Hot smoked carp: recipes at home, calorie content, photos, videos

Principles and methods of smoking carp

The easiest way to smoke carp is in a hot smoker. To do this, the chamber with fish and wood chips is placed directly on the fire source. At the dacha this could be a barbecue or a fire, in an apartment it could be a gas or electric burner. They build such a smokehouse from what is at hand, for example, from an ordinary bucket with a lid, into which 2 grates are installed.

When preparing sawdust yourself, you need to be careful not to get any tree bark.

You can prepare sawdust yourself, but it’s easier to buy them at any supermarket. Wood chips from beech, apple, alder, maple, linden, oak, cherry, and elm are well suited for cooking. Conifers and birch are not used. In addition to wood chips, additionally add small branches of fruit trees to obtain better taste and smell.

At what temperature and how long should you smoke carp?

The smoke temperature during hot smoking is 80-150 degrees. The smaller the fish, the lower the indicator. Small carcasses are cooked at a temperature of 110 degrees.

The smoking time for carp depends on the cutting method and the size of the fish and ranges from 40 minutes to 3 hours. If the carcass is small or cut into pieces, 1 hour is usually enough. In addition, you need to pay attention to the type of product and the color of the smoke. The dish is ready when a golden brown crust has formed and the smoke has turned white.

Rules for choosing fish for smoking

There are several factors to consider when choosing fish:

• degree of freshness of the product;
• carcass size;
• fish weight.

Only fresh fish is suitable for smoking. As an exception, you can smoke quick-frozen fish if it has never thawed.

You can smoke carp of any size. The main thing is that approximately identical carcasses are smoked at the same time. Then they will be salted and smoked at the same time.

Carcasses up to 500-700 grams are usually not gutted, but smoked whole. Larger specimens are cleaned of their entrails, salted and smoked. Carcasses over 1 kg must be gutted and cut into two longitudinal halves, preserving the scales.

The smoking process consists of several stages:

How to prepare carp for smoking

It is smoked whole or cut in different ways. In any case, the entrails must be removed from the fish. For whole carcasses, the head is left and the gills are removed. As a rule, smoked with scales.

Then you need to salt or marinate the carp for hot smoking. This can be done dry or wet. The simplest method is dry salting, which uses only salt, sometimes along with sugar.

There are different ways to cut carp

How to marinate carp for smoking

The classic marinade for smoking carp consists of the following ingredients (based on 3 kg of fish):

• salt – 200 g;
• sugar – 20 g;
• ground red pepper – 20 g;
• ground black pepper – 20 g.

Procedure:

1. Mix all the spices.
2. Carefully remove the insides, do not touch the scales. Rub the carcasses with spices. Place in a cool place for 12 hours.
3. Rinse, blot dry, hang the fish for 10-12 hours. It should air dry. This way it will lose moisture naturally and become denser.

Can be marinated in wine brine.

Ingredients:

• small carcasses – 3 pcs.;
• water – 2 l;
• salt – 2 tbsp. l.;
• dry white wine – 2 tbsp. l.;
• lemon juice – 3 tbsp. l.;
• soy sauce – 3 tbsp. l.

Procedure:

1. Sprinkle the carcasses with salt, put a weight on them, and place them in the refrigerator for 2 days.
2. Rinse the fish. Let dry overnight.
3. Mix water with lemon juice, then add soy sauce. Heat the mixture, but do not bring it to a boil.
4. Cool, add wine.
5. Place the fish in the prepared brine and put it in the refrigerator overnight. It needs to be dried before smoking.

Lemon and fresh herbs are used to marinate carp.

How to pickle carp for smoking

The easiest way is to generously rub it with salt. Next, you need to place the carcasses under pressure and put them in the refrigerator for 3 days. After this, rinse the fish with tap water and hang to dry for 24 hours.

You can immerse the fish in brine. Per liter of water you will need 200 g of salt. A little granulated sugar is often added.

Procedure:

1. Mix salt in water and bring to a boil.
2. When the brine has cooled, immerse the fish in it. Cover and refrigerate for 3 days.
3. Rinse it out of the tap and dry it in the fresh air for 2 hours.

Cooking fish in a smokehouse on the stove

If you don’t know how to smoke carp at home, then many models of smokehouses have appeared for home use. They can be used directly in the kitchen or outside.

The design of the smokehouse is quite simple. Wood chips are placed at the bottom of the metal box. This can be alder, cherry, apple, juniper and other types of wood that do not emit resin when burning.

Then a tray is installed for draining fat, and the products prepared for smoking are laid out on top of the grates. All this is covered with a lid, and special grooves along the perimeter of the lid are filled with water (“water seal”), which prevents smoke from escaping.

For heating, the structure is installed on a gas or electric stove. When smoke starts coming out of a special hole in the lid, the smoking time begins to count down.

If the process takes place in an apartment, then a hose is put on the smoke exit hole and discharged into an open window or hood. In nature, a hose is not used.

Craftsmen often wonder whether it is possible to make a smokehouse from scrap materials. Of course, you can, for this you use old cast iron cauldrons, large pots or buckets. Using the same principle, even in an ordinary cast-iron frying pan you can quickly smoke 1-2 small fish.

Units for cold smoking can also be purchased. But they are much more expensive and are used only outdoors. Therefore, cold smoking is less popular among lovers of smoky foods.

Homemade smoked carp is an original and incredibly tasty appetizer. Whatever salting and smoking method you choose, you will still get a healthy delicacy.

Smoked carp is a wonderful delicacy that can be prepared independently outdoors or at home. For this you will need: fresh fish, a smoking device and suitable recipes. There are many ways to smoke carp. It is enough to name cold, semi-hot and hot smoking, as well as pseudo-smoking with liquid smoke. One way or another, the fish turns out surprisingly tasty.

How to smoke carp in a hot smoker

The procedure is as follows:

1. Prepare a smokehouse and a grill that will serve as a heating element.
2. For smoking, use cherry and alder wood chips. You can add dry juniper branches. Place the wood chips in the smokehouse (layer thickness – 3 cm).
3. Install gratings. Cover them with foil, place the carcasses on it, and cover. If you want the fish to develop a dark crust, smoke without foil, but you will have to grease the grill, otherwise the carcasses will stick.
4. Smoke for approximately 1 hour from the moment the camera is installed on the grill. First, cooking takes place over moderate heat. After 15 minutes, the heat should be gradually increased so that for the last 20 the temperature is 120 degrees.
5. After 1 hour, remove the smokehouse from the grill, but do not open it. Leave it for about one hour to allow the carp to ripen in the smoke.

How to smoke hot?

Now let's look step by step at how to smoke hot smoked fish.

What kind of fish is best to smoke?

A novice smoker is primarily interested in what kind of fish is suitable. It can be anything, sea or river. The main thing is that it is fresh. Of course, defrosted fish are also smoked if they are frozen fresh. Most often in practice, fish of carp species (asp, bream, sabrefish), sturgeon (sterlet, sturgeon), as well as catfish, eels, smelt and cod are smoked.

The size of the carcass is not particularly important. Preference can be given to fatter individuals. It is better if in one batch there are fish of the same species, approximately the same size. Then all this fish will be salted and then smoked evenly.

Small fish weighing up to 400 g, as a rule, are not gutted: they are salted and smoked whole carcasses. Medium-sized fish up to 3 kg are most often gutted, leaving the scales and head.

Large specimens are gutted and then stripped, always cutting off the head. They can be halved along the back or smoked in pieces cut crosswise.

Pickling

This is an extremely important stage, because the final taste of the fish depends on the degree of salting.

Fish or fillet pieces prepared for smoking are salted in brine (high concentration brine) or dry.

Small individuals are “put on” twine through the eye sockets. Large ones are tied in pairs by their tails. Large pieces of fillet are simply tied with twine.

When dry salting, the fish is placed in layers in some container, sprinkling salt on each layer. Particularly large fish are simply rubbed with salt, then wrapped in parchment.

When wet salting, the fish are immersed in brine. With this method, the salting time is greatly reduced (up to two hours).

The salting stage for hot smoked fish lasts from three hours for small fish, up to 12 hours for large ones.

Drying

After salting, the fish must be dried to ensure even saltiness. The fish need to be tied with twine and hung so that the brine drains. To protect against insects, you can make a gauze canopy by folding the fabric several times, then moisten it with vinegar.

Before smoking begins, all prepared carcasses must be carefully tied with twine for easy hanging in the smokehouse. This will also prevent the fish from falling apart during cooking.

Cooking in a barrel smoker

At the bottom of the barrel you need to place pre-prepared wood chips with sawdust of suitable wood species. Layer thickness is 2 cm. Be sure to prepare several juniper branches for flavoring.

One or two grates and a lid must be adjusted to the size of the barrel in advance. Install the gratings at a suitable height, one above the other. It is better to lay the fish in one layer; the carcasses should not touch each other. It is better to place large fish on the lower grid, closer to the bottom, and small ones - at the top. There is no need to remove the twine straps from the fish: the smoked fish will simply fall apart.

Then it’s time to make a fire. Let it be small, but give a uniform, long-lasting heat. After this, the smokehouse must be closed with a lid. The first stage of cooking fish in a smokehouse is about a quarter of the time, this is the drying stage. The smoke temperature is approximately 80 degrees Celsius. Smoking itself will begin when the smoke temperature in the barrel reaches 100 degrees.

By splashing water on the lid of the barrel, you can determine in general terms the “conditions” inside the smokehouse. Evaporating rather than boiling water is a sure sign that smoking is going well.

It is better not to open the lid itself during the process so that the penetrated air does not ignite the chips.

Recipe for hot smoked carp with spices

Ingredients:

• mirror carp – 2 kg;
• water -1.5 l;
• salt -80 g;
• grain mustard – 3 tsp;
• freshly ground black pepper – 2 tsp.

Important! The fish should lie freely in the brine and be completely covered with it.

Procedure:

1. Cut the carp along the spine, cutting off the ribs on one side, and lay it out like a book so that the carcass becomes flat. Remove the entrails and tear off the gills.
2. Pour salt into the water, stir until dissolved, pour over the carp, put in the refrigerator for 1 day.
3. Remove the fish from the brine and pat dry with a napkin.
4. Roll in a mixture of pepper and mustard seeds.
5. Place on the smoker rack. Place scales down.
6. Smoking time for mirror carp is 25-30 minutes.

Mustard marinade for fish

Fans of savory snacks will like the recipe with mustard seeds.

• 2 carcasses 2.-2.5 kg each;
• 2 tbsp. mustard seeds;
• 40 g coarse sea salt;
• 1.5 liters of clean water;
• 1-2 pinches of crushed ground pepper.

Preparation: Before preparing the dish, carefully prepare the carp.

To make the brine, dissolve the salt in water, soak the fish in it, and put it in the refrigerator for a day.

We take out the carcasses and dry them thoroughly with kitchen towels.

Dip them first in black pepper, then in mustard seeds. If desired, the procedure can be performed several times.

Place the carp on the lower grill of the smokehouse and smoke for 3 hours.

Then we hang the smoked meats to dry for a couple of hours so that the flesh becomes denser and more elastic.

Recipe for smoked carp marinated with apples

Required ingredients:

• carp – 3 pcs.;
• green apples – 2 pcs.;
• salt – 2 tbsp. l. with a slide;
• sugar – ½ tsp;
• seasoning for fish - to taste.

Procedure:

1. Cut the fish. Salt it dry: stack one on top of the other, sprinkle with salt, sugar and seasoning. Place in the refrigerator for several hours.
2. Get the fish. Cut the apples into slices, insert them into the bellies and place them on top, let them stand.
3. Send the preparations to the hot smoked smokehouse. Cook for approximately 45-60 minutes.

Smoked fish marinated in wine

Using wine in the marinade preserves the juiciness of the fish and gives it a pleasant aroma.

• 3 medium fresh carp carcasses;
• 1.5 tbsp. salts;
• 2 liters of clean water;
• 2 tbsp. dry (semi-dry) white wine;
• 3 tbsp each juice from lemon and soy sauce.

Before smoking the carp, we make a neat cut along the belly and take out the insides. Rinse thoroughly.

Pour salt into an enamel bowl and dip the carcasses in it, also rubbing them from the inside. We transfer the fish into a pan, put a press on top, and put it in the refrigerator. Salting lasts two to three days.

Then we transfer the carp to a bowl of water to wash off the excess salt. We hang the washed fish in the air and leave it to dry for a day.

To make the marinade, combine soy sauce, water, lemon juice, wine and spices in a saucepan. Bring the marinade almost to a boil, but do not boil, cool completely. Immerse the fish in the marinade, cover, and leave in the cold for 10-13 hours.

We take out the fish and smoke the carp in a hot or cold smokehouse.

Cold smoking carp

Smoking carp fish using the cold method is a complex and lengthy process.

Required ingredients:

• carp – 2 kg;
• salt – 200 g;
• black peppercorns;
• allspice peas;
• Bay leaf.

Procedure:

1. Cut up the carp. Cut along the spine, lay the carcass flat, remove the gills and entrails, make transverse cuts down to the skin.
2. Dry salting. Sprinkle a layer of salt on the bottom of the dish and place the fish back down. Sprinkle salt, pepper, bay leaf on top, place under pressure and put in a cool place for 4 days.
3. Next, rinse the fish in cold water, add it again and leave for half an hour.
4. The fish should be medium salted. It can be used as an independent dish. The fish is ready to eat.
5. Hang to dry for a day.
6. The next day, start smoking in a smokehouse equipped with a smoke generator.
7. Smoking time is 3-4 days.
8. Then you need to leave it for two days to ripen.

Before cold smoking, carcasses need to be well salted.

Recipes for smoking carp at home

You can smoke hot smoked carp at home in a compact smokehouse or without it. Use the top burners of the stove or oven as the fire source.

In the oven

To smoke fish in the oven you will need the following accessories:

• a package for home smoking made of heat-resistant foil with wood chips;
• fish tray;
• cling film;
• a sheet of foil (its size is twice the size of the smoking bag).

The ingredients you need to take are:

• carp – 1.5 kg;
• sea ​​salt – 2 pinches;
• lemon – ½ piece;
• dill – 1 bunch;
• seasoning from vegetables and dry herbs - 2 tbsp. l.

Procedure:

1. Gut the carp, cut off the gills, and rinse thoroughly. Wipe the scales with a rag to remove all the mucus. Dry the fish.
2. Make 4 transverse cuts on the side of the carcass.
3. Cut the lemon into slices.
4. Mix salt and seasoning and rub the carp on all sides. Place dill and lemon slices into the belly.
5. Place paper napkins in the tray, place the carcass in it, and cover with several layers of cling film.
6. Place the fish in the refrigerator for 10 hours.
7. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
8. Remove the tray from the refrigerator.
9. Place the smoking bag on the table so that the side with the double bottom where the sawdust is located is at the bottom.
10. Fold a sheet of foil in half, forming something like a plate with sides the size of a carp. Place the fish in it and place it in a smoking bag. Wrap the ends and press tightly so that there is no smell of smoke in the house.
11. Place the package on the bottom of the oven without a baking sheet or wire rack.
12. Close the oven and smoke for 50 minutes at 250 degrees. After the time has passed, turn off and leave the fish in the oven for about half an hour. Then carefully remove it from the bag and place it on an oval dish.

For smoking in an apartment, it is convenient to use a foil bag with sawdust

On the stove

There are models of household smokehouses that can be used in a city apartment. The simple metal structure in the form of a box with a lid has compact dimensions and can be installed on a gas burner.

Next, you should use the recipe for smoking carp in a hot smoked smokehouse in an apartment on a stove. To do this, you need prepared fish and wood chips - cherry, alder, beech.

Procedure:

1. Pour wood chips into the bottom of the smokehouse and place a tray on it to collect fat.
2. Place fish carcasses on the grilles.
3. Close the box with a lid.
4. Along the perimeter of the upper edge of the smokehouse, where the lid fits, there is a groove that needs to be filled with water. This is a water seal that prevents smoke from escaping. The lid has a hole with a fitting. If the smoking process does not take place outside, but indoors, put a hose on the fitting and direct it out the window.
5. The smokehouse is placed on a gas or electric burner. The time is counted after the appearance of smoke.

You can take a bucket, cauldron, pan and smoke in them according to the same principle as in a smokehouse.

With liquid smoke

The simplest recipe for hot smoked carp is to cook it with liquid smoke.

You need to prepare the following ingredients:

• carp – 500 g;
• liquid smoke – 3 tsp;
• salt – 1 tsp;
• black pepper – ¼ tsp.

Procedure:

1. Gut the carp, wash and dry.
2. Mix pepper and salt and rub inside and outside the carcass. Then pour liquid smoke over it.
3. Pack in foil, carefully wrapping all edges.
4. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
5. Place the foil-wrapped fish on the grill.
6. Cook for 1 hour. Every 15 minutes the package needs to be turned over to the other side.
7. Cool the finished fish without unrolling the foil.

Types of smoking

Smoking of products, including fish, is done in two ways:

• Hot smoking. After it, the fish becomes juicy, aromatic and soft. The process occurs at a temperature of 50-120 degrees (sometimes 150). The process takes very little time, after which the product is completely ready for use. Although the shelf life of hot smoked carp is short (only 7 days), the high temperature during the process disinfects the fish, killing all pathogenic microorganisms and helminths.
• Cold smoking. It requires very high-quality raw materials and long-term salting of fish. The smoking temperature does not exceed 30 degrees and lasts 3-5 days, but the shelf life is twice as long. Cold smoked carp retains more vitamins.
• Below we give examples of carp salting recipes that are suitable for any type of smoking.

Fast way

If you don’t have time to get sophisticated, then we advise you to prepare carp for smoking in the simplest way.

Preparation: Gut the fish, wash it, dry it and rub it on all sides with salt. We put the carcasses into piles and put them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours.

Then we put alder chips on the bottom of the smokehouse and sprinkle it with water. We place the carcasses on the grill at some distance from each other and begin the smoking process. After half an hour, the smoked fish can be consumed.

Classical

Cooking home-smoked carp is not as difficult as it seems. The main thing is to take fresh fish and salt it correctly.

Ingredients for cooking:

• 3-4 medium carcasses;
• 1 garlic head;
• 2 onions;
• 3 tbsp. olive oil;
• 3 pinches each of salt, black pepper and coriander.

Preparation: Before marinating the fish, it must be gutted. We thoroughly wash the carcasses, remove the entrails, rinse again and, if desired, cut off the heads. We don’t throw them away, but cook a rich fish broth from them, after removing the eyes and gills.

For the marinade, mix the spices with vegetable oil until smooth. Separately, peel, finely chop the garlic, and chop the onion into half rings.

Lubricate the carcasses inside and outside with aromatic oil and leave in the cold for 3-4 hours. We take out the fish, fill the bellies with onions and garlic, and send them to smoke for one and a half to two hours.

Storage rules

Hot smoked carp should only be stored in the refrigerator. In a common chamber at a temperature of 0 to + 2 degrees, the carcass can lie for up to three days. If frozen, the period will increase to 21 days at -12 degrees, up to 30 days at -18 and below.

The optimal air humidity at temperatures up to +8 degrees is 75-80%. When stored in the freezer - about 90%.

Cold smoked fish can be kept in the common chamber of the refrigerator for up to 7 days, frozen – up to 2 months.