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Smoked mackerel is a delicate and tasty dish that will not only decorate the festive table, but also make the everyday menu unusual. It is not necessary to buy such a delicacy, as it is quite simple to prepare it at home. You can smoke mackerel hot and cold. In this case, the taste of the finished product will depend on the correct preliminary preparation, including salting and pickling. Salting mackerel for cold smoking can be carried out in two ways - dry and wet, each of which has its own advantages.
Having smoked mackerel yourself, you can be sure of the quality of the prepared dish
Methods for salting mackerel before cold smoking
Cold smoked mackerel ambassador can be dry or wet. In the first case, salting is carried out by pouring and rubbing the carcasses with salt. Then they are left to stand in a cool place. Wet salting involves the preparation of a marinade based on water and a variety of spices. The brine is cooled, the carcasses are poured over it and kept for a certain period of time.
To make a quick salting of mackerel for cold smoking, it is necessary to select recipes for fillets and pieces. For pickling or salting whole carcasses, you need at least 2-3 days, while chopped fish will be enough for 12-18 hours. You can shorten the curing time by adding vinegar to the marinade.
Selection and preparation of fish
Mackerel intended for pickling must be purchased only from trusted suppliers in order to ensure that quality, fresh raw materials are obtained. The fish should not have an unpleasant odor, loose structure, any mechanical damage. The color of fresh mackerel is light gray, with characteristic black stripes, without any spots or darkening on the skin.
A sign of a poor-quality product is a thick layer of ice on the carcasses. This technique is used by unscrupulous sellers to disguise possible shortcomings. Frozen mackerel must first be properly defrosted. This can be done by placing it in cold water for about 1.5 hours.
Fresh mackerel should be firm and firm to the touch. It is best to purchase whole carcasses (head and entrails), which will simplify the process of determining freshness. Their gills should be red, their eyes transparent, without clouding.
Ice glaze on fish carcasses should be white and transparent, no more than 1 mm thick
To clean or not
Before marinating mackerel for cold smoking, the fish must be properly prepared.At the same time, the carcasses are gutted - they remove the entrails, the head. But you can leave it. When smoking as a whole, the carcass must be carefully cleaned of scales, taking care of the integrity of the skin. Skin damage can cause the pickled mackerel to soften during smoking. Then the fish must be dried with napkins or paper towels.
How to salt mackerel for cold smoking
The salting process involves rubbing each carcass with salt outside and inside. Then they are placed in a metal or enamel container.
Classic mackerel ambassador for cold smoking
The classic mackerel ambassador allows you to get cold smoked fish, similar in taste to the product prepared according to GOST.
Required Ingredients:
- mackerel - 2 carcasses;
- salt - 80 g;
- sugar - 20 g;
- Bay leaf;
- peppercorns (black).
Step by step cooking:
- Cut off the fish's head, gut, rinse.
- Pour 20-30 g of salt on the bottom of the salting dish, put pepper, crumbled bay leaves.
- Mix the remaining salt and sugar and grate the carcasses on all sides.
- Place them in a container and close it tightly.
- Leave in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
On top of the mackerel must be covered with salt
How to Salt Cold Smoked Mackerel
You can make the taste of the cooked product a little brighter by adding a variety of spices during salting. To do this, you should make a special mixture consisting of dry onions, garlic, various peppers (black, allspice, paprika), coriander, mustard, cloves and bay leaves. Obligatory components are salt - 100-120 g and sugar - 25 g (based on 1 kg of fish raw materials).
Carcasses are placed in a container for pickling, pouring into it a previously prepared layer of spicy mixture. Then the fish is tightly placed belly up. At the same time, all layers are sprinkled with a salting mixture. Oppression is necessarily placed on top. Containers with salted fish are placed in the refrigerator for 1-2 days, turning over at intervals of 6 hours.
Spiced smoked mackerel goes well with any side dishes
A simple recipe for salting mackerel for cold smoking
A simple recipe for dry pickling does not involve the use of any unique or exotic spices. Rubbing the carcasses with ordinary salt and black pepper will be quite enough. You can add any fish spices you want. The dishes with salted mackerel are covered with cling film or a lid, leaving in the refrigerator for 10-12 hours.
It is not recommended to reduce the salting time, as the raw material may not be salted.
Recipe for salting mackerel with sugar and garlic for cold smoking
You can dry pickle mackerel using garlic and other aromatic spices that are selected and added to taste. Such salting will allow you to get juicy, fragrant, tasty fish.
Ingredients:
- fish - 1 kg;
- salt - 100 g;
- sugar - 10 g;
- lemon juice;
- Bay leaf;
- black and allspice;
- garlic to taste.
Fish carcasses are rubbed with the prepared mixture from all sides, placed in a saucepan or basin and placed in a cool place (refrigerator) for 24-48 hours.
Fish salted according to this recipe turns out juicy and aromatic with a refined taste.
How to marinate mackerel for cold smoking
Marinating is an easy way to wet-cure mackerel for cold smoking. It is thanks to the brine that the fish acquires excellent taste, becomes aromatic, tender, juicy. There are several options for preparing the marinade.Each recipe has its own set of spices that give the finished product a unique, original taste.
The classic brine recipe for cold smoking mackerel
The classic marinade for cold smoked mackerel is prepared on the basis of water, salt, pepper and bay leaf.
Ingredients:
- frozen fish - 6 pcs.
For the marinade
- water - 2 l;
- salt - 180 g;
- Bay leaf;
- ground black and allspice (peas) - to taste.
Step-by-step pickling:
- Cut off heads, remove entrails, rinse under running water.
- Place the carcasses tightly in the container.
- Prepare the brine by adding all the seasonings to cold water.
- Stir until the salt dissolves.
- Pour the fish with brine, cover with a plate, place oppression on top.
- Close the container with a lid and leave to marinate for 3 days.
A very tasty and easy pickling recipe - all the hassle will take no more than 10-15 minutes
Cold smoked mackerel brine with coriander
You can salt mackerel for cold smoking in a spicy marinade. Such fish cooks quickly, while being very tender, juicy, soft and aromatic.
Correctly pickled fish, during smoking, not only acquires a sophisticated taste, but also a beautiful brown-golden color
Ingredients:
- fish carcasses - 2-3 pcs.
For the marinade:
- water - 1 l;
- table salt - 60 g;
- sugar - 25 g;
- bay leaf - 5 pcs.;
- coriander - 1 tbsp l .;
- black pepper;
- carnation.
Cold smoked mackerel marinade recipe:
- Butcher carcasses - remove heads, entrails.
- Prepare the marinade by boiling the seasonings in water.
- Cool the brine, drain.
- Put the fish in a plastic bowl, pour over the marinade.
- Leave to marinate for about 12 hours (for larger carcasses, increase the pickling time to 24 hours).
How to pickle cold smoked mackerel with lemon and rosemary
An unusual, expressive taste can be obtained by pickling mackerel with herbs and citrus fruits. The amount of ingredients can be adjusted based on personal taste preferences. First of all, you need to prepare brine (a strong solution of table salt).
To prepare the marinade, you will need the following products:
- lemon - 2 pcs.;
- orange - 1 pc.;
- onion - 3 heads;
- garlic - 4 cloves;
- bay leaf - 5-6 pcs.;
- granulated sugar - 25 g;
- cinnamon powder - 1 tbsp l .;
- ground black pepper - 1 tbsp. l .;
- spicy herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage) - to taste.
Cooking method:
- Coarsely chop the onion, lemon, orange.
- Prepare brine by pouring salt into boiling water. Boil for about 10 minutes.
- Add spices, vegetables, fruits to the brine. Boil.
- Pour the finished marinade over the carcasses.
- Leave on for 12 hours.
By marinating mackerel with rosemary and lemon, you can get a special and extraordinary dish
How much to salt mackerel for cold smoking
To properly salt mackerel for cold smoking, you need to know how long it needs to be pickled or salted. For even distribution of salt, dry-salted fish should be kept in a cool place for at least 7-12 hours.
Carcasses are infused in the marinade from several hours to 1-2 days, depending on the recommended recipe
Processing fish after salting
After salting, the mackerel must be thoroughly rinsed with cool water. Then the carcasses should be well dried with paper towels, both outside and inside. The next step is withering. Best of all, cold smoke will penetrate the meat of well-dried fish. For drying, carcasses are hung upside down in the fresh air for several hours. After carrying out such preparatory measures, you can proceed directly to the smoking process.
Conclusion
Marinating and salting mackerel for cold smoking is an easy process that any housewife can easily handle. This can be done in different ways, each of which has its own advantages. The result is a rather tasty and healthy delicacy that cannot be bought in any store.
