Fish delicacies belong both to the approaching Midsummer and to the whole summer.
Do not smoke the fish for too long so that it does not dry out. Adobe Stock / AOP
You can enjoy fish without worry, as long as you remember a few important basic things, reminds us in Pro Kala’s announcement.
The most important rule to remember when it comes to fish is an unbroken cold chain. Like other foodstuffs, fish is kept as cool as possible during the entire journey from the store to home, cabin or boat.
– Fish keeps well in the summer when it is kept cold. Maintaining a cold chain does not require miracles, but ordinary everyday choices, such as using a cooler and adding fish to the shopping cart only at the end of the shopping round, executive director of Pro Kala Malin Lönnroth advises in the bulletin.
Fresh fish is best kept close to zero degrees. At home, you should make sure that the refrigerator is cold enough, preferably below plus three degrees, and place the fish in the coolest part of the refrigerator.
Smoke the fish
Smoked fish is a surprisingly easy summer delicacy. Fish can be smoked whole, filleted or in pieces. Fattier fish, such as rainbow trout, grayling or whitefish, are a little easier to smoke than lean ones, as they remain more juicy.
Here’s how to succeed in smoking:
1. Salting.
Before smoking, the fish should be salted either by sprinkling sea salt on its surface or in salt broth. For the salt broth, boil a liter of water and desi sea salt, cool the broth and pour it over the fish. The fish is left in the broth for half an hour so that it gets salted evenly.
2. Smoking scraps
The smoking bits or chips affect how the end result tastes. The smoking chips are mostly alder, but you can mix in, for example, smoking chips made from apple wood or whiskey barrels. If you wish, you can also put a juniper branch on top of the smoking pieces. It is recommended to moisten the smoking chips or chips before use, so that they specifically smoke and do not burn.
3. Sugar
You can put a couple of sugar cubes or fine sugar on top of the smoked pieces, which gives the fish a beautiful color.
4. Correct ripening time
The cooking of the fish depends on the smoker. For example, a salmon fillet weighing about a kilo is cooked in about 20 minutes.
A good alternative to a smoker is a ready-made smoking bag. The bag has the bites already ready. Heat the oven, put the fish in the bag and put the bag in the oven.
Note! Avoid overcooking. For example, rainbow trout can remain juicy or even slightly pink.
Prepare the fresh fish first
A cooler bag is one of the most useful pieces of equipment in the summer. For a long trip, you should also pack coolers, which will help keep your purchases cool until you get there.
– When you buy fresh fish for the cottage, you should prepare it already on the first day. For example, canned fish and other fish products that keep longer are well suited for later days at the cottage, Lönnroth says in the announcement.
If the journey to the cabin is long, it is best to buy fresh fish as close as possible to the destination. Fish bought at the service counter is at its best when it is prepared on the day of purchase or the next day at the latest.
Lönnroth reminds that fresh fish can always be frozen if the cabin has a freezer. You should freeze the fish fillets by first wrapping them individually in cling film. This way, you can use just as much fish as you need later.
In addition to fresh fish, packaged fish products should also be stored in a cool place. Even if the fish is prepackaged, for example in a vacuum, it should be transported home or to the cabin as carefully as cold as the fish bought at the service counter.
Aura cheese gives the salmon a delicious taste. Pro Fish
Smoked Aura rainbow trout
800 g rainbow trout (as a boneless fillet)
rapeseed oil
½ tsp fine sea salt
1 teaspoon fine sugar
Aura cheese
1 tsp rosé pepper
1. Dry the surface of the fish. Brush a little canola oil on the skin side of the fish.
2. Cut a lengthwise cut about 2 centimeters deep in the fish fillet. Season the fish with salt, sugar and rosé pepper.
3. Crumble Aura cheese over the fish and put a little cheese inside the long cut. The fish can be smoked either in a smoking bag, an electric smoker or a smoker.
Recipe: Pro Fish