Rules of choice
You can be sure of the freshness of the fish, if she is caught in person, but not everyone has that opportunity, so there are a few rules, thanks to which you can get a good product for smoking. When choosing a fish you need to pay attention to some features: if the fish are wet, shiny scales and fins, transparent eyes, no foreign odors, so it is fresh. Gray gills, sunken eyes are signs of that, that the product is not the first freshness, if not spoiled at all.
It is more difficult to determine the freshness of thawed fish, but if stored incorrectly, then the following signs appear: inflamed abdomen, the fins are loosely pressed to the body, gray gills and cloudy eyes. There should also be no stains on the body. Responsible manufacturers pack the product in transparent bags, through which carcasses can be considered, and do not remove the head, because spoilage of the product is more likely to manifest itself on it. The lack of a head does not always indicate poor product quality, so it is important to check for other signs. Sometimes the stores responsible for the product do not follow the rules of storage, in this case, you need to pay attention to the amount of ice and snow in the package - if it is a lot, means, the fish was thawed and already lost in quality.
This video guide will help you make the right choice of fish:
If it turns out, that the finished smoked product is bitter, means, the fish was chosen incorrectly, it was spoiled, and it cannot be eaten.
How to clean fish before smoking
Before smoking, the entrails of the fish are removed and washed. If the head is not expected to be removed, then the gills still need to be removed. Eat fish, cutting the abdomen, taking out milk or caviar, removing the films and blood beneath them, then the carcass should be thoroughly rinsed with water.
Remove skin or remove scales, as fins are not required, they will be easily removed after cooking in the smokehouse, and scales, Besides, will preserve the aroma and juiciness of the meat, and take away all the bitterness of the smoke. Small specimens are not cut, and large fish can be cut into pieces or make incisions along the dorsal fin, which will allow the meat to be evenly salted and smoked.
ambassador
Fish is usually salted for several hours before smoking, this process allows you to remove excess water from the carcasses, make the taste richer, destroy the specific raw fish smell.
The ambassador can be executed in several ways. Under the oppression salt any small fish, carp, pike, me, pike perch and other species. They are covered with coarse salt, rub with salt from the inside, you can add onions and spices, and on top lay the wick and keep small fish close 6 hours, large - to 12. To make the meat evenly salted, you can make incisions on the backs of large fish along the fins and rub with salt.. The brine is drained after aging, and the fish is washed and, changing the water, withstand at least 2 hours in the container.
Ambassador of the fish under oppression
You can pickle fish in a bag or bag - this method is similar to pickling under pressure, but more convenient, if smoking is carried out in nature. Peeled fish is placed in a bag with the belly unfolded down and covered with salt, followed by a layer of fish belly up and another layer of salt. For even salt distribution, the bag is periodically shaken. The half-filled bag is tied and buried in the ground or sand, the soil will then need to be compacted. Depending on the size, She salted for 6-10 hours.
Hot and cold smoked catfish
The method of weak pickling:
Preparing fish for smoking can be faster, if you prepare brine - a strong salt solution. A small fish or a large fish cut into pieces is lowered into it and kept 20-30 minutes.
Fatty fish - silver carp, flounder, halibut and others - salt in a special way. Peeled and rubbed with salt and spices fish should be turned into parchment or foil, so that fat oxidation does not occur in the open air. Open air will spoil the product - will give it bitterness. The carcasses are placed in an enamel pan, food plastic or glass container, tightly close the lid and leave to infuse: salting days will suffice for small fish, for the big one - three days, thawed salt 4 of the day.
In the process of processing, you can add onions to the salt, black pepper peas, bay leaf and other spices. It is important not to overdo it with bay leaf, otherwise bitterness will appear. Improper selection of sawdust can also spoil the taste. Any smoked meat is bitter, if the bark of the tree got into the sawdust, or the sawdust itself made of their coniferous wood. Birch bark will also add bitterness, because it contains resins.
After salting the washed fish is left in the air on 1-2 hours - excess moisture in the smokehouse can lead to boiling of meat.
marinating
Marinating differs from salting in that, that vinegar is present in the recipes, lemon, wine or other additives, which change the taste and aroma of fish. To prepare the marinade will be required:
- sea salt - a quarter of a glass or liter of water;
- glass of white wine;
- a glass of soy sauce;
- half a glass of lemon or lime juice;
- here you can add onions and spices, cloves - any seasoning for fish dishes is suitable.
The fish is dipped in the marinade and kept 8-10 hours under the lid in the refrigerator. Will 30 minutes it is allowed to infuse in the air, the cover is removed for this purpose, then the dried fish can be cooked in a smokehouse in a hot way 20-25 minutes.
Some smoked fish lovers believe, that you can not keep it in the marinade for hours, just sprinkle with lemon juice and add spices, but the recipe is it, rather, a matter of taste. It is better to experiment and develop your own method.
Drying and drying
You need to dry or dry the fish before smoking, so that the meat loses more moisture and excess salt, it will become denser and will not boil.
When drying the washed fish wipe with paper or cloth towels and leave for one and a half to two hours outdoors in the shade. You can hang it, tied with rope or spread on any convenient surface. This method of drying is suitable for hot smoking.
If the fish will be cooked by cold smoking, then the drying process will take longer. The carcasses are salted with more salt (on 5 kg you need to take 500-700g of salt) and longer, than usual.
3 days will be enough for a small fish, for large - two weeks. After salting, it will need to be soaked for two hours to a day and dried, that is, dry outdoors for 2-5 days, depending on the size of the carcass. If the fish is big, then you need to insert spacers between its abdominal walls. Now it can be placed in a smokehouse and cooked.