Smoked mackerel, cooked at home, is not inferior to store-bought taste. She will certainly appeal even to those who advocate a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, it always happens that the most delicious dish turns out to be the most harmful, but occasionally you can pamper yourself.

How to cook smoked mackerel at home?

Ingredients:

• fresh frozen mackerel - 2 pcs.;
• black leaf tea - 2 tbsp. spoons;
• onion peel - 3 pinches;
• fine salt - 4 tbsp. spoons;
• sugar - 2 tbsp. spoons;
• bay leaf - 2 pcs.;
• water - 1 l;
• - taste;
• black peppercorns - 10 pcs.

Preparation

Defrost the mackerel, gut and cut off the head and tail. Boil water in a saucepan, add salt, sugar, spices, onion peel and tea. After boiling, boil for several minutes, and then remove the brine and leave to cool at room temperature. After that, we filter it, take out all the husks with a slotted spoon and add liquid smoke. Gently dip the prepared mackerel into the marinade and leave it for 5 hours, and then put it in the refrigerator for a day. Then we take out the fish, dry it with a paper towel.

Smoked mackerel recipe in a smokehouse

Ingredients:

• freshly frozen mackerel - 3 pcs.;

For brine:

• water - 1 l;
• salt - 50 g.

Preparation

Defrost the mackerel, rinse, gut and rinse again inside and out. Now let's prepare the brine: pour water into a saucepan, add salt and stir. Fill the fish with this solution and leave to salt for 1.5 hours. Next, rub it with spices and tie it with a thread so that it does not fall apart during smoking. Now we put alder chips on the bottom of the smokehouse, then we put a special tray for dripping fat and install the grate. We put the mackerel belly down on it and cover with a lid. Under the smokehouse, we make an open fire and smoke the fish on a medium flame. After 10 minutes, open the lid, release excess smoke and close the lid again. We mark for another 15 minutes, and then remove the smokehouse from the heat and let it cool down a little. That's all, the mackerel is ready! Carefully remove the thread from the fish and serve it chilled.

Smoked mackerel in the airfryer

Ingredients:

• fresh mackerel - 3 pcs.;
• spices;
• liquid smoke to taste;
• alder sawdust - to taste;
• vegetable oil.

Preparation

We cut off the head and tail of the fish and gut the carcass. Then we rinse it with running water, add some salt, coat with spices and liquid smoke. After that, we tie the carcass with a rope and put it on the grill of the airfryer. We install it on the lowest level, and on the upper level we put a grate with a container in which we pour some alder sawdust soaked in liquid smoke. We turn on the device at 190 degrees and cook the fish for 40 minutes. At the end of the time, our delicacy is ready to eat.

Smoked mackerel in a slow cooker

Ingredients:

Preparation

We wash the mackerel, clean it and, if necessary, cut it into pieces. Then rub the fish with spices and salt. Mix the tea with sugar and distribute on a large sheet of foil, and cover with a smaller sheet on top. We place the fish on it, shifting it with lemon wedges and onion rings. Put the dill in the belly of the mackerel and wrap it tightly with foil. We place the bundle in the multicooker bowl, select the "Cooking" program, close the lid of the appliance and count for about 70 minutes. After the time has elapsed, cool the smoked mackerel and remove from the foil.

White mackerel meat is healthy and tasty, no matter how it is cooked. There are many ways of cooking: fish can be baked in the oven, stewed, marinated. You can also smoke the fish. Smoked fish has a bright aroma and taste, and is perfect for a festive table.

Smoking mackerel - preparing food and dishes

There are several ways to smoke fish at home, however, no matter how you decide to do it, the mackerel must first be prepared.

Fish should be bought in "proven" stores, where you will definitely not come across expired goods. Good frozen fish should have a uniform carcass without looseness or odors. In no case should you buy a fish if you don't have a thick layer of ice, because sellers often hide its poor quality by this.

There are two ways to smoke fish. The first (and only true) one is to cook fish in a real smokehouse. The fish will be saturated with smoke from sawdust and will acquire an incomparable aroma. However, it is unlikely that every housewife has such an apparatus at home. In this case, use the second method, using liquid smoke. This pseudo-smoking will allow you to get delicious fish without huge labor costs. It is liquid smoke that will be the second main ingredient after fish. Additives in 200 ml will be enough for this dish eight to ten times.

The airfryer, in which the required temperature is pumped by moving blades, will speed up the process of "smoking" mackerel.

Smoking Mackerel Recipes:

Recipe 1: Smoking Mackerel

Required Ingredients:

• Mineral water for brine - 1.2 liters
• Mackerel - 3-4 carcasses
• Sugar - 1 1/2 tablespoons
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke
• Husk from 2 onions

Cooking method:

1. Prepare the fish. To do this, first clean it, cut off the head and tail, and gut it well. Remember to remove the black film.
2. Pour water into a saucepan, heat, add salt, sugar, onion husks, bring to a boil, then remove from heat. Strain the marinade and cool. Add liquid smoke.
3. Pour the resulting marinade over the fish, and hold it under load at room temperature for 26-30 hours. After that, turn the fish over and put it in the refrigerator for two days, also under load. Turn the fish every day.

Recipe 2: Smoking mackerel (cook 2 days)

This recipe is similar to the previous one, but by changing the recipe for preparing the brine, you "smoke" the fish faster, in about two days.

Required Ingredients:

• 1 liter of purified brine water
• Mackerel - 3-4 carcasses
• Husk from two onions
• Sugar - 2-3 tablespoons
• Liquid smoke 1 tablespoon

Cooking method:

1. Pour mineral water into a saucepan, put onion husks there and, bringing to a boil, cook for 25 minutes.
2. Then remove the broth from heat and leave for 10-12 hours, then add salt, sugar and liquid smoke to the marinade.
3. Peel the fish, cut off the head and tail, remove the offal and fill it with the resulting brine. Press down with a load and put it "smoked" for 2 days in the refrigerator. Remember to turn the fish over.

Recipe 3: Smoking mackerel in an airfryer

If you have an airfryer, then you will not need to wait long for the fish to “smoke”. In addition to liquid smoke and salt, prepare in advance a plastic bag for pickling mackerel.

Required Ingredients:

• Liquid smoke - 2 tablespoons
• Mackerel - 4-5 carcasses

Cooking method:

1. Let's prepare the fish. Gut it, cut off the head and tail. Lubricate the inside with salt (about one tablespoon per one carcass), smear the carcass itself with liquid smoke.
2. Put the fish in a bag, add liquid smoke there and tie tightly. Leave the mackerel to marinate for forty minutes. Then take it out and rub it well to keep the fish dry.
3. Turn on the airfryer, set the temperature to 200 degrees. Place the fish on a medium wire rack and cook for 25 minutes.

Recipe 4: Smoking mackerel (using an electric smokehouse)

Do you have a homemade small smokehouse? In this case, liquid smoke can be completely dispensed with. The recipe is simple, and the fish is as close to smoked as possible in taste. Remember to prepare sawdust or alder, a spoonful of tea and sugar for the smokehouse.

Required Ingredients:

• Mackerel
• Lemon - ½ pieces

Cooking method:

1. Cut off the head of the fish, remove the giblets, wash, brush the inside with salt.
2. Cut the lemon into slices, put the fish inside and place it in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
3. Take fruit chips and place them on a pallet. Pour one tablespoon of sugar and black loose leaf tea on the sawdust.
4. Wipe the fish dry and lower it into the smokehouse. The mackerel should cook without smoke for the first 10 minutes, then insert the pan and cook with smoke for 25 minutes. Then turn off the electric smokehouse, but do not remove the lid, let the mackerel lie there for another 20 minutes.

Recipe 5: Smoking mackerel (using a country smokehouse)

Smoked fish will be less of a hassle if you have a summer cottage smokehouse. The recipe is simple, but in any case, the fish will need to be marinated for a day in the refrigerator.

Required Ingredients:

• Mackerel

Cooking method:

1. Prepare the mackerel before smoking: cut off the head and tail, and gut. Rub the inside of the fish with salt, then place it in the refrigerator for 20 hours.
2. Put sawdust (fruit or alder) on the bottom of the smokehouse in a layer of 1 centimeter.
3. Put apple tree branches on the net, on them - fish carcasses. Smoke the mackerel for 20 minutes.

• Is liquid smoke harmful? This question is often asked by those who want to cook fish at home without having a real smokehouse. However, which is quite curious, almost all store-bought smoked fish has long been cooked using liquid smoke. After all, "smoking" food in this way is quick and cheap. Of course, liquid smoke is not useful, but impregnating a product with real smoke is not entirely useful either. So, if you decide to feast on smoked mackerel, just enjoy the delicious dish, the main thing is not very often.

• Before you smoke fish in a smokehouse or airfryer, you need to thoroughly soak it with napkins so that it becomes completely dry.

• When preparing fish, it is very important to remove the black skin-film inside. It is very thin, but if not removed, the finished fish will taste bitter.

• Some chefs advise greasing the mackerel carcass not only with salt, but also with a small amount of sugar. This will make the fish more tender in taste. Take brown sugar for this purpose.

• When making fish brine, add some soy sauce to it. The aromatic liquid will give the fish a slight pleasant smell. In addition, some spices will not interfere with the brine. Suneli hops, sweet peas, dried basil, parsley roots will be appropriate.

• Cooks do not recommend cutting the carcass into pieces before you smoke the fish. If you cook mackerel as a whole, then the fish will turn out to be more juicy.

Aromatic smoked mackerel can be made at home with little effort. The taste of such a fish cannot be compared with the product purchased in the retail network. And if we take into account that now almost every manufacturer uses various preservatives, flavor enhancers and, in the production of a product, the advantages of home-made smoked mackerel over purchased fish increase a hundredfold.

If you already have your own, or you are going to purchase or build it on your site, but do not know how to smoke mackerel at home, then this article is for you.

How to smoke mackerel in a hot smoked smokehouse?

Before smoking, the carcasses of mackerel are cleaned of entrails, washed, rubbed generously with salt and sent to the refrigerator for ten to twelve hours. Then we wash off the salt crystals and let it dry by hanging the fish by the tail or wiping it with paper towels. If you wish, you can also pre-pickle mackerel in various spices, but this is not for everybody. In the classic version, only salt is used.

Place damp alder chips at the bottom of the smokehouse. If necessary, soak them briefly before smoking in water. Then we install the grate, on which we place the fish carcasses at some distance from each other. Before that, we advise you to tie the mackerel with twine and not get rid of it from the head, thereby we will save more fat and internal juice of the finished dish.

We close the lid of the smokehouse tightly and put it on the grill with burning wood or any other such device. We maintain a strong fire until a steady white smoke appears from under the lid. Now we reduce the heat supply a little and hold the medium carcasses for twenty minutes, and the larger ones for half an hour.

Some connoisseurs advise opening the lid of the smoker during the process to release excess smoke and thereby protect the fish from excessive bitterness. But we would not recommend doing this, as it is dangerous and you can get quite severe burns. And in order to avoid the bitter taste of mackerel, it is enough to use well-moistened, and not dryish wood chips.

After the smoking time has elapsed, carefully remove the smokehouse from the fire, let it stand for a while, and only then carefully open the lid and remove the fragrant and appetizing fish.

How to smoke mackerel in a cold smoked smokehouse?

Thanks to the cold smoking method, the fish acquires an amazing taste and aroma, as well as the ability to stay fresh for a long time and have a longer shelf life. This is due to the natural chemicals in the smoke. With such smoking, mackerel is not subjected to heat treatment, thereby retaining all its useful properties.

As well as before hot smoking, we get rid of the entrails and rinse the fish. With cold smoking, you can also remove the head. Rub it well with coarse salt and let stand in a cold place for twelve hours. Then we wash off the salt and hang the carcasses for about two hours to dry.

Now we define the fish in the smoking chamber. It is fundamentally different from a hot smoking chamber, since the smoke that processes products in it must enter it already cooled to twenty-five degrees. This is the main and important condition that must be observed during the cold smoking procedure, both mackerel and other products.

So, our fish is already in the smokehouse. After twenty-four hours of constant smoking at a temperature, as we have already said, no higher than twenty-five degrees, we can get a ready-made aromatic snack. It is completely ready for use. Bon Appetit!

To prepare hot smoked mackerel, we need:

The mackerel itself, you can take 3-4 medium-sized fish. Fish, fresh frozen, bought in a store. Salt and pepper. Special seasoning for fish (in a bag), or grilling seasoning.

We defrost the fish. We remove the insides and gills. We rinse thoroughly. Rub inside and out with salt and pepper, seasoning. We put the fish in a container, put it in the refrigerator for 5 hours.

Before smoking, put the fish on a paper towel, let it dry for 30 minutes.

For hot smoking of mackerel, we need 2 handfuls of alder sawdust or (sawdust of fruit trees, apple tree, plum, etc.). If the sawdust is dry, they must first be soaked in water.

Pour sawdust on the bottom of the smokehouse. We put the fish on the grill of the smokehouse so that it does not touch each other. Cover the smoker with a lid and set on fire. The fire should be medium. After 10 minutes, open the lid and blow out the smoke from the smokehouse (this will save the fish from the bitterness). Cover with a lid again and wait another 15 minutes. That's it, now hot smoked mackerel is ready. You can remove the smoker from the heat and take out the hot smoked fish.

Hot smoked fish - mackerel, pink salmon, trout or herring, for sure, everyone likes. You can buy it in the store, but it is not always possible to buy real smoked fish, as it can be treated with liquid smoke in the store. Real smoked fish can be cooked at home using a smokehouse. I want to suggest a hot smoked recipe. The fish in the smokehouse turns out to be very tasty, juicy and aromatic.

Products:

• fresh frozen - 3 pieces;
• spices for fish - 1 sachet;
• salt to taste.

Smoked mackerel in a smokehouse - recipe

Defrost freshly frozen mackerel. It is advisable to buy not too large fish, but medium size. Large mackerel may not smoke in places. Then gut the fish and rinse thoroughly.

Then you need to prepare a saline solution. For 1 liter of water, 50 grams of salt. Pour the brine over the mackerel so that the solution lightly covers the fish. Leave to salt for 1.5 hours. If you like not very salty, then you can rinse it with water. And if you want saltier, then do not rinse.

Next, rub the mackerel on top and inside with fish spices. Tie the fish together to keep it from falling apart when smoked. Now prepare your smoker. To do this, add alder chips of the same size to the bottom of the smoker. You can buy alder chips at the store.

Then place the drip tray to prevent the fat from catching fire and adding a bitter taste to the fish. Then place the grate on which to lay the mackerel belly down. This allows the fish not to break and have a presentation.

You need to smoke the fish on a medium flame. After 10 minutes, open the lid of the smoker to release excess smoke. Then close the lid again and smoke for another 15 minutes. On average, the fish is smoked for 20-25 minutes. After smoking time, remove from heat and let cool slightly. Everything, the mackerel is ready. Take it out of the smokehouse and carefully remove the thread from the fish. Serve hot or chilled.