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When choosing products for fish dishes, few people stop their attention on a seemingly nondescript river bass. And in vain. Recently, such a delicacy as hot smoked perch has become more and more popular. Moreover, it is very easy to cook it at home.
Fragrant smoked fish will appeal to many
Is it possible to smoke perch
The prey of fishermen is often the river perch - a medium-sized (15-30 cm) greenish-yellow fish, with black transverse stripes and spiny fins.
Compared to other species, it may seem a little dry. In addition, it contains a lot of bones. Nevertheless, the pleasant delicate taste makes it possible to smoke river bass with both hot and cold smoke. Smoked fish has an interesting taste that is characteristic only of this species. By the way, you can smoke a perch not only in a specially equipped smokehouse, but also on your personal plot.
Average fish weight - 200-300 g
Composition and value of the product
River perch, the meat of which is not particularly fatty, is a dietary product. In 100 g of fillet, there is only 1 g of fat and about 20 g of protein. Like other species, river bass contains Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids useful for the human body.
The fish meat contains vitamins A, C, D, E, P and group B, as well as minerals - potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, etc.
Benefits and calories
The beneficial qualities of river perch are due to its chemical composition.
Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids present in fish meat:
- have a beneficial effect on the work of the heart and blood vessels;
- help to normalize blood pressure and prevent the development of thrombophlebitis;
- help to improve brain activity, and are also a good prevention of psychoemotional disorders;
- improve skin health;
- being a good antioxidant, they contribute to the elimination of harmful substances from the body.
The protein present in this fish is a building material for the cells of the musculoskeletal and connective tissues.
Due to the content of a large amount of vitamins and minerals, the regular inclusion of perch in the menu helps to maintain the vitamin and mineral balance of the body and helps to strengthen the immune system.
Smoked fish should be eaten with caution by people suffering from diseases of the kidneys, liver and gallbladder.
River perch is included in the group of low-calorie foods. 100 g of boiled or baked fish contains only 109 kcal, while fried fish contains 180 kcal. The calorie content of hot smoked perch is 175 kcal per 100 g of product.
Low energy value allows fish to be included in the diet for weight loss
The principles of smoking perch
The principle of fish smoking is to process carcasses with cold or hot smoke. There are two types of fish smoking - cold and hot.The principle of cooking in the two cases is almost the same, the difference is only in the temperature of the smoke entering the tank and the cooking time of the product.
Perch smoking temperature
For the correct preparation of hot smoked perch, a temperature of 70-90 ° C is required. For cold - 15-45 ° С. It is necessary to control the degree of heating of the smoke throughout the entire time. Increasing or decreasing it may damage the product.
How long to smoke perch
The duration of hot processing is 25-35 minutes. Provided that the correct temperature regime is observed, this time is quite enough for the pulp to bake well and easily move away from the bones and skin.
It will take more time to process with cold smoke - at least 7 hours. A large cold smoked perch is smoked even longer, about 24 hours.
Temperature control is an important prerequisite for smoking
How to choose and prepare perch for smoking
For the perch to be tasty, you need to choose the right starting product. Ideally, use live fish. If this is not possible, you can buy frozen. The main thing is that the product is fresh.
When choosing a perch for smoking, you need to pay attention to its appearance and aroma. High-quality specimens have no external damage and no unpleasant odor.
The next step is to cut the fish. Some anglers advise against butchering the perch before smoking. Indeed, small fish can be smoked whole. But it is better to pull it out of the large insides, because they can give a taste of bitterness to the finished product. You do not need to remove the scales.
The fish is cut as follows:
- An incision is made along the abdomen between the fins from the head to the tail.
- Pull out the insides by hand or with a knife. This must be done very carefully to prevent damage to the gallbladder and leakage of the contents into the perch cavity (otherwise the fish will be bitter). Milk with caviar is also removed.
- The carcass is washed and dried with a paper or cloth napkin.
Cut off the upper fins
How to salt perch for smoking
Before the smoking procedure, fish is salted or pickled with both cold and hot smoke. The simplest method is dry salting. There are no special restrictions on the use of salt, therefore, in order to salt the perch for hot or cold smoking, it is simply rubbed from the inside and on top with salt and your favorite spices, and then placed in a common salting container. Cover the dishes with a tight lid and put oppression.
Fresh fish is salted for about four hours, frozen - at least 12. For even salting, the carcasses are periodically turned over.
Before smoking the perch in a hot or cold smoked smokehouse, salt is washed off the carcass, and then dried with a paper towel.
The fish should be well salted
How to pickle perch for smoking
To make the taste of the smoked product more spicy, the fish is pre-marinated.
For the marinade:
- 1 lemon is cut into thin half-slices;
- 1 onion is chopped in half rings and combined with lemon;
- add 2 tbsp to the mixture. l. table salt, 2-3 pcs. bay leaves, 1 tsp. granulated sugar and the same amount of black ground pepper;
- pour a dry mixture of 2 liters of cold water and bring to a boil, after which the marinade is cooled;
- the fish is poured with ready-made marinade and left for 12-14 hours.
Before smoking, the carcasses are well dried with a paper towel.
The spices in the marinade will help to make the taste of the finished fish rich.
How to smoke hot smoked perch
To smoke hot smoked perch at home, you will need: a smoking chamber, about 2 kg of pre-salted or pickled perch, wood chips, wood or coal.
Ideally, use a ready-made store-bought smokehouse, which is a metal box with two lids and two grates.
Alternatively, a conventional oven can be adapted for smoking. In this case, the fish will have to be pre-baked and then treated with liquid smoke.
Hot smoked perch recipe in a smokehouse
Making hot smoked perch at home is quite simple. The main thing is to properly salt or marinate the fish and adhere to the established smoking technology.
For smoking fish perch:
- Pour the chips with water for about 40 minutes. When the water turns yellow-red, it is drained.
- They light a fire. The wood must be burned to such an extent that it remains intact, but continues to smolder (or pour coal into the fire). For the construction of the hearth, you can use bricks, cinder blocks or wet logs.
- The bottom of the smokehouse is lined with wood chips. The layer thickness is about 1 cm. Large sawdust, shavings or small twigs of fruit trees can be used as chips. Cherries are best suited for this, but it is better to refuse a nut, which can give smoked perch a persistent aroma of iodine.
- Install the first rack in the smoker.
- Take the fish out of the marinade or brine, gently wipe it with a napkin towards the edge of the scales and put it on the grid.
- They put the second grate and also spread the perches on it.
- Close the smoking device with a tight lid, and then set it on smoldering wood or coals.
- After 10 minutes of processing, slightly shift or lift the lid to release the steam. After the next 10 minutes, for uniform smoking, the grates are changed in places.
- After another 10 minutes, remove the smokehouse from the fire.
The degree of readiness of hot smoked perch, as can be seen in the photo, is determined by the color of the fish and the state of the chips, from which only coals remain at this point.
The taste of the perch will become more sophisticated if you sprinkle it with lemon juice and a little dill in the last minutes of smoking.
The color of the finished perch is red-golden
How to smoke perch at home
It is best to cook hot smoked fish outdoors in a special smokehouse. If this is not possible, it makes sense to use liquid smoke, which is a fragrance obtained as a result of decaying wood and dissolved in water. Before cooking, the fish is treated with liquid smoke, and then baked in the oven.
Liquid smoke will give a golden color and smoked smell
Cold smoked perch recipe
The cold smoke smoking process is simple, but quite lengthy, and also involves the use of a large smokehouse. That is why perch is smoked with cold smoke mainly in production.
For smoking:
- chips are poured into the smoke generator and, using a special tube, they are connected to the tank of the smokehouse;
- salted or pickled carcasses, depending on the structure of the smokehouse, are strung through the eyes on an iron rod or laid out on metal grates;
- the chips are set on fire, after which the compressor is turned on;
- smoke fills the chamber, the smoking process takes place.
Do-it-yourself smokehouse
Storage rules
In order for smoked fish to retain freshness and taste as long as possible, it must be properly stored.
The shelf life of hot and cold fish can be affected by:
- the correctness of salting, salt helps to destroy the simplest organisms;
- the integrity of the fish, whole carcasses are stored longer than cut pieces.
Hot smoked perch, the recipe for which involves heat treatment, can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than four days. The temperature should not be higher than +4 ° С. The shelf life of "cold" fish is much longer. At the same temperature, it will remain fresh for 10-15 days. You can increase the shelf life by packing it in parchment and sending it to the freezer.
It is better to eat hot fish in the next couple of days.
Conclusion
A hot smoked perch cooked with your own hands can become a good treat for both your family members and guests. The portability of the smoking device and a simple cooking recipe make it possible to smoke this delicious fish not only in your own home or yard, but also during outdoor recreation.
