Hot-smoked mackerel at home, a step-by-step recipe with photos from gastronom, 286 kcal
Hot-smoked mackerel at home is always tastier and more flavorful than the kind you buy at the store. First, you know it's prepared without unnecessary preservatives or liquid smoke. Second, you can add additional flavor nuances using a dry marinade and various wood chips.
- Fresh mackerel
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- 4 spice seasoning
- If the fish was frozen, don't wait for it to thaw completely. Place the mackerel on a work surface and, using a sharp knife, make a shallow cut across the belly. Remove the entrails, trim off the black membrane (it can impart an unpleasant bitterness), and cut out the gills.
- Rinse the mackerel under running water, then dry it thoroughly with paper towels. Prepare a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid, an enamel pan, or another suitable container for salting the fish.
- Mackerel can be salted dry or wet (using brine). Since this fish is typically small, dry salting is more convenient. Place coarse salt in a small bowl, add a little sugar and spices if desired, such as freshly ground black pepper, chopped bay leaf, etc.
- Place the mackerel in the prepared container and generously sprinkle it with salt or dry marinade, inside and out. Don't worry about oversalting the fish—it will absorb just the right amount. Sugar, on the other hand, is a flavor enhancer, so it definitely won't ruin the mackerel.
- Cover the container and refrigerate for 6-8 hours. Then, pour cold water over the mackerel, rinse off the salt, change the water, and let it soak for 30-40 minutes.
- Pat the fish dry with paper towels and tie it with kitchen twine for easy hanging. The twine will also help the mackerel maintain its shape when exposed to the hot smoke.
- Hang the fish in a dry, well-ventilated area out of direct sunlight and let it dry slightly for 2-3 hours. To protect it from insects, you can cover it with gauze or a light cotton cloth.
- Place a thin layer of wood chips on the bottom of the smoker. A mix of alder (which has an antibacterial effect), cherry, apple, and other fruit woods is best. To ensure the mackerel turns out as golden and delicious as possible, add a few beech chips.
- Place the fish on the grill, close the lid, and place the smoker on the fire. Keep the heat low for the first 15 minutes—the wood chips should just begin to smolder, but they should never catch fire.
- Then increase the temperature to 60-80°C and smoke the fish for another 20-30 minutes. Remove the smoker from the heat and leave it covered for about 15 minutes. Let the cooked mackerel cool and serve.
Mackerel is an extremely healthy, tasty, and easy-to-cook seafood, though somewhat undervalued by Russian chefs. Perhaps this is because it's practically impossible to find...
If you don't have a smoker, you can cook the fish this way: leave some hot coals in the grill, sprinkle them with soaked alder shavings, place the grate with the fish on top, and cover the entire structure with a flexible iron sheet, allowing air to enter only from below. Instead of alder shavings, you can use any fruit wood shavings: cherry, apple, or pear. This will give the fish a slightly more bitter flavor.
Smoke mackerel in tea? It's easy! Mackerel smoked this way is incredibly tasty and aromatic, much tastier and healthier than its store-bought counterpart. Serve it on its own, as an appetizer, or in a salad, for example.
