Hot smoked mackerel in a home smokehouse

Step-by-step preparation

Cooking time: 6 hr 40 mins

1. STEP 1

   

   How to make hot smoked mackerel? Prepare all the necessary ingredients. In addition to those included, you will need wood chips and natural twine. Choose fresh mackerel with firm meat and no damage. She should have bright gills and not cloudy eyes. If mackerel is not like that, it is better to discard it. To defrost fish, place it on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator and wait until it is completely defrosted.

2. STEP 2

   

   First of all, prepare the mackerel. Remove the head and cut the belly. Remove the insides and be sure to remove the black film. It adds bitterness to the fish. Rinse thoroughly, dry and sprinkle with salt inside and outside the belly.

3. STEP 3

   

   Place the mackerel in a bowl and cover tightly. Since mackerel is a fairly oily fish, its fat oxidizes when it comes into contact with oxygen and acquires an unpleasant aroma. Leave the fish to salt for 4 hours.

4. STEP 4

   

   Then rinse the fish with cold water and dry it with a paper towel inside and out. Sometimes mackerel breaks apart after cooking; if you overcook it, tie it with twine to prevent this from happening.

5. STEP 5

   

   Before smoking fish, it must be dried a little in the fresh air. To do this, hang it in a well-ventilated place, covering it with gauze to prevent insects and dust. Leave it in this position for 2 hours. After this, the fish will be dense, well smoked, and not boiled with the smell of smoke.

6. STEP 6

   

   Moisten wood chips, preferably alder or apple wood, with cold water and place on the bottom of the smokehouse in an even layer of one centimeter, set the lower level (if there is one).

7. STEP 7

   

   Place a drip pan on the bottom level to prevent it from burning during cooking. Place the second level of the grill on which to place the prepared fish. If you want a very pronounced smoke color, just put it on. If, like us, you like the color weak, wrap the mackerel in one layer of gauze. Close the lid and place on the grill with prepared fire.

8. STEP 8

   

   After smoke appears from under the lid, note the time and smoke the fish for 25 minutes. But after 10 minutes, remove the lid and wash off the carbon so that it does not drip onto the fish, this will make it bitter. Remove from the grill, let sit for another 10 minutes, and then remove the lid. Remove from smoker and remove cheesecloth.

9. STEP 9

   

   Let the mackerel cool and serve.

10. STEP 10

    

    Bon appetit!

Comments on the recipe

Evdokia

26.09.2023

4.6

Mackerel is an ideal fish for smoking. I know a slightly different recipe for smoked mackerel

Alyona

26.09.2023

4.6

Good recipe. We smoked mackerel on alder chips for 25 minutes from the moment we put it on fire. The soot cover was not removed during the smoking process, and the soot was not washed off. I didn’t notice that there was much soot dripping onto the fish. My husband just doesn’t close the lid tightly, leaving a gap of literally 1 mm. We didn’t wrap it in gauze either; we like the rich color of the fish. The recipe is working, time-tested. Sea bass is also very tasty; it is smaller in size and more can fit on one grill. The fish turns out very tasty, with a pungent smoky smell, its meat is tender, the aroma is spicy, and the appearance is appetizing. The recipe is for real gourmets, cook with pleasure!