is the correctly selected type of smokehouse. This can be either an industrially produced hot smoked smokehouse or a homemade one. Making a smokehouse from available materials is not so difficult. Most often, in country or garden conditions, it is made from a barrel or other container with a good volume. The main thing is to have both heat and smoke at the same time.

The advantages of this smoking method are obvious: the speed of preparation greatly reduces labor costs. At the same time, as often happens, the main plus always contains negative sides. Quickly cooked foods retain too much moisture and are poorly processed by smoke, so their shelf life is not very long.

Hot smoked fish can be stored for no more than three days. Meat – more, from a week to three, depending on the temperature at which it will be stored.

Such products have a lot of taste benefits, an appetite-stimulating smell, a delicate, juicy texture, and a minimal salt concentration. This is why smoking is very popular among people.

So, the two most common methods of hot smoking are:

at a temperature of 40 - 60 degrees, in time - from half a day to two days;
at temperatures from 90 degrees and above, for a time from several minutes to several hours.

The first method is used for those smoked meats that will then be cooked. These are hams, boiled smoked sausages, brisket, pork knuckle.

The second method is similar to baking in the oven, only with the participation of smoke. Everything happens as quickly as possible, the products are brought to full readiness during the smoking process. This is how fish and poultry are mainly prepared.

Before smoking, the meat is pre-soaked and slightly dried. Different brines are used to impart the desired saltiness and special taste, which will reveal itself even more after smoking. Without brine, smoked meat will be inedible: the desired taste will not be formed, and it will be impossible to thoroughly salt it.

The finished smoked meat will be elastic, shiny, with an appetizing golden or red-brown crust.

Fish is smoked using smoke in a temperature range from 60 to 140 degrees. It is kept in the smokehouse for several hours (up to three), after which it is simultaneously baked and smoked

For smoking, dry alder and juniper branches are used. Under no circumstances should you use coniferous wood that produces excess soot. Other hardwoods are also suitable: beech, oak, chestnut, maple, fruit trees. For additional flavoring, add dry heather, dried grapevine, fresh hay, field herbs (sage, thyme, etc.).

Raw juniper branches are often placed along with berries. The smoke they produce is highly bactericidal. As a result, smoked fish is stored a little longer and does not immediately become moldy.

As for the great variety of fish, almost any fish can be smoked. This cooking method is best suited for salmon, carp, sturgeon, and cod.

Before smoking, fish must be salted in a well-concentrated brine (0.5 kg per 10 liters of water) for half an hour. Then it is soaked for a day and washed. Next comes the drying stage: small specimens are dried for two or three days, large specimens for five.

Spread out large fish have spacers placed in their bellies. The most delicate fish are wrapped in thermal paper before smoking.

The appearance of a golden color on the scales is a sign that the fish is ready. The finished product is cooled in the open air, protected from insects for a couple of days. This slight drying will only improve the taste of the fish and slightly increase its shelf life.

Smoking process

The cleanliness of the smokehouse also deserves attention. In this case, it must be absolutely clean so that the fish has a pleasant aroma of wood chips and herbs, and not soot.

During the hot smoking process, chips of the same size are placed on the bottom of the structure. Otherwise, the thinnest elements will quickly burn and ignite, causing thicker ones to burn. Therefore, the fish will not be smoked, but will simply burn.

With the help of special coals and wood chips you can seriously simplify the process. To do this, the smokehouse is heated up for half an hour and a grate with meat is placed on it. After which everything is hermetically sealed with a lid. The start of smoking is the time when the first smoke appears.

If you plan to cook quite fatty fish, the fat will flow to the bottom of the smokehouse and dry out. It will have to be scraped off with a scraper later. To avoid the last moment, you can place foil on the surface of the bottom of the smokehouse. And then just remove it, and the bottom will be clean.

Please note that at this moment the carcasses are located separately from each other on the grill. Because otherwise they will stick together. Closing the lid tightly will eliminate the possibility of oxygen getting inside. And this guarantees that the wood will not catch fire. Naturally, ideal tightness cannot be achieved in this case. But minimal air ingress can be avoided.

The smoking process itself is divided into two stages:

The first involves drying the carcasses and takes about a quarter of the total time. In this case, the temperature in the smokehouse is between +80–90 °C.
While the second, the direct smoking process, takes all the remaining time at a temperature not lower than +120 °C.

There is a little secret to determine the cooking temperature of meat using this method at home. If you drop some water on the lid and it doesn’t boil, but just hisses, then everything is going correctly. Otherwise, the product will simply cook.

To adjust the temperature you need to increase or decrease the number of wood chips or branches in the fire. The duration of this process is directly dependent on the size of the smokehouse, the strength of the fire and the amount of meat. Medium-sized fish is smoked for about half an hour.

Such a product, after a properly carried out smoking process, has a golden-bronze hue without traces of soot. Its pulp is easily separated from the skin and bones, being well baked and crumbly. If the smoking process was incorrect, the meat of such fish will be bitter and viscous. When the fish just falls apart in your hands and fat runs out of it, it means that the carcass was overexposed in the smokehouse.

Preparing the fish

The preparation of carcasses for smoking is as follows:

First you need to get rid of the insides of the fish.
Next, the carcasses are salted.
And at the final stage of preparation, the fish is washed from salt in clean water and hung to dry. Only then can you grease it with sunflower oil on top.

Gutting

Naturally, you can greatly simplify your life and purchase a ready-made butchered carcass in the store, but it is better to do it yourself. Because it is in this case that you can be absolutely sure that there are no entrails or large seeds in it.

Although some fishermen do not cut fish at all, claiming that this is the only way to leave a bitter aftertaste to the product. Namely, this is how it suits a foamy drink. But if you decide to do everything right, then cutting is mandatory.

If the carcass is small, around 0.5-0.7 kg, you may not need to gut it. Since there will be no special taste differences. Larger specimens are cut up, removing all large bones except the spine, entrails and brown hymen. The head and scales always remain. Because they are the ones who will prevent soot from getting on the meat. If desired, the gutted carcass is sewn together. For the same purpose - to prevent dirt from getting in.

Trophy specimens of particularly large sizes are cut in half along the ridge so that part of the head and tail remain. If you can’t fit everything into the smokehouse, then you can divide the half into two more parts.

Salting

Salting is used to preliminary eliminate all dangerous and harmful microorganisms from carcasses before smoking. In the case when this is done in pieces, you can simply rub the meat with salt and herbs and leave for several hours.

When it is intended to salt whole carcasses, it is necessary to approach the issue more thoroughly. First, it is recommended to start preparing the saline solution. To do this, you need to pour 0.08 kg of salt into one liter of water.

Practice shows that for every kilogram of product you need about 1.5 liters of salting. This method is ideal for pickling at home. Moreover, the meat is infused in this case for twelve hours.

If necessary, when you want to smoke meat directly while fishing, it is recommended to create a solution according to a different recipe. So, for one liter of water, preferably slightly heated, you are recommended to use 0.3 kg of salt.

The meat is infused for about three hours. Before placing the fish, it is recommended to rub it with coarse black pepper, spices and herbs at your discretion.

During the hot smoking process, it is strictly prohibited to do the following:

leave a large flame for a long time;
lay out carcasses of different sizes;
lift the lid before the smoke starts;
open the structure until the meat is completely cooked;
spray the smokehouse with water.

If you don’t do all this, you will definitely succeed!

Cold smoking

If you want to cook smoked fish that will be stored for a long time, you should give preference to the cold cooking method. Plus, you can get rid of high concentrations of carcinogens and various harmful impurities.

But in this case, it is necessary to prepare a special place, for example, a bathhouse, a barn or another room. The smoking process itself is not much different from the hot method. But the carcasses are not placed on the grilles, but are hung upside down by their tails.

Small fish are treated with smoke for two days. Whereas larger specimens last a whole week. After this time, the fish continues to hang in the room for a couple of days. Then the meat becomes dense and slightly tart.

Hot smoking

This is the most common option because it takes the least time. For example, about half an hour or a little more. It all depends on the size of the carcasses. When the fish has acquired a golden brown hue, it can be safely eaten.

Moreover, it is worth remembering that the beginning of smoking is considered from the appearance of the first haze. Fish prepared by hot smoking cannot be stored outside the refrigerator for three days.

Recipe for “Hot smoked fish in camping conditions”:

So. Let's take the fish. We take whatever fish you like best. I have mackerel. I washed it, cut the belly and took out the insides. You can, of course, smoke uneviscerated fish, but I don’t like it that way. And gutted fish absorbs the marinade better. If you take a piece of fish (catfish, pike perch, etc.), then it is better to tie it with twine for reliability (so that it does not fall into pieces). Or we take chicken. Whole or in parts)). Next is the marinade. I cook this one - for 3 tsp. soy sauce add 1 tsp. olive oil and 1 tsp. lemon juice. I marinate for at least an hour. It’s better, of course, at night, but even after an hour it will be very tasty. I also put a slice of lemon, a sprig of dill and a clove of crushed garlic in the belly, but this step is optional - optional. The marinade for chicken is the same.

Further. I use ready-made wood chips. It is sold in construction and gardening or other supermarkets (Leroy-Merlin, Auchan, OBI) in the department where there are barbecues. Cost (last year) 40-60 rubles per pack. You can take wood chips from different trees; I have alder and apple trees. Of course, you can also use your own wood chips (cut from your own trees))

The wood chips need to be soaked in water for about 20 minutes. Then squeeze it well so that water does not flow from it, otherwise you will flood the fire)). And put it in the grill on well-heated coals.

Place a grill on top of the grill and place the fish (or chicken, or parts thereof) on the grill.

Further. We need a saucepan. I have an old unsuccessful (thin-walled) vog. Or rather a parody of it. Wooden handles need to be wrapped in foil to prevent them from burning. You can use absolutely any pan of a suitable size - it won’t get too smokey and is easy to clean.

And cover the fish on top. Now the wet wood chips will smoke and smoke the fish.

The fish is prepared, of course, in different ways - it depends on the heat and on the fish. My heat was medium, and it took 25-30 minutes to cook. The whole chicken will be ready in 45-50 minutes. You can remove the pan and look (for the first time). Well, if you have already removed the pan, brush additional soy sauce on top of the fish. Although this is not a required step. She will smoke well anyway.

Well, here she is, our beauty.

We ate it right away hot. Look how easily the skin comes off, and underneath there is a wonderful layer of shiny, delicate fat. The fish is so tender... I can’t even put it into words, you just have to try it. Of course, you can eat it cold (if there is any left), but I still like it better hot. And my husband likes it! — you see a “still life”?! He says that without a steamy glass, the picture won’t be the same)). So, I highly, highly recommend trying this method of cooking fish. And try it on mackerel - it’s so fabulously good!

Smoking without a smokehouse

It happens that a smokehouse is not always nearby, but you have a chance to get hold of some fish. Or you saw an interesting recipe, but haven’t purchased the device yet. In this case, ordinary foil will come to the rescue. You need to wrap the fish in several layers of foil, and then make holes with toothpicks. In this form, the product is sent to the grill. Fatty fish, for example, carp, are suitable for this smoking method.

Smoking fish with foil

You can also smoke hot smoked fish in a smokehouse using scrap materials. A bucket or barrel is used as a base. If this is a bucket, then sawdust or shavings from hardwood are placed on its bottom. The layer is approximately 2 cm. Don’t forget about juniper twigs or berries: it will give the fish an excellent smell and appetizing appearance. A tray is placed above the sawdust to drain grease. Since the smokehouse is made from scrap materials, a plate is placed in the bucket. It is impossible to ignore the provision of a tray, as the dripping fat will begin to burn and spoil the product.

Next along the structure of the smokehouse is the grate. It is difficult to find a round grate suitable for a bucket in the house. Therefore, we build a lattice of branches. We take the size of the twigs so that it can be placed in a bucket in a spacer. The finished grate is placed at the level of the middle of the bucket. The fish prepared for smoking is placed on the branches. The pieces are placed so that they are located at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other. Then the bucket is covered tightly with a lid

The tight fit of the lid is an important condition. In order for the bucket to stand stable, it must be placed on brick supports, and a fire must be lit between them

Smoking fish in a bucket

Now all that remains is to provide a fire under the homemade smokehouse. We remember that for hot smoking of fish, the fire corresponds to the size of the structure. A fire that is too active will cause the sawdust to burn, while a weak one will not provide enough smoke and the required temperature inside the unit. A very important point: do not use wood chips that are too dry. If there is no other option, then the dried fuel is sprayed with water, or preferably whiskey. As soon as smoke appears from the bucket, we note the time allotted for smoking.

Proper hot smoking of fish is directly related to maintaining the optimal temperature in the smokehouse. To do this, you just need to drop water on the lid. If the water immediately begins to hiss and evaporate quickly, the temperature in the smokehouse is higher than required. The bucket must be immediately removed from the heat for 15-20 minutes.

Hot smoked smokehouse from a bucket

The duration of smoking depends on the amount of product and the size of the pieces, and the intensity of the fire also affects. Typically, the cooking time for the product ranges from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours. But if the fish is very small, then 20 minutes is enough.

If you are smoking for the first time and have no experience at all, then periodically look under the lid to control the cooking.

Just do this carefully so as not to get burned by hot smoke.

How to choose the right fish for smoking?

In this matter, by and large, there are no restrictions: you can smoke almost any fish, be it river or sea. Of course, every fan has his own favorites: sterlet, greenling, mackerel, bream and others. The most delicious in this form are the fatty varieties: herring, pike perch, catfish, eel, whitefish. But you shouldn’t turn your nose up at simple, worker-peasant varieties, such as perch or crucian carp.

Additional conditions for properly smoking fish:

selection of carcasses of the same type;
approximately the same size.

Only in this case will the fish be smoked according to technology: it will be evenly salted and then smoked.

How to choose a smokehouse for a hike

The smokehouse is collapsible, and at the same time not difficult to install - an ideal option. When choosing a hiking option, you need to consider the following parameters:

dimensions;
weight;
material of manufacture;
ease of use;
value for money

The choice of model depends on how and where it will be used. A folding smokehouse should not take up much space, and it should not have sharp protruding corners that can easily cause injury.

Possible design of a camp smokehouse

Requirements for the smokehouse

A mobile smokehouse should solve problems, and not create them during a hike - this is the main criterion that should be followed.

On long hikes, of course, it is better to take small-sized, lightweight structures. It must be taken into account that the unit will have to be assembled on the road, without tools, with just one hand.

If we are talking about going to the country house or to the river bank with friends, then you can choose a larger model. The volume of the container should allow loading at least one portion of products for the entire company. If you plan to travel by car, then the smokehouse is chosen not by weight, but by ease of maintenance.

In terms of manufacturing material, it is difficult to find equal structures made of stainless steel. But it will cost more than regular steel, which is susceptible to corrosion during long-term use.

There are “disposable” models, that is, after one or two smoking sessions they can be disposed of, as they will simply burn out. But they have their own advantage: they are made of thin steel and therefore very light. This is a good quality for something to take with you on a hike.

What modifications are there?

By design, camp smokehouses for fish or meat can be divided into the following types:

Sealed smokehouse. The lid fits very tightly to the body due to special clamps. This is exactly how a Scandinavian portable smokehouse works. With this device, the smoking process occurs several times faster. In essence, this is a quick hot smoker. The temperature inside rises very quickly and remains at a high level throughout the entire smoking period. It is good to use for meat, as it is more difficult to smoke. The fish delicacy will be ready in just a few minutes.
The leak-proof design also has its advantages. The fish in it will be tastier, since it will be smoked longer and will absorb a maximum of smoke particles. Such a unit can be assembled independently from available materials, even during a hike. To build a smokehouse from a bucket or pan, you need a minimum of time and a maximum of imagination.

You can buy a smokehouse for camping conditions ready-made in a store or make it yourself. A mobile cold smoked smokehouse can be made from a piece of polyethylene and dry tree branches.

Method of smoking fish without a smokehouse

This method involves the use of various available means for smoking, such as a bucket. There are a lot of similar options, and it all depends on the level of your imagination. The main thing is to carefully delve into the technology to understand what is needed for this. What is needed is the following. The smokehouse chamber must be hermetically sealed. The chamber should have a grate on which fish carcasses are placed, and under it, at a distance of 10-20 mm, a tray where fat will collect. Wooden chips are placed on the bottom of the chamber, in a layer of up to 2 cm. It all depends on the volume of the chamber. In short, there are no difficulties and anyone can handle smoking fish. The most important thing is to approach this process seriously and follow useful advice.

Smoked fish without a smokehouse in the kitchen

Igor 03/31/2017

DIY camp smokehouse

Commercially available options are not always suitable for the intended purposes. Cheap smokehouses made of thin metal are common on the market, which quickly burns out and the smokehouse becomes unusable. To avoid this, you should take care of making the smokehouse yourself.

Drawings of a camp smokehouse

The camp smokehouse is made of stainless steel or tinplate 0.5 mm thick in the form of a box with a lid.

At a height of 15 and 25 cm, stops are attached inside the box, onto which mesh frames are installed to accommodate the fish. In order for the frames to fit freely into the box, their dimensions should be 1-2 cm smaller than the dimensions of the box. The dimensions of the lid, on the contrary, should be 1 cm larger than the dimensions of the box so that it fits freely on top of it. The resulting smoke will escape through the gaps between the lid and the box, so a tight seal is not required.

What kind of firewood is needed for smoking fish?

Firewood, sawdust, or both are used to smoke fish. Firewood is needed to maintain temperature, sawdust is needed to produce good thick smoke.

Sawdust should be from wood species that do not contain resins (mainly coniferous and birch). The best tree species for smoking: juniper (can even be combined with berries), grapevine, beech, alder, ash, oak, maple, fruit trees (apple, cherry, plum, etc.)

Sawdust should not be rotten, wet, covered with mold or mildew, or contain bark. Depending on the design of the smoking apparatus, its chamber may be open or closed - the requirements for firewood will depend on this.

If the smoking chamber in which the fish is located is in direct contact with firewood, then the same requirements apply to them as to sawdust. In the case of a sealed chamber heated from the outside, any firewood can be used.

How to smoke fish over a fire without a smokehouse

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Why do people love fishing? An opportunity to break away from the bustle of the city. Feel like a “wild” and brave “hunter”, a breadwinner. Naturally, as a bonus, peace and the opportunity to relax. No wonder there are so many jokes about alcohol while fishing. It would not be correct to say that every fisherman drinks... Moreover, it is not true that every fisherman is an alcoholic. Just if you're staying near a pond with an overnight stay. You can allow yourself to relax. Catch fish. Cook food over a fire. Have a drink and maybe sing a couple of songs with a guitar. That’s why many people appreciate recipes and the opportunity to cook over a fire.

DIY electronics in a Chinese store.

One that cannot be prepared at home. This is despite the presence of a gas stove, oven, microwave, multicooker, blender and other devices. The most famous and common of course: shish kebab, baked potatoes in coals, fish rolled in clay and baked in coals. However, I would like to talk about smoking fish over a fire without a smoker.

In advance for critics, and such are 50% of the Internet. It is better to cook fish, meat, lard, sausage and other products in a smokehouse. If it is good and smoked by a skilled and knowledgeable person, you can only lick your fingers. This recipe is not written as a competitor to a real smokehouse. It is like an option for cooking food over a fire.

Let's say you can cook potatoes at home using different methods that are quite pleasant to the taste. You can fry, boil, make potato pancakes or chips. There are plenty of options. However, potatoes baked in coals still remain a “classic” for many years. There are people who like to eat it, especially on the hunt.

If you eat such potatoes every day and there are no options... Then a person will begin to dream of a “regular fried” frying pan. So we repeat it again! Smoking in a smokehouse is wonderful, delicious and you are right about everything. Just a recipe for cooking over a fire. While fishing you will definitely catch fresh fish. It needs to be gutted and cleaned. By the way, there is one historical fact that perhaps not everyone knows.

The patricians (nobles) of Rome loved and appreciated fish, which was extremely fresh. When it was delivered, it was only alive 10-15 minutes ago, and now it was on the table, fried or boiled. In this regard, the fisherman can feel like an ancient patrician... Then you need to salt and pepper the fish to taste. Use any seasonings, again to taste. You can use a bay leaf. If thyme grows nearby... A wonderful herb for flavor.

Next you need to collect foliage or grass. Almost anyone, but without fanaticism. Wormwood, for example... It will kill all the taste. More precisely, it will make the food extremely bitter. Spruce or pine paws are not suitable for smoking. There will be a lot of resin. The food will be spoiled. You can, for example, use nettle.

Why her? So much growing is usually not a problem to find. Next, make a fire and wait until it burns out and a sufficient amount of coals is formed. Why such a strange sequence of actions? While the fire burns, forming coals. The fish will marinate. Next, a generous “carpet” of greenery is laid on the coals.

The fish is placed on it. The top is covered with a new layer of greenery. It is recommended to place a couple of sticks between the layers of greenery. As soon as the grass or foliage is on the coals, it begins to smoke “terribly”. The fish, covered with a second layer of grass, is smoked. The coals are smoldering below, and the fish is also being heat-treated. It is better to prepare a plastic bottle of water in advance. Grass fires will occur. They will need to be filled with water.

For gourmets... You can pour red wine instead of water. Although there is an opinion... This is not correct. Food “loses” its “roughness” when cooked over a fire. But here it is optional. After 10-15 minutes of cooking. It is recommended to remove the top layer of greenery under which the fish is located. This is where the sticks that were recommended to be placed between the layers come in handy.

Then the fish itself is removed and placed on something clean. The bottom layer of greenery is removed from the coals. It’s better to “shrink” the coals. Then a new layer of greenery on top. The fish is placed on it, but on the other side. Then it is covered with a new layer of greenery on top. We watch for 10-15 minutes so that there are no fires in the grass and swallow the saliva.

The result is that in 20-30 minutes you have a wonderful dish prepared over a fire. Of course, you should take care of the quantity in advance. There should be either “a lot” of small fish. Or several pieces but large. By the way, it depends on this whether you keep it on the coals for 10 minutes (one side) or 15 minutes.

The larger and “thick-skinned” the fish. The longer you keep it. The main thing is that there is enough for each participant in the “feast” around the fire. Perhaps not everyone will like it. The smokehouse is better. Yes, even charcoal-baked potatoes are not to everyone’s taste. There's only one thing left to add... bon appetit.