It is no secret that trout is a truly amazing fish in terms of taste, nutrition and an abundance of useful properties. It is distinguished by a tender, juicy pulp of a pleasant pinkish color. The excellent taste of dishes prepared from trout is explained by the fact that this fish lives exclusively in clean water. In cooking, it is used to prepare a variety of delicious salads and appetizers. This fish can be fried, stewed, boiled, grilled, steamed - in any form, it invariably turns out to be very tasty, tender and healthy. It is known that most of the beneficial properties are preserved in this product exactly when smoked. We will consider the features and methods of preparing smoked trout in our article.
It is important to know
What is the use of trout? It is known that this amazing fish contains a huge amount of minerals, vitamins and proteins, meat is well absorbed by the body. The unique Omega-3 acids contained in the product help strengthen blood vessels, improve the functioning of the brain, nervous system, and gastrointestinal tract.
Speaking about the benefits of trout, it should also be added that usually by adding this unusually valuable fish to the diet they achieve increased efficiency, get rid of hypertension and depression. The product is recommended for sports and diet nutrition.
About product composition
100 grams of smoked trout contains:
- Protein - 26.0 grams.
- Fats - 3.1 grams.
- Carbohydrates - 0.5 grams.
Calorie content - 132 kcal.
Who is not recommended?
Experts do not recommend using this product for people with stomach ulcers, serious diseases of the liver, kidneys, intestines. You should refrain from smoked trout also in the presence of individual intolerance.
What is smoking?
Smoking is a process of exposure to the surface of a product of various substances that make up smoke. Their value is that the majority have bactericidal and antioxidant properties. By systematically penetrating the product, they help prevent its deterioration. The effectiveness of smoking depends on how high the permeability of the processed products. It is increased with the help of their preliminary salting. Experts recommend that smoking be applied exclusively to salted fish. As a result of smoking, any fish, be it trout, pikeperch or perch, becomes tender, acquires an excellent taste, a special piquant aroma, its surface becomes golden brown. It is important that smoke treatment increases the shelf life of the product.
About smoking methods
As the main ways of smoking, experts call cold and hot and options. Much less often, they resort to baking in smoke and half-hot smoking. The differences between these technologies are their duration in time and the features of the applied temperature regimes. Smoking time directly depends on temperature: the longer the process lasts, the lower the temperature used. But the shelf life is accordingly increased.
Many people consider the most delicious hot smoked trout . Fish prepared in this way is an indisputable delicacy with an amazing taste.
Hot smoked fish at home
In the process of cooking dishes at home use:
- fresh trout;
- smokehouse for hot smoking;
- wood chips;
- spice.
To smoke trout in a smoke-cured smokehouse , fresh fish of not very small sizes is chosen. Carcasses weighing 700-800 grams are ideal. Large copies are recommended to be cut into steaks or to separate the fillet. Trout is freed from the insides and thoroughly washed. Salted fish immediately before laying it in the smokehouse. So hot smoked trout will be more juicy.
Process features
If hot-smoked trout is cooked in the open air, and not indoors, a small fire is made, which is lit in an ordinary brazier or on a brick stand. For fire, large logs are used, giving a long heat.
What are smokehouses?
The main requirement for any smokehouse is tightness. In no case should air enter the device, since often this leads to firewood burning, which can significantly reduce the quality of the future delicacy. The smokehouse should have considerable depth. Otherwise, the fish hanging in it will touch the wood and the bottom, which can lead to burning or welding of the product, but not to smoking.
How to cook hot smoked fish at home? You can smoke fish in the smokehouse in the home kitchen, on the river bank or in the country. As a container, a bucket, barrel or any other container, for example, an old hive, is suitable. More "advanced" options are smoking with gas or coal grills, as well as in a metal box on the grill. Owners of houses in the private sector equip a smokehouse in the attic, in a chimney, or adapt a furnace to this process.
The most appropriate option is to purchase a reliable portable smokehouse for industrial production, equipped with all the necessary devices for high-quality and effective smoking.
Process features
At the first use of the purchased smokehouse, it should be rinsed and put on fire so that it burns for 10 minutes. At the same time, contaminants and industrial oils must evaporate.
After that, at the bottom of the smokehouse with an even layer of two or three small handfuls of wood chips are laid. Unusually pleasant aroma will give wood chips of pear, cherry, apple, alder, juniper or willow. A drip tray is placed above it, which is usually included in the smokehouse. In its absence, you can cover the chips with a layer of foil. A food grate is installed above the pallet, which must be lubricated with oil (vegetable). This is done so that the finished product can be more easily removed from the grill.
Trout is thoroughly rubbed with salt on all sides, black pepper is added if desired. Sometimes a sprig of dill or thyme is placed in the abdomen. Place the fish on the grill so that some distance remains between the carcasses, cover with a lid and set the smoking device on fire.
It usually takes 30-40 minutes to cook hot smoked trout, it depends on the weight and size of the fish. At the end of the process, the lid is opened, the dish is allowed to cool without removing it from the smokehouse. Then the trout is laid out on a tray, served with herbs, pickled cucumbers and lemon slices.
How to smoke fish in a smokehouse on the grill?
If the smoking device is not too large, it is most convenient to put it on a barbecue. Coals under the smokehouse should be distributed as evenly as possible, it is nice to leave a few unburned logs, while the fire should not be too strong.
As the smokehouse heats up, white smoke begins to escape. This means that alder (or other) chips have warmed up and the smoking process has begun.
When the smokehouse warms up properly, burning logs can be removed and smoking can be continued on charcoal only. For medium-sized fish, the process will take no more than half an hour.
Before you open the lid of the smokehouse, you should wait until it has completely cooled down and smoke has ceased to pour out of it. Trout can be considered finished after the surface of the carcass becomes a dark golden reddish color. If the fish is still light, it means that it is damp.
For smokers
Experienced masters recommend that beginners do not forget about some of the nuances of smoking. The main thing to keep in mind:
- you can not lay carcasses of different sizes in the smokehouse;
- it is not recommended to open a smokehouse that is on fire;
- Do not open the lid of a smoking smokehouse.
Recipe
To prepare tasty smoked meats use:
- trout carcasses;
- salt;
- garlic;
- pepper;
- dill;
- Bay leaf;
- alder wood chips.
Gutted fish, washed, plentifully peeled, laid inside with garlic (crushed) and dill (finely chopped). After this, the carcasses are placed in a saucepan and poured with saline so that it completely covers the entire product. Since the fish is not afraid of salt, experts recommend not to be especially puzzled with proportions during salting.
Trout should lie in solution for about 2.5 hours. After that, it is wiped with a dry towel (or allowed to dry slightly), spacers from dry twigs (best of alder) are placed in the inside of the carcass. Instead of twigs, you can use fireplace matches - they are necessary to ensure smoke circulation inside the fish.
In the smokehouse, which is a metal box equipped with a lid, at the bottom there is a pallet on which alder wood chips are laid. A grid is placed above the pan, on which the fish is laid. The box is placed on the fire, closed with a lid. The fire should be strong enough. When heated, sawdust begins to emit smoke.
You can add bay leaf to alder wood chips and wrap everything in foil. On top of the improvised envelope, make large enough holes for the free exit of smoke. After completion of the process, the foil envelope will allow the residues of wood chips soaked in fat to be easily removed from the smokehouse.
After 30-40 minutes, the lid can be removed, let the fish cool and serve.