This juicy, tender, noble fish can serve as an exquisite decoration of any feast. Of all salmon, the most common river rainbow trout is found on the Russian market (price per 1 kg - from 590 rubles). This fish is good in any form - it is boiled, stewed with vegetables, salted, fried, baked on the grill. Sea chilled trout is also good (price per 1 kg - from 990 rubles). Nutritious, unusually tasty and extremely healthy fish with a flesh of a pleasant pinkish color is used to prepare delicious salads and snacks. It is very popular among amateurs in smoked form. Especially tasty and healthy connoisseurs consider cold smoked trout. Self-prepared delicacy is called by many a truly royal dish. Unfortunately, not always the first cold smoked experiments of this wonderful product are successful. Often, novice anglers ask a question on the forums: how to smoke cold smoked trout correctly? In our article, we will share some of the secrets of this process.
What is the use of smoked trout? What are the contraindications?
In addition to the exquisite taste, this product is famous for its beneficial effects on the body. Cold smoked trout is preferred by people who care about their health. This fish is recommended to be included in the sports and diet diets, as well as in the diet of people who need to increase their working capacity, get rid of hypertension and depression. The unique omega-3 acids contained in it help strengthen blood vessels, improve the functioning of the nervous and digestive systems, and the brain.
With cold smoking, this easily digestible fish, characterized by a rich mineral and vitamin composition, rich in protein, fats and carbohydrates, retains most of its beneficial properties.
The use of this product is not recommended for serious diseases of the liver and kidneys, intestines, ulcers, as well as in the presence of individual intolerance.
The basics of smoking
This process is the processing of products by smoke from smoldering wood chips. Smoke with a temperature of 40-120 degrees is used for hot smoking, 15-30 degrees - for cold. Hot smoking is fast enough (from one to several hours). Cold is a lengthy process that requires patience. Smoking directly (excluding the time required to prepare the products) can take about 1-5 days.
During the process, it is necessary to ensure that smoke enters continuously and fills the entire space of the smokehouse. The products are dried evenly, impregnated with aldehydes, phenols and resinous substances contained in its composition. In the process of cold smoking, they lose moisture and are saturated with a specific taste and aromas.
Before sending to the smokehouse, the product must be properly prepared. Fish, meat or lard are pre-salted in brine. You can use a mixture of salt and spices. Before the start of cold smoking, foods should already be edible. After its completion, meat or fish, if necessary, can also be subjected to heat treatment.
About the smokehouse
Cold smoking is carried out both in the fresh air (in the country) and in a city apartment. Equipment for these conditions varies slightly. The smokehouse consists of a smoke chamber, a chimney and a pipe serving to connect the smoke source and the chamber to the products.
Outdoor installation
On the street, the smokehouse is installed as follows. A recess is made in the soil, designed to make a fire, from it to the smokehouse they lay a trench that conducts smoke. The trench is covered with boards and covered with earth from above. Any metal container, for example a barrel without a bottom, is used as a smoking cabinet in the country. If smoking is done one-time, the camera is simply fitted with a film, for a regular cabinet they are upholstered with boards or even bricked.
Installation of a smokehouse in the apartment (on the balcony)
For installation in a small city apartment you will need a more compact device. It is desirable that it be airtight and do not allow smoke. The smoking chamber is installed at a height of about 0.5 m. The stove tube is inserted into the smokehouse opening at an angle of 20–45 degrees. Firewood with sawdust is loaded into the stove and a fire is kindled. After 10 minutes after the firewood has burned, the blower should be closed (the stove cools down after 5 minutes). The chimney is inserted at the right angle into the opening of the smoking chamber, the container is closed by a lid, after which the smoking process begins. They turn on the compressor, set firewood and sawdust on fire. The smoke from the generator goes to the upcoming products. The temperature should vary between 25-35 ° C. It should be noted that exceeding the temperature to a level of 40 ° C is fraught with the risk of getting fish not cold smoked, but boiled, as in the hot method.
The duration of the smoke treatment depends on the size of the semi-finished products, usually it is 8-24 hours (sometimes longer). At the end of the process, carcasses are hung out on the street. This is necessary so that they are ventilated from excess smoke and matured. During this time, the flesh of the product becomes more tender and aromatic. As a home-made smokehouse, any suitable container is used - a box or a barrel. For cold smoking, even a dense cardboard box (quite roomy) with a small smoke generator located on the balcony is suitable.
Which smoke generator is best for cold smoking trout?
If you can use a device made with your own hands to process fish in the country, then, according to experts, home-made equipment cannot be dispensed with. As one of the best options for use in cold smoking in the apartment, the HANhi smoke generator is called, consisting of a small smoking chamber and a chip container, interconnected by a hose. The device is driven by electricity and is very compact.
About a homemade smoke generator
With a great desire and the availability of certain skills, you can create this device with your own hands. The device provides 8 hours of burning - just enough for cooking cold smoked trout. A homemade smoke generator consists of an internal spiral partition and a mesh pan in which sawdust is placed. The partition does not allow all sawdust to heat up immediately, so smoke is released gradually. The device is placed directly at the bottom of the smokehouse installed on the balcony, which should be well ventilated.
How to smoke trout in a cold way: preparation
Before proceeding to smoking, it is necessary to prepare the fish. The first step in the preparation is trout cutting. It should be gutted as carefully as possible. This process should be taken very responsibly. After removing the head, the carcass is plastered along the length of the spine, then the vertebral bone is cut off. The ribs are also removed; if necessary, the fillet is cut into pieces.
Salting (we continue preparation for smoking)
This stage is also one of the most important in the preparation of cold smoked trout. How to prepare fish? There are two types of salting: wet and dry. Wet ambassador is effective for maximum disinfection of fish. It consists in soaking the fish in concentrated brine (pickling). If there is a sufficient margin of time, you can make a 5% salt solution and soak the fish in it for the night. If time is not enough, prepare 25% and keep the fish in it for 2 hours. In both cases, spices and herbs are added to taste. The technology of dry salting is much simpler: fish are laid in layers in the selected container and sprinkled with salt.
Technology Description
The process of preparing cold smoked trout consists of several stages:
- Prepared fish is hung in the smokehouse so that its carcasses or pieces are not in contact with each other - they should be completely enveloped by incoming smoke.
- Fire wood (in a makeshift device) or wood chips (in a smoke generator). The temperature of smoke entering the smoking cabinet should not exceed 25-30 ° .
- During the first 12 hours, the smoke must continuously flow into the smoking cabinet, in the future small pauses are allowed, therefore, one person may well maintain the smoking house in working condition.
Cooking delicious fish.
The cooking process for this cold smoked trout recipe will be greatly facilitated by using a commercial automatic smokehouse. If one is missing, you can build the device yourself. Before smoking, in accordance with the technology, fish are gutted, washed and pickled. Marinade is prepared from the following products:
- 1 liter of water;
- 180 grams of salt;
- 80 grams of brown sugar;
- dried dill;
- bay leaf;
- ground black pepper (optional).
Salt and sugar are put in water, brought to a boil, other spices are added, removed from heat and cooled. Pour prepared fish with marinade (cold), send to the refrigerator for 7-8 hours. After the set time, the product is removed from the brine, soaked for half an hour in clean water. Then the carcass is dried. To do this, they are hung on hooks and left for 7 hours in an accessible place for ventilation. After that, the fish is placed in a smokehouse, in which it is cooked for about 12 hours at a temperature of 25-28 ° C. Next, the product is removed from the smokehouse and aired in a draft for 10-12 hours. At the end of the dish can be considered ready to eat.
Another recipe
Ingredients for the preparation of brine (per 1 kg of fish):
- 1 liter of water;
- 2 tbsp. l lemon juice;
- 4 tbsp. l table salt;
- 3 cloves;
- allspice - 3 pcs.;
- black pepper peas - 5 pcs.;
- 1-2 bay leaves.
The brine is boiled from all the ingredients presented, with the exception of lemon juice. Cool, filter, then add lemon juice. Trout is placed in a container for pickling, poured with a prepared composition, crushed on top with oppression and covered with a lid, left for a day in the refrigerator. After this time, fish are removed, washed and dried with paper towels. Then smoked, as in the previous recipe.
Another way (easiest)
For the preparation of marinade per 1 kg of trout use:
- 1 liter of filtered water;
- 30 grams of sugar;
- 90 grams of salt.
Boil water, dilute salt and sugar in it. If desired, add bay leaf, garlic, a mixture of peppers, shallots. Then the brine is cooled, the prepared fish is poured with it, crushed by its oppression and sent to the refrigerator for 8-10 hours. At the end of pickling, the trout is washed and dried. Then the fish is suspended in the fresh air. It should be dried and dried for 12-24 hours at a temperature of 25 ° C, in conditions of good ventilation and protection from insects. After that, the fish is placed in a smokehouse for 12 hours.