Comparing hot and cold smoked fish | What's better

1. For hot smoking
2. For cold smoking
3. Marine
4. River
5. Red
6. White
7. No bones
8. Preparing the fish

You can smoke any river or sea fish in a smokehouse.
But it is not possible to obtain a tasty, healthy product from every underwater inhabitant. There are breeds that, when smoked, acquire a bitter taste, an unpleasant aroma, and a loose or too dense meat consistency. To determine which fish is suitable for smoking in a smokehouse, you will need some knowledge of biology, body structure, skeleton, skin and scales, and the properties of meat in representatives of various breeds.

There are two ways to prepare smoked fish: hot and cold. Both technologies are based on the treatment of the product with smoke of different temperatures obtained from the slow burning of shavings of deciduous trees. For each method, appropriate varieties of fish products are selected.

For cold smokers, smokers are used in which the smoke temperature does not exceed 40°C. In industrial or homemade smoking units, the fish is suspended vertically. The smoke is supplied through chimneys having a length sufficient to cool the medium to the required value. Use shavings of alder, apple, pear, and other fruit trees. The process lasts from several hours to several days, depending on the size and weight of the raw materials.

Drying fish after smoking

Cold smoking is used to process fish of fatty varieties, with a small number of bones and thin skin. The carcasses are pre-salted or marinated. Small specimens weighing up to 500 grams are smoked ungutted. The scales are not removed from the skin. This allows you to completely preserve the fat content and beneficial properties of the product.

Hot smoking is carried out in smokehouses with a horizontal arrangement of fish. The distance to smoldering sawdust does not exceed 400 mm. The carcasses are placed on a grid, under which a tray is installed to collect fat. The duration of treatment is from half an hour to 2-3 hours, depending on the size of the fish.

Fish of medium and low fat content is suitable for hot smoking. Before salting and marinating, the carcasses are cleaned of scales, gutted, and the gills are removed. After salting, dry a little to remove excess moisture. This is done so that the meat does not cook during smoking. Large specimens are tied with hemp twine before laying. It will protect the fish from falling apart.

The choice of fish to smoke depends on personal preference. Considering that until recently some breeds were inaccessible or unknown to buyers, there are a number of recommendations for culinary processing.

River

Smoked river fish

Any river fish is suitable for smoking. Preference is given to varieties and breeds with a high fat content, dense, tasty meat, and low bone content. Representatives of the northern aquatic fauna meet these characteristics:

• whitefish - muksun, nelma, peled, pyzhyan;
• sturgeon – sturgeon, sterlet;
• salmon - taimen, lenok, trout;
• grayling – grayling;
• vendace.

World famous - omul

, has no equal in taste when smoked.

Smoked omul

The high status of this representative of the whitefish is evidenced by the way the indigenous peoples of the Baikal region and Yakutia call it. If all other fish are called by their name: sorog, pike, sturgeon, grayling, then omul has only one proud name - Fish.

whitefish is famous in cooking

of all varieties.
Treated with smoke, they acquire a noble golden hue and a unique taste and aroma. Everyone knows the famous balyki made from sturgeon, salmon, and chum salmon
, which can be smoked at home.
And it’s impossible to tear yourself away from smoked small tugunka
or
smelt
, like obsessive sunflower seeds.

Suitable Products

Whitefish (0.4 - 0.9 kg)

530 rub. for 1 Kg. (retail)

Packaging: 0.6 kg one piece, stretch film

Order

Red fish for smoking

Red fish has excellent taste and beneficial properties. Protein is well absorbed by the human body. Having prepared it, you will have a tasty dish and a healthy product on your table.

Smoked red fish

When smoked, all beneficial qualities are preserved. Omega-3 acid, which is found in abundance in red varieties, performs a number of functions:

1. Improves heart and brain function.
2. Reduces cholesterol and normalizes blood pressure.
3. Prevents the formation of blood clots.
4. Normalizes the functioning of the nervous system.
5. Relieves inflammation.
6. It is a preventative against diabetes.

Red fish contains a large amount of amino acids and fatty acids, B vitamins, vitamin A, PP, B, E, and a large set of micro- and macroelements. The smoked product does not lose its beneficial properties; it is recommended for elderly people, pregnant women, and children during their growth period.

Important! It is digestible better than pork and beef and is a dietary product.

Hot smoking

The hot technology of smoking fish differs from previous methods. This method requires light salting at the rate of 16 kg of initial product per 1 kg of salt. Large fish will definitely be gutted. An incision is made on the spine and sprinkled with salt. Small specimens are prepared whole, without cutting.

Fatty fish is rubbed with salt and wrapped in parchment or tracing paper to prevent oxidation. Then the carcasses are placed in an enamel container. The top of the fish is again covered with parchment. The container is pressed down from above with pressure. Small fish remain to be salted for a day, large specimens - from two to three days.

Then the fish is dried for 60 minutes. Then it is washed with clean cold water, hung or placed on a smoking rack. Sawdust and wood chips are poured into a layer of 20 millimeters at the bottom of the unit. Carcasses must be processed under strict temperature conditions from 65 to 85 degrees. The duration of the procedure is 2-4 hours.

During the smoking process, the lid of the unit must be tightly closed so that the wood does not ignite. At the very beginning of processing, a strong fire is maintained, but the fish should be at a decent distance from it so as not to burn. The carcasses are turned over periodically.

After half an hour, the desired temperature is set in the smokehouse, which is maintained throughout the entire process. The fish must be cooked completely through. This is determined by the color and density of the finished product. The meat should separate from the bones easily. The finished product has a golden or brownish crust.

COLD SMOKING FISH

Cold smoking of fish takes much longer than hot smoking, but it is worth it. When cold smoking, the fish is treated with smoke that has cooled to 25-30 degrees; for this, a special smokehouse is made. In camping conditions, a house made of film is made on a hill on the shore. The frame, measuring 70*70 cm and 150 cm high, is covered with thick polyvinyl chloride film and a hole with a diameter of 150 cm is cut out on the roof for smoke exit. A trench 10-12 meters long is dug down from the center of the house, the trench is covered with branches and covered with earth for tightness. At the end where the fire will be, the trench is covered with a sheet of iron, the smokehouse is ready and you can start cold smoking the fish.

First, the prepared fish is hung in the house, which is soaked in brine for about 30 minutes, the house is sealed and a fire is lit, the smoke passing through the trench cools to 25-30 degrees and fills the house with the fish. The process of smoking fish will last 2-3 days depending on the size of the fish. During this time, to maintain the process, it is necessary to periodically throw rotten wood or sawdust into the fire. The finished fish will have a golden color and great taste.

Cold smoked fish, unlike hot smoked fish, can be stored for a long time. Since smoking smoke and salt have antiseptic properties and rid fish of microorganisms.

Preparing fish for smoking

The preparatory stage involves the collection of raw materials.
A properly carried out preparatory stage is the key to successful hot smoking. It involves collecting raw materials, cleaning them, and salting them. The quality of the above activities affects the taste, aroma and benefits of the smoked product.

Fish selection

The key condition when choosing the best fish is strong scales, which will prevent the destruction of the top layer and the disintegration of the meat. The most suitable types for hot smoking:

• asp;
• perch;
• bream;
• zander;
• capelin;
• mackerel;
• cod.

Red fish is ideal for cooking in a smokehouse. From white, it is better to give preference to types with high fat content. By following the cooking technology, you will be able to create a delicious, unique delicacy from any fish.

For smoking, you should select carcasses of the same size, which will ensure uniform marinating and cooking.

Fresh fish is better. When using a frozen product, it is important to defrost it correctly. Individuals must be defrosted in natural conditions, without resorting to intensive methods.

Gutting

Having decided which fish is best smoked in a hot-smoked smokehouse, we proceed to cutting. This stage is important, because during high-temperature processing, uneviscerated specimens will acquire a bitter taste. When cutting, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

1. Fish up to 400 gr. You don’t have to gut it, but it’s better to use carcasses without entrails.
2. The head is cut off at will. If individuals are smoked with the head on, the gills should be removed.
3. It's better to leave the scales. It will prevent soot from getting on the meat, as well as preserve juices and prevent the fish from falling apart during hot smoking.
4. The black film inside the belly is cut off so that it does not add bitterness and spoil the taste of the product.
5. Large carcasses are cut into fillets or longitudinal pieces of the same size.

When smoking whole carcasses, it is better to leave the tail, as with its help it will be possible to securely hang the product in the smokehouse.

Pickling

Fish for hot smoking is pre-salted.
This will transform the structure of the meat and fill it with the necessary taste. The dry salting option is considered simple and fast. 30-60 minutes before cooking, the carcasses are thoroughly rubbed inside and out with salt. The workpiece is placed in the refrigerator under pressure. This will allow the salt to penetrate deeper into the fibers and partially remove pathogens and excess moisture from the carcasses. For larger individuals, it will take 1.5-2 hours for complete salting. After salting, the fish must be soaked to remove excess salt. An alternative to dry salting is pickling in brine. It can be a mixture of water and salt or a solution with the addition of spices and spices. The classic recipe looks like this:

• 1 l. water;
• 2 tbsp. salt;
• 1 tsp Sahara;
• 3-5 pcs. bay leaf;
• 1 tsp ground black pepper;
• sage, thyme or other spices are added to taste.

The marinade is boiled and cooled, after which the fish is placed in it and left in the refrigerator for a day. It is better to use marinade to obtain original taste. To obtain a pronounced taste of fish, dry salting is suitable.

Drying

It is necessary to smoke dried fish using the hot method. In this regard, the workpiece is dried after marinating. Over-moistened carcasses run the risk of boiling in the smokehouse rather than being smoked.

For drying, 1-2 hours in the fresh air is enough.

The procedure removes excess moisture and makes the taste richer. In the summer, it is better to wrap the carcasses in gauze soaked in vinegar, which will repel insects. After drying, the fish is rubbed with sunflower oil.

What fish is suitable for smoking?

According to sellers, the most popular among the population is smoked fish, the price category of which ranges from 350 to 500 rubles per kilogram. These are varieties such as mackerel, catfish, bream, perch and others. Mackerel is considered one of the inexpensive sea fish, but the price of catfish and bream is slightly higher. If the price indicator is almost the same, then buyers are often faced with the question of which fish is best to buy. And here, as you know, “there is no friend according to taste.”

Some are guided by the peculiarities of the skeleton, preferring fish with large bones, which helps protect children from getting a brush stuck in their throat. Others pay attention to juiciness and calorie content (mackerel, for example, is considered a fatty fish, so it has nothing to do with dryness). But no matter how juicy and aromatic store-bought fish is, the most delicious and healthy is the one smoked at home. This product will definitely be fresh. There are often cases when unscrupulous supermarket owners, trying not to lose profit, treat old, weathered fish that has been frozen and thawed several times with liquid smoke, which is then sold as an auction smoked product. In addition, you can choose, based on your own preferences, the fish itself, the method of smoking it, as well as spices. The listed advantages are an advantage when there are medical contraindications in a person’s daily diet.

When talking about smoking and choosing fish, we are guided not only by its benefits and taste preferences. In this case, in order not to spoil the delicacy, you should also take into account the structure of the product itself: size, density of skin and meat. If you use particularly tender fish for hot smoking, you may end up with an overcooked dish that does not hold its shape. And, conversely, if you use large, elastic fish for cold smoking, you may end up with a half-baked product.

How to smoke fish with liquid smoke

The liquid smoke smoking method involves the following manipulations:

1. Wood is burned in the stove.
2. The resulting smoke is passed through water.
3. The aromatic liquid is purified from harmful substances.
4. The fish is cut into pieces and salted in water with liquid smoke.
5. After 3-4 hours, the product is fried over a regular fire using a grate.

Let's try to cook mackerel at home using liquid smoke.

To do this you will need the following ingredients:

• 2 fresh fish;
• 100 ml liquid smoke;
• 2-3 handfuls of onion peels;
• 2 bay leaves;
• sugar, salt.