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Cold smoked pink salmon is an exquisite delicacy that can be made at home. To do this, you need to choose the right fish, prepare it, and follow all the recommendations for cooking. Ignoring these conditions can lead to the fact that instead of tasty cold-smoked pink salmon, you get a product with a high content of harmful substances and a bitter taste. Therefore, you should study the cooking technology in advance.
The optimal weight of fish carcasses for cooking a delicacy is 0,8-1,5 kg
The benefits and harms of cold smoked pink salmon
This fish is valued for its high content of iodine, phosphorus and iron. It also includes a large amount of vitamins and unsaturated fatty acids. Cold smoking pink salmon allows you to save most of the beneficial substances for human health in the product. After all, the cooking process takes place with minimal heat treatment, namely, not higher than 30 degrees.
The main useful properties of cold-smoked pink salmon:
- reduces blood clotting, which prevents the development of thrombosis;
- helps to strengthen teeth, bone tissue;
- increases stress resistance, prevents the development of depression;
- restores muscle tone, strengthens the musculoskeletal system.
The product can cause harm to health only if low-quality fish has been selected. In this case, the low processing temperature is unable to neutralize parasites and pathogens. This contributes to the development of dangerous diseases.
BJU and calorie content of cold-smoked smoked pink salmon
The process of preparing the product does not require the use of vegetable fats. This feature leads to the fact that the calorie content of cold-smoked pink salmon does not exceed the permissible norm. It contains about 21,3% protein, 8,8% fat and 0,01% carbohydrate.
The calorie content of cold-smoked pink salmon per 100 grams is 176 kcal.
The meat of this fish is very satisfying, but at the same time it is one of the low-calorie foods. Therefore, it can be used without fear by people who care about their figure.
Technology of cold smoking pink salmon
The process of preparing a delicacy involves the observance of certain rules. Therefore, they should be studied in advance.
The technology of cold smoking pink salmon involves a long process of cooking sawdust at a low smoldering temperature for 24-72 hours, depending on the size of the carcass. Therefore, you should stock up in advance with a sufficient amount of wood chips to maintain the required regimen during this time.
Sawdust for cold smoking should be chosen from fruit trees or alder. This will give a pleasant taste and aroma to the final product. Birch can also be used, but you must first remove the bark from the wood. After all, it has a large amount of tar.
You need to hang the fish in the smokehouse on hooks, which will prevent it from falling.
The taste of the delicacy directly depends on the quality of the chips.
Selection and preparation of fish
For cold smoking, it is necessary to choose fresh pink salmon with dense, elastic skin that fits well to the flesh. Fish should not have spots and mechanical damage. Her abdomen should be slightly flattened, pink. You should also pay attention to the pulp, it should quickly restore its shape when pressed.
Before you start cold smoking, the fish must be cleaned. During preparation, the insides should be removed, but the scales and fins should be left. You also need to remove the gills, since with insufficient salting they provoke rapid spoilage of the product.
If necessary, the pink salmon’s head can be cut off, and the fish divided into two parts, removing the spine and costal bones. A large carcass should be cut into pieces across. After that, wash it, blot the remaining moisture with a paper towel.
How to pickle pink salmon for cold smoking
To give the necessary taste to the delicacy, you need to properly salt the pink salmon for cold smoking. To do this, rub it thoroughly with salt inside and out. This should be done against the direction of the scales. You also need to add salt under the gill cover. After that, put the fish in an enamel pan, additionally sprinkle with salt and cover with a lid.
Salting pink salmon for cold smoking lasts from 1,5 to 4 days at a temperature of +2-4 degrees. During this time, it must be periodically turned over.
After this period, the fish must be moistened inside and on top with a paper towel, which will remove excess salt and moisture. Then dry it in a cool place for 5-6 hours until a thin crust appears on the surface.
How to marinate pink salmon for cold smoking
If desired, you can give the dish a more refined taste. To do this, you need to use a special marinade.
To prepare it, you need to prepare:
- 1 L of water;
- 100 g of sea salt;
- 50 grams of sugar;
- spices to taste.
Method of preparation:
- It is necessary to combine all the components and mix thoroughly the marinade for cold smoked pink salmon.
- Then immerse the carcass or pieces in it so that the liquid completely covers them.
- Keep at a temperature of +2-4 degrees for two days.
- After that, dry the top and inside with napkins and dry in a cool dry place for 24 hours.
After preparation, the fish must be dried well.
How to smoke cold smoked pink salmon
There are several basic ways to prepare a delicacy. It is necessary to consider each of them separately, which will allow you to understand the technique of the procedure.
How to smoke cold smoked pink salmon in a smokehouse
The process of preparing a delicacy takes several days. During this time, it is necessary to maintain the smoldering temperature of the chips within 28-30 degrees. At the same time, aromatic herbs and branches of fruit trees should be tossed at the end of cooking.
Fish should be hung on hooks at the top of the smokehouse. In this case, the walls of the abdomen should be opened and fixed with toothpicks or sticks so that the smoke can freely penetrate inside and soak the meat fibers.
Do not interrupt the cold smoking process. If this is not possible, then an uninterrupted supply of smoke should be ensured for 8 hours, and then you can take a break for 3-4 hours.
Frozen pink salmon should not be used for smoking
The readiness of the fish can be determined by appearance. It should have a reddish-golden hue and noticeably lose weight. After that, let it cool in the smokehouse, and then ventilate it in the fresh air for 12 hours.
Cold smoked pink salmon in a smokehouse with a smoke generator
This method allows you to significantly speed up the process of preparing a delicacy. For this you need a special smokehouse.
The recipe for cold smoking pink salmon with a smoke generator has practically no differences from the previous one. The only difference is that smoke is supplied automatically in the selected mode.
Initially, you need to hang the prepared pink salmon carcasses on hooks at the top of the smokehouse. At the same time, push the walls of the abdomen and fix them with a toothpick. After that, put wet wood chips into the smoke regulator and set the supply of fresh smoke to the chamber every 7 minutes. with a smoldering temperature in the range of 28-30 degrees. The duration of cooking a whole carcass is 12 hours, and 5-6 hours are enough to get cold-smoked pink salmon.
At the end, you do not need to immediately get the fish, as it must cool inside the smokehouse. And then keep it in the refrigerator for one day. This is necessary so that the fish is ripe and its smoked flavor is slightly weathered.
Recipe for cold smoked pink salmon with liquid smoke
You can cook a delicacy even in the absence of a smokehouse. To do this, you need to use liquid smoke, which will give the dish the necessary flavor. In this case, the cooking process is somewhat different from the standard technology.
In this case, the following components are needed:
- 4 Art. l salts;
- 100 ml of liquid smoke;
- 1 L of water;
- 100 g of onion peel;
- 1 st. l. Sahara.
The process of preparing a delicacy in this case is two days.
Method of preparation:
- Initially, it is necessary to fill the onion peel with water and boil for 5 minutes. on low fire. In this case, the broth should become a rich brown hue.
- After that, strain it.
- Then add salt and sugar to the resulting liquid, mix until dissolved.
- When the broth has completely cooled, pour liquid smoke into it and mix thoroughly.
- Carcasses of pink salmon should be folded into an enamel pan.
- Then pour them with the prepared marinade so that the liquid completely covers them, and put oppression on top.
- Rearrange the container with the fish in the refrigerator or basement for even maturation. Every 12 hours, the carcasses must be turned over.
Liquid smoke simplifies and speeds up the cooking process
After two days, the fish must be removed and thoroughly wiped inside and out with paper towels to remove excess moisture. At the end of cooking, dry pink salmon for 3 hours until a thin crust appears on the surface.
Why is cold-smoked pink salmon soft?
The delicacy should have an elastic consistency, moderately juicy. However, cold-smoked pink salmon often does not meet the norm, since serious mistakes were made in the cooking process.
The most common cause of soft, flaky fish is elevated processing temperatures, which cause the meat to steam. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly maintain the required mode and avoid sudden jumps.
It may also be due to insufficient or excessive salting of the carcass. The amount of salt should be 1,8-2% of the total weight of the fish. Moreover, the greater its quantity, the lower the smoking temperature should be.
Immediately before cooking, the carcass must be thoroughly washed and dried for 6-12 hours. In case of insufficient ventilation, the smoke does not penetrate into the meat, since a film forms on its surface. As a result, the fish remains raw inside or becomes boiled.
The reason for the soft texture of the meat may be the closed walls of the abdomen. Therefore, the smoke does not pass enough inside the carcass, as a result of which excess moisture is present in it. To prevent this, you need to open the abdomen during smoking and fix its walls with a toothpick.
A soft consistency may be caused by non-compliance with the timing of the use of the product. At the end of cold smoking, pink salmon should be given time to ripen. To do this, it should be left in the smokehouse until it cools, and then kept in the refrigerator for another day. This will allow excess moisture to escape.
Rules and shelf life of cold smoked pink salmon
The prepared delicacy can be stored in the refrigerator for 10 days. At the same time, the product completely retains its taste.
Is it possible to freeze cold smoked pink salmon
To increase the shelf life, you need to freeze cold-smoked pink salmon. When the temperature drops to -5 degrees, the product can be stored for 2 months. in a well ventilated area.
In the case of deep freezing (up to -30 degrees), the shelf life is 1 month. In this case, it is necessary to observe the humidity of the chamber within 75-80%. Defrost the product should be at a temperature not higher than +8 degrees.
Conclusion
Cold-smoked pink salmon has an exquisite taste and aroma that few people can leave indifferent. Cooking this delicacy at home is quite within the power of everyone, if you follow all the above recommendations. But it should be understood that during storage the product gradually loses its taste and aroma, so you do not need to stock up on it for future use.
