Hot smoked fish according to a simple step-by-step recipe with photos

Good day, dear visitors! Smoked fish is a must-have dish on the holiday table for many. Many people like this appetizer, but today we will prepare a salad with hot smoked fish.

As usual, there are a large number of cooking options, so I decided not to stop at just one recipe and offer you several. They are all very simple, some with very minimal ingredients. And what is very important for many, there are several options for very quick preparation.

Salad with smoked fish, rice and egg

As you know, seafood goes very well with rice. That's why this salad turns out very tasty.

Prepare:

hot smoked mackerel - 1 piece;
boiled eggs - 4-5 pcs;
sweet or red onion - 1 small or half medium;
salt - add to taste (if necessary);
boiled rice - 1 cup;
mayonnaise - for dressing.

Remove the skin and bones from the mackerel. Cut or use your hands to separate into small pieces. Immediately transfer it to a salad bowl.

Cut the eggs into small pieces. Add to mackerel.

Next fig.

Also finely chop the onion.

Mix all the ingredients and put them in the refrigerator to cool.

For better storage of the salad, it is better not to season it all with mayonnaise at once. And add it portionwise to everyone’s plate.

How to properly smoke fish in a cold smoker

For a recipe on how to cold smoke fish, you will need:

chum salmon – 5 kg;
salt – 1.3 kg;
spices - to taste.

Smoking fish in a cold smokehouse - recipe step by step:

Layered salad with smoked fish, potatoes and fresh cucumber

Not a single holiday is complete without puff salads. After all, they can be beautifully decorated at your discretion. And they turn out very tender and juicy.

Required ingredients:

salt - to taste;
hot smoked eel - 200 g;
salad mayonnaise - for layering;
boiled potatoes in their jackets - 2 pcs;
sprigs of dill - to taste;
boiled carrots - 1 piece;
fresh cucumber - 1 piece;
cheese - 150 gr;
hard-boiled eggs - 3 pcs.

Peel the eel and remove all the seeds. Cut into small pieces.

Chop the dill; a few sprigs can be left for decoration.

Next, grate the potatoes, cucumber, eggs, carrots and cheese separately onto a coarse grater. You can cut out flowers from several carrot slices for decoration. Squeeze the juice from the cucumbers by hand.

Then we will lay out the salad in layers, lightly adding salt to each one (except fish and cheese) and pouring a mesh of mayonnaise over it. 1st layer is eel.

The second is potatoes.

Then fresh cucumber and carrots.

Next - eggs.

The last layer is cheese. Place chopped dill around the edges. On top there are carrot flowers and sprigs of greenery.

We remove for a couple of hours to cool and so that all layers are saturated.

Kill a worm Hot and cold smoking of fish

Home / Kill a worm (recipes for fish and meat dishes) / Hot and cold smoking of fish
Smoking is one of the most popular ways of cooking fish, especially in the summer season. In addition to the fact that you get a delicious dish that you can taste directly while fishing, you can also bring the finished fish home.

Hot smoking of fish

The essence of this method of cooking fish is that the fish should be cooked in hot smoke. Now on sale you will find many smoking boxes made from various metals. To smoke fish, just pour sawdust into the bottom of such a box, place the fish on the grill and, closing the lid, place it on hot coals. Everything here is simple and intuitive. The only thing I would recommend is not to buy cheap smoking boxes, since they are made of low-quality metal, which will begin to rust and collapse after the first smoking. It will be more and more difficult to wash and clean such a box each time, and after a while it will become completely impossible, and one way or another you will end up buying a good quality smoking box.

But you don’t always have a camp smokehouse at hand, and therefore you can quite simply build a camp smokehouse in the place where you regularly go fishing or if you go there for a long enough time (at least 2-3 days). To do this, a pit (simply a hole) is dug in a steep bank (ravine or slope). The width is taken arbitrarily depending on the volume of fish and the amount of firewood, but the depth is very important. The depth should be such that the pit can accommodate a good layer of coals and a layer of fresh branches on top of it. Plus, there is still 10-15 centimeters of clearance to the level where the rods (you can use skewers) will be located on which the fish will lie on top.

Well, we’ll also add about 10 centimeters of open space to cover the whole thing with a piece of, say, tarpaulin or some kind of lid. As a rule, the depth of such a pit is about 1 meter, and the width (diameter of the hole) is up to 1 meter (70-80 cm). Why does the pit dig in the slope? So that you can always control the combustion in the hole on the side of the pit and if you need to add coals or new branches for smoking. This can only be done if you have free access to the fire pit in the pit, at least on one side.

Firewood for coals can be absolutely anything, the main thing is to be dry so that it burns well, or rather smolders. The only exception is pine. Pine does not produce good coals, it either burns to ashes or smokes without practically burning, and resinous smoke is contraindicated for us - the fish will taste rancid. It is best to use birch, as well as aspen, willow and other trees. Otherwise, we proceed with the coals in the same way as when preparing kebabs.

First, a fire is lit at the bottom of the pit. We light a layer of good coals, and at the same time the walls of the smokehouse heat up. Then, at a certain height (so as not to burn), rods approximately 1.5 cm thick are stuck into the walls. (It is dangerous to use thinner rods - they can burn, and thicker rods will interfere with the smoking of the fish). If a little flame comes out of the coals, it’s not a big deal; if anything, you can always sprinkle water on top.

Next, we throw cuttings of fresh branches of deciduous trees without leaves on top of the coals. Any type of tree will do except spruce, the only thing you need to do is remove the leaves from any branches. Birch will give the fish a golden hue. Branches of flowering trees are very good for smoking: bird cherry, ranetka, cherry and other trees from your garden. I never throw away such dry branches, but accumulate them, tie them into bundles and take them with me fishing.

Now the branches began to smoke on the coals and we, without wasting time, placed the fish on the rods. They should not be placed too tightly together so that the fish carcasses do not cake and break when separated from each other. We cover the top of the smokehouse with a piece of tarpaulin or something else, but always thick and not very flammable. The goal is this: to prevent the smoke from dissipating and the coals from flaring up.

To prevent the coals from “suffocating” at all, you can leave a small gap at the bottom or occasionally open the canopy. At the same time, check and turn the fish over, spray the branches that are catching fire with water, add more fresh branches, or even slightly fan the dying coals. We need thick smoke and a fairly high temperature, but not such that the fish was fried and the rods were burning. In general, you need an eye and an eye, but nothing complicated.

Preparing the smokehouse is only half the battle; it is equally important to properly prepare the fish for smoking. Freshly caught fish must be gutted (it is not necessary to remove the scales). Small and medium-sized specimens are cut along the belly, larger fish along one side of the back. Particularly large fish are gutted through a cut in the belly and then cut into transverse pieces about 3-5 cm thick. Then the fish is salted thoroughly. A layer of coarse salt (necessarily coarse and not iodized) is poured into an enamel bowl (nothing else), then a layer of fish is placed, then another layer of fish, and so on until the bowl is full. On top you need to put oppression in the form of a stone or a pair of bricks. Fish should be salted for at least 6-7 hours in a cool place. Usually we salt the fish in the evening, and smoke it in the morning after morning fishing. You can do the opposite: salt the morning catch and smoke it in the evening, but if the day is hot, the fish may spoil.

When you decide to smoke fish, you need to remove it from the brine (the brine is not reused). Next, the fish is soaked or washed in water. After soaking, the fish should be hung or placed to dry on a rag or newspaper. This place should be ventilated and out of the sun. The drier your fish is, the better it will smoke rather than cook. Dry fish will be firm and tasty, while raw fish will fall apart in your hands.

Be sure to take the time to smell each fish, especially the inside; it is better to throw out suspicious specimens. We place the slightly dried fish in the smokehouse and then monitor the process. As a rule, with good coals and smoke, the fish should be smoked in 40 minutes (maximum hour). By the way, you can cook game in the same way, after soaking it in a marinade.

Cold smoking fish

A smokehouse for cold smoking is also quite easy to make, and it is not difficult to convert it from an already ready-made smokehouse for hot smoking. To do this, it is enough to dig a ditch 2-3 meters long and half a meter wide next to our pit (pit). The ditch is covered from above with something quite dense (boards, branches, film, etc.) and can even be covered with sand or earth on top. In the main pit (or you can even make a box or use an old barrel) salted and dried fish is laid out. Again, it is important that the fish do not touch each other.

Large fish should be tied with twine, as they may fall apart. At the bottom, the covering film (tarpaulin) is pressed to the ground with stones or sprinkled with earth (sand) so that there are no gaps left. An exhaust slot must be provided in the upper part of the main pit.

From the opposite end from the pit, i.e. at the beginning of the groove, even before hanging the fish, we light a fire and burn a lot of coals. On top of the coals (without knocking out the flame), we throw a lot of stubs of branches. We cover everything tightly with a piece of tarpaulin or something similar, but leave a gap at the bottom to create a draft. The draft should be such that the coals do not go out, but not so strong that a flame is formed.

Cold smoking is a very long process and takes from half a day to a day. Smoke should flow into the pit constantly. If the coals burn out, then close the chimney and relight them. If the branches have dried out and caught fire, you can throw new ones on top of them to “smother” the flame. There should be thick, lukewarm smoke in the pit.

Please note that cold smoking is fundamentally different from hot smoking. In fact, we do not smoke fish, but dry it, but in a more accelerated way. Due to the smoke, the fish acquires color and smell, and due to the constant draft of warm air, the fish dries faster.

In general, there are several immutable rules that must be followed when cold smoking:

1. Before you decide to cold smoke, carefully calculate your time capabilities.

2. Sawdust should smolder, not burn, otherwise we will get hot smoking. Monitor the process periodically, as the branches (sawdust) may catch fire on their own.

The simplest recipe for salad with hot smoked fish

This is a great option when you really don’t have enough time, but you need to quickly prepare a delicious salad. The ingredients here are the bare minimum and the recipe itself couldn’t be simpler.

Prepare foods:

mayonnaise - 250 gr;
potatoes - 600 gr;
medium-sized onion - 1 piece;
cod or sea bass (hot smoked) - 450 gr.

Boil the potatoes until tender. We separate the fish into small pieces with our hands.

Cut the peeled onion into small cubes, place in a sieve and pour over boiling water.

After cooling, add to the perch.

Mash the boiled potatoes with a potato masher.

Mix all ingredients, seasoning with mayonnaise.

If desired, you can also sprinkle chopped herbs on top of the salad.

How to smoke fish in a smokehouse

An important aspect when preparing smoked fish is the choice of type. Fatty varieties of river and sea fish will be suitable for preparing in this way:

salmon (trout, salmon);
sturgeon;
mackerel;
tuna;
perch;
carp;
zander;
tench.

To prepare a delicious dish, you need to properly prepare the carcasses:

Be sure to rinse the fish to remove all dirt and foreign odors. If the fish are large, clean them by removing the insides and head. Small fish do not need to be processed in this way.
Salting fish is allowed in 2 methods: wet and dry. The first salting option involves preparing a water-salt marinade, the second involves rubbing coarse salt on each carcass. It is not recommended to marinate with iodized seasoning - a specific, unpleasant taste and aroma may appear.
Before sending it inside the device, you should dry the fish a little by hanging it on hooks.

There are a few important tips you need to know to create a good tasting smoked fish:

Do not use sawdust from coniferous trees for cooking to avoid bitterness.
Try to choose carcasses of a similar size, place them loosely so that the fish do not touch.
Make sure that oxygen does not penetrate into the device.
Take special care when preparing eel. The blood of this variety is very poisonous, so it takes a little longer to cook.
Place water near homemade or purchased equipment to ensure safety in case of fire.

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How long does it take to smoke fish?

There are different types of smoking:

Hot involves manufacturing the product at a temperature above 70 degrees. It is important how long to smoke fish in a hot smoker. The fish pulp is ready in 40-50 minutes.
Cold involves heating to 28-50 degrees. Fish can take 2 or more days to prepare. But such a product will be stored for a long time.

Delicious recipe for salad with smoked fish

This option in its composition is very similar to the well-known “Olivier”, but its taste is naturally completely different. Once you try it at least once, it will certainly become one of your favorites. It’s not for nothing that this recipe is considered one of the most delicious.

Prepare:

boiled potatoes - 5 pcs;
hot smoked red fish (cleaned and divided into pieces) 300-400 g;
onion - 1 piece;
boiled carrots - 2 pcs;
pickled cucumbers - 5 pcs;
boiled eggs - 5 pcs;
dill greens - to taste;
mayonnaise - for dressing;
salt - to taste;
canned green peas - 1 can.

Cut the pickled cucumbers into cubes.

Add fish and diced carrots to them.

Then potatoes cut in the same way.

Next, chop the onion and dill and cut the eggs into cubes (you can leave one for decoration). Add everything to the salad, along with canned peas (without liquid) and mix, adding salt to taste.

Season with mayonnaise, sprinkle with finely grated egg and herbs on top.

Layered salad with smoked salmon and tomatoes

Another very simple recipe that is perfect for the holiday table. If you have the right ingredients, of which there are very few, it cooks quite quickly.

Required Products:

mayonnaise - 50 g (more is possible);
smoked salmon (trout, salmon) – 120 gr
green onions - 3-4 sprigs;
tomatoes - 4 pcs;
cheese - 100 gr;
boiled eggs - 4 pcs.

Cut the salmon into cubes.