Marinade for mackerel with liquid smoke. Mackerel as smoked at home

Calories: Not specified
Cooking time: Not indicated

Mackerel with liquid smoke is very similar to a real smoked one. Smell, taste are different, of course, but not much. We'll show you how to make this at home.
Today, mackerel is one of the most affordable fish. Enumerate all its useful properties can be very long. It is indisputable that this fish is a storehouse of vitamins and microelements. It contains such necessary vitamins as A, E, C, H, PP and B vitamins. And such microelements: iron, potassium, magnesium, fluorine, zinc, molybdenum, cobalt, manganese, chlorine and many others. You can’t call this fatty fish dietary, but the fats of this fish are very useful and do not contain harmful cholesterol. Mackerel contains a lot of protein, including amino acids that are so necessary for a person. Eating such fish is especially useful for children, pregnant and lactating women.
Cold-smoked mackerel is 3-5 times more expensive than fresh-frozen, so it's hard to afford to buy it as often as you want. Once at a party I tried mackerel smoked in liquid smoke. Now I cook it all the time. Of course, the taste is a little different from the usual smoked mackerel from the store. Also, you will surely like
Smoked mackerel at home with liquid smoke and tea - photo recipe.



For the brine you will need:
- 1.5 liters of water;
- 8 bags of ordinary black tea (without flavorings);
- 6 tbsp. l. salt;
- 3 tbsp. l. Sahara;
- 12 tsp classic liquid smoke.

How to cook with a photo step by step

We put a container of water on the stove. We put there all the components of our brine except liquid smoke.




Bring the brine to a boil, let it boil for 5 minutes. Cool the brine. We pour liquid smoke into it.




We wash the mackerel. We take out its insides. Cut off the head and tail. Experienced housewives can take out the insides of a slightly frozen fish with a teaspoon. Then the finished fish looks more beautiful.





Pour the brine into a large jar or other convenient container with a lid. We put the fish in there. We remove the jar in the refrigerator (balcony, basement) for three days. During this time, the so-called smoking of mackerel with liquid smoke takes place.




We take out our smoked fish from the jar. Remove excess brine from mackerel with a paper towel.




Cut into pieces and serve.






All! Delicious smoke flavored fish is ready. Serve traditionally: with potatoes or rice. Such a mackerel with liquid smoke for beer is good!
Try to cook the same

There are various options for cooking fish, and the most delicious of them is liquid smoke mackerel. To prepare it, you do not need any painful efforts, the help of strangers, and the presence of a large number of ingredients.

You can cook delicious fish in two ways:

• Fish in good condition.
• Fish cut into pieces.

What is needed for cooking?

The recipe for fish at home is extremely simple, and is performed very quickly. It is enough just to think in advance about the availability of all the necessary ingredients for cooking, which should be in the kitchen of every housewife. Among the main ingredients you will need:

• 2 frozen fish;
• 2 tbsp. spoons of sugar;
• 1 onion;
• 1 teaspoon concentrate;
• 4 tbsp. spoons of salt;
• Allspice;
• Two bay leaves;
• Coriander;
• Oil.

How to cook smoked mackerel in small pieces

If you bought a whole fish, then you need to immediately clean it and chop it in advance. Chopped pieces should be sent to a deep container and set aside for a while. Then take a small bowl and mix all the ingredients in it: salt, sugar and seasonings. After that, mix everything until smooth, pour into a container with fish, and cover with cling film. Then the fish, along with seasonings, is placed in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. After it is frozen, you need to get it out of the bowl, rinse, freeing it from spices. She will get the right amount of seasoning in the refrigerator. After that, small onion rings are added, and the smoked fish is ready to eat.

As we can see, the recipe is quite simple, so it will not be difficult to cook the product at home. To do this, you just need to stock up in advance with all the necessary ingredients that will give the dish a rich flavor. You can also spice up turmeric, which works perfectly with fish, giving it a very mild and pleasant taste. If you want to smoke mackerel at home quickly and tasty, follow the exact recipe for cooking. As a result, you will get perfectly smoked mackerel, which has not only an amazing smell, but also taste.

You can be sure that the resulting dish will delight your family members not only with its excellent appearance, but also with its unusual taste, which are completely different from purchased smoked fish. As you know, mackerel is one of the most useful types of fish, especially if it is home-cooked.

Whole smoked mackerel cooking process

The smoked mackerel recipe requires the following ingredients:

• 4 frozen mackerels;
• 150 gr. salt;
• 50 ml of vegetable oil;
• 80 gr. Sahara;
• Onion peel - to create color;
• Carnation;
• Black peppercorns;
• 50 ml of concentrate.

Cooking marinade

Pour all the spices for cooking into 1.5 liters of water, and put the container on a small fire until the water boils. After that, the resulting marinade must necessarily cool down, after which 50 ml of the concentrate is poured into it.

It is worth remembering that special attention should be paid to cutting the carcass, because it must be freed from the tail and head, and also thoroughly washed. Upon completion of this procedure, mackerel should be filled with water, and allowed to lie in this state for 3-4 days. Remember that she must lie down in the onion peel, because only thanks to it will she acquire a natural color. At the end of this period, the fish is removed from the marinade, and infused for an hour. After that, it can be greased with sunflower oil and served.

Fish should not be served in onion peel, because it is intended solely to give it a full color and to some extent taste. If you follow the above recipe for smoking fish, then it will surely delight you with its incredible taste. To cook smoked mackerel, you do not need to spend a lot of money to buy this or that ingredient, you just need to buy a concentrate and fish. After all, all the above ingredients can be easily found in the kitchen of every modern housewife. Try experimenting with cooking and you will definitely get a delicious whole mackerel, with the preservation of all useful substances.

Cold smoked mackerel recipe

You can also prepare an equally tasty dish using the cold smoking method. The recipe does not require any supernatural knowledge and effort, which is why preparing a dish at home will be very simple. To do this, prepare the following ingredients:

• 1-6 mackerels;
• Onion peel;
• Concentrate - 100 ml;
• 2 spoons of sugar;
• 1 liter of water;
• 4 spoons of salt.

First you need to rinse the fish well, rid it of scales. After that, you need to take a container, pour water into it, add onion peel, place salt, sugar and cook for 25 minutes over medium heat. After boiling, the fish should not be in the onion peel, you must immediately rid it of this. Add the concentrate to the container and keep the fish under a closed lid for two days. After a few days, you will receive a ready-made dish that can be served on the family table.

The recipe for smoking fish will help you get really delicious and spicy fish that you can serve on the festive table and be sure that your family and guests will eat homemade mackerel and get only useful substances from it. If this is the first time you have come across this recipe, study it well, stock up on the right ingredients and boldly start cooking, and you will succeed!

The cost of smoked mackerel is two to three times higher than fresh-frozen. You can save money by buying fresh fish and marinating it at home using liquid smoke. Mackerel with liquid smoke will be ready in just two days, and you will be sure that the technology of its preparation is observed, since everything was done by hand.

Marinade preparation

To marinate 1 kg of fresh mackerel, you will need the following ingredients:

• 120 g of salt;
• 70 g of granulated sugar;
• 1 liter of filtered water;
• 75 ml of liquid smoke;
• Black tea 4 teaspoons.

A saucepan of water is placed on the stove, brought to a boil and, without removing it from the heat, salt and sugar are added. Tea is poured into boiling water, mixed, the saucepan is removed from the stove and set aside to cool. Liquid smoke is added to the brine, which has cooled to room temperature, everything is mixed well and filtered through a sieve to separate the tea leaf from the marinade.

You can prepare a brine for smoking in liquid smoke according to a similar recipe, only replacing black tea with onion peel. The more husks you can collect, the richer the color of the finished mackerel will be. The husk is washed well, placed in a pot of water and boiled for 5 minutes. After that, the onion broth is set aside and infused for about 2 hours - during this time the water becomes brown. The husk is filtered through a sieve, and salt, sugar are dissolved in the resulting liquid and liquid smoke is added - the marinade is ready for smoking fish.

How to prepare fish

Freshly frozen mackerel is used for smoking in liquid smoke. It is necessary to choose whole even carcasses, without mechanical damage, with clean smooth skin. The fish is thawed and cut: the head is separated, the insides are taken out. The defrosting process should not be delayed; you need to cut the fish as soon as it becomes soft. Gutted carcasses are washed well first in warm water, then in cold running water.

Mackerel with liquid smoke can be smoked raw. In this case, it must be washed more thoroughly, especially under the gills.

Smoking process

Prepared carcasses are placed in enamel or glassware, poured with brine and covered with a lid. The smoking process will take at least two days, and all this time the dishes with the fish are in the refrigerator. Every 12 hours (morning and evening) the mackerel is turned over for even treatment with liquid smoke. After two days, the fish is removed from the brine and washed. Its skin acquires a beautiful uniform bronze hue after smoking.

If smoked mackerel with liquid smoke was cooked whole, it must be gutted, and only then rinsed well. At this stage, the preparation of the fish is not finished, the next step is drying.

How to dry fish

A loop of thin strong twine is tied to the tail of each fish, and hung up for drying. It is best to hang mackerel outdoors under a canopy or in the shade of trees. If this is not possible, it can be hung on a balcony or in a room in a draft, placing a container under the bottom to drain the marinade. In the summer, a thin cloth or gauze is thrown over the dried fish to protect it from insects. Smoked mackerel will be in limbo for 2 days, after which it can be removed.

Already prepared fish is rubbed with vegetable oil, it will make the skin of mackerel soft and give it an appetizing look.

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Not so long ago, smoked products were considered a delicacy and were bought exclusively for the festive table. Today, smoked meats have become much more affordable, and the range has increased significantly. But everyone knows that the quality of most of these meat and fish products leaves much to be desired. In addition, there is no guarantee that smoking standards have not been violated during the preparation process. That is why many resort to self-smoking at home.

It is worth noting that for this, the housewives use the most original products, such as onion peel or tea. However, the fastest and easiest method is smoking with liquid smoke. Read about its properties and how to use it in this article.

Choosing a fish

As you know, the result of cooking to a greater extent depends on the freshness and quality of the product. This is especially true for fish dishes, where the slightest error can lead to an undesirable outcome.

Choosing a good fish is easy:

• carcasses should have a pleasant fishy smell without an unpleasant odor;
• the surface of the carcass should be without greenish spots, resilient and elastic;
• fresh fish have bright, clear, glassy eyes;
• the gills of fresh fish are always clean, slightly pinkish and without signs of mucus, and cloudy, sunken gills indicate that the fish has been on the counter longer than expected.

"Liquid smoke"

Liquid smoke is a special chemical concentrate, the use of which allows you to replace the long process of home smoking with just a few hours of cooking. In fact, it is a smoldering product of wood species that are usually used for smoking. Of course, you can’t call a store-bought flavor a natural product. Those who claim that “liquid smoke is nothing but chemistry are partly right. However, this did not prevent the store-bought flavor from gaining wide popularity in cooking. Recently, liquid smoke is increasingly found in recipes. Some housewives even add a few drops of this product to regular marinades.

However, it would be fair to add that liquid smoke treatment of fish is not real smoking, but only imitates the smoked taste. Therefore, it is worthwhile to approach the preparation of products in this way with special care and it is imperative to carry out the primary processing of carcasses.

Proper use of liquid smoke will allow you to create a real masterpiece of cooking in just a few hours.

Preparation

After the fish is bought, it must go through the process of preliminary preparation for cooking. The carcasses must be washed under running water, dried, the insides removed, the fins and head removed.

Next, proceed to the preliminary salting of the fish. For flavored smoking, this step is not necessary as many recipes use marinade. However, practice shows that pre-salting allows you to make the taste of mackerel more intense.

For example, you can rub mackerel with salt and spices so that the layer is even. It is advisable to wrap the carcasses in foil and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Cooking methods

Whole carcasses

You will need:

• 4 medium carcasses;
• 2 tablespoons loose black tea;
• 3 tablespoons of liquid smoke;
• 3 tablespoons of salt;
• 1.5 tablespoons of sugar;
• 3 handfuls of golden onion peel;
• 1.3 liters of water.

Rinse the onion peel, put it in a saucepan, pour clean water and bring to a boil. After boiling, the gas is reduced and the “gruel” is left to simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Ready onion brine should be drained through a colander into a container, cleaned of the remnants of the husk, add tea leaves, spices, concentrate to it, mix and leave to brew for a while.

Pour the cleaned and washed slave with marinade and put it in the refrigerator to smoke for 2-2.5 days.

Finished fish can be garnished with lemon slices and onion rings.

in pieces

You will need:

• 2 carcasses of frozen mackerel;
• 1 teaspoon concentrate;
• 1 large onion;
• 4 tablespoons of salt;
• 2 tablespoons of sugar;
• vegetable oil;
• coriander;
• allspice;
• Bay leaf.

Gut the fish, wash it properly and cut into equal pieces. To prepare the marinade, you will need a small saucepan in which you need to put the mackerel, salt, add sugar and all other spices. The saucepan is covered with a lid and placed in a cool place for 8 hours. This time is enough for the fish to marinate and be ready to serve. For more taste, it can be greased with vegetable oil and garnished with onion rings.

Cooking mackerel smoked with liquid smoke at home is not at all difficult. And knowing a few useful "tricks", you can facilitate the process of smoking and improve the taste of the finished product.

• For smoking with concentrate, frozen and chilled fish are suitable. When buying frozen carcasses, you should remember that a tasty and healthy dish will turn out only if defrosting is natural. Defrosting under running hot water causes taste deterioration. When defrosting in the microwave, the fish fillet will separate from the bone, and after the marinade it may even crumble.
• Before smoking, the fish must be washed and cleaned of the insides, and it is especially good if the belly of the carcass is not ripped open, of course, if the recipe does not imply that. Be sure to eliminate the head and fins.
• Depending on the smoking recipe, dishes are chosen. Enamelware is not suitable for smoking mackerel in onion husks. It is better to give preference to containers made of aluminum or glass.
• In the classic version of smoking, only salt and sugar are used as spices. Seasonings such as coriander and bay leaf give the fish a piquancy, so you need to add them carefully enough.
• Black tea gives the fish a rich and beautiful color.
• During smoking, the fish, as a rule, floats to the surface, so it is recommended to put oppression.
• Liquid smoke should be added only in the amount indicated in the recipe.

Excessive use of the concentrate leads to a distortion of the taste and smell of mackerel.

Smoked products are a frequent guest on our tables. Smoked fish, such as fat, juicy mackerel, are especially popular. Well, how to refuse such yummy? Only in supermarkets such a delicacy costs a decent amount, and you can’t be sure of the quality. Therefore, taking this into account, we have found for you three of the most delicious simple ways to smoke mackerel with liquid smoke at home. With him, the fish turns out what you need, and it cooks very quickly.

What is liquid smoke?

You must have heard of this ingredient. It is he who will help us cook delicious, fragrant fish like from a smokehouse at home.

Classic liquid smoke is a flavoring agent of natural or artificial origin, it is used for meat, meat products, poultry and fish to give the dish a smoky look and flavor. Liquid smoke is often added to the first courses, oh, what a delicious “smoky” soup.

Manufacturers obtain natural liquid smoke by burning alder, beech or bird cherry. The resulting smoke is cleaned of tar and tar. Then it is dissolved in purified water. It is also commercially available as a dried powder.

For dishes, housewives often create a homemade imitation of liquid smoke by mixing soy sauce, curry and mayonnaise, but such smoke will not help us much in preparing delicious, fragrant smoked mackerel.

Where can you buy liquid smoke? This ingredient is not uncommon, so you can certainly find a bottle on the shelves in the department with spices or sauces, oils, as well as in grocery markets.

Smoking in pieces

There are several ways to cook mackerel with liquid smoke at home. It can be "smoked" in the concentrate as a whole, or cut into pieces. Naturally, the pieces will be ready much faster than a whole carcass. We will start with the preparation of chopped fish.

To prepare this delicious mackerel, you will need:

• 2 frozen mackerels;
• 4 tbsp. l. salt;
• 2 tbsp. l. Sahara;
• 1 tsp liquid smoke;
• 1 onion;
• oil.

As well as spices such as pepper, coriander and bay leaf, aromatic herbs and thyme. To prepare this delicious fish, you can use a mixture of spices and seasonings for fish, for salting it.

Cooking

The fish, if you purchased a whole carcass, must be gutted, rinsed thoroughly with cold water and cut into pieces about 1-1.5 cm wide.

Put the pieces in a container, glass or enameled will do. Mix all prepared seasonings or a ready-made complex, as well as salt and liquid smoke, in a separate container. Then pour over the fish, spread each piece well, rubbing the spices into the flesh, then cover with cling film, wrapping a deep bowl in several layers.

Place the container with mackerel in the refrigerator for 8 hours.

After marinating, shake off the spices, rinse with cold water. Fold again in a deep bowl and pour vegetable oil. Peel the onion and cut into thin half rings, spread on the fish.

That's all, the mackerel, salted in pieces, is ready. It can be safely served with hot boiled potatoes.

A good recipe, because if you suddenly want smoked mackerel for dinner, during the day it will be perfectly salted and saturated with liquid smoke concentrate.

Mackerel in the husk

As we have already noticed, there are several ways to salt the fish, so in this recipe we will try to salt it entirely, moreover, we will take onion peel - as you know, it can give a bright, rich color. Thus, to cook mackerel in onion skins with liquid smoke, you will need:

• 4 whole fish;
• 80 g of sugar;
• 150 g of salt;
• husk;
• 50 ml of vegetable oil;
• 50 ml of liquid smoke.

And, of course, various spices: a complex or bay leaf, cloves, allspice peas.

Cooking process

First, prepare the marinade. To do this, you will need a small saucepan, into which you need to pour 1.5 liters of water and add all the necessary spices, including onion peel, herbs. Thoroughly mix spices with water and boil. Remove saucepan from heat and cool to room temperature.

When the marinade has cooled, pour the liquid smoke concentrate into it and stir well.

Separate the fish carefully. Remove the head, tail, entrails. Rinse thoroughly under running cold water. Put the mackerel in a deep bowl and pour over the marinade. Leave the fish in the refrigerator for 4 days.

After the time has elapsed, remove the fish, remove the remnants of the marinade, spices and husks and leave to dry for half an hour. After that, the fish can be cut, poured with vegetable oil, seasoned with onion rings or sprinkled with fresh herbs. Serve with a slice of lemon and potatoes.

The fish turns out very tasty, with a pleasant aroma of a fire. The recipe is a great success, because it does not take much effort to cook smoked mackerel with liquid smoke, and the ingredients for this snack are simple and affordable.

And for those who do not want to wait 4 days to enjoy delicious mackerel, we have found a recipe for the same delicious marinated fish, only it cooks twice as fast.

Cold "smoking"

The third recipe for home-smoked mackerel is cold. What kind of recipe is this? In fact, the cooking method is extremely simple, and all that is required for it is a minimum of effort and 15 minutes of time.

So, to prepare delicious mackerel with liquid smoke at home, you will need:

• several carcasses of mackerel;
• onion peel;
• 100 ml of liquid smoke;
• 4 tbsp. l. salt;
• 2 tbsp. l. concentrate;
• 1 liter of water.

And, of course, the spices suitable for this, described in the previous two recipes.

Recipe

Defrost the mackerel carcass naturally (in the refrigerator or at room temperature), defrosting in the microwave or hot water can spoil the structure of the pulp. Next, rid the carcass of the insides, cut off the head, tail and fins. Rinse the fish with cold water and set aside.

Remove the brine from the heat and let cool slightly, then strain it through cheesecloth. Put the fish in a deep bowl, pour in fragrant marinade, then cover with a plate and put a press. Soak the mackerel for 2 days.

Two days later, the fish can be cut and served.

With this simple recipe, you will get a quality homemade product. In addition, cooking the fish yourself, you will save a lot.

We hope you enjoy our delicious recipes for smoking mackerel with liquid smoke at home. Finally, it is worth saying that the fish prepared in this way is not intended for long-term storage; you can keep it in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. Therefore, do not try to cook mackerel in reserve, it is better to eat ready-made and cook a new one without risking spoiling the food.

Bon appetit!