Fragrant, beckoning smoked fish is considered one of the most delicious snacks. It is known that it has a unique aroma, a special melting, delicate taste. With its smell and appearance, it is capable of stimulating appetite. Smoked bream is especially popular among lovers. There are many simple and affordable ways to prepare a product at home.
What is the smoking process?
Smoking is the treatment of the product with smoke, which is formed during the combustion of firewood or sawdust. Unfortunately, the smoked meats purchased at the store only remotely reflect the true taste of a freshly prepared product. The solution to the problem is the home-made smoking of delicious and fragrant fish with your own hands.
For cooking at home, you must have a smokehouse. Today it can be purchased by anyone who wants it - it does not take up much space and is affordable. With the help of this equipment you can cook fish of both cold and hot smoked yourself.
Types of smoking
Typically, at home, of these two methods, craftsmen choose exactly smoked: this cooking process is quite simple and quick.
It is recommended to use a temperature of 90-100 degrees. During cooking, the fish loses a small amount of moisture and turns soft, tender and juicy. However, it should be remembered that it is not recommended to store it for a long time.
For hot smoking, choose tender fish, rather fatty or medium fat, such as, for example, eel. Experts also recommend the use of sturgeon species - stellate sturgeon, sterlet, as well as salmon, whitefish, cod, herring, pink salmon, bream, asp, sea bass and small fish (sprat, herring, vendace).
Using cold smoking, you can cook a delicacy with a longer shelf life, however, the process itself is quite lengthy - it takes about 5 days. When cold, use a maximum temperature of about 40 degrees. During the process, the moisture leaves the product gradually, therefore, such smoked fish is more dry compared to the first option. But, according to reviews, cold-smoked fish is in no way inferior in its taste to the cooked “hot” method. Experts call mullet, roach, ram, omul, bream, balyk nelma, whitefish, muksun, Far Eastern salmon, sturgeon species, eel and red fish the ideal option for cold smoked.
Bream is one of the most popular freshwater fish.
Bream is a freshwater fish that lives in coastal waters in the north and in the center of Europe. The habitats of the bream are the Black, Azov, Northern, Baltic and Caspian Seas. In addition, fish are found in some lakes.
Usually bream are dried, salted, smoked or canned. Many lovers recommend smoked bream as the best beer snack. This method is the most common.
Smoked bream at home: a hot way
It is known that dishes prepared in this way are distinguished by a special taste and aroma. It is generally accepted that smoked bream is a great beer snack. It is also used as a tasty independent dish, which can please guests.
According to experts, smoked bream is not difficult to cook at home. Even beginners can do it.
The most popular among fish connoisseurs is the method of hot smoking. Usually they are engaged in this in the yard of a rural house, in a country house, or directly at the place of fishing.
Process description
Hot bream cooking always starts with removing the entrails and washing the fish. Then it should be placed in salt water for about an hour. Experts recommend salting plentifully, it is possible even with excess: fish absorbs only the necessary amount of product. Next, prepare a tray with sawdust, you can add cones: they give the smoke a special aroma. Some craftsmen advise using apple branches for this. Then the fish is dried, the abdomen is opened with the help of specially cut branches and laid out on a wire rack. In the abdomen of a bream, you can put bell pepper or potatoes, as well as greens.
Hot smoking usually takes about half an hour. But time costs can also increase, depending on the size of the fish, the distance between the grate and the pan, as well as the intensity of the smoldering coal.
Product Features
Many netizens are interested in questions: how many calories are in smoked bream, and how does hot smoking affect the composition of the product. Cooking technology does not reduce the amount of vitamins and minerals in the bream. What vitamins does smoked fish contain? Bream is, first of all, PP, B 1 , E, B 2 . Of the trace elements in it, the presence of calcium, iron, phosphorus, molybdenum, chlorine, nickel, chromium, fluorine, zinc is noted.
The systematic use of hot smoked bream strengthens blood vessels, prevents coronary heart disease, strokes, helps regulate metabolic processes, restores the external mucous membranes and skin integuments. Smoked bream (calorie content: 100 g of the product prepared by the "hot" method is 172 kcal) is a natural antioxidant (calorizator).
Cold smoked bream: properties
Cold smoked bream has an incomparable taste. It also has a slight “haze smell”. Experts note a number of advantages of cold smoked bream over fish cooked in other ways.
According to technology, the product is stored for a long time in low temperature conditions. The smoke in which fish is smoked acts as a natural preservative. The bream retains most of the necessary vitamins (PP, B 1 , E, B 2 ), chemical elements (from trace elements: sulfur, calcium, magnesium, chlorine, phosphorus, sodium, potassium; from macro elements: fluorine, iron, chromium, nickel, molybdenum, zinc) and fats (calorizator). Calorie content of cold-smoked bream: per 100 g of product - 160 kcal.
The regular use of such fish ensures the prevention of stroke. The substances present in the fish rejuvenate the skin and normalize weight.
Cold smoked bream recipe
This recipe has been tested by many chefs and, according to reviews, is quite simple. Before cooking, you need to salt the bream for smoking. The first step is to clean the fish: gut, remove the gills and rinse thoroughly several times with cold water. Then an incision is made along the spine, starting from the tail. Fish should be cut carefully so as not to spoil it. Then the bream is salted, as before frying. Experts say that bream is salted out quickly enough and can be eaten raw, like a herring. Specialists believe that special attention should be paid to the head - it needs to be salted more. After processing the entrails, they go to the outside, after which the fish is put into a container and left for 3 days in a cold place. The next step is the curing process.
The belly of the bream is fixed with a specially prepared stick up to 7 cm long. Next, catching the eye, the fish is hung on hooks, covered with gauze and hung out on the street. In this position, the bream is kept for several days. After it dries well, the most interesting begins - its smoking. Cooking is a long process, but, as the authors of the reviews note, it guarantees a wonderful result.
The chimney in the smokehouse should be closed so that exclusively cold smoke comes out of it. After one day, a fish completely ready for use is removed. Now you can enjoy a delicious and healthy dish.