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Homemade fish preparations allow you to get excellent quality delicacies that are not inferior to high-level restaurant dishes. Cold smoked muksun can be prepared without even having serious culinary skills. You just need to choose and prepare all the necessary ingredients, and then follow simple instructions.
Composition and calorie content of smoked muksun
Most of the fish of the Salmonidae family are classified as delicacies. When smoked, muksun meat becomes very tender and soft. When preparing a product at home, you can get not only a tasty, but also a very healthy dish. The most valuable ingredients are the following:
- a large amount of natural protein;
- fatty acids that lower cholesterol and improve the functioning of the cardiovascular system;
- vitamin D for the central nervous system;
- trace elements - calcium and phosphorus.
Smoked muksun is not only tasty, but also a very healthy dish
Scientists and doctors note that occasional consumption of smoked muksun in food significantly improves the general condition of the body. Consumers also report reduced stress levels and improved sleep quality. The main advantage of the delicacy is its rather low calorie content and, as a result, its use in various diets and nutrition programs. 100 g of cold smoked muksun contains:
- proteins - 19.5 g;
- fats - 5.2 g;
- carbohydrates - 0 g;
- calorie content - 128 kcal.
Those who want to eat as healthy as possible can significantly reduce the fat content of their finished meal by preparing it in a different way. When smoked hot, more fat comes out of the fish, leaving no more than 2 g for every 100 g of weight. Caloric content in this case changes to 88 Kcal.
Preparing muksun for smoking
The best fish for cooking, regardless of the recipe and type, is freshly caught. Given the rather specific habitat of muksun, most of the country's inhabitants will have to be content with a frozen product. When choosing fish, the first thing to pay attention to is the glaze layer - a large amount of ice often indicates repeated defrosting or non-compliance with the transportation technology.
When buying chilled fish, it is important to properly assess its appearance. Often, under the guise of such a product, supermarkets display defrosted muksun. A bad product gives out an uneven shine, the presence of mucus and an unpleasant odor emanating from the carcass. It is also worth examining the eyes - they should be clear, without clouding.
Before you start cooking, you need to defrost the carcasses. It is best to leave them in the refrigerator at 4-6 degrees overnight. If you need the fastest possible processing, a microwave or oven with a defrost function comes to the rescue. In order not to lose a large amount of natural juice, it is not recommended to put muksun in hot water.
The abdominal cavity must be thoroughly cleaned before smoking.
The next step is to clean the fish.Her belly is ripped open and all entrails are removed. Particular attention is paid to the dark film, which can taste bitter in the finished dish. The head is retained or removed at will. It is best to leave the scales to protect the muksun from overly aggressive smoke.
Regardless of the chosen cooking method, the fish needs preliminary salting. There are 2 traditional options for such processing for muksun - dry and wet. In the first case, the fish is rubbed with salt and a mixture of various spices to taste. Wet salting for smoking is made in a special saline solution or marinade.
Before the final stage, muksun is washed with running water to remove excess salt. Then the carcasses are hung on ropes and dried from moisture. The finished fish is placed in a smokehouse and cooked.
Cold smoked muksun recipes
The long smoke treatment at low temperatures makes the fish a real delicacy. On average, a cold smoked muksun dish will take 12 to 24 hours. Given the low cooking temperature, it is important to follow the recommendations for preliminary salting - a lack of salt can lead to the preservation of harmful microorganisms in the finished product.
When cold smoking, special attention should be paid to the selection of spices when salting or pickling. Excessive amounts of aromatic herbs can impair the taste of muksun. Salt is ideal, along with some pepper and bay leaves.
Classic recipe
The traditional method of preparation involves minimal use of spices and a long period of cold smoke cooking. Before smoking, muksun is thoroughly washed and gutted. For 1 kg of salt, add 50 g of ground black pepper. The resulting mixture is rubbed with carcasses from the outside and from the inside, after which they are left for 2-3 hours. Muksun is salted quite quickly - you should not leave it for a longer time. The fish is washed, wiped off with a paper towel and smeared with sunflower oil.
The minimum amount of spices will preserve the natural fishy taste
For the smokehouse, a large fire is made to be able to periodically add firewood. As soon as there are enough coal to maintain the optimum temperature in the device, it is installed on top. Apple or cherry chips soaked in water are poured into the bottom of the smokehouse. The fish is hung on special hooks or laid out on the lattice.
Preparing a cold smoked muksun snack according to this recipe takes about 12 hours. The first 8 hours must be monitored for the constant presence of smoke in the smokehouse. Then it is recommended to take short pauses for half an hour. To check the readiness of smoked muksun, one fish from the smokehouse is cut across the main fin. The meat should be of a uniform white color. It is recommended to ventilate the delicacy in the open air for 3-4 hours before serving.
Cold smoked muksun in traditional marinade
The brine will allow you to achieve more uniform salting compared to the dry method. A classic marinade will allow you to fully reveal the delicate taste of muksun when smoked. For a kilogram fish you will need:
- 1 liter of water;
- ¼ Art. salt;
- 20 peppercorns;
- 10 carnation buds;
- 3 tbsp. l. strong tea;
- 3 bay leaves.
The water is brought to a boil and salt and all the spices are thrown into it. The liquid is boiled for 5-10 minutes, then removed from the heat and cooled to room temperature. Muksun is spread in an enamel pan and poured with marinade for 12 hours. Before cooking, it is wiped dry and smeared with sunflower oil.
Marinade guarantees better salting of larger fish carcasses
A smokehouse with moistened wood chips is put on fire and the temperature in it is set at 30-40 degrees and an abundant stream of smoke is established. Fish is placed in it and tightly closed with a lid. Muksun will be fully ready 18-20 hours after the start of smoking. After smoke treatment, it is ventilated for about 2 hours in the fresh air.
Cold smoked muksun in apple and lemon marinade
Fans of more sophisticated recipes can diversify the preparation of smoked fish by adding additional ingredients. The main factor is compatibility with tender fish meat. Small amounts of apples and lemons are best. According to consumer reviews, such cold smoked muksun turns out to be more delicious than according to the traditional recipe.
To prepare the marinade you will need:
- 500 ml of apple juice;
- 500 ml of water;
- 2 sweet apples;
- half a lemon;
- 60 g salt;
- 1 tbsp. l. Sahara;
- 10 peppercorns;
- 4 bay leaves;
- 10 carnation buds;
- 1 cup onion skins
Apples are rubbed on a coarse grater. Remove the zest from the lemon and squeeze the juice. Water is mixed with lemon and apple juice in a small saucepan and brought to a boil. Put all the remaining ingredients in the liquid and boil for 10 minutes, then cool to room temperature. The resulting marinade is poured with muksun and left for 12 hours. Before smoking, the carcasses are wiped off with a towel and sprinkled with vegetable oil.
Apple-lemon marinade for muksun - a guarantee of getting a real delicacy
Smoke treatment takes up to 20-24 hours at a temperature of about 40 degrees. The readiness of smoked muksun is checked by making several cuts at the main fin - uniform white meat suggests that the fish can be removed from the smokehouse. It is hung out for 1-2 hours in the open air, after which it is served or put away for storage.
How to smoke hot smoked muksun
A distinctive feature of this cooking method is the increased temperature during processing with smoke. If a special smoker is needed for cold smoking, then even self-designed primitive appliances are suitable for the hot method. The smoking temperature of muksun in such cases is limited only by natural factors, so the cooking process is significantly accelerated up to 1 hour.
Classic recipe
It is quite simple to prepare muksun using the hot smoking method. To begin with, the fish must be salted for a couple of hours with a mixture of salt and ground black pepper in a ratio of 20: 1. Then it is washed and dried with paper towels. Given the rather high smoking temperature, it is not recommended to grease the carcasses with sunflower oil.
Hot smoked fish can be cooked much faster
Muksun is laid out on the grate of the smokehouse, the bottom of which is filled with wet sawdust and put on the fire. The lid of the appliance is tightly closed and the breather is slightly opened to remove excess smoke. The smoking process takes from 40 to 60 minutes, depending on the size of the fish carcasses used. The finished delicacy is cooled and served.
Hot smoked muksun in brine with herbs
Experienced cooks advise using additives such as dill, parsley and basil to fully reveal the taste of smoked fish. The herbs turn the muksun marinade into an aromatic bomb. To prepare it you will need:
- 1 liter of water;
- ¼ Art. table salt;
- 10 peas of allspice;
- 10 carnation buds;
- 3 tbsp. l. strong black tea;
- 4 bay leaves;
- 4 sprigs of basil;
- a small bunch of dill;
- a bunch of parsley.
Herbal marinade significantly improves the taste of the finished dish
The water is brought to a boil and spices and finely chopped herbs are placed in it. After 5 minutes of boiling, the marinade is cooled and the fish is poured over it overnight. Pickled muksun is wiped dry and placed in a preheated smokehouse with wood chips. Smoking lasts about an hour, then the fish is ventilated from the smoke and served to the table.
A very simple recipe for hot smoked muksun
There are many ways to prepare smoked fish, but none of them match the simplicity of one of the professional chefs. Before proceeding to heat treatment, muksun is salted dry or wet, then wiped off with a paper towel.
Pumpkin seed oil is an ideal addition to hot smoked muksun
The smokehouse is put on fire and soaked apple chips are poured onto the bottom. To speed up and simplify the preparation of muksun as much as possible, it is greased with pumpkin oil, and then placed on a wire rack. Heat treatment lasts no more than half an hour - this time is enough for the complete preparation of tender meat.
Storage rules
To preserve smoked muksun for a long time, you will need to purchase a special device - a vacuum cleaner. The fish packaged in this way easily retains its consumer characteristics for 5-6 weeks. If you put the vacuum packaging with muksun in the freezer, you can extend its shelf life to several months.
If there is no such device, you can use traditional methods of preserving smoked fish. It is wrapped in a thick cloth or parchment paper in several layers and placed in the refrigerator. In this form, muksun retains its taste for up to 2 weeks. If left at room temperature, fish will go bad in 24-48 hours.
Conclusion
Cold smoked muksun is an incredibly tasty delicacy that everyone can cook. The simplicity and variety of recipes will allow you to choose the perfect combination of ingredients according to your consumer preferences.
