Mackerel is an excellent fish option for cooking at home. There are few small bones in it, and the pulp itself is dense and fat. How to make cold smoked mackerel, we will tell in this article. Here are some simple recipes available to any housewife. Let's try to cook!
Salt plus smoke
The magic of these two ingredients has long been known to culinary experts from different countries. Smoking gives meat and fish a unique taste and aroma. It’s also a great way to save the product. Some housewives think that preparing cold smoked mackerel at home is difficult, because the process itself will require special equipment. But it is not so. Cold smoked home-made mackerel will turn out to be very tasty and fragrant if you use the recipes below.
Smoking methods
There is a significant difference between types of smoking: cold and hot. Cold is rather a drying process at 25-30 degrees. It gives the dish a wonderful smoky aroma and delicate taste, is a way of preserving, preserving fish. Hot - the product is cooked at a fairly high (up to 120 degrees) temperature.
Fish preparation
Mackerel should first be salted, since a similar process will remove excess fluid from the fish carcass. The result is a richer flavor. We take rock salt (coarse). The fish, placed on a cutting board or baking sheet, rub thoroughly on all sides and leave for half an hour to lie down. If the carcasses are large, let them soak for about an hour (the more fish, the more salt).
Home smokehouse
Cold smoked mackerel at home is very well prepared in a homemade smokehouse. It is easy to build from an old large pot (or one that is not a pity). On its sides we drill several holes at a height of fifteen centimeters. In these holes we insert a metal grid on which the fish will be. The pan should also have a tight-fitting lid.
The process itself
At the bottom of the pan, pour a layer of sawdust. In this case, any non-coniferous species are suitable: cherry, apple, alder, oak - the most popular of them. We put the pot on a small fire. Try to ensure that the prepared sawdust barely smolders (so as not to burn, some cooks periodically pour raw water from an ordinary spray bottle with a spray). We put pre-salted carcasses on the grill. Close the lid. Smoke should form quite a lot, but it should not be too hot (maximum - 40 degrees). Then cold smoked mackerel at home is tender and soft. And the cooking method will be just cold.
If you have a private house or cottage, this delicacy can be prepared right in the yard, on the hearth, barbecue, bonfire, barbecue. If you are cooking in an apartment, open the windows wide (and warn the neighbors, as there is a lot of smoke in the cooking process)!
Marinade
Instead of pure salt, some housewives use marinade (brine). It’s easy to cook. You need to dilute a pound of salt, a glass of sugar, lemon juice, a mixture of peppers, garlic in four liters of warm water and bring to a boil, but do not boil! If the marinade is too much, then you can save the excess in the refrigerator for ten to fifteen days. By this time, you might want to smoke something else. We put the carcasses of mackerel or fillet in a prepared warm brine for an hour (or better - at night, then the fish will be completely ready for smoking and cook quickly).
We take the fish out of the brine. Dry with a kitchen towel. We put on a lattice greased with vegetable oil. We smoke on sawdust on the lowest heat. Remember that the temperature of smoking should not be high!
Time for preparing
Most likely, you will need at least half an hour to prepare a treat. Although for the fillet sometimes twenty minutes is enough. It all depends on how the future cold smoked mackerel is pickled at home: the longer, the faster the smoking process takes place. The finished fish can be stored for a long time in the refrigerator (if tightly wrapped and sent to the freezer, it will be tasty in a month).
Fake Cold Smoked Mackerel: Recipe
To prepare the dish we will need: three fish of mackerel, onion husk, half a glass of salt, two large spoons of sugar, vegetable oil, liquid smoke (for those who are not in the know, this is a water solution of wood smoke).
- First, prepare the mackerel. You can take carcasses without heads, so it will be much easier. Tails do not need to be cut. They will come in handy when cold smoked mackerel is cooked at home.
- We put onion peel into a pan (you can take about a kilogram of onion and just peel it). Add water (about one liter). Cook over low heat for about ten minutes. In this case, the liquid will acquire a brownish tint. Turn off, then cool. We remove the cooked husk, and add salt, liquid smoke and sugar to the water.
- Now we need a container for smoking (in the marinade), where all carcasses could fit well. Fill them with a solution and set in the cold for several days. Periodically turn the mackerel so that it is well cooked. In the same way, you can make fillets and rolls from this wonderful fish. Bon appetit to everyone!