Every female angler knows the situation when the boyfriend is away for a weekend and there is nothing to worry about. Because then he is at the lake and not just for swimming, no, fishing attracts the men this year once again to the largest waters in Austria. Hardly is the man with its large catch at home, the fish is processed also immediately further. This time the trout will be smoked and then serve as a main course or side dish. How it works, I show you now.
The ingredients are small but mighty!
For a delicious and self-smoked trout you don’t need a lot of ingredients, because we only need the following ingredients for the equivalent of four trout:
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon of juniper berries
1EL mustard seeds
20g salt
Furthermore we need of course a smoker or also a smoker barrel. You can get them for a reasonable price in a specialized market for fishing supplies, where the hooks are also included. For the very creative among us, you can also tinker with a few simple steps a smoker barrel itself. Besides the smoker we need beech wood and beech flour. Note: Beech is best for allowing the natural flavor of the fish to spread and giving it a subtle woody tone. Also 2 liters of cold water and 200 ml of boiling water are needed for the preparation for smoking trout.
Also the preparation is not difficult
Now we have all the ingredients we need to smoke trout and can dare to prepare them. First we need a 3% brine, where the fish are soaked for at least eight hours. To make the brine, first boil the mustard seeds, juniper berries, bay leaves and salt in 200 ml of water and leave to infuse for a short time. After that, the broth is mixed with two liters of cold water in a five to ten liter container and the gutted and washed fish are put into it. Now the fish have to rest in the brine, preferably in a cool room. After the eight hours have passed, the fish are removed from the brine and dried well. First, dab the fish with a kitchen towel and then impale it with a hook and, at best, hang it on a clothesline where it dries for half an hour. But beware: Under no circumstances should the fish be left to dry in the sun, as there is a high risk of salmonella.
Now we are ready to start the smoker to smoke the fish in it. For this we need first of all the smoker, which we cover with beech wood and beech flour until the bottom is no longer visible. Now separately hot springs are lit in the smoker and the fish hung in it. The fish is smoked for about 30 minutes until it is juicy on the inside and has a wonderful aroma on the outside. Of course, the fish can be smoked as desired and also hang in the oven for up to an hour. That is up to everyone.
Smoked fish always tastes good
A smoked trout or smoked fish in general goes well with many delicious specialties of the house. The fish can be eaten directly after smoking as "fingerfood" or as a highlight in a salad. Also very tasty are cream soups with trout rolls or stuffed zucchini with cream cheese and smoked trout. You can see that the choice of recipes and dishes for smoked fish are very large, so it is really worth it to smoke the fish yourself at least once.
Conclusion
The smoking of the fish is not so difficult at all. Because with small ingredients and a little patience you can conjure up various delicious dishes with home-smoked fish. A small tip on the side: It does not always have to be the self-fished fish from the first best lake. It is also enough to go to the fish counter and grab fresh and whole trout there. They are just as good to smoke as freshly caught fish.
I hope I could bring some of you to smoke the fish yourself and wish you a lot of fun!