Smoked trout. How to smoke trout at home

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

It's no secret that trout is a truly amazing fish in terms of its taste, nutritional value and abundance of useful properties. It is distinguished by tender, juicy flesh of a pleasant pinkish color. The excellent taste of dishes prepared from trout is explained by the fact that this fish lives exclusively in clean water. In cooking, it is used to prepare a variety of delicious salads and snacks. This fish can be fried, stewed, boiled, grilled, steamed - in any form, it invariably turns out to be very tasty, tender and he althy. It is known that most of the useful properties are preserved in this product during smoking. Features and methods of cooking smoked trout will be considered in our article.

It's important to know

What is the use of trout? It is known that this amazing fish contains a huge amount of minerals, vitamins and proteins, meat is well absorbed by the body. The unique omega-3 acids found inproduct, help strengthen blood vessels, improve the functioning of the brain, nervous system, gastrointestinal tract.

Speaking about the benefits of trout, we should also add the fact that usually by including this extremely valuable fish in the diet, they achieve increased efficiency, get rid of hypertension and depression. The product is recommended for sports and dietary nutrition.

About the composition of the product

100 grams of smoked trout contains:

• Proteins - 26.0 grams.
• Fat - 3.1 grams.
• Carbohydrates - 0.5 grams.

Calorie - 132 kcal.

Not recommended for whom?

Specialists do not recommend using this product for people with stomach ulcers, serious diseases of the liver, kidneys, intestines. You should refrain from smoked trout also in the presence of individual intolerance.

What is smoking?

Smoking is the process of exposing the surface of the product to various substances that make up smoking smoke. Their value is that most of them have bactericidal and antioxidant properties. Systematically penetrating inside the product, they help prevent its spoilage. The efficiency of smoking depends on how high the permeability of the processed products is. It is increased by pre-s alting them. Experts recommend applying smoking exclusively to fish that has undergone s alting. As a result of smoking, any fish, be it trout, pike perch or perch, becomes tender, acquires an excellent taste, a special spicyaroma, its surface becomes golden brown. Importantly, smoke treatment increases the shelf life of the product.

About smoking methods

As the main methods of smoking, experts call cold and hot and options. Much less often they resort to baking in smoke and semi-hot smoking. The differences between these technologies lie in their time duration and features of the applied temperature regimes. The smoking time directly depends on the temperature: the longer the process lasts, the lower the temperature is applied. But the shelf life increases accordingly.

Many consider hot smoked trout to be the most delicious. The fish cooked in this way is an indisputable delicacy with an amazing taste.

Hot smoked fish at home

In the process of preparing meals at home use:

• fresh trout;
• hot smoker;
• chips;
• spices.

For smoking trout in a hot-smoked smokehouse, fresh fish of not very small sizes is chosen. Carcasses weighing 700-800 grams are ideal. Large specimens are recommended to be cut into steaks or to separate the fillets. The trout is freed from the insides and washed well. S alt the fish just before putting it in the smokehouse. This will make hot smoked trout more juicy.

Process Features

If hot-smoked trout is cooked freshin the air, and not indoors, a small fire is lit, which is kindled in an ordinary barbecue or on a brick stand. Large logs are used for fire, giving a long heat.

What are smokehouses?

The main requirement for any smokehouse is tightness. In no case should air get inside the device, since this often leads to firewood igniting, which can significantly reduce the quality of the future delicacy. The smokehouse must have considerable depth. Otherwise, the fish hung in it will touch the wood and the bottom, which may lead to burning or cooking of the product, but not to smoking it.

How is hot smoked fish prepared at home? You can smoke fish in a smokehouse in the home kitchen, on the banks of the river or in the country. A bucket, barrel or any other container, for example, an old beehive, is suitable as a container. More "advanced" options are smoking using gas or charcoal grills, as well as in a metal box on the grill. Owners of houses in the private sector equip the smoker in the attic, in the chimney, or adapt the oven to this process.

The most correct option is to purchase a reliable industrial portable smoker, equipped with all the necessary accessories for high-quality and efficient smoking.

Process Features

When using the purchased smokehouse for the first time, it should be rinsed and put on fire so that itbaked for 10 minutes. This should evaporate dirt and industrial oils.

After that, chips are placed on the bottom of the smokehouse in an even layer in two or three small handfuls. An unusually pleasant aroma will be given by chips of pear, cherry, apple, alder, juniper or willow. Above it is placed a pan for draining fat, which is usually included in the smokehouse kit. In its absence, you can cover the chips with a layer of foil. A grate for products is installed above the pallet, which must be lubricated with oil (vegetable). This is done so that the finished product can be easily removed from the grill.

The trout is thoroughly rubbed on all sides with s alt, if desired, black ground pepper is added. Sometimes a sprig of dill or thyme is placed in the abdomen. Place the fish on the grate so that there is some distance between the carcasses, cover with a lid and set the smoking device on the fire.

Hot smoked trout usually takes 30-40 minutes to cook, depending on the weight and size of the fish. At the end of the process, the lid is opened, the dish is allowed to cool without removing it from the smokehouse. Then the trout is laid out on a tray, served with herbs, pickled cucumbers and lemon wedges.

How to smoke fish in a smokehouse on the grill?

If the device for smoking is not too large, it is most convenient to put it on the grill. The coals under the smokehouse should be distributed as evenly as possible, it is good to leave a few unburned logs, while the fire should not be too strong.

As you goas the smokehouse heats up, white smoke begins to come out of it. This means that the alder (or other) chips have warmed up and the smoking process has begun.

When the smokehouse warms up properly, you can remove the burning logs and continue smoking on coals alone. For a medium-sized fish, the process will take no more than half an hour.

Before opening the lid of the smokehouse, you should wait until it has completely cooled down and the smoke has stopped pouring out of it. Trout can be considered ready when the surface of the carcass becomes a dark golden reddish color. If the fish is still light, it means that it is damp.

Note to smokers

Experienced craftsmen recommend that beginners do not forget about some of the nuances of smoking. Key things to remember:

• you can not put carcasses of different sizes in the smokehouse;
• it is not recommended to open the smokehouse on fire;
• do not open the lid of a smoking smokehouse.

Recipe

To prepare delicious smoked meats use:

• trout carcasses;
• s alt;
• garlic;
• pepper;
• dill;
• bay leaf;
• alder chips.

The fish is gutted, washed, peppered abundantly, laid inside with garlic (crushed) and dill (finely chopped). After that, the carcasses are placed in a saucepan and poured with saline so that it completely covers the entire product. Since the fish is not afraid of s alt, experts recommend not to be particularly puzzled with the proportions when s alting.

Troutshould lie in the solution for about 2.5 hours. After that, it is wiped with a dry towel (or allowed to dry slightly), spacers from dry twigs (preferably alder) are placed in the inside of the carcass. Instead of twigs, you can use fireplace matches - they are necessary to ensure the circulation of smoke inside the fish.

In the smokehouse, which is a metal box equipped with a lid, there is a tray at the bottom, on which alder chips are placed. Above the pallet there is a grate on which the fish is laid out. The box is placed on the fire, closed with a lid. The fire must be strong enough. When heated, sawdust begins to emit smoke.

You can add bay leaf to alder chips and wrap everything in foil. From above, in an improvised envelope, large enough holes are made for the free exit of smoke. After the process is completed, the foil envelope will allow the remaining chips soaked in fat to be easily removed from the smoker.

After 30-40 minutes, the lid can be removed, let the fish cool and serve.