Hot smoked catfish: recipe and cooking features

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Many people are used to buying hot-smoked fish in stores, but why not cook this delicacy yourself? In this article, you can learn how to smoke hot smoked catfish and surprise it with the unique taste of all relatives, and maybe guests. This recipe is quite simple and does not require any additional knowledge or skills in the field of cooking.

What kind of catfish is she?

Catfish is not liked by all consumers, so it can be found in stores infrequently. Some may not like it because of the high fat content in the meat, and someone prefers other types of fish due to the fact that catfish meat is gelatinous and does not allow cooking some dishes. But on the other hand, its soft, white meat contains few bones and many vitamins. If cooked correctly, it turns out to be very tender and has a sweetish taste.

In stores, catfish can be found in small quantities, which meansthat the fish is always fresh. The price of it pleases buyers, because it is available to almost everyone. If there is a desire to feast on catfish, then it is best to smoke it. You can learn more about smoking methods below.

Hot smoking. Process Features

The recipe for hot-smoked catfish is pretty simple and once you try it this way, you won't want to explore any other options.

1. The fish is cut into pieces and washed well. After that, it is advisable to throw them in a colander so that all the excess liquid is glass. The washed fish should be s alted and peppered to taste, you can add some other favorite spices, and then let the pieces brew for several hours.
2. To prevent the carcass from falling apart, it needs to be bandaged. To do this, you need to find a flat surface and lay a thread on it, on top of which the fish will be placed. Then a knot is tied in such a way that one of the ends of the thread is longer and the other is short. That end, which turned out to be long, is pushed under the fish and pulled out from the opposite side, and then dragged again, but already under the thread that comes from the knot, and pulled together. Then all these actions are repeated until the whole piece of fish is tightly tied. The tied fish is turned over and the thread that is in the middle must be passed so that it passes under the transverse threads that remain on the reverse side. Around each of them it is wrapped once. Only such fish is completely ready for smoking.



3. The third stage is the preparation of the smokehouse. Alder wood chips should be evenly distributed along the bottom of the smokehouse. It is desirable to lay a pallet on them, on which fat will drain. But in its absence, you can use ordinary foil. Next, pre-prepared pieces of fish are laid out on the grate, covered with a lid, and the water seal is filled with water.
4. The smokehouse is installed on the grill with a small fire. It is worth paying attention to the water, which should not boil, but only gradually evaporate. The fish will take approximately 40 minutes to fully cook. After this time, you can remove the smoker, but the fish from there can be obtained only after an hour.

Cold smoked catfish

High taste qualities are not only hot-smoked, but also cold-smoked. You can try these two methods and choose the best for yourself. Although cold-smoked catfish is a bit more difficult to prepare.

1. As in the first recipe, the fish must be cleaned, washed well, s alted and peppered. Then it is laid out in a container and sprinkled with s alt again on top. In this state, the catfish remains for at least a day.
2. After this time, the fish will need to be soaked for at least an hour so that the excess s alt is gone.
3. Further, according to the technology already described, pieces of fish need to be tied up.
4. The tied pieces are placed in a place where they are blown by a draft. The catfish will stay in this position for another day.
5. Dried fish can be safely smoked. It is important to consider that the processsmoking will take another 24 hours.
6. Smoked catfish will be on the smoke. Its temperature should not be above or below twenty-five degrees.
7. At the end of the smoking process, the fish will need another day to reach full readiness.
8. When the catfish is removed from the smokehouse, it can be placed in the wind for two days so that it dries out a little and the smell of smoke disappears.

This catfish will be an excellent ingredient for various dishes, and can be a good addition to a sandwich. Here everything already depends on the imagination of the consumer.

Conclusion

As you can see, hot-smoked catfish is much easier to cook than cold-smoked. This takes significantly less time. But if you wish, you can use the second recipe. Each of these technologies has its own taste characteristics. Such recipes are especially good during hiking, fishing. After all, in nature you want to eat not only fish soup, but also try some new recipes.