Hot smoking of salmon and trout
I am an angler in Scandinavia
Danish version

I caught many salmon, trout and rainbow trout of various sizes, so there will be slightly different times for salting and smoking. Most fish that I smoked is 1.5 kg because it is an appropriate size for us. Therefore, this recipe adapted to this size and of course my smokig oven.

I start by cleaning the fish, remove entrails and head. Cut the belly up from the anus to the head and cut off the head, so will all the entrails come out. Remove the blood clot which is along the backbone of the abdominal cavity. It is kidney blood, and is not very tasty. I must admit that the fish looks more inviting with head on when it is freshly smoked on a platter. But it happens that the fish falls down when it has the heavy head on during the smoking process. It will of course not be eaten. Keeping your head on - so the fish - the gills must be removed.

Wet salting: I make a strong brine of 15% or 14 °Baume: To 12 liters of cold water add 2,165 kg of fine salt, it fits 4 large, nice fish of 1.5 kg, which fits my salt jar and smokig oven. The salt must be completely dissolved in the cold water before the fish are put into the brine.

Fish of this size may well be in the brine for 12 hours, but try yourself if you have larger or smaller fish. Remember that water temperatures should not exceed 5 °C. It is no problem in November and December, but otherwise one must use a refrigerator.

Once the fish have been overnight in the brine, they are taken up and rinse thoroughly with cold water for blood and mucus residues which the brine has forced out of the fish. The fish hung out to dry with the expansion pins in the belly, so they also dry inside. The drying time is hard to predict, as the weather played a part. The fish should not hang in the sunlight, but like in the draft. Beware of flies here in the summertime. I have made two frames with Tesa mosquito net for windows, the first on top of smokig oven, and the second set in front of the gate. Now the fish are first dried in the smokig oven without the fly come to the fish. Until now I have dried the fish for 4 to 6 hours so the skin does not stick to your fingers anymore. News: A cage lined with nets, I have also made.

Now the fish should be smoked:
The oven temperature starts at 90 °C. The fish are smoked for 30 to 60 minutes - depending on the size of the fish - with the "Hat" slightly open.
Oven temperature now drops to 67 °C to 70 °C and the fish is smoked for 3 hours with the "Hat" closed.
If using a thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the fish, it should show 67 °C.

After 4 hours the fish have a beautiful golden color and are just ready to be eaten warm. The fish you do not need now and here can "stay" in the smokig oven - in the winter time. Otherwise wrapped in parchment paper in the refrigerator, the smoke flavor has really pulled in to the meat. Or vacuum packed and in the freezer.

I would just like to come up with a good recipe for "Salmon Salad." Clean the fish for bones and cut meat into small pieces, come gradually meat into a blender and blend the meat with mayonnaise, lemon juice from one lemon and white pepper for taste. Serve on toasted bread with garnish, salad leaves on bottom and cress as sprinkle. A cold beer and a dram are very suitable for this.

Also try the other recipes

Hot smoking of silver eels --  Hot smoking of garfish

Hot smoking of harvest herring --  Hot smoking of mackerel

Hot smoking of cod roe --  Homemade smoking cheese

Bon appétit.
Jřrgen Walter



Free JavaScripts provided by The JavaScript Source
Back to the page where you came from.