Methods of hanging and looping fish, meat, poultry and lard for smoking, choosing twine and rope.

Looping meat legs for smoking.

To make a secure loop on the loin and brisket, you need to do something different. For more reliable fastening, the twine is threaded through the loin and brisket, capturing the rib. For reliability, the lard is hung on two loops at once.

Firmware

The firmware is suitable for hot smoking of herring, mullet, and roach. It is important to use the method for small fish, since large carcasses can tear during processing. Two punctures are made in the fish: in the middle of the carcass and on the tail. Twine is passed through them. A loop for a hook is knitted on the tail.

There are other strapping options. Every fisherman has his own secrets.

The main thing is to carry out the procedure according to technology in order to eliminate unfavorable situations during the smoking process.

Source: 1pokopcheniyu.ru

Looping and hanging meat products for smoking, loin, brisket, bacon.

Some smokers prefer to tie large pieces of brisket and loin with twine in squares - lengthwise and crosswise. This is how packages and parcels are usually tied. This is a reliable method of fastening if you make a strong, reliable loop at the end of the braid. For this, the product is then hung up for drying, smoking, and drying.

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Quote from Milionersha's message

Read in full In your quotation book or community!
A simple homemade smokehouse in the country

Smokehouse for hot smoking

The smokehouse is easy to make. It is shaped like an ordinary box with a tight lid.

.
Better stainless steel. You set the dimensions yourself
.

On the side walls, approximately in the middle of the height, it is necessary to weld or secure stops in order to place a removable grill (also made of stainless steel) for placing smoking products on it.
As I already said, the lid should be tight
.

The smokehouse is refueled like this: we place a smoke generator

Alder wood is considered the best.
But you can use cherry, apple, pear, peach wood,
sawn into circles or chopped with an ax,
or in the form of sawdust.
The shape doesn't matter much.

Then we put the grate in its place, place the products to be smoked on the grate, and close the lid. Now you need to heat the bottom of the box to such an extent that the wood circles begin to char and create smoke for smoking

. Since the box is dense, all the resulting smoke will be used for smoking.

You can heat the bottom of the box in different ways

just put it on a pre-lit fire,
put it on a kerosene stove or
on a gas stove or
on an electric stove or hotplate.
The duration of smoking depends on the intensity of combustion of the wood circles and on the temperature in the box.
On average it takes 20-50 minutes.
This is determined by experience.

This smokehouse is recommended for small portions of smoking.

To use it for larger portions of smoking, including meat products, it is recommended to improve it.

First, make the box itself more substantial in size.
Secondly, in the lower half (below the grate), weld stops in order to place a second grate on them, and on it a vessel for collecting dripping fat from smoking products
.
In this case, the dripping fat will not burn and smoking will be carried out only from the smoke of alder or wood from other fruit trees.

For ease of use and movement of the smokehouse box, metal handles can be welded (or bolted) on the end sides.

Do-it-yourself smokehouse in the country - drawing diagram

The diagram shows:

1 - general view of the smokehouse-box, 2 - lid, 3 - alder cut into slices, 4 - grate on which the product to be smoked is placed. After installing such a smokehouse at your dacha, your vacation will seem even more pleasant.

Next, see several more types of smokehouses.

Homemade for hot and cold smoking

Good smoked capelin

Traditional technologies for smoking fish are cold and hot, but experienced tourists widely use semi-hot. The latter has a number of advantages, which we will discuss below. For now about the main thing.

We will smoke small fish, or regular store-bought capelin

, alas, it is not found in our rivers and ponds , but when smoked it is very tasty!

About wood

The best wood for smoking is alder and juniper.

But the latter has become rare in many areas and needs protection. Therefore, when harvesting, carefully break off only dry twigs; besides, raw ones are still not suitable

. Just a few branches of this wonderful plant are enough to give the fish both a golden color and a unique aroma.

If there is no alder, you can use dry wood of any hardwood:

oak, hazel, ash, maple, apple, pear, cherry, plum; It is imperative to remove the bark from a birch tree - it contains tar.
In no case should you use pine, spruce, cedar - they contain a lot of resin
.
The wood must be chopped into small pieces or chips of 4...6 centimeters.
When smoking, you can and even need to use sawdust.
Chicks, branches and sawdust are poured onto the bottom of the barrel in an even layer. They will begin to smolder and emit smoke as soon as the bottom of the barrel or bucket is heated from a fire built below.

A few words about the fire itself. When smoking fish, it should be small, but give a lot of heat - you can choose any kind of wood.

Keeping a fire burning smoothly for a long time is an art.

, which is acquired only by one’s own experience. But the quality of the prepared smoked fish depends on this experience.

Hot smoking

This method has many advantages.

It's fast, reliable, simple;
The fish is immediately ready to eat.
And there is no need for complex structures. There is a metal barrel - great, no - you can get by with an old bucket, but they need to be thoroughly calcined.
A prerequisite is well-fitting lids.
How to use these containers is clear from the figure.
The insert nets on which the fish are placed are made of annealed steel wire with a diameter of 4...6 millimeters.

So, we are going to smoke fish using the hot method.

We do not cut small fish, we gut the medium one, cut large fish into a layer or flank - cutting along the spine into two fillets.

Wash the cut fish and salt it dry. For this we need

board or piece of plywood,
coarse salt No. 1 or No. 2.
After sprinkling salt on the board and the fish, rub the salt into the carcass, moving it along the table with slight pressure.
Rub the inner surface of the belly with salt by hand.
If the fish has a thick back, make a cut in it along the ridge and rub salt into it.

Salting oily fish (capelin, mackerel, halibut, horse mackerel, catfish, flounder, silver carp, catfish, burbot) is somewhat different from what was described above.

Rubbed with coarse salt, each fish or layer is wrapped in parchment or pencil tracing paper so that the fats do not oxidize.
Then the fish is placed in layers in enamel dishes, preferably in trays with a lid.
Everything is covered with parchment on top, and its edges are folded.
It is advisable to place the fish in a small mound and press it down with a lid, securing it with a rope or wire.

Salting fish thawed in cold water lasts slightly longer than fresh fish - from 4...6 hours to a day.

Under the influence of salt, proteins coagulate, the taste and smell of raw fish are lost, its meat thickens and becomes usable without further cooking.

The next operation is drying the fish for 40...60 minutes

. During this time, its salinity reaches the required 1.5...2.0 percent and the fish is partially dehydrated, as brine - a salt solution - drains off.

The fish is tied with twine and hung on hangers and covered from flies with a gauze canopy.
Can be placed in plastic bags and stored in a cool place, for example, in a refrigerator or cellar.
In the second case, before putting the fish in the smokehouse, it is thoroughly wiped of brine, the over-salted fish is washed with fresh water, and then wiped.

Options for tying fish for hot smoking:
a
– with an insert key,
b
– firmware,
c
– tying. When it’s cold, the fish is simply hung.

Now you can smoke the fish.

A mixture of alder or other chicks with the addition of juniper is loaded into the bottom of a bucket or barrel,
and on grids made of metal wire in the middle and upper part of the vessel the fish is placed, the larger ones at the bottom.
It is laid loosely in one layer.
The harness made with harsh twine (do not use synthetics!) is not removed.
Make a fire under the barrel and, if possible, close it tightly with a lid or metal sheet.
After 30...60 minutes, depending on the size of the fish and the smokehouse, the smoke from under the lid becomes dry and acquires a characteristic aroma.
The final readiness is determined by the appearance of the fish, golden tea color and dry surface of the skin.
In this case, the smokehouse can be opened only for a very short time
, so that the lumps do not ignite due to air access.

In a barrel you can place fish in three or four grids

The temperature inside the barrel is about 80° during drying, which is about a quarter of the time, and about 100° during direct smoking. As a result of this process, proteins coagulate, low-resistant organic compounds are destroyed, some nitrogenous substances are lost along with moisture, and fat is rendered.

Determining the temperature is quite simple

– just splash water on the lid.
If the water does not boil, but simply evaporates
, the smoking mode is maintained correctly.

The finished dish cannot be stored for long; it must be consumed within two to three days.

Cold smoking

Cold smoking is more labor-intensive. It is necessary to build a special smokehouse, salt the fish longer, and the process itself takes from two to three days.

Cold smokehouse.

The chimney groove is made approximately 100 × 100 or 150 × 150 mm.
From above it is covered with a board and turf.
Below is a fire pit.
On top is a smoking box.

The structure of the simplest smokehouse is clear from the figure. The optimal length of an inclined chimney should be at least 7...10 meters

. If there is a cellar on the site, you can use it; if not, you will have to build an artificial embankment.

Fresh fish is salted for five days, defrosted - twice as long.
Moreover, the fish placed in trays is additionally sprinkled with salt.
Soaking also lasts longer - 4...6 or more hours.
After this, the fish is tied and dried for 24 hours.
The smoke temperature in the smokehouse should be no more than 35°.
After smoking, the fish can be dried for 24 hours - this will increase the shelf life.

During cold smoking, fish loses a significant part of its moisture and becomes saturated, as if preserved, with smoke from the fire.

And one more addition: the more salt in the fish, the lower the temperature should be.

Semi-hot smoking

Potbelly stove for semi-hot smoking

Fish that has been salted for more than a day is suitable for it; soaking can be done “by eye.” An ordinary iron stove “potbelly stove” was used as a smokehouse.

with a couple of additional bends on the pipe so that the smoke temperature is around 50...60°. The blower was covered to ensure smoldering in the firebox, and the fish was hung at some distance from the end of the pipe in the zone where the smoke mixed with air.

One day of light is enough for smoking.
The taste of the fish is somewhat unusual, and the appearance and aroma are closer to hot smoking.
This technology is currently not widely used, but is interesting in its simplicity and great opportunities for experimentation.

Previously published:

Science and life. 1988. No. 7.

There are two ways to smoke fish - cold and hot.

In addition, there is another way to accelerate smoking - in a metal portable smokehouse

However, in this case, the fish turns out baked-smoked and less tasty, according to gourmets. A smokehouse for cold smoking is built on a sloping clay bank. They dig a chimney (ditch) three to four meters long and 40-50 centimeters deep, cover it on top with branches and turf. At the end of the chimney, a vertical hole is made, lined with stones or turf, and something like a wide pipe up to 1 meter high is erected above the ground. In it, freshly salted or salted fish and then soaked in running water are hung on crossbars.

Another option for smoking fish on the shore while fishing

Hot smoked fish is prepared in a special fish smokehouse.

Unlike drying, almost all types of fish are suitable for smoking. Eel, bream, tench, cod, carp, river perch, and burbot are especially tasty when smoked.

For hot smoking, gut the fish, leaving the head and scales, as when finished it will be more attractive and less dry.
After gutting and washing, sprinkle the fish with salt (at the rate of 1 tablespoon of salt per 1 kg of fish) or fish spices on salt and leave for 2-3 hours to salt.

Dry-salted fish or placed in brine (depending on its weight) should be kept in the cold until smoking for 1 to 4 hours.

. Just before smoking the fish, rinse lightly with cold water and wipe dry with a clean cloth.

If you have time, you can dry the fish for two hours on branches 1-2 cm high.

A layer of small chips from fruit trees is poured onto the bottom of the smokehouse.

Sawdust is best made from alder (birch and pine are not suitable due to the abundance of resin released). A sprig of juniper without needles is added to the sawdust, which gives the fish a golden color, and a bay leaf is added for aroma.
Place a baking tray or frying pan to catch the fat, or lay down several layers of foil.
The fish is hung or placed on a grill so that the carcasses do not touch each other.
You can put spices, vegetables or lemon into the cut belly of each or some fish
if desired.
The box is closed and put on fire.
After 15-20 minutes (depending on the size of the carcasses), the fish will be ready.
The time depends on the size of the carcasses.

If, after removing the lid, they find that the fish is poorly smoked, close the lid and put the fish back on the fire. The duration of smoking fish for each smokehouse design is determined experimentally, and skills are acquired quickly - after 2-3 times

. Depending on the size of the fish, its quantity and the efficiency of the smokehouse, the smoking time averages from 10-15 minutes to 1 hour.

When smoking is finished, open the lid to allow the remaining moisture to evaporate and the fish to dry slightly. Properly smoked fish has a golden brown color, the meat easily separates from the skin, which in turn turns out crumbly and evenly baked.

You can cook hot smoked fish without a smokehouse

Dig a niche in the coastal cliff half a meter deep and wide, and at least 70 cm high.
The prepared fish is placed on sticks fixed at the top, a fire is made under it, rotten alder and aspen pieces, cones, and wet leaves are thrown into it so that thick hot smoke flows around the carcasses.
After 1-3 hours (depending on the size of the carcasses), the fish will be ready to eat.
During the smoking process, the carcasses are turned over several times.

They do this too.

The prepared fish is put on non-resinous sticks and stuck into the ground near the fire on the leeward side so that the fish is in the hot smoke.
Ready smoked fish has a bronze-golden color and a specific, very tasty smell.
During open smoking, fish scales are not removed.
.

DIY smokehouses

To engage in smoking, there is no need to have the ability to be a welder, foundry worker or tinker. Everything can be much simpler, just have access to the Internet, and you can always find and purchase a mini-smokehouse you like, which can be used by a fisherman directly while fishing, a summer resident, and a car enthusiast. The use of electric smokehouses is well suited for hot smoking. The smoke emission process in such devices is catalyzed by internal heating elements. A very useful gadget is a thermostat that will monitor and ensure that the temperature released during smoking is distributed evenly in the internal space of the oven. Due to their appearance, such devices are often compared to microwaves, but they are similar not only in appearance; in operation, electric smokehouses are also simple, unpretentious, easy to assemble and prepare for the process, and also easy to disassemble and clean. In some models (which, naturally, is a big plus) there is not one, but two or even more grates for dishes. This allows you to use time more efficiently and save on costs. You can also find so-called smoking barrels on sale. The construction of such barrels is quite simple, therefore, with a minimum set of knowledge, a lover of home smoking meat or fish, and even smoking sausage, will be able, if there is a sufficient amount of suitable materials, to make such a smokehouse for himself. Inside the barrel there is a vertically located mesh with hooks and forks on which the fish is hung. The mesh itself is placed with its lower end on a tray with the smoking mixture. And this entire composition is placed on an electric stove (or you can use a gas or alcohol burner). There is no standard for the design of smokehouse barrels. You can buy/make a barrel according to one principle, and during operation, upgrade it at your discretion: it is possible that the tray for the smoking mixture is made in the form of a box that slides out; it is possible to use an additional tray to collect dripping fat; you can make the barrel lid in the form of rings (like on a Russian stove) and additionally add tubular sections. There may be several such sections. In general, Russian cuisine is diverse in its subtleties.

Wooden barrel smokehouse

A smoking device made from a barrel (no matter wooden or metal) is unpretentious to manufacture. The bottom of the barrel is first knocked out (the iron barrel is calcined). The top of the barrel is covered with a lid with holes and burlap. This structure is erected on a pre-prepared firebox - a hole one and a half meters long and approximately seventy centimeters deep. The walls of the pit are lined with fireproof bricks so that the weight of the barrel at the most inopportune moment does not crumble the edges of the pit and collapse. The walls are covered with a dense layer of sand/earth/clay. This will allow us to avoid loss of smoke and heat. In front of the pit, the furnace hearth is made directly. You will regulate the flow of smoke by moving the barrel. Having lit a fire under the barrel, we add the mixture for smoking, making sure that temperature and smoke are released, and that there is no open fire. Smoking barrels made according to this principle give a temperature of eighty to one hundred degrees Celsius. Smoking time depends on temperature and smoke concentration, and lasts from three to four hours. The fish is suspended inside the barrel on hooks, nails or rods; this does not play a big role. For smoking, it is necessary that the fish do not come into contact with each other. The fish is pre-prepared as follows: strung on a stick, wrapped in gauze and tied with thread. 1 - firebox with the direction of smoke exit 2 - barrel body without bottom 3 - hanger 4 - barrel lid with small holes for smoke exit 5 - bricks 6 - layer of earth to protect the hearth and bottom of the barrel from leakage of smoke and heat

Homemade smokehouse from a metal barrel

For outdoor smoking, you can make a smokehouse. To do this, we use an iron barrel or part of a ventilation pipe. Next, we cut out the bottom and burn the inside of the barrel over the fire. We make holes in the walls at the same level opposite each other, where the wire on which the products are hung will then be attached. For the smokehouse we make a glass with a diameter of 50-60mm and a length of up to half a meter, with a thickness of no more than 3mm. Solder one end of the pipe, and cut a thread on the second. The barrel must be secured on a stand so that a glass filled with sawdust with a small amount of sugar can be placed underneath to create smoke. We cover the top of the barrel with burlap or asbestos or plywood. Well, the smokehouse is ready. To start smoking, light a blowtorch and heat a glass with sawdust. We monitor the smoke from the barrel; if it comes out strongly, then reduce the flame a little. After about half an hour, let the smoked products cool and hang them for airing, and remove the remaining sawdust from the glass. 1 — barrel with holes for wire 2 — “glass” with sawdust 3 — blowtorch

Two barrel smokehouse

For this smokehouse you need two barrels, remove the bottom on both and place them one on top of the other. We install crossbars in the upper barrel for further hanging of products on them. We close the top barrel with a lid with holes or a cloth to regulate the saturation of the smoke inside the container. It is necessary to make a hole in the bottom barrel for the firebox. At the bottom we place a metal sheet on which the sawdust will smolder. Between the two barrels we will install a wet filter to retain soot; for this we can use a fabric with holes for the passage of smoke. The density of the smoke is regulated by the amount of smoldering sawdust in the firebox. When smoking in such a smokehouse, we maintain the humidity at no more than 50%. If the smoke is humid and thick, and the temperature is higher than normal, a large amount of soot will form on the products.

Smokehouse for fish from a metal barrel

Using a two-hundred-liter metal barrel you can build an excellent homemade smokehouse. To do this, weld the water pipe at a right angle inward. The diameter of the pipe is 32mm, we attach a coupling to the end. We weld one side and cut a thread on the other. We put dried sawdust into the pencil case and heat it with a blowtorch. Of course we use sawdust from deciduous trees. After about 10 -15 minutes, when smoke appears in the barrel, we turn off the lamp. After 2.5-3 hours, we repeat the procedure. On average, normal smoking requires 5-6 sessions. Then we grease the fish with vegetable oil and dry it for 2-3 days. 1 - bend 2 - cover 3 - metal grid 4 - pipe 5 - coupling 6 - pencil case with sawdust 7 - blowtorch 8 - barrel

Homemade smokehouse from a metal barrel

Let's consider a smoking device for smoking fish from an ordinary iron barrel with inserted meshes. This smokehouse is very convenient to use in the field, that is, directly at the fishing spot. To assemble such a smokehouse, you need a metal barrel, pre-heated over a fire, and well-fitted lids. We build a foundation of bricks, and install a barrel on top. We make a fire under the barrel, put sawdust on the bottom of the barrel and insert 3-4 wire mesh on which the fish is laid out. The top lid of the barrel regulates the concentration of smoke inside the barrel. Also, to give a special aroma to the products when smoking, we can place a container with oil and seasonings at the bottom of the barrel (where the sawdust smolders). 1 - fish 2 - grid 3 - baking sheet 4 - firebox

Homemade smoking oven from a barrel

A smoking oven can be made from a used metal barrel or a piece of steel pipe 1.2-1.5 m long and about 30 cm in diameter. Remove the bottom of the barrel and bend the edges of the walls to form a groove. Insert a bowl-shaped tray into the pipe, onto which sawdust is poured. Place a base of bricks underneath it, which should form a fire pit measuring approximately 50cm in length, width and height. (The same dimensions are the minimum dimensions of the barrel, whereas when smoking in a pipe, the platform must correspond to its diameter.) Hang the product on hooks attached to the transverse strips of the mesh. To keep the smoke in the barrel and regulate air access, you need to spread burlap on top. The costs of manufacturing such a smokehouse are minimal, and the smoking result can be checked at any time (the fish should turn golden yellow). 1 - crossbar for hanging food 2 - burlap 3 - barrel without day 4 - baking tray with sawdust 5 - base 6 - hearth

Homemade smokehouse for cold smoking

A device for smoking a small amount of fish can be a wooden or metal barrel with the bottoms removed. You need to dig a trench about 2m in the ground. Such a chimney will connect the firebox to the barrel. Reinforce the chimney walls with old iron, slate or other material. Sprinkle the top of the trench with the chimney with earth. Place the barrel on an iron sheet with holes punched for the passage of smoke and cover it with a sheet of iron or burlap. Passing through the chimney, the smoke cools, as a result of which it is possible to smoke food at a low temperature (20-30 C).

Homemade smokehouse from a bucket

A small smokehouse for fish and meat products can be made from an old galvanized bucket with a lid. The size of the tagan cross depends on the size of the bucket. Insert two grids made of stainless steel wire with a diameter of 3 mm into the bucket. Place one grate at a distance of 100mm from the top edge of the bucket, the other 50mm above the first one, add alder shavings, sawdust or finely planed sticks to the bottom of the bucket in a layer of about 2cm. Sprinkle the food well with salt before smoking (the fish must be scaled and gutted). After 2.5-3 hours, thoroughly rinse the pieces of meat or fish and place them on the grates so that they do not touch each other and do not bake during smoking. Then cover the bucket with a lid and put on fire. Ventilate the finished smoked meats for 10-15 minutes and dry slightly. The stronger the fire, the faster the fuel will begin to smolder and the aromatic smoke necessary for smoking will appear. To prevent the food from burning, the lid must not be opened during smoking, as a fire may break out in the bucket.

1 - general view 2 - steel gratings 3 - installation on a taganka

Smoking pipe

Almost any container of suitable size is suitable for smoking, where you can feed and from where you can remove the smoke. A smokehouse designed for smoking fish in the open air can be built from a steel or galvanized pipe measuring 100x200cm. You can also make it from a sheet of steel measuring 100x65 cm, bending it into a roll and overlapping it by 2-3 cm. To fasten it, you should drill holes in the roll for connecting screws at a distance of 25-30cm from each other. This smokehouse can be used for both vertical and horizontal smoking. If the smokehouse pipe is placed vertically above the fire source, cuts must be made at its upper end for a wooden cross on which the fish will be suspended on strings.

At the bottom, install a sawdust tray made of sheet steel with edges curved upward. Cover the top of the pipe with aluminum foil with holes for smoke to escape. It is convenient to use a gas burner as a fire source. To place the burner under the smoking chamber, the pipe should be placed on bricks before starting smoking. To prepare smoked fish fillets, it is better to place such a smokehouse pipe horizontally. Inside the smokehouse, insert a weeding grid with large cells, the size of which corresponds to the diameter of the pipe. So that the grid can freely enter the pipe, bend the cut ends of the wire back with pliers (to avoid deformation under load, such a grid must be strong). Cover the ends of the pipe with sheets of foil with holes. The upper openings will be for exhaust smoke, the lower ones for fresh air. Install a heating source between the supports on which the smokehouse pipe is laid. 1 - sawdust for smoking 2 - fuel 3 - aluminum foil 4 - grate 5 - smoke outlets 6 - fresh air holes C makeshift portable smokehouse

A small portable smokehouse is a cylinder made of sheet iron with a bottom. Inside such a cylinder, weld or rivet two squares on which the fish pan will be installed. Make a hole in the lid with a plug. The dimensions of such a mini-smokehouse depend on the smoking conditions. The smokehouse cylinder is very convenient for hiking. It can be used to bail out water from a boat or as a stove for a tent. If you pour coals from a fire or hot boiling water inside the smokehouse and close it tightly with a lid, then it will retain heat for several hours.

1 - smokehouse body 2 - squares 3 - baking tray 4 - lid 5 - plug Next I wanted to continue the topic of smoking and move on to the next sections of our site - salting fish and salting meat, without which it is impossible to smoke in smokehouses with your own hands.

Source

Methods for hanging fish for cold smoking.

It is highly undesirable to use paper ropes, fabric braid and wire for looping and tying fish, meat, poultry and lard. When smoking, paper twine can catch fire from the slightest spark or become wet from high humidity in the air or the meat and fish itself. The braid easily catches fire, and the wire eventually cuts through the thickness of the meat, and as a result, it can fall into the coals on the hearth at the most inopportune moment.

Based on materials from the book Preparing poultry, meat, fish. Smoking, canning, drying, making sausages. Kobets A.V.

Twine material

Although hooks can be made from steel wire, metal wire cannot be used for tying.

Firstly, this is simply impossible to do, given the rigidity of the wire.
Secondly, metals that are intended for contact with products are coated with a special layer, which cannot be said about improvised materials.

This implies the basic requirements for twine suitable for use in smoking. It must be durable. Without going into the details of the physical theory (not everyone is able to measure the tensile strength of a particular material), we note that the twine must be selected in composition and thickness in such a way as to withstand the load.

The second requirement is security. The material will come into contact with the product that goes into food, so organic chemical products (rubber, plastic) should not be considered in this regard. The third requirement is related to resistance to high temperatures. In the smoking box it can reach 130°C degrees. Considering all the requirements put forward, it is better to take cotton or linen thread. Its thickness should be determined not only by the maximum load. A thin thread can cut through the fibers and the tying will be of no use.

Linen and cotton are quite durable materials, they are safe for food and do not change their physical properties at the specified temperature. In addition, by absorbing moisture, linen and cotton thread will remain just as strong. This is very important, because as a result of smoking, a lot of liquid is released from the fish.

You can’t find special threads on the market, so most often you have to buy regular twine. It is recommended to soak the twine in water for 2-3 minutes before tying. After this, the elasticity and strength of the rope will increase. You can also use hemp, but when hanging large carcasses you will have to fold it in several layers.

Survival site

For hanging and looping fish, meat, poultry and lard during drying or smoking, experienced smokers advise purchasing cotton or linen twine, which is a tightly twisted rope made of natural fibers. It, as professionals say, must have high linear density. The larger it is, the heavier the product can be hung on it.

When buying twine or rope in a specialized store or on the website, you should ask about the specific breaking load of one thread (13.0 is the average), the coefficient of variation in breaking load when testing a single thread (the norm is about 6%) and the twist coefficient. Simply put, twine or rope must be strong, hold weight well, withstand twisting and not become limp when wet.

It is recommended to dip purchased cotton twine in water for 2-3 minutes before use - this increases its strength and elasticity. You can also use thin hemp rope for looping and tying smoked meats, which should also be strong enough. To hang large heavy pieces of meat, twine or rope should be folded 5–6 times, and for small fish, pieces of meat, poultry, and lard, it is enough to fold the rope 2–3 times.

Step-by-step instruction

Fish selection

For hot smoking fish, it is better to take freshly caught carcasses. If this is not possible, you can take frozen fish, but you can only defrost it in cold (not warm) water, otherwise it will soften and lose its beautiful appearance.

For cooking, you need to take fish of the same type and size, otherwise the smoking process will take a long time. You should not put pieces of different types and sizes into the smokehouse chamber, because the cooking time for each type of product is individual.

There is no need to repeat that the fish must be fresh, without foreign odors, damage, plaque or films on sunken eyes.

Carcass cutting

Each size of fish requires its own approach:

Small carcasses (weight up to 400 g, in the case of carp and bream - up to 800 g) do not need to be cleaned, but the gills must be removed. They are smoked whole, without removing the insides, if you are dealing with predators. In them, the contents of the stomach under the influence of heat do not spread across the stomach and do not create a bitter aftertaste.
Medium specimens (carcasses 1–3 kg) need to be gutted, otherwise the insides will provide bitterness to the finished product. There is no need to clean it, as the scales will become a barrier to soot.
Larger fish are cut into uniform pieces. We clean out the insides and throw them away, leaving the scales. We cut the carcass lengthwise, along the ridge, into two halves. If it is very big, then into pieces.

The process of preparing fish for smoking is discussed in more detail here.

Pickling

Culinary experts distinguish three types of salting: dry, wet and mixed. In the first (the ideal proportion is 1 tbsp per 1 kg of fish) only salt, sugar and pepper are present (less often dry garlic and crushed bay leaf), in the second - marinades based on these ingredients, in the third - both other. The correct salting of fish for hot smoking using all three methods is described in brief instructions with a photo. There you will also find recipes for marinades and specific proportions of salt, sugar and spices for dry salting.

Salting for hot smoking usually takes about two days. However, if you lack time, you can reduce it to 2 hours, because you are not going to store the fish for a month. It must be eaten within 3-4 days, but it rarely survives even a day if everything is done correctly.

Excess salt after the procedure must be removed by soaking the product in cold water. Then the fish should be washed, wiped dry and sent to...

Strapping and firmware

... A well-ventilated place, protected from animals and insects. Before this, the carcasses must be tied with twine so as to carefully fix them in a hanging position. For small fish, 3 hours is enough, for medium fish - 6 hours, and so on in increasing order.

Before hot smoking, fish must be tied with natural twine, otherwise it may fall through the grill under the weight of its own weight.