What could be tastier than smoked mackerel on the dinner table? But lately, too often you can come across low-quality products on the counter, and the price of such fish, let’s say, is not small. Unscrupulous manufacturers, in order to reduce production costs, add liquid smoke, violate cooking technology, or send raw materials for smoking that are no longer suitable for sale. But I still want to please my family with delicious smoked mackerel on the table.

Let's learn how to prepare such a delicacy at home without liquid smoke, without much effort, in a short time and much cheaper. Once you try this smoked mackerel, this recipe will go on your list of favorites.

To prepare smoked mackerel you will need:

• Of course, the soloist of the table, mackerel, two large or three medium fish;
• Four tablespoons of salt;
• Three tablespoons of sugar and brewing black tea;
• Spices: bay leaf, black peppercorns, (allspice);
• A handful of onion peels (you can use two handfuls, it won’t make it worse);

Preparing the marinade does not take much effort and time.

First, prepare the fish. You are more likely to buy frozen mackerel because it is more often found frozen than fresh. Therefore, the fish should be defrosted; it is best to put the fish in cold water and leave it for a while, and if you want to speed up the process, change the water at regular intervals. Next, clean the fish from the insides and cut off the head, rinse the cleaned fish carcasses thoroughly. Now is the time to start the marinade.

Boil a liter of water, then pour three tablespoons of black tea into the water, add onion skins and spices. Let the marinade simmer for a couple of minutes and then turn it off. Let cool slightly and add four tablespoons of salt and three tablespoons of sugar. Stir everything vigorously and let cool to room temperature. The marinade is ready.

Recipe for making smoked mackerel at home without liquid smoke

Take the cleaned fish and put it in the marinade. Place the container with fish and marinade in the refrigerator for two days. After the marinating period has expired, take out the ready-made, golden-colored fish, rinse it from the tea leaves and marinade, and hang it over the sink to allow excess moisture to drain. To give it a more aesthetic appearance, you can wipe the fish with a cloth with vegetable oil.

After this, for storage, place and wrap the fish in a paper bag and put it in the refrigerator. But it’s unlikely that such tasty fish will stay there for a long time or even end up in the refrigerator for storage.

As a side dish for such fish, cooked with your own hands, boiled potatoes in pieces or mashed potatoes, stewed potatoes with mushrooms, vegetable stew, and simply with a piece of fresh white bread will be very tasty.

Dec 10, 2014 Marina

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Smoked mackerel has long been considered an almost indispensable attribute of the holiday table, and this fish will add variety to an ordinary weekday dinner, since it goes perfectly with many foods. By preparing smoked mackerel yourself, you can get a truly unique dish with a unique taste and delicious aroma. But in order for the fish to turn out successful, you need to know some of the subtleties of smoking it.

You can smoke mackerel either cold or hot, using any available smokehouse. Before you start smoking, you need to choose a quality product and properly prepare it for further manipulation.

Smoking mackerel begins with purchasing fish. The benefits and taste of the finished dish depend on its quality, so it is best to buy mackerel in trusted stores, where it is supplied frozen. In this case, you need to pay attention to the following details:

• the carcass should not be deformed or flattened - this means that the fish has been re-frozen, which means it has lost its beneficial qualities. The ideal option is a smooth fish without visible damage to the body;
• The mackerel's eyes should be transparent and clear. If there is turbidity, it is better to refuse such a purchase;
• the fins of properly frozen mackerel are pressed to the carcass, without signs of damage;
• the gills of fresh fish are pink, clean, without signs of mucus;
• there should be no yellow spots on fresh fish - this is a sign of fat oxidation, which indicates the obvious staleness of the product;
• absence of foreign, unpleasant odors from the carcass.

Preliminary preparation of fish

Purchased frozen mackerel must be defrosted properly. This can be done either naturally, by leaving it at room temperature for a while, or by placing it in a container with cold water. Defrosting fish in hot or warm water is strictly prohibited - most likely, the bones will move away from the meat, and the meat itself will soften. This will lead to the fact that the fish will simply disintegrate during smoking and become unsuitable for consumption.

Mackerel is an excellent fish option for cooking at home. There are few small bones in it, and the flesh itself is dense and fatty. We will tell you how to make cold smoked mackerel in this article. Here are several simple recipes available to any housewife. Let's try to cook!

Salt plus smoke

The magic of these two ingredients has long been known to cooks from different countries. Smoking gives meat and fish a unique taste and aroma. Plus, this is a great way to preserve the product. Some housewives think that preparing cold smoked mackerel at home is difficult, because the process itself will require special equipment. But it is not so. Homemade cold smoked mackerel will turn out very tasty and aromatic if you use the recipes below.

Smoking methods

There is a significant difference between the types and the hot ones. Cold is, rather, a drying process at 25-30 degrees. It gives the dish a wonderful smoky aroma and delicate taste, and is a way of preserving and preserving fish. Hot - the product is cooked at a fairly high temperature (up to 120 degrees).

Preliminary preparation of fish

The mackerel should first be salted, as this process will remove excess liquid from the fish carcass. The result is a richer aroma. We take (large). Rub the fish, placed on a cutting board or baking sheet, thoroughly on all sides and leave to lie for half an hour. If the carcasses are large, let them soak for about an hour (the larger the fish, the more salt).

Home smokehouse

Cold smoked mackerel at home is very well prepared in a homemade smokehouse. It’s easy to build from an old large saucepan (or one you don’t mind). We drill several holes on its sides at a height of fifteen centimeters. We insert into these holes where the fish will be located. The pan should also have a tight-fitting lid.

The process itself

Place a layer of sawdust on the bottom of the pan. In this case, any non-coniferous species are suitable: cherry, apple, alder, oak - the most popular of them. Place the pan on low heat. Try to keep the prepared sawdust barely smoldering (to prevent it from burning, some cooks periodically water the raw materials with water from an ordinary spray bottle). Place pre-salted carcasses on the grill. Close the lid. Quite a lot of smoke should be generated, but it should not be too hot (maximum 40 degrees). Then cold smoked mackerel at home turns out tender and soft. And the cooking method will be cold.

If you have a private house or cottage, this delicacy can be prepared right in the yard, on the hearth, grill, campfire, or barbecue. If you are cooking in an apartment, open the windows wide (and warn your neighbors, as the cooking process creates a lot of smoke)!

Marinade

Instead of pure salt, some housewives use marinade (brine). It's quite simple to prepare. You need to dilute half a kilogram of salt, a glass of sugar, lemon juice, a mixture of peppers, garlic in four liters of warm water and bring to a boil, but do not boil! If there is too much marinade, you can store the excess in the refrigerator for ten to fifteen days. By this time you might want to smoke something else. Place the mackerel carcasses or fillets in the prepared warm brine for an hour (or better yet, overnight, then the fish will be completely ready for smoking and will cook quickly).

Remove the fish from the brine. Dry with a kitchen towel. Place on a greased grate. We smoke on sawdust over the lowest heat. Remember that the smoking temperature should not be high!

Cooking time

Most likely, you will need at least half an hour to prepare the treat. Although for fillet sometimes twenty minutes is enough. It all depends on how the future cold-smoked mackerel is pre-marinated at home: the longer, the faster the smoking process itself goes. The finished fish can be stored in the refrigerator for quite a long time (if you wrap it tightly and put it in the freezer, it will still be delicious in a month).

Cold smoked fake mackerel: recipe

To prepare the dish we will need: three mackerel fish, half a glass of salt, two large spoons of sugar, vegetable oil, liquid smoke (for those who do not know, this is a water solution of wood smoke).

Smoked mackerel, prepared at home with your own hands, you and your guests will definitely enjoy it. Unfortunately, you rarely see high-quality fresh products on store shelves. Manufacturers often use harmful chemical additives and cheap dyes. And we would really like to please our family and guests and offer delicious mackerel prepared with natural ingredients.

We offer several recipes with and without the use of liquid smoke; we hope that smoked mackerel will become a traditional holiday dish for your family.

To prepare delicious fish, always use fresh or freshly frozen product, pay attention to the storage conditions and shelf life. If the product has been defrosted several times, the cooking result will disappoint you; the meat inside will be loose and mushy.

So, to prepare delicious smoked mackerel we will need:

• Fresh mackerel - 3 medium carcasses, approximately 1 kg.
• Tea leaves - 2 tablespoons;
• Coarse salt, preferably sea salt - 5 level tablespoons;
• Sugar - 2-3 tablespoons without top;
• Liquid smoke - 4 tablespoons;
• Boiled water - 1 liter.

We also need a plastic bottle with a capacity of 2 liters.

Before cooking, defrost the fish, wash it, cut off the head and carefully gut it so as not to damage the meat and the skin is smooth and beautiful.

Prepare the marinade. Pour boiling water over the tea leaves, add a little salt, sugar and liquid smoke. It is better to prepare the marinade in advance; we need it cooled to room temperature.

Wash the plastic bottle, cut off the top part so that the length of the carcass fits. Place the prepared fish upside down and pour in the marinade.

Place in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. If the contents in the bottle are tightly packed, you need to turn it over several times to get a rich taste.

When our fish is marinated, we take it out of the refrigerator and hang it by the tails for a couple of hours to dry. It is convenient to use metal paper clips for fastening. As a result, we get a beautiful golden color and a pleasant aroma of smoked mackerel. Before serving, grease with sunflower oil, cut into pieces and decorate with lemon, olives, and herbs.

Now we will share a recipe on how to cook smoked mackerel at home without adding liquid smoke.

Smoked mackerel without liquid smoke

• Fresh mackerel - 3 medium fish;
• Coarse salt - 4 tablespoons;
• Sugar - 3 tablespoons;
• Tea leaves - 3 tablespoons;
• Onion peel - 1 cup.
• Spices to taste (black pepper, allspice, coriander, bay leaf) or use a store-bought set of spices for marinating fish.

Prepare the mackerel. It must be defrosted, washed, cut off the head and remove the entrails. Gutting must be done carefully so as not to damage the carcass. Do not remove the skin; it will ruin the appearance of the finished dish.

Prepare the marinade. Brew tea in a liter of boiling water, add spices and onion skins. Let the marinade simmer for 5-10 minutes until it turns a rich brown color. Spices should give off their aroma. Cool to room temperature and add salt and sugar. The marinade is ready.

Place the prepared fish in a convenient container, cover with marinade and refrigerate for 3-4 days. After this, remove, dry and hang the carcasses by the tails for 3-4 hours. Before serving, wipe with vegetable oil. You should end up with smoked mackerel of a beautiful golden color with a delicate aroma of spices.

Mashed potatoes, vegetable stew, sauté, and rice with vegetables are great as a side dish.

Hot smoked mackerel in a home smokehouse

To prepare you will need:

Thawed mackerel - 4 pieces;

Seasoning for smoking fish - 1 sachet or use spices separately. They harmonize perfectly: bay leaf, coriander, peppercorns, allspice and others to taste;

Coarse salt - 3 tablespoons;

Fruit tree sawdust - 2-3 handfuls.

Thaw the carcasses. Remove heads and entrails and rinse thoroughly. Rub with salt and spices and place in a cool place for 5 hours. Then remove and dry with a paper towel so that during smoking the excess fat does not drip and the skin does not crack.

Smoked mackerel tastes better if you dry it in a cool place for 10-12 hours.

When placing fish on the smokehouse grate, it is important that they do not touch each other, but are kept at a short distance, about 5 cm. It is better to tie the mackerel with a rope. Thanks to this technique, it remains intact, the skin bursts less and all the juice remains inside.

Place the prepared fish on medium heat and open it every 5-10 minutes and release the smoke to avoid bitterness. The skin bursts from strong fire, so the temperature should be low.

The dish cooks quickly, about 15 minutes, and turns out tender and flavorful. Goes great with grilled vegetables or baked potatoes.

Fans of fish dishes are well aware that the most delicious fish is cooked at home. The same applies to smoked mackerel. There is no need to use a smokehouse for smoking, since it is possible to do without it. All that is required is to acquire patience for 3-4 days, the result is smoked mackerel, the taste and external qualities will be much better than a store-bought product.

To smoke this fish at home, you will need the following components:

• mackerel – 3 pieces;
• water – 1 liter;
• onion peel - 1.5 - 2 handfuls;
• salt – 120 grams;
• sugar – 1 tablespoon;
• pepper mixture – 1 teaspoon;
• bay leaf - 2 - 3 pieces;
• liquid smoke - 1.5 - 2 tablespoons;
• Sunflower oil – as needed.

How to cook mackerel as smoked at home

First step. First you need to clean the fish, that is, remove the head, fins and entrails. Then thoroughly wash the inside of the black film, as it imparts bitterness to the finished fish.

Second step. Then you need to prepare a container in which the fish will be “smoked”. A two-liter plastic bottle with the neck cut off is best suited, as other containers may acquire an orange color and a smoky smell, and there is no need to constantly turn the mackerel in the bottle to acquire the desired color and taste. Then the mackerel must be placed in the prepared container with the tails up.

Third step. Then you need to start preparing the brine for smoking. To do this, you need to pour the onion skins into a saucepan (which you don’t mind, as it can get colored) and fill it with water, then boil and let stand for 30 minutes. This procedure will help the brine acquire a red color.

Fourth step. After this, you need to boil the pan with the husks again and pour salt, bay leaves, a mixture of peppers and sugar into it. Then let it simmer for about five minutes.

Fifth step. Then you need to strain the brine from the husks through a colander and pour liquid smoke into it. The brine needs to be placed in a cool place (balcony) so that it cools down, and then poured into a plastic container with fish and refrigerated for 3-4 days for the smoking process.

Sixth step. After the time has passed, remove the smoked fish from the refrigerator and place it on kitchen napkins to dry. This process lasts 6 hours.