Vladislav Paikov
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Increasingly, salmon is found on holiday tables. It is not only tasty, but also healthy fish. It is prepared in different variations, but the most delicious is undoubtedly smoked salmon at home.
It belongs to the red fish. Hot-smoked salmon from Finland has very few bones, and its red meat is very tasty and nutritious.
Appreciate her for beneficial features. People prone to cardiovascular diseases are recommended to introduce this red fish into the diet, because it contains a large number of omega-3 fatty acids. Regular eating is indicated for people suffering from psoriasis.
The benefits and harms of smoked salmon: trace elements and vitamins contained in fish have positive influence on the human body. It contains:
- Fluoride (good for teeth).
- Phosphorus (strengthens bones).
- Magnesium (anti-stress).
- Iodine (good for the thyroid gland).
- Potassium (improves blood circulation).
- Calcium (strengthens bone and muscle tissue).
- Vitamins A (good for vision), C (strengthens the immune system), D, E (prevents blood clots), B (improves brain function) and PP.
Scientists have proven that with regular use of salmon, the likelihood of getting arthritis, atherosclerosis and cancer is reduced.
And although the benefits of smoked salmon are enormous, its daily use can harm the body, since carcinogens accumulate in it, as in all smoked products. You should not eat it also for people with allergies to red fish and with individual intolerance.
Smoked salmon during pregnancy is not contraindicated, but it is better to refuse it. In view of the fact that there is already a large load on internal organs, in particular on the kidneys and liver, it is better to avoid unnecessarily heavy foods. In addition to the fact that the dish can harm a woman in position, smoked salmon also affects the child. It is difficult to say what effect it turns out, because no relevant studies have been conducted.
Composition and calories
The red meat of this fish contains a large amount of protein. Eating only 300 g of salmon, you can fill the body's daily need for protein.
Salmon already has high calorie content, which increases during frying, so cold smoking will be most useful, since all the beneficial properties of fish and vitamins are preserved, the calorie content of smoked salmon depends on the method of preparation and is approximately 202 kcal.
ZhBU and caloric content of smoked salmon:
Preparation for smoking
It is optimal to use fresh salmon for smoking: it is much juicier compared to frozen. You can choose high-quality smoked salmon according to the following indicators: the eyes are not cloudy, the gills are red or brownish, and when you press the carcass, there are no dents left.
Before smoking, this fish is pre-prepared. They clean the scales, remove the insides, wash, cut off the head, fins, tail and fat on the abdomen. The spinal bone is removed and the costal bones are pulled out with tweezers, the skin is left, dried.
From one fish, 2 layers are obtained, ready for cold smoking or for cooking hot smoked salmon in a smokehouse according to the recipe.
On a note! The head, tail and fins do not need to be disposed of: they will make a beautiful ear. Ridges of hot-smoked salmon are also very tasty.
Hot smoking
The recipe for hot smoked salmon is available even to novice cooks. Prepared fish should be marinated. For the marinade you will need: ground black pepper, salt, parsley and lemon. Chop the parsley and mix everything. Pour the fish with the resulting mixture, squeeze the juice from the lemon and sprinkle the carcasses.
We make rolls from the fillet, wrap with cling film. In this form, the fish is marinated for up to 5 hours (minimum 1 hour). Then you can smoke salmon in a hot-smoked smokehouse.
Interesting! According to the recipe for smoking salmon in a smokehouse, it is not necessary to pickle it, you can just pickle it. In smoked form, it is very tasty and without the use of seasonings.
While the fish is pickling, you can prepare the smokehouse. To make the fish fragrant and without bitterness, it is best to use bird cherry, alder, or cherry. The chips lie on the bottom of the smokehouse, and a grate is installed on top, on which we will later lay out the salmon for smoking at home in the smokehouse. Place a tray under the grate to collect the fat.
After the specified time, the rolls are unrolled, washed and dried. We place the fillet in the smokehouse for 40 minutes. Do not forget that the treatment is carried out with hot smoke, the temperature is above 70 degrees. You should also monitor the intensity of smoke treatment during the smoking process. With a small amount of smoke, the taste of smoking is not pronounced, but with a large amount, a sour taste is obtained. To avoid creating too much smoke, the moistened wood chips should only cover the bottom of the smoker, and not be arranged in several rows.
Such hot-smoked salmon bellies are delicious as an independent dish, they can also be served with a side dish of vegetables. Serve hot or cold - a matter of taste, both options are good.
An alternative to a smokehouse is smoked salmon in the oven. The taste will be a little different, but it helps a lot in the absence of a smoking apparatus. The principle is the same: we place the chips on a baking sheet, place the fish on the grill above it, bring the oven to the desired temperature. For this method, you need a good hood.
Caloric content of hot smoked salmon - 202 kcal.
An interesting recipe for hot smoked salmon heads:
- We remove the gills.
- We cut in half.
- Dip in a strong saline solution for 20 minutes.
- Rinse, dry and smoke.
Calorie head of hot smoked salmon:
Cold smoking
To get a tasty and healthy low-calorie product, cold-smoked salmon is prepared according to this recipe:
At traditional version the fish is in the smokehouse from 12 to 24 hours. In this case, the dish will no longer need to "reach" in the refrigerator. The result is a delicious golden fish with a shiny crust - gourmet dish at home.
Interesting! With even longer smoking (more than 2 days), you get a slightly dry fish, but the shelf life increases by 3 times. A very interesting recipe for salmon smoked with green tea. In this case, tea is added to the marinade along with salt, sugar and spices to taste. All boil, cool and pour the product for several hours.
Nutritional value of cold smoked salmon:
How to eat cold smoked salmon? With it, you can make sandwiches, make pizza, serve with a side dish of rice or pasta. It is a decoration for any dish.
If you do not have enough time to cook the fish yourself, you can buy it. Before that, it is better to familiarize yourself with GOST cold-smoked salmon 11298-2002 in advance, where all the conditions under which the dish is considered suitable for food are written.
Of course, you can just buy vacuum-packed cold-smoked salmon, but no one can vouch for the composition of such a product - it is most often not smoked in natural conditions, but is treated with liquid smoke. Therefore, it is worth a little work and cook yourself a real product with your favorite spices.
Smoked salmon with liquid smoke
When there is no smokehouse, comes to the rescue liquid smoke. With it, you can quickly cook cold-smoked salmon at home.
Pour liquid smoke into a glass dish and lower the smoked salmon fillet into it for 5 minutes. We take out, rub abundantly with salt and pack in cling film. We put it in the refrigerator for knocking. The product is ready - you can cut into portions and serve.
For those who like more pronounced smoked taste, you can use another recipe for smoked salmon at home:
- We take liquid smoke and water in equal proportions.
- Fill the fillet cut into pieces with a solution and place in a cool place for 8 hours.
- Pieces should be turned regularly.
- After 8 hours, the fish is taken out, wiped and laid out on a wire rack.
- Dried at home for 8 hours.
- The fish is ready.
Storage
The shelf life depends on the method of preservation. The store sells smoked salmon in a package, the shelf life is indicated by manufacturers.
Storage of smoked salmon with hot preservation in a refrigerator for no more than 3 days. At temperatures above +4, the product will remain fresh for 1-2 days.
You can increase the shelf life of hot-smoked salmon at home in the following way: prepare a concentrated saline solution, moisten a cloth in it and wrap the fish around it. The second layer is paper. Such a bundle is placed on the coldest shelf in the refrigerator. In this form, it can be stored for up to 30 days.
Prepared by cold smoking method, it has a shelf life of up to 10 days at a storage temperature not higher than +3 degrees. With long smoking, it can be stored for up to 30 days.
smoked salmon – delicious treat, which has long been loved by many and capable of turning even a banal breakfast into a real feast in no time.
Salmon - big fish salmon family. She is a predator. This fish lives both in the wild in the northern seas, the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and in the waters of fish farms in any corner of the planet. A characteristic feature of salmon is the meat of an amazing taste of red color. For this quality, it is popularly called "red fish".
The nutritional characteristics of this fish are very high. It is especially valued for its high content of polyunsaturated acids, which have the scientific name omega-3. This miraculous substance is contained in fish oil in all respects. Because of these unique qualities, this valuable breed of fish is bred. Extraordinary delicacies are obtained from salmon meat.
Another positive feature of this fish is distinguished by chefs: salmon does not have small bones. Thanks to this, the meat is easily separated from the ridge and looks very neat on slices.. The salmon looks about the same as in the photo.
A huge variety of delicious dishes are prepared from salmon. This fish, as culinary experts say, is non-waste. Only the insides and scales are considered unfit for food, and everything else is used. Soup is cooked from the meat of this fish, fins and ridges, for example, various snacks and pickles, meatballs and many other dishes are made from fillets.
Cooking salmon treats is very simple, and at the same time they always turn out delicious. Boiled or baked meat of this fish is used in diet food and nutrition of children. This product is also necessary for the elderly.
Smoking salmon is an easy way to preserve all the useful substances of this valuable commercial fish in its original form.. It is no secret that smoked meats are stored longer than pickles, and also have the best organoleptic qualities. Smoked salmon attracts with its appearance, aroma and unsurpassed taste. This delicacy quickly saturates and increases the level of serotonin in the body, popularly referred to as the hormone of happiness.
Compound
The composition of smoked salmon meat does not differ from fresh fish. Salmon contains vitamins A, E, C, as well as group B, rich in trace elements. The meat of this valuable fish contains a large amount of easily accessible protein and fats, which, unlike other animal fats, help a person in the fight against many diseases. It is the high fat content that makes salmon a rather high-calorie product..
The main trace elements contained in this fish are sodium, magnesium and phosphorus. Meat contains these trace elements in maximum quantities. The no less familiar fluorine, iron, zinc, calcium and potassium take a secondary place, and complete the line useful substances microdoses of chlorine, nickel and molybdenum.
The meat of fish grown in the wild contains a large amount of such a substance as melatonin, known to science as the best assistant in the fight against wrinkles and trophic skin lesions.
How to choose high-quality smoked salmon?
How to choose high-quality smoked salmon? This question is asked by all, without exception, people who once wished to buy this delicacy. And it is quite understandable, because the high cost of the product must be justified by high quality.
When buying smoked salmon, you should adhere to the following rules:
- Rate appearance product. quality fish should be moderately dried, the skin should easily move away from the meat when you try to pull it down, the fish itself should be elastic and pleasant to the touch. The purchase of a piece of smoked salmon crumbling into fibers (even cooked by hot smoking) should be abandoned, even if its cost is suitable. If the smoked salmon fillet is packed in a vacuum casing, then, of course, it is a little more difficult to determine these characteristics. In this case, you should trust the manufacturer and his conscience.
- Buy only well-known brands. Manufacturers of this level care about their reputation and make a delicacy in compliance with the technology and always from fresh raw materials that have not been frozen.
- Be sure to study the composition of the product on the package, and also find out the date of preparation and the deadline for use. When buying a weight product, you can get this information from the seller.
- Feel free to smell the smoked product. If you have any doubts about the naturalness of smoking or the quality of the original product, then refuse to purchase. Health is more valuable than a short gastronomic pleasure!
- Purchase products only in stores and always ask for certificates. Try not to buy fish from private producers and in places of spontaneous trade, because in this case you cannot be sure of the correct preparation and smoking of the product, as well as its subsequent storage. Always remember that a low-quality delicacy can easily land you in a hospital bed.
In order not to worry about the quality of the purchased salmon, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the secrets in the next section of this article and cook the delicacy yourself.
How to smoke with your own hands?
How to smoke salmon with your own hands, you will learn in this section of the article.
Before describing the technology for preparing a delicacy at home, I would like to insert a short remark. Suitable for smoking fish that has not been subjected to cooling, and even more so long-term freezing. Only a fresh product will allow you to get smoked meat with dense structure and maintain a pleasant elasticity of the fibers. If the fish was frozen, then it is possible that the smoking process will take a little longer.
cook smoked fish it is possible both in a portable mini-smoker on the street, and right in the apartment. In the latter case, a slow cooker with a smoking function or a home-made device made of a large cast iron and a grate inside will help. On the manufacture of "cunning smokehouses" with your own hands on the vastness of the worldwide network, you can currently find a lot of videos.
The process of cooking smoked salmon at home always begins with salting or pickling the main ingredient. And it can be not only the fillet of this valuable fish. Smoked and ridges, and heads, and bellies. The latter are high in fat, so they are always cut out and used separately.
In most recipes related to smoking salmon, chefs suggest using a mixture of ordinary table salt, granulated sugar And herbs, which include fenugreek, juniper berries and other herbs that give the aroma of wood.
The weight of the average specimen is four kilograms. It is on this basis that it is advisable to cook and smoke salmon portioned pieces. Yes, and buying it this way is also much more convenient and profitable.
If you purchased a whole fish, be sure to rinse and gut it before marinating. Be sure to remove the cord white color with dark filling, located at the base of the ridge, especially if you plan to smoke this part of the carcass. You don't need to remove the skin. Thoroughly blot the abdominal cavity, freed from the viscera and fat, with paper towels, and then wipe the peritoneum dry. Be very careful not to hit or crush the gallbladder.
If it so happened that bile got on the tender meat, then try to collect it as quickly as possible, and then treat this place with lemon juice or natural apple cider vinegar. Soak the liquid on the fish for about five minutes, and then rinse it thoroughly with salty and always cold water.
After that, proceed to further cutting the carcass. Cut off the fins, including the tail. It is not advisable to smoke these parts of the fish. Cut off the head and remove the gills from it. If you intend to smoke it, then be sure to prepare sticks of a suitable size and density, which will allow you to fix the gill bones as well as possible at a distance from the head. This will make it possible to qualitatively smoke this part of the carcass. Cut the fish with a sharp knife: separate the fillet from the ridge, and then carefully cut out the fatty part of the belly.
Marinate all parts of the fish to be smoked and leave them in the refrigerator under pressure for a day. Remove the salted fish from the brine. Hang the pieces on hooks and let the brine drain. If you smoke salmon in a hot way, then at this stage of cooking, be sure to tie the fillet with twine. This will keep the fish from breaking apart prematurely.
Light a fire in a mini smoker, fill the wood chips in the pan and install a water trap. Bring the chips to the desired condition, and only then load the fish. Pieces of the carcass can either be laid on a wire rack or hung on hooks.
Control the temperature of the smoke: throughout the smoking it should not exceed ninety degrees Celsius. Smoke the fish for about one hour. After the time has passed, check the readiness of the fish. If necessary, continue smoking for the desired time.
Cool the finished fish in the air (it will take at least four hours), and only then eat or send for storage.
Do-it-yourself smoked salmon will definitely surpass all industrial products in quality and taste. You can not only always have an excellent delicacy on hand, but also significantly save the family budget, because the price raw fish less than the cost of the finished delicacy.
How to store smoked salmon?
How to properly store smoked salmon, read in this section of the article. Like all smoked products, salmon meat must not only be properly prepared, but also stored under appropriate conditions. In modern life best place, where you can save smoked salmon without losing quality, is a refrigerator.
Wrapped in parchment or cotton cloth soaked in a strong saline solution, cold-smoked fish can be preserved without drying out for two weeks. But hot-smoked fish under similar conditions will be suitable for food only within three days from the moment of preparation.
With regard to smoked salmon sold in vacuum packages, the following requirements should be observed: the whole package can be stored under the conditions indicated on it for the recommended shelf life, but the uncorked one can be stored for no longer than five days.
What to cook?
What to cook from smoked salmon? This question is relevant at all times, because the fish is not so cheap to spend it irrationally.
The first thing that comes to mind is to cut the delicacy into thin slices and put them on a spread butter loaves. A cup of sweet black tea or fragrant tart coffee - and the perfect breakfast is ready on your table!
A piece of salmon fillet and a portion of spinach for garnish - excellent diet dish. A portion of such a delicacy will easily become full breakfast or dinner.
In fact, there are a huge number of dishes that use smoked salmon. All of them are easy to prepare, so even completely inexperienced chefs can make them.
From smoked salmon fillet can be made delicious salad, which then stuff pita bread or fill tartlets, rolls, casseroles, and even cook soup, for example, with the addition of young asparagus beans. Salmon heads and backbones are also great for cooking the latter.
Smoked salmon is also cooked and served:
- pasta and macaroni;
- potato fritters;
- pizza
- pies.
Smoked salmon bellies, woven in a spiral, as in the photo, are a great snack for beer or an independent dish.
with one of the most interesting recipes using smoked salmon you can find below. Its name is unusual - gnocchi with herbs and smoked salmon sauce.
The main ingredients of this delicacy are:
- potatoes - 700 grams;
- wheat flour - 200 grams;
- fillet of cold-smoked salmon - 200 grams;
- high-fat cream (for sauce) - 200 ml;
- green onions (feathers) - 1 bunch;
- dill (greens) - to taste;
- table salt - 1 tablespoon;
- water (for cooking gnocchi) - 2 liters.
Read on for the step-by-step process of making the delicacy.
- Wash the tubers well in running water. Boil potatoes "in uniform" until tender. Let the product cool down cold water and peel off the skin. After that, grate the tubers on a fine grater. Put the mass in a bowl and salt a little.
- Add to potatoes wheat flour. Mix the ingredients and knead a stiff dough.
- Divide the workpiece into four parts. Roll each piece of dough into a sausage about one centimeter thick.
- Cut the strips of potato dough into cubes, and then use a fork to make wavy prints on them, placing the fork with the back of the prongs on the dough. These dumplings or potato dumplings are gnocchi.
- Boil water in a large saucepan, season with salt to taste, and carefully add the gnocchi. Boil the dumplings for a minute after the liquid boils, and then fish out with a slotted spoon and put on a plate.
- Pour the cream into a deep frying pan, and then add the diced smoked salmon fillet and finely chopped greens.
- Bring the mass to a boil over low heat, and then salt it to taste. IN hot sauce lay out the gnocchi. Stir them very quickly and then remove the pan from the heat.
- And that's it, a wonderful delicacy is ready! Arrange the dish on portioned plates and boldly serve to the table. Wish the household Bon appetit and get praise!
If you add half a can of canned green peas and about a hundred grams of grated hard cheese, and after that send the dish to an oven preheated to two hundred degrees Celsius, you will get a delicious casserole. She might be the favorite holiday table and your signature dish.
We hope that this section has taught you how to cook simple, tasty and unusual delicacies and helped dispel all your doubts!
The benefits and harms of smoked salmon
We will try to describe the benefits and harms of eating smoked salmon in the diet as much as possible in this section.
The benefits of smoked salmon are obvious, and it is fully consistent with the use of salmon in its pure form. Regular use of the product helps to improve the functioning of all organs and body systems. It is useful to use salmon for people suffering from:
- diseases of the cardiovascular system;
- diabetes mellitus;
- disorders of the nervous system;
- brittle bones and diseases of the joints;
- atherosclerosis.
At the same time, smoked salmon can be harmful. That is why it is not recommended to use such a product for pregnant and lactating women, children and allergy sufferers. These categories of people are especially susceptible to carcinogens, which inevitably accumulate in the product during smoking. Due to the individual state of the body or the immaturity of the digestive system, such people may experience a deterioration in health due to intoxication.
In general, moderate and not too frequent use of smoked salmon in the diet helps to improve performance, cheer up and increase the overall resistance of the body to external factors.
Eat smoked salmon and be healthy and happy! Just keep in mind the fact that smoked salmon is more nutritious than a fresh or salted product, so it can change the shape of your figure.
Smoking is a species heat treatment products. A unique way, firstly, to preserve products (meat, fish, game, etc.), and, secondly, to make the products fragrant and very tasty. Smoking, rather, is conservation, for later long-term storage.
Usually smoking is divided into cold and hot. Their difference lies in the fact that hot smoking is very similar to baking (temperature is usually 60-120 degrees) with the effect of smoking due to the formation of aromatic smoke.
Hot smoking is quick smoking, and to enhance the effect, unfortunately, chemical cocktails are often used - liquid smoke. Due to its simplicity, hot smoking is applicable even in a city apartment. Cold smoking is a very long treatment with sufficiently cold smoke (temperature 20-30 degrees). Sometimes cold smoking lasts several days.
Hot smoked salmon is easy, even at a picnic or at home in the kitchen. For a picnic, you need a portable smoker; for kitchen smoking, you need an airtight smoker with a smoke exhaust system in the form of a water seal.
Once with friends, we impromptu cooked amazing delicacy- hot smoked salmon, right on the river bank. Well, try it yourself and feed people - smoked salmon is something who has time. I confess, I cut off one steak to cook at home.
Ingredients (10-12 servings)
- Salmon, carcass 2.5 kg
- Salt to taste
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Hot smoked salmon. Recipe
- Do you know how the jellied pike perch is prepared ??? A hake is bought and it is poured that it is a pike perch. We decided not to suffer, bought two good salmon, 2.5 kg each.
- On the shore they began to prepare for smoking. The carcasses of the fish were heavily salted from the inside and along the skin, then left for 1 hour so that the fish was salted.
Salmon salt and then wash
- While collecting firewood - the fish was ready for smoking. The fire was lit neatly. They asked someone in boots to rinse the fish in the Dnieper from salt and clean it from mucus.
- Heads and tails were cut off. The fish was wiped dry.
- Three handfuls of large alder chips were poured into the smokehouse, fish was loaded, closed with a damper and the smokehouse was put on fire.
Load the fish into the smoker
- Fire needs medium or even less, but constantly. The sawdust began to smolder almost immediately.
Put the smoker on the fire
- Fragrant white smoke billowed out. Exactly - 30 min.
Poured fragrant white smoke
- We have to keep the fire going. Half an hour. No more, no less! Then carefully remove the smoker from the heat.
- It is better to immediately “disassemble” the fish, remove large bones, smoked salmon must cool down. Garnish for salmon may not even be needed.
Remove bones from salmon and let cool.
- Well, then you can use it. It is very tasty to put salmon on a piece of very fresh Ukrainian bread!!!
This predatory fish, which is also called lake salmon, reaches 1.5 m in length. The meat is red in color, which is why it is also called red. Salmon is valued not only because it has few bones and tasty meat.
A large amount of Omega-3 fatty acids makes it an indispensable dish for those who suffer from cardiovascular diseases, psoriasis, as well as for pregnant women. Trace elements (fluorine, phosphorus, magnesium, iodine, potassium and calcium), vitamins A and D help to increase immunity, improve blood circulation, and prevent thrombophlebitis.
The daily protein requirement for an adult is found in just 200 grams of this useful fish. It has been proven that regular consumption of salmon reduces the risk of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and atherosclerosis.
Salmon is very nutritious. High calorie content increases several times during frying, while many vitamins disappear. That's why the best option cooking is salting or smoking salmon in a cold way.
Smoking salmon at home
On dining tables this fish appears in different types. Very tasty salmon soup. Good ruddy fried steaks with vegetables. You have to be a virtuoso cook so as not to overdry them. But the best way to cook remains salting and smoking.
Preparing fish for smoking
There are a few simple ways determining the freshness of fish. She shouldn't have cloudy eyes. There are no dents on the carcass after pressing with a finger. The gills should be red or red-brown.
Salmon is a very large fish. Therefore, before smoking, it must be cut. It is most convenient to divide the fish into two pieces of fillet. Filling order:
- Remove the scales from the fish.
- Open the belly and gut the insides.
- Cut off the head.
- Turning the carcass with its back to you, cut off one side along the spine.
- Turn the fish over and also cut off the second part along the spine.
- Cut off the dorsal fin and belly fat (tesha).
- Use tweezers or pliers to remove the costal bones.
For smoking, the skin from the fish does not need to be removed.
From the bones, fins and head of salmon, you can cook a wonderful soup. Just don't forget to cut out the gills.
Regular cold smoking
Such cold-smoked salmon has a calorie content of 117 kcal per 100 g. This 100-gram piece contains 18.28 g of protein, 4.32 g of fat and 0 g of carbohydrates.
Recipe for pickling mixture for 1 kg of fish:
- salt 2 tbsp;
- sugar 1 tbsp
We prepare salmon for smoking.
- Take a wide shallow container and pour a little pickling mixture on the bottom.
- Cut the fillet into pieces so that they fit comfortably in two layers.
- Lay the first layer skin side down and sprinkle generously with the mixture.
- Lay the second layer of fillets skin side up and sprinkle with the remaining mixture.
- Cover with cling film and refrigerate for two days.
- Rinse excess salt from the fish.
- Hang pieces of salmon on strings to dry for 4-6 hours.
For this method, you will need a smokehouse bought in a store or a special oven made by yourself. Lay the foil on the grill, having previously pierced many holes in it. Lay the salmon on the foil and leave to smoke for 4-5 hours at a smoke temperature of 30 ° C.
Take out the fish, let it “breathe” for 2 hours to remove excess smoke. Then wrap in foil and refrigerate for 4 days. This is necessary so that all the flavors inside the piece are distributed evenly.
Cut into thin slices 2-3 mm across the grain and serve as sandwiches with bread, butter and dill.
We smoke salmon without leaving home
This recipe is useful for those who do not have a smokehouse or cottage, but have a bottle of "liquid smoke". All preparatory work is the same as in the previous version. Differences begin after washing and drying. By the way, airing on strings here can replace the usual getting wet and wiping with a towel.
Mix "liquid smoke" with water in equal proportions and fill the fillet pieces with the solution. Place in refrigerator for 8 hours. Don't forget to turn the salmon every 2 hours. Remove the fillet, dry again with a towel and place on a wire rack in the room for 8 hours.
Hot smoked salmon
If the fish is small, it is not necessary to cut and separate the skin for this recipe. It is enough to cut off the head and clean it from scales. In a large carcass, we separate the fillet. big chunks cut across, cut lengthwise without removing the bones.
For the marinade, we make a mixture of parsley salt and pepper. Pour this mixture over the fish, sprinkled with lemon juice on top. We turn the fillets, steaks and wrap the fish in cling film. We leave for 3-5 hours. Some experts use only salt, rightly believing that salmon smoked in this way, and without seasonings, will exude wonderful aromas.
Rinse in cold running water. Place in the smoker for 30-40 minutes. The temperature of the smoke must be over 70°C.
Freshly cooked hot-smoked salmon crumbles easily, and bones are perfectly separated from it. It is advisable to do this procedure while the fish is hot, before serving. It is served hot and cold with a vegetable side dish and as an independent dish.
This delicacy has even more calories than the raw product.
If you have your own secrets for smoking salmon, marinade recipes, sawdust compositions, etc., share them in the comments.
The salmon family, which is so valued among gourmets for its taste and useful properties, is represented by a variety of species. Among them, salmon occupies one of the leading places in popularity, it is sometimes even called the queen of salmon.
It can be identified by the characteristic silvery color of the scales below the lateral line, as well as a bluish tinge on the back. Relative to its relatives, it is considered a fairly large representative, so some individuals can reach one and a half meters in length.
For 9 years of its life, salmon gains a mass of 35 kg, this is an average figure, since during spawning, the fish pretty much loses weight.
The habitat of salmon is localized in the west of the Arctic Ocean, covers the northern part of the Atlantic and the basins of the Baltic, Barents and White Seas. It is noteworthy that the salmon has a lake variety that lives in Onega and Ladoga. Norwegians artificially breed fish for commercial purposes, but the benefits and quality of dishes from artificially fed individuals are no longer as high as their representatives of the wild.
Chemical composition
Salmon meat, like the meat of other fish, is valued for its high protein content in the absence of carbohydrates, which have such a negative effect on our body. If we present the content of all substances in terms of 100 grams of product, then we can get the following results:
- water -70.6 g;
- protein - 20 g;
- fats - 8.1 g;
- carbohydrates - 0;
- other substances (ash, cholesterol).
Of the vitamin complex, the entire range is present in its entirety, but especially salmon meat is rich in vitamin C, E and PP. The total share of the complex is 10 mg. Traditionally, the product is rich in fluorine, calcium and phosphorus, but in addition to these trace elements, there are zinc, molybdenum, chromium, sodium and magnesium.
Beneficial features
Fish, as a food of animal origin, serves as an indispensable source of fats, protein and amino acids, but unlike poultry or beef, fish is absorbed almost completely within an hour. This fact is decisive in the preparation of the diet for those who wish to gain muscle mass without the risk of weight gain due to fat.
Often, people who have undergone surgery, athletes or simply losing weight resort to a fish diet. The amino acids present in salmon meat have a general rejuvenating effect on the body.
Despite the fact that cholesterol is always present in salmon, you should not think about the dangers of fish for cores. Its value is extremely small, therefore, fish in any cooking recipe is indicated for patients with cardiovascular diseases. Separately, it is worth considering the benefits that seafood brings to the normalization of the nervous system, the risk of diseases characteristic of old age is reduced.
The role of vitamins in the activity of the body cannot be overestimated. In particular, vitamins A and E help strengthen nails and hair, improve skin elasticity and increase its resistance to certain diseases. It is known that an oil solution of vitamin A has a healing effect. Eating salmon gives the body a natural saturation with all the necessary substances. It is especially indicated for pregnant women and nursing mothers.
Salmon caviar is considered a delicacy. The price of it fully proves this status. The indicators of fat and protein in caviar are much higher than in meat (15% and 30%, respectively), therefore, the calorie content of caviar is 250 kcal. And again, there is a paradox here: there is a lot of lecithin in caviar, and, as you know, it removes cholesterol, which you often have to fight with.
How to choose the right salmon
Before you smoke salmon or implement other recipes, you will definitely have to face the difficulties of choice. Unfortunately, not everyone can get freshly caught fish, so you often have to go to the store. Many suppliers cooperate with farms where fish is grown artificially, this is fraught not only with the absence of many useful substances, a violation of the calorie content, but also with the presence of dyes or flavors.
Although they are considered harmless, a reaction to foreign substances is not excluded, so you need to be able to choose the right salmon, avoiding possible negative consequences.
There are two simple criteria for selecting a whole fish:
- First of all, you need to pay attention to the color of the meat. Since a whole palette can be presented to the consumer, we will give some patterns of choice. Fresh salmon, grown in natural conditions, has pink meat. If a brownish tint prevails, then it is better to refrain from buying, since the fish is clearly stored for a long time. Many sellers try to artificially restore the external freshness and presentability of their products. Often tinting leads to the appearance of bright shades. Too pale meat holds the secret of several frosts. You will soon be convinced of this, since the meat itself will be loose and will lose its elasticity.
- The second indicator of freshness is the gills. They should not contain bruises, but be plain, pink.
In some cases, you have to buy ready-made steaks. White streaks on the cuts will help to evaluate the freshness. Look also at the date of defrosting, because after defrosting chilled salmon should be sold in two weeks. Vacuum-packed fish will last longer, but labeling, expiration date, and packaging date should be checked. Of all types of salted salmon, it is better to give preference to lightly salted salmon, this recommendation is based solely on the dangers of salt for the human body.
Preparation for smoking
Salmon is famous for its taste, no matter what dish you decide to cook. But various smoked meats were considered truly royal snacks at all times. The price of smoked fish, especially the salmon family, is quite high, but you want to enjoy your favorite dish not only on major holidays, but also on a weekday. The solution will be the opportunity to smoke the fish at home.
Before you cook any dish, be sure to do preparatory work. Not without them and smoking fish. The whole process can be divided into several stages: the selection of carcasses, section, salting, drying and smoking.
Usually the salmon carcass is quite large, so there is no reason to leave it whole. The most common way of cutting is the preparation of fillets.
To do this, the abdomen is torn open, and the insides are removed. The head will also have to be cut off. The pulp cuts in a horizontal plane along the spine. Similar manipulations are performed on the other side.
Salmon has practically no waste, you can only throw out the insides. The ridge and the head are smoked along with the fillet pieces, because there is a lot of meat left in them. This section is not finished. The dorsal fin, as well as fat from the abdomen, are also cut off. You can smoke salmon bellies as an independent dish, because they are always on sale. On the ridges of salmon, the head and abdomen with fins are an excellent dressing for fish soup or ear.
Cooking hot and cold smoked fish
In order for hot-smoked salmon to turn out tasty and healthy, it is recommended to follow the fundamental tips that come together in a single recipe. Note that it is not recommended to separate the skin, as it will act as a protective shell in the smokehouse.
The marinade will consist of salt, pepper and parsley. Dry mix - the most affordable way cook pickle at home. You just need to generously sprinkle the carcass inside and out with the resulting mixture, wrap it in cling film and place in a cool place for 5 hours. After that, the almost finished semi-finished product is washed with water and dried. Some lovers of experimenting argue that the piquancy of the taste will be ensured if one teaspoon of sugar is added to the resulting composition.
A water-based liquid marinade is prepared from almost the same ingredients, only the water is heated to better dissolve the salt or sugar. You may also come across recipes that indicate that it is not necessary to completely dissolve the spices. Bay leaves and other herbal spices should be ground before adding them to the solution.
No one forbids you to try something different, making new discoveries, but you should know that some seasonings go well with the taste of fish, while others do not. Basil, lemon, garlic, rosemary, peppers are suitable for salmon. We remind you once again that improvisation will not change the smoking process itself, but will only give a certain note to the taste.
Do not forget that before placing the carcass in the smokehouse, it should be weathered or, at least, wiped with a napkin.
It is necessary to smoke salmon with hot smoke in a special device. If it is not possible to fully spend outdoor recreation, simultaneously showing the wonders of cooking, then you can use an air grill, which will give the right temperature for heat treatment, and the smell of smoke will help to imitate “liquid smoke”. But lovers of truly natural products are better off making a smokehouse with their own hands.
A fire is made, and it is necessary to achieve not a big flame, but rather its constancy. Alder sawdust is poured into the bottom of the smoker box. The fish is placed on special sieves, the box is closed on top with a lid and the process begins.
Fish smoked in this way will turn out to be of high quality and delicious dish if some conditions are met:
- smoke temperature is 90°C degrees;
- the duration of the process does not exceed 45 minutes;
- after reaching the degree of readiness, the product has cooled down to ambient temperature.
The secret that cold smoked salmon contains is that the whole procedure takes place at a temperature of 25 ° C degrees. Your task is to fulfill this condition with all your might and means for a sufficiently long time. To prepare the brine, you can use the recipes described above, because the only difference is in the preparation. Salmon smoked with cold smoke will get completely different taste qualities.
The first 8 hours of smoking should never be interrupted. Therefore, you need to stock up on the required amount of firewood. Keep an eye on the intensity of the flame, because increasing the temperature of the smoke to 30 ° C will lead to irreversible consequences. You will cross this fine line between cold and hot smoking. Depending on the size of the carcass, the entire smoking period may take 4 days or even a whole week. Connoisseurs always give the same advice: if the fish is left to ventilate for a couple of days after cold smoking, then its taste will become even richer.
