The best cold smoked mackerel recipe at home

Kitchen appliances and utensils: pan, glass or enameled container, cling film, brush, paper towels.

Ingredients

Step cooking

1. We need 1 kg of thawed mackerel. This is about 3 medium-sized carcasses. It is advisable to thaw fish in natural conditions and not at room temperature, but in the refrigerator. If you use a microwave, hot water or an oven with the defrost function for defrosting, the fish fibers can be damaged, and this will negatively affect the appearance and taste of the finished dish. Previously, the fish must be cleaned, getting rid of the entrails and heads. The tail can be left, it will come in handy in the subsequent cooking process.
   
2. First of all, you need to brew a brine in which the fish will be smoked. To do this, pour 1 liter of water into the pan and bring to a boil.
   
3. In boiling water, add onion husks, salt and tea leaves. Tea leaves do not have to be from expensive varieties. The most ordinary and affordable is suitable. Mix thoroughly.
   
4. Leave the broth to boil for about 5 minutes, so that it is well brewed.
   
5. Remove the brewed brine from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature.
   
6. Mackerel is placed in an enameled or glass container. Stainless steel utensils are also suitable.
   
7. Fill with a cooled brine along with onion husks and tea leaves so that they give their color to the end.
   
8. Next, add 5 drops of liquid smoke to the brine itself. It is this substance that gives the mackerel the flavor of smoked meats. Without it, it will turn out a very beautiful color, but without aroma.
   
9. Stacked mackerel should be taken out to the cold, for example, to the balcony. If you plan to store in the refrigerator, the fish tank must first be tightened with cling film so that there is no smell. Leave for two days. After 12 hours, the fish should be turned over, because the lower side will be poorly stained. Therefore, every 12 hours the fish need to be turned over.
   
10. After 2 days, the fish is completely ready. We take it out of the brine and wipe it a little with paper towels, removing the husk and tea leaves if they stuck to it.
    
11. To give the fish shine, you can grate it a little with vegetable oil. To do this, you can use a special brush or paper towel.
    
12. Before eating, you need to let the fish dry out a bit so that excess moisture leaves it. If you have a large fish, you can hang it by the tail for 1-2 hours. When the fish dries to the desired state, the abdomen will no longer be wet, and in some places the skin will wrinkle a little.
    

Video recipe

After watching this video, you will learn how to cook cold smoked mackerel using onion husks, tea leaves and liquid smoke. The author shows in detail how to cook pickle and fill fish. And also shares tips on how to make it even more tasty and mouth-watering.

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