Cold smoked bream is a delicious delicacy that will be a great addition to the dining table. Relatives and friends will certainly be happy with such a treat. This article describes simple recipes for cooking smoked fish at home. By the methods proposed below, you will be able to salt and smoke bream yourself.
Selection and preparation of ingredients
For smoking, it is necessary to choose both small and not too large copies. Optimum - medium individuals weighing from 900 g to 1 kg. The meat of small fish will be dry and with a lot of bones. Large bream, of course, will please you with a great taste, they are fatter, but it will take more time to cook. You can take both of them, but you will need to salt them correctly, laying out first instances of large parameters, and on them, respectively, medium and small.
Salted and cold smoked bream recipes
Cooking smoked bream is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. This is not a quick process, but the result is definitely worth it. The product is very aromatic and mouth-watering. You can smoke a product that has undergone one of two types of processing - dry and wet, that is, in brine. First option - the bream is simply rubbed or sprinkled with salt.
Important! Carcasses of the same size - the best option for cooking. They are equally uniformly salted and smoked.
Second - the carcass is soaked in brine, which can be prepared with the addition of your favorite spices. Marinade is supplemented with pepper, paprika, coriander, ground red and black pepper, bay leaf and other spices, depending on the personal taste preferences of the cook.
With salt
1046 hours
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- You need to start by defrosting the fish. After this, the product can already be salted. Take shallow containers. It can be a basin or any bowl. At the bottom of the dishes you need to put a layer of table salt. There is no need to completely close the bottom of the container; the carcasses will be salted enough. Then you should lay the bream.
- Sprinkle the fish with salt. Again, do not overdo it. More salt needs to be laid on the back and, if desired, under the gills.
- Next, lay the carcasses in layers, and each sprinkle with salt. Large specimens should be at the bottom, and small ones at the top. Small representatives of the water world are salting out faster. Leave the fish for 2 hours.
- It is necessary to create oppression. Take a wide plate and a 3 liter jar. Draw water into it, put a plate on the fish, and a jar - on the plate. The press is ready. After 12 hours, the oppression should be removed, and the bream should be hung out for 3 hours.
- For a stack of wood chips, apple and alder should be poured into a smoke generator. After 4 hours, you need to add another package of apple tree chips. In the meantime, you need to place the prepared fish in a smoking crate. A smoke generator should be connected to the smokehouse, and then immediately set fire to the wood. Bream should be pumped for 12 hours.
- After the time has passed, turn off the device and carefully remove the fish. Cold smoked bream is ready. It should be hung in the room so that it is ventilated for several hours. After that, the delicacy can be served on the table.
Video recipe
Important! Fish should not be cleaned from scales. Thanks to this, the meat will remain juicy.
With salt and paprika
5-654 hours
ground red pepper
20 g
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- First of all, it is worth cutting the carcass. Thanks to gutting, the fish will not be bitter after cooking. Make an incision along the abdomen and remove all the insides. Cut the gills if you are cooking the whole fish, and cut off the head if you are going to cut it into pieces. Rinse the bream thoroughly under running water inside and out. Dry the fish with paper towels.
- Before smoking, salting is necessary. In a glass or other container, convenient for mixing, combine salt, red pepper and paprika. With this composition, carefully rub the fish from all sides. Try to do this evenly so that the spices fall under the scales.
- Create a press. Cover the bream with a plate on which you need to put a heavy bowl with water or other contents. Put the product in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
- After the time has passed, transfer the fish to another bowl and fill it with purified water. Leave to soak for 30 minutes.
- The product must not be too wet. Fish must be hung out for weathering. It will be enough for a day.
- After the specified time, place the semi-finished product in the smokehouse - put on wire racks or hang. Close the lid tightly. Connect the smoke generator, load wood chips into it and light it with a gas burner. As soon as smoke begins to flow from the chimney, the smoking process is started.
- Do not leave the device unattended. Keep the wood chips smoldering. Duration of smoking is 5-7 hours. Then carefully remove the fish and leave for several hours in the kitchen. After the time has passed, refrigerate for at least 10 hours. After this finished bream can be eaten.
Did you know? The largest bream was caught in 2014 in America. Its weight was 7 kg 100 g.
In brine
2-382 hours
Nutritional value per 100 g:
- Rinse the fish thoroughly under running water. Gutting is not necessary, as well as cutting off the head. The fish will be smoked whole.
- Next, you need to make a liquid marinade. You can cook it with spices. Put the fish in a deep bowl and fill it with water so that the liquid completely covers the product, add salt, thyme, coriander, allspice and, of course, salt. In brine, bream should be kept for about 2 days.
- After time, drain the marinade and add clean water. Let the product soak for 30 minutes. After that, pat it with paper towels and leave to dry for a day.
- Put the copy on the grate of the smokehouse and close the lid. Connect the smoke generator, load alder chips into it. Then the wood in the device should be ignited with a gas burner. Wait until smoke begins to flow from the chimney. Note 5-7 hours. After the set time, remove the fish and let it air for an hour. After that, smoked bream is considered ready.
Did you know? Cold smoked bream is very healthy. After such processing of fish, vitamins (A, E, PP, B1, B2) and minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, iron, phosphorus, etc.) are stored in the meat, which positively affect the brain, heart, blood vessels, digestive organs and on immunity in general.
Smoked bream is a delicious dish with an amazing aroma. The recipe for its preparation is not difficult. Such an appetizer will be appropriate in the daily diet, and on the festive table. Bon Appetit!
