How to smoke outdoors. How to smoke fish outdoors
Most men like to spend time with a fishing rod on the lake shore, relaxing by the fire, forgetting about the bustle of the city, work and everyday problems. But finding yourself far from civilization, I think every man should be able to not only get food, but also cook it deliciously. Of course, we will talk about smoking outdoors, without a special smokehouse, using available materials.
There is a legend among Baltic fishermen: why flounder has a crooked mouth. It was a long time ago, when God just created the Earth and all its inhabitants. The sea inhabitants of the Baltic Sea wanted to choose a king for themselves, they argued and discussed for a long time, and finally decided to choose a herring as king. When the flounder learned about this, she was so upset that her mouth curled to the side, and it remained that way to this day...
Latvian sailors have been smoking flounder caught in the Baltic Sea in smokehouses dug in the ground for many, many years. This tradition is not forgotten in coastal villages to this day.
Fresh flounder is gutted by making a cut on the abdomen, leaving the head and scales behind. Gutted and washed fish are salted using 1 tablespoon of salt per 1 kg of fish and left for 2-3 hours. In some villages, fish is not salted at all before smoking, but coarse sea salt is used upon completion of cooking, as they say - this allows the fish to remain juicier, since it loses less moisture.
In the meantime, they dig a hole about 70-80 cm deep, in which it will be smoked. A good fire is built in the pit so that a sufficient amount of coals will eventually come out.
The salted fish is washed with cold water to remove salt and strung on wooden sticks, cleared of bark. You should not use metal skewers, as metal gets very hot and the fish may fall. The fish are placed at a short distance from each other so that the smoke envelops the entire carcass during smoking. Before smoking, flounder must be dried in a draft for half an hour to two.
The coals in the pit are covered with pine cones and wet alder sawdust. Place skewers with fish and tightly cover the pit with available materials to retain smoke and limit the flow of oxygen. For this you can use boards or pieces of cardboard. The smoking process takes 25-30 minutes. The finished fish has a golden-bronze color and a wonderful aroma.
Another smokehouse in the ground
Pavel from the Russian city of Tomsk told how he smokes fish in a smokehouse dug in the ground.
First of all, the catch is prepared: for this, a small incision is made on the abdomen near the head, through which the entrails are removed. Gutted fish should be thoroughly sprinkled with rock salt and left for 4-5 hours. Do not use iodized or “extra” salt.
At this time, the smokehouse itself is being prepared. To build it, you only need a shovel and bricks (if available). The hole must be dug according to the size of the mesh on which the fish will be smoked; if there are bricks, it is worth framing the top of the “smokehouse” with them, as shown in the photo. The depth of the pit is selected in such a way that there is a distance of 60 cm from the bottom to the mesh.
A fire is made in a pit of birch wood to create a sufficient amount of coals.
The salted fish are washed well to remove salt and placed on a wire rack so that they do not touch each other.
The coals in the pit are covered with wet sawdust; for aroma, you can add some juniper or currant branches. They place a grid with fish and cover the pit tightly to limit the access of oxygen, using available materials for this, for example, metal sheets, boards, etc.
Fishing is a hobby that attracts more and more people into its nets. And why not, because this is not just outdoor recreation, but also exciting entertainment.
Often fishermen go fishing, especially in the summer, not for one day, but for several. Experienced fishermen take with them only the things necessary for fishing and warm clothes, which can easily fit into a sports backpack, just designed for such circumstances.
A high-quality sports backpack can be bought in the same place as backpacks for schoolchildren. Only it will be much more convenient and practical for hiking, fishing or hunting trips.
And with active biting, the issue of catch safety becomes relevant. After all, in the summer, the big risk is that all the catch can simply go bad. What to do? How to prevent this?
Fish can be salted, but we suggest smoking the catch. Don't have a smoker with you? It’s NOT a problem, you can do it without it. Now we’ll tell you how.
This is the easiest option for smoking fish outdoors in the summer without extra effort and special smokers.
How to smoke fish without a smokehouse
First things first, you need to light a fire and let it heat up to the coals. While this process is happening, the fish must be washed, if large, gutted and salted. Pepper and sprinkle with spices if desired.
After this, you need to go for grass - fresh, green. It can also be green tree branches, but not coniferous ones, as they contain resins that will spoil the taste of the fish. You need to clean the firewood and gut the fish, add salt and pepper to taste.
By this time, the fire should have already burned out, and there should be quite a lot of coals left. You need to put plucked grass on them, this will be a “pillow”, you need to put a layer of fish on it. And on the fish you need to put another layer of grass, which should cover the whole fish like a blanket.
Fish smoked in grass smoke
We leave the fish to smoke. If fires appear, they should be extinguished immediately, so you need to constantly monitor the process and have a container of water on hand. A plastic bottle is enough.
The grass will produce abundant smoke, in which the fish will be smoked. After 15 minutes, you need to remove all the fish and grass from the fire, put a fresh portion of grass, put the fish on it, but on the other side, cover it again with a “blanket” of fresh grass, smoke for another 15 - 20 minutes.
After this time, the tasty, aromatic and appetizing fish is ready to eat.
In addition to the fact that the smoked delicacy is ready, you can smoke several more portions of fish, thereby preserving the catch and preventing it from spoiling.
In a smokehouse at home or outdoors? What is required to properly smoke a product? What is the process of hot and cold smoking?
How to choose fish for smoking
Which type is best for smoking? This question comes up first. In fact, any type of fish can be smoked, but it is important to observe certain conditions:
- smoke only fresh fish;
- In order for the fish to be salted and smoked evenly, you should take one type and approximately the same size.
It is important to note that it is the fatty varieties that will be the most delicious. These include: greenling, cod, pike perch, mackerel, flounder, catfish, herring, sterlet, eel. But perch, crucian carp, and pike will be no less tasty after smoking.
Preparing the fish
Fish weighing 300-400 grams. You may not gut it. It needs to be salted and smoked in its entirety. You can also smoke whole bream and carp (up to 700 g).
Recipes for hot smoking fish weighing from 1 to 3 kg require gutting, but you can leave the head and scales. When cold smoking, it is allowed not to gut it.
If a large specimen (more than 3 kg) was chosen for smoking, the recipes require mandatory gutting and cutting into layers. As a rule, recipes recommend dividing large carcasses into half carcasses, so that there is half a tail and a head. The tail fin and ridge need not be removed. Some recipes call for cutting into uniform pieces that are cut vertically down the spine.
The recipe does not include peeling the scales, because this is to protect the tender meat from contamination. The scales can be cleaned if they were damaged during fishing.
Salted fish recipe
Many recipes recommend starting the smoking process 2-3 hours after salting. Immediately before sending the product to the smokehouse, you should rinse it to remove excess salt and add a little pepper and spices. If the smoked fish will be eaten immediately after the smoking process is completed (hot smoking), then you can simply rub it thoroughly with salt before sending it to the smokehouse.
Which wood to choose
For smoking, both cold and hot, wooden chips and shavings are used, sometimes raw leaves and twigs are added. It is preferable to use alder and juniper wood for smoking, but it can also be oak, apple, pear, birch, or ash. Do not use wood from coniferous trees due to the large amount of resin it contains.
Depending on what type was chosen, the aroma of smoked fish will change.
To prepare the chips, you need to remove the bark because it contains a large amount of resin. Then the wood is crushed into cubes 2-3 cm in size.
Before pouring wood chips into the smokehouse, they need to be slightly moistened and covered in an even layer.
For a smokehouse the size of a bucket, it is correct to take 200-300 ml of wood chips.
Cold smoking fish
For many people, cold-smoked fish is even tastier than hot-smoked fish. However, cold smoking requires much more time and effort.
Cold smoking cannot be done outdoors, because a mobile smokehouse is not suitable for it, but only a stationary one (usually a small shed).
Fish that will be cold smoked is salted in a salt solution. It should be more saturated than for a slave who will be hot smoked. It must be kept in such a salt solution for from 3 days to 2 weeks (depending on the size). After salting, it needs to be soaked for 24 hours in cold water and hung to dry. The drying process will take 3 to 5 days. To prevent flies from landing on the fish, it must be protected with gauze.
When the fish has dried, it is placed in a special smokehouse, where it will be smoked using cold smoke, which must be supplied constantly and in the same quantity. The smokehouse can be organized in a barn made of boards, a tent, a hut or a bathhouse. The room should be between 1.5 and 2 meters high. The fish should be hung on perches, which should be made as high as possible. Cold smoke will be formed as a result of burning sawdust and wood chips, and it will enter the smoking chamber through a special pipe. The smoke temperature should not exceed 25 °C. Smoking time - 2-6 days.
When smoking comes to an end, you can add fresh juniper branches to the fire. The smoke from them has excellent antimicrobial properties, which will protect the fish from mold and extend its shelf life. It will acquire a good taste if it is smoked with smoke from smoldering straw.
Detailed video recipe for cold smoking fish:
Cold smoked fish can be stored in the refrigerator for several weeks. It will be most delicious in the first few days after smoking. Its taste will be lost every day.
Hot smoking of fish
In order to properly smoke fish using a hot method, you will need a smokehouse, which is a metal container that closes tightly.
It’s easy to make a smokehouse yourself using a metal bucket, a large pan, a barrel, or welding a metal box. It is very important that the container closes well and does not release toxic substances inside.
Wood chips are placed at the bottom of the container, then a grate is placed on which the fish prepared according to the recipe will be laid out.
It is very important to lay the product so that smoke reaches it from all sides, therefore it is impossible to lay it in two, or even more, layers.
After this, the smokehouse must be tightly closed and put on fire. A small smokehouse can be placed on the grill.
The coals should be distributed evenly, you can leave a few logs that are still burning so that the process starts faster. Make sure that the fire is not strong, but does not go out.
After heating, white smoke begins to come out of the smokehouse, which indicates the beginning of the smoking process. Now you can take away the burning logs, leaving only the coals.
Smoking time will be determined by many factors: the size of the fire, the size of the smokehouse, the number and size of fish. So, smoking a medium-sized fish will take approximately 30-40 minutes.
It is very important that the smokehouse does not overheat, so at the beginning of the process (drying the fish), the temperature in it should not exceed 80-90 °C. The process of drying fish takes approximately ¼ of the total smoking time. During the process itself, the temperature should be about 120 °C. To determine the temperature inside the smokehouse, you need to drop water on the lid of the container. The water should evaporate without boiling or creating a hissing sound.
To regulate the temperature, you need to reduce or increase the fire under the smokehouse.
It is the correct temperature that will allow the product to be smoked rather than cooked.
You can open the smokehouse only when it has cooled down and smoke has stopped coming out of it.
The readiness of the fish will be indicated by its dark golden hue, sometimes with redness. If the shade is light, this indicates that it is raw.
Video recipe for hot smoked fish:
It is very important to follow these rules:
- Place fish of the same size in the smoker.
- Do not open the smokehouse after the smoking process has begun.
- Do not open the smoker if there is still smoke.
Hot smoked fish can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 3 days.
Is it possible to smoke fish without a smokehouse?
This simple recipe will help you prepare delicious fish, no worse than in a smokehouse. This recipe is designed for fatty fish: mackerel, greenling, etc.
It is first rubbed with coarse salt and allowed to sit for 10-15 minutes. After this, spices are added.
Wrap it in a couple of layers of foil, then poke a lot of holes in it using a toothpick.
Place on a wire rack and bake over a fire for about 30 minutes.
Unwrap the foil and eat immediately. The recipe also calls for adding lemon slices to the fish, which can further enhance the flavor.
Smoking using a foil bag:
A real pleasure is to eat delicious and so aromatic smoked fish, prepared yourself. But what type and method of smoking to choose depends only on personal preferences.
Today we will talk about such a simple method of preparation as smoking.
Getting food in a remote corner of the globe is quite simple; you can always use homemade traps or traps; you can hunt fish using a harpoon for spearfishing or a homemade grub.
But getting food is still half the battle; the other half is preserving food in edible form.
Of course, if you have settled in for a long time, you can always equip it, but you can only store ice in it in winter.
What to do if it’s summer and you’ve caught a wild boar or the fish catch exceeds current needs? This is where smoking comes to the rescue.
Smoking is divided into two groups – cold and hot. They are divided according to smoke temperature.
Hot smoking is preferable for quick consumption of smoked meats. Hot smoked fish and meat are simply delicious! And you can eat freshly smoked lard until pain in the liver forces you to tear yourself away from the delicious treat.
But for preparations it is better to use cold smoking.
The advantage of cold smoking is that fish can be stored without refrigeration for two to three months, even in summer. The disadvantage of this method is the duration of the process itself.
The simplest method of field cold smoking has been known for a long time. Our grandfathers and great-grandfathers also used it. I was taught it by a geologist I knew; during walks through the forests of Siberia and the Far East, they always prepared fish caught in nets in rivers and squirts in forest lakes this way.
The first stage is preparing the fish. Cold smoking applies to any fish or meat. But it’s easier to finish off fish, so we’ll talk about fish.
It is better to choose peled or grayling for him, but you can use perch or other fish.
We don’t clean the fish, we just gut it and that’s it. You can then put the caviar and milk back and pour in a strong solution of table salt (aka brine). Stir the brine until the salt is completely dissolved. Salting fish lasts about one day. If desired, you can add a little vinegar to the brine to repel flies and prevent maggots from appearing in the fish.
When the fish is salted, dry it for 6-8 hours until excess moisture evaporates. It is best to hang it in a breeze overnight.
After we have prepared the fish, we build a smokehouse.
How to make a simple cold smoked smokehouse
The simplest smokehouse is made in the following way. It is preferable to dig a ditch on the slope and cover it with sheets of tin; if there are none, you can use ordinary boards or plywood, but they can catch fire, so we constantly monitor them. In field conditions, tree bark or cut turf works great. The latter must be laid on branches laid across the grooves.
The chimney is ready! It will consist of two sectors: at the top there will be a smokehouse, and at the bottom there will be a hearth.
For the hearth we make a large depression, and for the smokehouse we drive 4 stakes into the ground just above the chimney exit, weave a rope net between the stakes, and hang dried fish on it.
If there is no rope, then you can use grass - twisted and woven grass stems do an excellent job of the task, no worse than rope.
We cover the top of the smokehouse tightly with a cloth, you can use tarpaulin raincoats, foam, you can also use several layers of turf. The main thing is to avoid gaps in the structure.
When the smokehouse is ready, light a fire in the hearth. At the same time, we adjust so that the flame is not too strong, because our goal is not heat, but smoke. Any fresh firewood is suitable for a fire. Alder branches and wood chips are preferable for smoke; if they are not available, aspen, poplar or willow will do, but fish smoked with them may taste a little bitter.
When using a homemade cold-smoked smokehouse, we smoke the fish in it for at least four hours; the meat is not in thick pieces - the size of a palm and the thickness of two fingers.
The meat is smoked for at least 6 hours.
Remember - the larger the piece of meat or fish, the more time it takes to smoke.
If there is no salt for pre-salting, then you can first use a hot smoked smokehouse (about 30-40 minutes), and then hang it in a cold smoking chamber for finishing.
You can also smoke the “raw product”, but then you need to increase the cold smoking time at least twice.
As you can see, preparation using cold smoking is a very simple method, but a very long one. So if you’re going to take it on, it’s better to prepare at least 100 kg of the original product. After all, all the labor involved will be in maintaining smoldering and smoke formation, and how much meat or fish will be in the smokehouse is no longer so important.
Hot smoked fish, piping hot - a delicious dish, no worse than kebab! And it’s very easy to prepare:
1. We choose fish. Fresh fish is best, of course, but frozen fish is also suitable. Fish with dense scales work well: pike perch, bream, carp, perch (sea or river), but in general any fish is suitable.
2. Salt. Gut the fish, do not remove the scales. Rub well with salt: on the outside, against the growth of the scales, and also on the inside. Approximately 1 tbsp. salt for a medium fish. If the fish has thin skin (for example, catfish), use less salt. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
3. Add spices. Remove the fish, quickly rinse off the salt, and dry with a napkin. Rub with vegetable oil and spices. For example, “15 herbs and spices” from Gallina Blanca would be suitable.
4. We are preparing the smokehouse. A smokehouse is, in fact, a grill with a lid and a grate inside. Place a thin layer of wood chips or fresh thin twigs on the bottom of the smokehouse. Alder, rowan, currant, apple and other fruit trees are best suited. Main - do not take coniferous species (pine or spruce). Place a grill on top, place the fish on it and close the lid.
5. We smoke. Make a bonfire. When it burns down to the state of hot “kebab” coals, we place a smokehouse with fish on top. Soon thick white smoke will come out from under the lid, which means the process has begun. We check the correct temperature like this: you need to drop some water on the lid. It should evaporate fairly quickly, but not boil. 30 minutes - and the fish is ready. Bon appetit!