Mackerel marinade is used for salting fish at home, before baking in the oven or on a grill, and even before smoking. The mixture can be completely different - it can be brine with spices, if the fish needs to be salted, or a mixture with soy sauce and honey, when the carcass is being prepared for baking.

How to marinate mackerel at home?

It’s not at all difficult to prepare a marinade for mackerel at home, whether for pickling or baking. By following simple rules and simple recommendations, everything will definitely work out, and you will be able to enjoy delicious, aromatic fish.

1. For marinating, it is better to choose carcasses weighing about 300 g.
2. Marinate the fish in a container that does not oxidize; use glass or plastic.
3. Depending on the purpose, the marinating process can take from half an hour to 2 days.
4. You can marinate a whole carcass or cut into pieces.

Salted fish is present on every festive table. You can buy it already salted, but sometimes the taste of the product leaves much to be desired - sometimes the fish is too salty, sometimes undersalted, and sometimes spices are used that you don’t like at all. Spicy salted mackerel marinade allows you to independently prepare very tasty lightly salted fish.

Ingredients:

• water – 1 glass;
• bay leaf, cloves – 3 pcs.;
• black peppercorns – 5 pcs.;
• sugar – 25 g;
• coriander – 10 g;
• dry white wine – 150 ml;
• salt – 60 g;
• mackerel – 1 pc.

Preparation

1. The fish is defrosted and cleaned.
2. Place all the spices in the water and boil the mackerel marinade for 2 minutes.
3. The fish is placed in a container, filled with brine, covered and sent into the cold for 2 days.

Before frying mackerel kebab, it is better to marinate the fish first. Then it will turn out more juicy and appetizing. Marinade for mackerel on the grill based on soy sauce with honey and lemon will make the fish simply delicious, so you are guaranteed gastronomic pleasure.

Ingredients:

• mackerel – 2 pcs.;
• lemon – 2 pcs.;
• honey – 1 teaspoon;
• soy sauce – 60 ml;
• salt, pepper, thyme, dill;
• oil.

Preparation

1. The mackerel is washed, cleaned, cut lengthwise into 2 parts, and the bone is removed.
2. The fish is placed in a container, salted, and sprigs of dill and thyme are placed.
3. The lemons are washed, one is cut into circles, the juice is squeezed out of the second, and the zest is grated.
4. Prepare a marinade for delicious mackerel: mix juice, zest, honey, soy sauce.
5. The mackerel is poured with marinade, served with lemon slices and pepper.
6. Cover the container and leave for half an hour.
7. Grease the grill with oil, lay out the fish with lemon and cook until golden brown.

Mackerel in mustard marinade

Marinade for mackerel for baking is prepared from simple ingredients available to everyone - onions, sour cream, soy sauce and mustard. Since the fish will then be baked, half an hour for marinating is enough. Baked mackerel with onion rings will turn out very piquant with an appetizing golden brown crust.

Ingredients:

• mackerel – 2 pcs.;
• onion – 1 pc.;
• sour cream – 100 g;
• soy sauce, mustard - 40 g each.

Preparation

1. The mackerel is gutted and the head is cut off.
2. Cut the fish into pieces, place in a bowl, add chopped onion.
3. Prepare the marinade for mackerel: mix sour cream, soy sauce and mustard.
4. Pour the resulting mixture over the fish and leave for half an hour.
5. Place the mackerel with onions in a greased form and bake for half an hour at 170 degrees.

The marinade can be prepared in different ways. In this case, it is proposed to use a flavorful mixture of two types of mustard, garlic, lemon and soy sauce. Lemon will remove the unpleasant smell of mackerel, and the remaining ingredients will saturate the fish, making it unusually tender and tasty.

Ingredients:

• mackerel – 2 pcs.;
• lemon – 1 pc.;
• spicy mustard - 3 tbsp. spoons;
• mustard beans - 1 tbsp. spoon;
• soy sauce – 50 ml;
• garlic – 3 cloves;
• spices for fish - a pinch;
• oil.

Preparation

1. The fish is defrosted, the head is cut off and the insides are cleaned from the carcass.
2. The mackerel is washed and dried.
3. For the marinade, mix both types of mustard, add soy sauce, add garlic, seasoning and mix.
4. The resulting marinade is coated with the carcass, lemon slices are placed in the middle and the fish is left to marinate for an hour and a half.
5. Grease the foil with oil, place the fish, wrap it and bake at 200 degrees for 20 minutes.

If you decide to smoke the fish yourself, you need to remember that you first need to marinate it, and the taste of the original product depends on how well this is done. The marinade is prepared using brine with spices. The carcasses are kept in it for 24 hours, and then they are dried and smoked.

Ingredients:

• water – 1 liter;
• salt – 1.5 tbsp. spoons;
• sugar – 3 tbsp. spoons;
• coriander seeds – ½ teaspoon;
• black pepper and allspice peas – 5 pcs.;
• bay leaf – 2 pcs.;
• mackerel – 2 pcs.

Preparation

1. Prepare a marinade for delicious mackerel: boil water, add salt and spices, bring to a boil and cool.
2. The fish is poured with marinade, a weight is placed on top and put in the cold for a day.
3. After this, the fish is hung to drain the liquid, and then smoking begins.

Salted mackerel is very tasty. And in order not to buy a finished product of dubious quality, it is recommended to prepare the marinade for pickling mackerel yourself. In this case, you can adjust the set of spices by removing or adding some. Instead of vinegar, you can use lemon juice.

Ingredients:

• mackerel – 2 pcs.;
• onions – 2 pcs.;
• vinegar – 70 ml;
• oil – 100 ml;
• salt – 90 g;
• bay leaf, cloves - 2 pcs.;
• allspice peas – 5 pcs.

Preparation

1. The fish is cleaned, gutted, separated along the ridge, and the bone is removed.
2. The fillet is cut into pieces.
3. The onion is chopped into rings.
4. Oil is mixed with vinegar and spices are added.
5. Place the fillet on the bottom of the dish, salt it, mix and leave for 10 minutes.
6. Lay out the onions, pour in the marinade.
7. Leave the fish for 12 hours, and then salted mackerel in the marinade, refrigerate for 2 hours.

The recipe for mackerel marinade based on soy sauce is extremely simple. The sauce mixed with water is the whole marinade. And if you want to add some spicy notes, then you can safely put your favorite spices in it. Fish drenched in this marinade will be ready for consumption within a day.

Ingredients:

• mackerel – 2 pcs.;
• water, soy sauce - 100 ml each.

Preparation

1. The fish is washed, cleaned, the tail and head are cut off and cut into pieces 2 cm thick.
2. Place the pieces tightly into the container.
3. Mix soy sauce with water, pour over the fish, close the container with a lid and put it in the cold for a day.

It is prepared in pieces with the addition of mustard powder and standard ingredients - salt, sugar and bay leaf. Fish marinated in this way can be stored in the cold for up to 7 days. This appetizer is suitable for both a regular dinner and a holiday table.

Ingredients:

• mackerel – 2 pcs.;
• water – 1 liter;
• mustard powder – 1 teaspoon;
• sugar – 3 tbsp. spoons;
• salt – 5 tbsp. spoon;
• bay leaf – 4 pcs.

Preparation

1. After boiling, add spices to the water and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Remove the pan from the stove, cover with a lid and leave to cool.
3. The gutted mackerel is cut into pieces 3 cm wide and placed in a glass bowl.
4. Pour in cooled liquid.
5. The mackerel pieces in the marinade will be ready in a day.

Mackerel marinated with carrots and onions

- This is an excellent snack for strong alcoholic drinks. Therefore, this dish is irreplaceable at any feast. The fish is poured not with cold, but with warm marinade and therefore becomes softer and more tender. Adding vegetables and dill seeds will make the mackerel even more appetizing.

On store shelves there is a large assortment of fish prepared in various ways, including cold smoked mackerel. However, not all visitors to our site know that this type of fish can be prepared quite easily at home, and this article describes how to do it.

Preparation time: 1 day

4 servings

Recipe for cold smoked mackerel:
what is required for this

Consider a recipe for preparing such a dish for four people. In this case, you will need four medium-sized mackerel carcasses, in addition, you need to take four tablespoons of salt. From your inventory you will need:

• set of bowls;
• cutting board;
• stainless steel tray;
• cold smoked smokehouse.

Smoking mackerel in a cold smokehouse: how it's done

The entire process of such preparation is divided into the following stages:

Defrosting

Mackerel is almost always sold frozen, and should be thawed before cooking. To do this, place the fish carcasses in a bowl with cold water, and in an hour and a half it will be defrosted.

Attention! You cannot use warm water for defrosting - during such defrosting, the fish will lose its properties and become unsuitable for smoking.

Cutting

After defrosting is completed, place the fish on a cutting board and separate its head, as well as remove the entrails. After finishing the cutting, place the fish in a stainless steel tray and salt it.

Salting fish

Before we tell how to pickle cold smoked mackerel, note that salting fish can be either dry or using a marinade. When dry salting, the mackerel is sprinkled with salt and, placed in a metal tray, placed in the refrigerator for twelve hours, where it rests.

In some cases, for salting mackerel for smoking Housewives use a marinade that is quite simple to prepare. This requires:

• half a kilo of salt;
• two hundred grams of sugar;
• juice squeezed from one lemon;
• pepper mixture.

Those who prefer a spicier marinade can add juice squeezed from one head of garlic to the solution during its preparation. These ingredients must be dissolved in four liters of water, bring the solution to a boil and immediately remove from heat. We place the fish carcasses into the resulting brine and keep it there for an hour, after which the fish is ready for the smoking process.

Smoking fish in a smokehouse

After salting, the fish is dried for several hours, after which we place it in smoking chamber, where we hang it on a metal rod threaded through a hole in the tail of each of the fish.

The fish is kept in the cabinet for a day, and the temperature inside the smokehouse should not exceed twenty-four degrees.

Once removed from the smokehouse, the fish is ready to eat. In addition to the fact that cold smoked mackerel prepared at home has a pleasant taste and smell, it retains everything nutrients and vitamins beneficial to the human body. Bon appetit!

Video: cold smoked mackerel

Mackerel is an ideal fish, both for simple salting and for smoking. I decided to get confused and make this fish in wet and dry salting, in order to understand and determine for myself which option is optimal. In this article I will outline all the subtleties and aspects from salting to the finished product.

Cold smoked mackerel recipe

ingredients

• mackerel
• salt - 100 g per 1 kg of fish for dry salting, 100-120 g for wet salting per 1 liter of water
• sugar - 10 g per 1 liter of water for wet salting
• spices - bay leaf, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg
• water - 1 liter for wet salting, for about 3 mackerel

Preparing mackerel for salting

If the mackerel is frozen, then it needs to be thawed. Fill the fish with cold water and leave for 2-3 hours. Afterwards, we rinse the mackerel well, remove the entrails, gills, black films and rinse again with cold water, dry with napkins or rags.

Salting mackerel for smoking - wet salting.

For wet salting, 1 liter of water requires 100-120 g of salt and 10 g of sugar. Heat the water, add salt and sugar, dissolve, when the water boils, add spices and turn off. The brine must cool down to room temperature. Add spices to your taste. Place the fish in a salting container, fill it with brine, put pressure on top and put it in the refrigerator for two days.

Salting mackerel for dry smoking

For 1 kg of fish you need approximately 100 g of salt. Pour a layer of salt up to 0.5 cm thick into the bottom of the dish, pour about 1 tablespoon of salt into the belly of the fish, thoroughly rub the salt into the belly and where the gills were. We also rub the fish with salt all over the carcass, place it in a salting dish in layers and sprinkle with a little salt. We put pressure on top and put it in the refrigerator for two days, in which case you will need to swap the fish several times during salting. You can add spices as desired and to your taste; I salted without spices.

After salting, mackerel, both wet and dry salted, should be thoroughly rinsed to remove salt with cold water. Afterwards, we test for salt, cut off a small piece of sirloin, if it tastes like a lot of salt, then soak it in cold water another 1-2 hours, periodically changing the water. In my case, I didn’t soak the fish; the salt satisfied me. When the mackerel is washed and soaked, we hang it, while we need to open the belly with the help of matches or sticks so that it dries better and then becomes evenly smoked. We leave it hanging for 2-4 hours in a ventilated place; if it is a warm season, then do not forget to protect the fish from insects.

Cold smoking mackerel.

For home smoking mackerel I used a smoke generator from the Smoke House company and alder, beech, cherry and apple wood chips; alder is the best wood chip for smoking; other types are used as additives. We place the prepared fish in the smoking chamber, charge and connect the smoke generator, and begin smoking. The temperature in the chamber should not exceed 35-40 t C, the smoking time is from 8 to 12 hours, depending on the ambient temperature and the flow of smoke into the chamber. In my case, 9 hours and 30 minutes was enough.

After smoking, the mackerel should be left in a draft for 2 hours to a day, so that the aromas of smoke evenly penetrate the fish carcass and the super-strong smoky smell goes away. It is best to store it in the refrigerator; the fish should be wrapped in paper and placed in a sealed bag, sometimes open the bag and change the paper. Shelf life is about a month and a half.

My cold-smoked mackerel turned out to be simply amazing, the fish in dry salting had the classic taste of mackerel with the aroma of a fire from fruit wood, in wet salting the taste and aroma of bay leaf and nutmeg were clearly visible. As for me, dry salting without spices is exactly the taste of smoked mackerel that we are all accustomed to.

Separately, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the recipe for cold smoking of lard and the hot method of smoking fish with beer. Below is a video recipe for smoking mackerel at home using a cold smoked smoke generator with tips, recommendations and tasting of the finished product from the author of the blog.

Tender and fragrant hot smoked mackerel will win your heart from the first bite! There is nothing complicated in preparing such fish; the main thing is to know a few of the simplest secrets of cleaning, preparing and smoking itself. Once you try to create this exquisite dish, you will no longer be able to deny yourself the pleasure of cooking such fish more and more often.

Ingredients for preparing hot smoked mackerel:

1. Mackerel how much is needed
2. Coarse salt (without iodine) 1 tablespoon for each carcass or to taste

Products not suitable? Choose a similar recipe from others!

Inventory:

1. deep bowl
2. Fridge
3. cutting board
4. Paper kitchen towels
5. Scissors
6. Oiled twine or thick thread
7. Soup plate
8. Tablespoon
9. Stainless steel tray – 2 pieces
10. Polyethylene cling film
11. Rope
12. Wood smokehouse with metal poles
13. Firewood
14. Alder sawdust – 2 handfuls

Preparation of hot smoked mackerel:

Step 1: clean the fish.

The initial preparation of mackerel depends on what kind of fish you bought; if it is frozen, then the carcasses need to be defrosted naturally, that is, simply put them in a deep bowl and put them in a cool place or in the refrigerator for 1 - 2 hours During this time the fish will completely melt. Do not under any circumstances try to defrost the fish in warm water; this can ruin the entire mackerel; its meat will become soft and fall away from the bones.

After the fish has melted, we place each carcass one by one on a cutting board, cut off their heads, gut them from the entrails, rinse them under cold running water and dry the mackerel with paper kitchen towels to remove excess moisture.

Now, using a sharp, thin knife, we alternately make one small longitudinal cut with an approximate length in the tail part of the carcasses 1 centimeter. Take a thick thread or oiled twine and cut it with scissors into lengths up to 20 centimeters and thread 1 rope into the slits on the tails. Then we tie the ends of each twine with a tight knot to form a loop. Pour salt into a deep plate, the first preparation is completed, it’s time to start salting.

Step 2: salt the fish.

We place a couple of stainless steel trays on the kitchen table. Take one fish carcass in your hands and start rubbing salt into the mackerel, first inside all the rib bones.

Then from the outside into the skin of the fish. We don’t try too hard, the fish will be salted in any case, and with increased friction the skin may come off, this will make the finished product not of very aesthetic quality.

Light, unobtrusive salting on all sides and inside is enough, but we don’t skimp on salt, about 1 tablespoon for each carcass.

We place the salted mackerel carcasses in trays, cover the containers with plastic wrap so that there are no gaps, and put them in the refrigerator for 7 - 8 hours, or best of all, overnight.

Step 3: dry the fish.

After the required time has passed, remove the trays of fish from the refrigerator and remove the plastic wrap from each. Transfer the fish to the sink and rinse the carcasses under cold water. running water from excess salt. Then we dry the mackerel with paper kitchen towels and let it dry a little more. For example, we stretch a rope in a convenient place, put the carcasses on it and let them hang in this form at least 1 hour. If you have a heater, that's even better, just place it next to the hanging mackerel and turn it on to medium heat. in 30 minutes the fish will be dry.

We also prepare alder sawdust, if they are dry, put them in a deep bowl and pour in a small amount of water, for 2 handfuls sawdust approximately 4 – 5 tablespoons ordinary running water. The sawdust should not be dry, but it should not be completely wet either. In the first case, if they are very dry, they will start to burn, as a result the fish will burn, and if the sawdust is very wet, then they may stop producing smoke and the fish will not be smoked well, which can lead to poisoning.

Step 4: prepare the smokehouse and smoke the fish.

Now it all depends on the type of smokehouse you have; in my version, it’s an ordinary old machine with primitive devices, so smoking will be a little primitive. Apply an even layer to the bottom of the smokehouse 1 centimeter lay out alder sawdust soaked in water. We put the smokehouse on the fire. If you have a gas one, then turn on the gas, if it’s a regular one, then light a small fire from wood in the lower compartment. The fire should always be medium! We put dried mackerel carcasses on metal poles so that there is a small distance between them, that’s enough 5 – 6 centimeters free space and install them on the smokehouse that has begun to puff.

Cover the machine with a lid and smoke the mackerel for 15 minutes, then remove the lid and release the smoke from the smokehouse, this will relieve the fish of bitterness. Then we cover the “hot machine” again with a lid and smoke the fish some more. 25 - 30 minutes until fully prepared. Afterwards, remove the lid from the smokehouse, remove the poles with fish from it and transfer the carcasses back to the trays. Let it cool slightly, put it back on the rope and dry it in a cool place from 3 to 8 hours.

After the required time has passed, transfer the fish back to the trays and remove the oiled twine from each.

Then we wrap each carcass in plastic cling film to keep the mackerel from drying out, put the fish back on the trays and put the containers in the refrigerator. Such fish should only be stored in a cool place at a temperature from -2 to +3 degrees preferably no more 3 – 4 days.

With longer storage, oxidation of fatty tissue occurs, the taste and smell of fish deteriorate. So if you have prepared a very large portion, share the hot smoked mackerel with your loved ones and enjoy a great fish!

Step 5: serve hot smoked mackerel.

Hot smoked mackerel is delicious both hot and cold. It makes excellent salads, fish pates, aromatic cuts for sandwiches and an excellent snack for light or strong aperitifs. Some gourmets prepare wonderful casseroles, pies and crispy pizzas from this fish. Mackerel prepared according to this recipe is tender, the connective tissues of the fish are soft with a pronounced smoked aroma. Cook and savor with pleasure! Bon appetit!

- – Mackerel can be smoked over low heat, but for 2 hours.

- – If you have a small home electric smokehouse, then you need to set the temperature in it to 100 degrees Celsius and smoke the prepared fish for 1.5 hours.

- - In addition to alder sawdust, you can use sawdust from trees such as apple, plum, cherry, oak, beech, aspen, walnut, birch. The sawdust should be without bark; it contains tar, which during smoking can give the fish a bitter taste. Corn cobs, poplar sawdust and walnut shells are sometimes used for barbecue smoking.

- – If desired, you can add spices to the salt such as ground red pepper, ground black pepper, crushed lemongrass or any other spices that are suitable for smoking.

Ingredients

• mackerel – several pieces of 300g each;
• salt, ground pepper, fish seasoning to taste.

Choice

We select fresh fish according to the size of the smokehouse, approximately the same length and weight. The same fish has the same cooking time. As a rule, most have two bars. You can place 3-4 fish on each grid. So count how many pieces you can smoke at one time.

Consider the number of eaters. One fish is enough for one person. But the reserve is not enough for the pocket. In addition, smoked fish is stored in the refrigerator and is good cold. It’s not for nothing that they sell it in stores at almost triple the price.

Don't buy fish that are too small. The larger mackerel, the tastier and fattier it is. Either believe it or check it. If the store does not have fish the size of the smokehouse, then it is better to buy a large mackerel and cut off its head than to smoke small fish. Please note that the larger the mackerel, the more expensive it is. This is not easy.

Pickling

Clean the fish, remove all entrails. It is not necessary to cut off the fish head. Rinse under running cold water, dry, rub with salt and spices.

Place the mackerel in a tray, cover with cling film and put in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours, or up to a day.

We smoke

Sprinkle 0.5 - 1 cm of alder chips onto the bottom of the smokehouse, depending on the amount of fish.

You can even smoke one fish. If there is a lot of fish, then cook in several batches. There should be a gap of at least 1 cm between the fish. Since mackerel is noticeably thicker at the head than at the tail, we place the fish in a “jack”. Head - tail - head - tail.

Before placing in the smokehouse, the fish must be dried with paper towels. To prevent the fish from sticking to the grill, you can pick raspberry leaves, black currants or apple branches, place them evenly on the grill, and place mackerel on top. Leaves and twigs will also provide additional aroma. Close the smokehouse tightly with a lid and smoke over low heat for 15-20 minutes. Mackerel cooks quickly.

Use smoked mackerel With , vegetable salads, good beer.