Hot smoked sturgeon, features of cooking at home

Why sturgeon?

Our ancestors also liked sturgeon because it can undoubtedly be called a royal fish. She has a rather imposing appearance with an upturned, elongated nose and bony rows of tubercles on her back. In addition, white sturgeon meat is very nutritious and tasty in any form. Sturgeon is rich in amino acids, easily digestible fish oil, iodine and vitamins.

By the way, a kilogram of hot smoked sturgeon in Moscow costs on average three thousand rubles. While the price for a fresh carcass will be two times lower. Therefore, it is more advisable to smoke the fish yourself. Moreover, it is not difficult to do this at home. Even novice cooks can do the task.

Composition and beneficial properties

The calorie content of fresh fish is 163 kcal per 100 g of product, and cold-smoked sturgeon fillet is 173 kcal.

Sturgeon contains vitamins and minerals. Fish is the leader in sodium content and includes easily digestible proteins, fats, and amino acids. Fish meat is considered a very nutritious product and is even used in recipes for weight loss.

To prepare an amazing dish with your own skillful hands is to please your family and friends.

Table of nutrients in sturgeon:

Why did he look so good to our ancestors? Sturgeon is a freshwater fish, reaching a length of 4 m. It has a very impressive appearance with a long upturned nose and rows of bony tubercles on its back. Its white meat is very tasty and nutritious in any form.

But they are not the only ones who value this fish. From it the most delicious and expensive black caviar, swim bladders (fish glue), and spinal string (vizig) are obtained.

100 g of fish meat contains 173 kcal: 31.2 g of protein and 4.4 g of fat. In sturgeon protein you can find all the amino acids that are necessary for humans, and which are absorbed in the body by 98%. Its carcass consists of 10-15% of the most useful and easily digestible fish oil, which is often prescribed to children to prevent rickets.

Along with microelements common to fish, sturgeon meat contains a large amount of iodine (normalizes the functioning of the thyroid gland), molybdenum, fluorine (strengthens bones), chromium, iron and nickel. As well as vitamins PP, C, B1 and B2. Smoked sturgeon has all these beneficial properties, especially those that have been treated with cold smoke.

This expensive fish becomes much more expensive when you buy it smoked. But in fact, its preparation is not particularly difficult, and you can learn how to smoke it from our article.

Smoking temperature

Smoking is a common type of canning. The fish is first salted, then dried and processed in a smokehouse. Depending on the temperature, there are three cooking options. These are hot, semi-hot and cold smoking. With the first method, it is recommended to process fish at a temperature of plus 90-100 degrees. But in this case, in order not to spoil the dish, the carcass must be quite fatty. Semi-hot smoking is carried out at a temperature of plus 50-80 degrees. The advantage of this method is that the fish turns out especially tasty and has a long shelf life. Cold smoked sturgeon is prepared at temperatures up to plus 45 degrees. With this method, the moisture takes longer to evaporate, and the fish turns out to be dry.

Carcass selection

If you want to cook hot smoked sturgeon at home, pay special attention to the choice of fish. It is best to take a chilled rather than frozen carcass. It can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than two days. Freshness can be easily determined by the eyes - in stale fish the pupil will be cloudy. Also, when choosing, try pressing on the side with your finger. If the dent disappears immediately, then the sturgeon is fresh. But the size of the fish does not matter; both large and small specimens are suitable for smoking.

How to smoke hot smoked sturgeon

The main answer to this question consists of one word - “Correct!” It is necessary to strictly follow the cooking technology, otherwise you can get a charred product, saturated with acrid smoke, stuffed with an abundance of carcinogenic substances.

For smoking, it is better to take fresh fish; defrosted fish will have a much worse taste, and the fibers may fall apart during heat treatment.

Main stages of smoking:

1. Preparing fish;
2. Salting or pickling;
3. Withering;
4. Smoking in a smokehouse.

The choice of wood and smoking equipment is also important.

Preparing for smoking

If you want to surprise your loved ones with a spectacular dish, then smoke the whole sturgeon. Leave the head and growths on the back, and remove the scales and entrails. In general, sturgeon is cut in the same way as any large fish. First you need to clean it, gut it, and only then cut off the head and growths on the back. Chefs recommend following exactly this sequence. If the fish is too large, it is better to cut it into pieces up to five centimeters thick so that the carcass is better marinated.

Now you can move on to hot smoked sturgeon recipes. The article will discuss how to cook it in a smokehouse, oven and with liquid smoke.

Sturgeon in the smokehouse

For one kilogram of sturgeon you will need the following ingredients:

• A tablespoon of salt.
• Half a teaspoon of sugar.
• Pepper and other spices to taste. It is important not to overdo it with spices, so as not to overshadow the delicate taste of hot smoked sturgeon.
• 100 grams of cognac (or dry white wine).

Place the prepared fish in a saucepan or deep bowl. Add salt, sugar, spices and mix well. Cover tightly and refrigerate for about a day.

When the sturgeon is salted, pour it with alcohol. Refrigerate again for one or even two days. After this, remove excess salt from the fish and let it dry.

Place some wood chips on the bottom of the smokehouse, pre-soaked in water for about half an hour. Turn on the heat and once there is enough smoke in the smoker, it is recommended to set the temperature to 80 degrees. The sturgeon will be smoked for about two hours, but check the readiness from time to time so that the dish does not dry out. When you turn off the fire, do not remove the fish immediately. Let it simmer under the lid for about half an hour.

Salting for cold and hot smoking

Salt plays a key role in preparing fish. The main task of the cook is to ensure the removal of microorganisms that are contained in any meat. They can cause a number of diseases when eating raw fish or lead to rotting of the precious product. Any recipe that involves hot or cold smoking begins with salting.

We will consider a universal method that allows you to smoke sturgeon using any chosen method. To do this you will need salt, ground black pepper, bay leaf and sugar. The main ingredient here, of course, is salt. It is taken in such quantity that for every 100 g of product there is one tablespoon. The mass of sugar is a tenth of salt. The amount of pepper depends on your preferences, and spices can be added to taste. Advice from experienced people says that excess spices kill the natural taste of fish, so you should marinate it only with salt and pepper.

In a suitable container you need to mix the listed components and rub the resulting mixture onto sturgeon carcasses or cut pieces. This procedure must be carried out carefully; there will not be too much salt. The fish is infused for about a day in the refrigerator. In principle, it is already ready to go into the smokehouse, but some gourmets recommend adding a little white wine to the vessel and letting the fish brew for another day.

One way or another, you will have to remove the remaining salt from the salted pieces by wiping the carcasses with a napkin. Before you begin the last stage, you need to dry the fish a little. It is not difficult to do this at home or in an apartment. The main thing is to protect pieces or carcasses from flies.

Sturgeon in the oven

For one kilogram of sturgeon, prepare the following products:

• A tablespoon with a good heap of salt.
• Half a teaspoon of granulated sugar.
• 70 grams of cognac.

To prepare hot smoked sturgeon at home, start by cutting the fish. After that, rub it with salt, sugar and put it in a bowl. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least ten hours, or even better, for a day. Cooks recommend turning the fish over periodically (3-4 times).

When the fish is salted, you will see liquid released. It definitely needs to be drained. Now add cognac to the sturgeon and put it in the refrigerator again for six hours. Don't forget to turn it over!

Once the fish is marinated, place it on the grill. Let it sit for an hour to dry. At this stage, you can tie the carcass with threads so that it does not fall apart. But this is not at all necessary if the fish is dense enough.

Now you can go directly to hot smoking sturgeon. Preheat the oven to 80 degrees and turn on convection. Place the fish in the cupboard for about an hour. Turn the carcass over and leave for another forty minutes. Please note that the cooking time must be adjusted depending on the size of the sturgeon. Remove the rack from the oven and leave on the counter to cool completely.

Selection and preparation of fish

To make delicious balyk from cold-smoked sturgeon, you need competent primary processing of the product. Many people prefer to cook fish that they have caught themselves. If this is not possible, they can be bought at the market or in a store.

Choosing the right sturgeon:

1. There should not be a strong unpleasant odor.
2. You need a whole carcass, not cut into pieces.
3. For smoking, it is recommended to take large-sized sturgeon.
4. There should be no damage or ulcers on the skin.

To select fresh sturgeon, you need to click on its meat. If the dent disappears quickly, the fish is fresh. The meat is creamy, pink or greyish, depending on the breed.

Important! Sturgeon gills should be dark, not red, like other types of fish.

It is also worth examining the abdomen. In fresh sturgeon it is pinkish, without dark spots or signs of frostbite.

The fish carcass must be cleaned of scales and mucus with a sharp knife.

The head and tail, which are not eaten, are cut off. The abdominal cavity is opened to remove the entrails.

It is advised to carefully examine the offal for the presence of worms. They are often found in freshwater fish. After these procedures, the carcass is thoroughly washed under running water, dipped in a kitchen towel and allowed to dry.

Pickling

You cannot cold smoke without prior preparation. Worm larvae may remain in it, which, along with the meat, will enter the human intestine. Another reason is that the meat will spoil quickly. Salting eliminates this risk, as it suppresses the growth of bacteria in the product.

Important! The sturgeon is rubbed with salt and left for two to three days in the refrigerator.

Fish is salted in plastic or glass containers

An alternative option is to prepare a liquid concentrated brine. The meat will be evenly soaked and become suitable for consumption without heat treatment.

For 1 kg you need:

• water – 1 l;
• salt – 200 g.

Salting method:

1. Water is heated on the stove.
2. Add salt before boiling.
3. Stir until completely dissolved.

Remove the brine from the stove and allow to cool. The sturgeon is placed in a container and filled to the top. It is left in this form for two days.

After salting, the carcass is thoroughly washed under running water. Otherwise, it will remain over-salted and tasteless.

Pickling

The next step is soaking the carcass in a spicy liquid. The procedure allows you to enrich the taste of the finished product with a variety of spices.

Ingredients:

• water – 4-5 l depending on the size of the sturgeon;
• bay leaf – 5-6 pieces;
• black pepper, sugar - 1 tbsp. l.;
• garlic - 4 cloves.

Preparation:

1. Heat the water.
2. Add salt and stir.
3. Add garlic, bay leaf, pepper.
4. When boiling, add sugar.
5. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and cool.

Before marinating, the sturgeon is cleared of salt and washed in warm water.

The spicy liquid is poured into a container with the carcass. The fish is left for 12 hours. The meat acquires a pleasant aroma and becomes softer.

Smoking sturgeon with liquid smoke

At the initial stage, hot smoked sturgeon is prepared in exactly the same way as in the previous recipe. The fish must be cleaned and salted. When it's time to add the alcohol, add a tablespoon of liquid smoke along with it. Place the carcass in the refrigerator for about two days.

When the sturgeon has dried, place it on a wire rack and place it on a baking sheet. It is recommended to pour the brine in which the fish was languishing there. If desired, you can add another tablespoon of liquid smoke to the pan. Preheat the oven to 80 degrees and cook the carcass in it for about two hours.

As you can see, smoking sturgeon at home is not at all difficult. You will receive a delicious, and most importantly, natural and fresh holiday dish. In addition, in stores the price of hot smoked sturgeon is quite high. Therefore, it makes sense to cook such fish yourself in your kitchen.

Cold smoked sturgeon. Recipe with photo

Sturgeon in any form is considered a delicacy.
Cold smoked sturgeon (see recipe with photo below) retains high nutritional properties, calorie content, contains healthy fish oils, vitamins, valuable fish proteins and amino acids. Sturgeon meat is 98% digestible by the human body. Cold smoking of sturgeon differs in equipment and technology. Would you like to make the device yourself? Download books that contain drawings, calculations and detailed descriptions of smokehouses of various designs.

Don't want to build a smokehouse yourself? Look for a suitable option in any of the best online stores: