How to smoke hot, cold smoked smelt

Cooking delicious delicacies from freshly caught fish allows you to significantly diversify your daily menu. Cold-smoked smelt retains all the useful properties of the original product, improving taste characteristics. A large number of cooking methods gives a wide selection of recipes, based on the capabilities of the housewives.

The benefits and calorie content of the product

Smelt is widely distributed in water bodies of the northern part of the European region. Consumers appreciate the softness and delicate taste of meat. In addition, cold-smoked smelt has a rather low calorie content. 100 g of the finished product contains no more than 150 kcal. The nutritional table looks like this:

• proteins – 18,45 g;
• fats – 8,45 g;
• carbohydrates – 0 g.

With hot smoking, the calorie content of fish will be even less. High temperature promotes rapid rendering of fat. Such a product, with moderate use, can be used by people who monitor their health and weight. Zero glycemic index makes the delicacy acceptable even for diabetics.

Cold smoking allows you to save most of the nutrients

Cold and hot smoked smelt is valued for its rich vitamin and mineral composition. It contains a large amount of fluorine, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and calcium. Vitamins B, PP and D play a special role in strengthening the human body.

Protein-rich fish is well absorbed, guaranteeing the body a sufficient amount of building material for muscles and bones. Moderate consumption of smoked product has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the cardiovascular system. The greatest effect from the use of smoked smelt in food is achieved in early spring – during the off-season beriberi.

Preparing smelt for smoking

Before proceeding with direct processing with hot or cold smoke, the product must be prepared. Smelt does not belong to commercial fish species, so only residents of the northern regions of the country can enjoy the delicacy of their own preparation. Eating a fresh product guarantees the preservation of all useful components that can be destroyed during the freezing process.

The very first step in preparing smelt for smoking is removing the scales. Although many housewives ignore this point, when cooking at home, small scales will spoil the finished dish. Then the smelt’s stomach is cut open, the insides are removed from it and the abdominal cavity is thoroughly washed. The head is most often preserved for aesthetic reasons. Prepared fish is sent to a salt mixture or fragrant marinade.

How to salt smelt for smoking

Чтобы удалить из продукта возможных паразитов и улучшить вкус готового деликатеса, рекомендуется выдержать тушки в специальной смеси. Для ее приготовления необходимо взять соль, молотый черный перец и измельченный лавровый лист. Корюшку обваливают в этой смеси, затем ставят под гнет на полчаса.

An alternative to this method is the long-term soaking of carcasses in the marinade. Aromatic spices are most often added to it to enhance the taste of the finished product. For brine use:

• 2 L of water;
• 200 g salt;
• 4 laurel leaves;
• Xnumx buds clove;
• 10 peas of allspice.

All ingredients are mixed in a small container and put it on fire. As soon as the liquid boils, it is removed from the heat and cooled. The fish is put in a plastic bag and poured with ready-made brine. Marinating takes from 6 to 12 hours.

For hot smoking, it is best to use alder chips.

Salted smelt must be washed again. Then the carcasses are slightly dried so that the moisture is completely gone from its surface. Drying is done outdoors. Average curing time is 2 to 4 hours.

Hot smoked smelt recipes

Рыбу подвергают обработке дымом. Самый популярный способ приготовления корюшки в домашних условиях — метод горячего копчения. Такой деликатес обладает ярким вкусом и неповторимым ароматом. Если нет возможности установить коптильню на своем загородном участке, на помощь придут несколько проверенных способов. К таким относят приготовление корюшки в казане, в электрогриле, в духовке или в специализированном устройстве, оснащенном гидрозатвором и трубкой для отведения дыма.

Smelt in a hot smoked smokehouse

To prepare the perfect delicacy, you need a few simple ingredients. First, you need a smokehouse. It can be any metal box that can be installed inside the grid and with a tight-fitting lid. The next component is wood chips. Alder is best for smoking smelt in a smokehouse. Compared to fruit tree chips, it emits less burning when ingested with red-hot fish oil.

A distinctive feature of hot smoking is a bright golden hue.

The next step in the preparation of smelt is the assembly of the smokehouse. At the bottom of the box, a layer of wood chips soaked in advance is poured. A container for dripping fat is placed on it. One or more grates are installed on top, which are lightly greased with vegetable oil. Salted smelt is laid on them. The smokehouse is covered with a lid and put on fire.

So that the fish does not burn out in the first minutes of cooking, it is recommended to install the device at some distance from smoldering coals. An ideal option for installing a smokehouse would be a brazier filled to half. Since the size of the smelt is quite miniature, smoking is fast. As soon as the first wisps of white smoke appear from the smokehouse, it is necessary to count 10 minutes. The finished product is slightly ventilated in the open air, cooled and served.

How to smoke smelt at home

There are a large number of smokehouses with a water seal, specially created for the preparation of delicious delicacies in the conditions of apartment buildings. They are equipped with a smoke exhaust pipe, which ensures that there is no excess odor. For smoking smelt, it is best to choose devices with the possibility of installing a horizontal grate.

You can cook hot smoked smelt even in a small apartment

As in the case of an ordinary smokehouse, a few handfuls of alder chips are poured onto the bottom of the device, moistened half an hour before cooking. Grids are installed on top, on which smelt is laid out. The lid is hermetically closed, the tube is removed through the window. The smokehouse is placed on a minimum fire. After a few moments, smoke will come out of the pipe. Smoking lasts 10-15 minutes at a temperature inside the device of 120-140 degrees. The finished fish is cooled and served.

Smoking smelt in a cauldron at home

Experienced housewives have long adapted kitchen utensils to create real culinary masterpieces. Many people use a cauldron as an impromptu smokehouse for cooking almost any fish – from smelt to pink salmon. The smoking recipe calls for a very tight lid for minimal smoke in the kitchen.

Using simple kitchen utensils allows you to get a real delicacy.

Soaked chips are poured onto the bottom of the cauldron. Above put a saucer for fat. A grate is placed on it, cut out or matched to the diameter of the cauldron’s circumference. Smelt is laid at small intervals for smoke to enter. The cauldron is tightly covered with a lid and put on a strong fire for 15 minutes. The gas is turned off, and the makeshift smokehouse is left for 5-6 hours to impregnate the contents with smoke. It is recommended to open on the balcony to avoid a strong smell in the apartment.

How to smoke smelt in an electric smoker

Современная техника для гриля и других деликатесов шагнула далеко вперед за последние несколько лет. В продаже появились электрические коптильни, которые позволяют регулировать температуру и длительность приготовления. Современное оборудование гарантирует четкое соблюдение всех тонкостей рецептов.

The electric appliance guarantees the same temperature during cooking

As with an ordinary smokehouse, several handfuls of wet wood chips are poured into the recess of the device. Smelt is laid out on special lattices. Close the lid of the device, set the temperature to 140 degrees and start the timer for 15 minutes. The finished delicacy is served chilled.

Копчение корюшка с жидким дымом

There are several recipes that allow you to cook a delicious delicacy without using a smoker at all. Liquid smoke comes to the rescue. Its aroma, combined with smelt, gives a bright taste of hot smoking. For cooking you will need:

• Xnumx fish;
• 2 tbsp. l. liquid smoke;
• 2 Art. l salts;
• a pinch of black pepper.

Liquid smoke greatly improves the taste of fish

Smelt is covered with a mixture of seasonings and put under oppression for half an hour. Then it is washed and dried with a paper towel. The fish is laid out in a pan and poured with liquid smoke so that it completely envelops the carcasses. Smoking lasts no more than 15 minutes on medium heat. In the middle of cooking, the smelt is turned over and, if necessary, smeared with additional liquid smoke. The finished dish is dried with a napkin and served as an appetizer.

How to smoke smelt with pickled garlic

For connoisseurs of haute cuisine, there are several ways to turn fish into a real work of culinary art. The product treated with smoke is subjected to additional pickling in an aromatic mixture. For 500 g of finished hot smoked smelt you will need:

• 700 ml of vegetable oil;
• 2 large heads of garlic;
• 10 peas of black pepper;
• 1 h. l. cardamom

Additional pickling with garlic makes the taste of fish unique

The oil is boiled to a temperature of 90 degrees. In a small saucepan, mix the fish with halved garlic cloves and seasonings. They are poured with hot oil and removed to marinate for 12 hours. The taste of the finished delicacy can be changed by modifying the complex of spices used.

Cold smoked smelt recipe

The process is longer compared to the hot method, but guarantees tender meat, completely saturated with fragrant smoke. Cold smoked smelt not only looks beautiful in the photo, but also has a unique taste that delights numerous gourmets. The cooking process consists of the following items:

• pre-salting or marinating fish;
• laying out carcasses on special grates inside the smokehouse;
• pouring wood chips into the smoke generator;
• close the smokehouse and start cooking.

Cold-smoked fish preserves the fat content and delicate taste of meat

Since the carcasses are quite small, the smoking process will take less time compared to larger fish. At a temperature of 28-30 degrees, the delicacy will be ready after 12-18 hours. Before eating, it is recommended to air the smelt for a couple of hours in the open air.

Storage Rules

Long-term salting and smoking can significantly increase the shelf life of the finished product. The delicacy retains its consumer characteristics for up to 2 weeks if kept in the refrigerator. The air temperature for storage should be between 3 and 5 degrees.

To increase the shelf life, you can use a vacuum cleaner or a freezer. In the first case, tightness guarantees the exclusion of contact with the environment. Vacuum-packed smelt can be stored for up to 1 month. Freezing the product spoils the structure of the meat, but extends its shelf life to 50-60 days.

Conclusion

Cold smoked smelt is a chic delicacy that is fairly easy to prepare. Strict adherence to the instructions guarantees excellent consumer properties of the product. Even in the absence of a quality smokehouse, you can treat yourself to a great dish.