Portable Stainless Steel Smoker – £49.00
This portable fish smoker is perfect for home use and an ideal solution for outdoor dinner parties, get-togethers, camping trips and more.
The stainless steel design and simple assembly means it is convenient to use and clean afterwards. Take it anywhere, light it up anywhere and use it anywhere!
An essential for any fish lover and a fantastic piece of kit that can be used in a variety of situations.
Stainless Steel Stovetop Smoker- £56.00
If you want the ability to smoke your own fish inside, then this stainless steel stove smoker is perfect for you.
Simply pop it on your stove, add your soaked wood chips and light up your cooker. Add your fish and let the smoking process begin! An essential for any amateur or professional cook, this advanced smoker is perfect for your home.
One of the earliest forms of cooking and preserving food known to mankind is that of smoke curing, especially meats and fish. This article serves as an introduction to the ins and outs of fish smoking in particular, and how to get started in enjoying this wonderful method of preparing delicious smoked fish.
We should make a distinction first off that smoking fish has traditionally been done for both preservation and for flavor and texture, and we will merely note the use of smoking for preservation as to its place in history, which was much more important in time prior to the availability of refrigeration. Instead, we will concentrate on the joys and benefits of using a fish smoker to widen your culinary horizons and help you enjoy smoked fish as a delicious part of your regular menu at home.
Let’s understand how a fish smoker works. The key to successful food smoking is the protein, which absorbs the smoke. There are two type of smoke, hot and cold. Hot smoke works by direct heat and is typically used in making smoked salmon, also herring and sturgeon. Hot smoking takes less cooking time, and the smoke flavor is less.
Cold smoking utilizes indirect heat. Composed of two compartments, a cold smoker has an area where wood is smoldered, producing the smoke. Wood chips soaked in water are placed on hot coals to produce the smoke. This is filtered into the upper compartment containing your fish. The smoke passes over and surrounds the protein at fairly low heat, cooking the fish very slowly at a low temperature, yielding a strong smokey taste.
Typically, oily fishes smoke better than those more dry fleshed and some favorites are herring, mackerel, salmon, shad, smelt, steelhead and tuna. The type of wood chips used greatly influences the flavour of your smoked fish, and enthusiasts opinions on which is best for particular fish are strong. Some of the common favorites are: Alder, a mild wood preferred for smoking salmon and trout, Apple, stronger than Alder but still mild, a bit sweet and fruity, Ash, a good all round wood, Hickory, which gives more of a campfire smoke flavour, Mesquite for a tangy flavour and even banana or tea leaves for more exotic taste.
Using a fish smoker is a relatively easy and fun task. Fish should be thoroughly cleaned to be free of slime and and guts and refrigerated until ready to start. A salt brine solution of one part salt to seven parts water is then used to soak the fish overnight. After removal from the brine, pat the fish dry with paper towels and refrigerate until your smoker is ready.
Lighting the chips starts the process. Always following the instructions on your smoker, in general, the internal temperature of the fish should be about 71 degrees Celsius for at least thirty minutes. This should be monitored using a thermometer leaving the smoker door closed. You can smoke it longer for a more smoky flavoured fish. When desired, remove the fish from the smoker and cool, then promptly refrigerate and then enjoy.
There is a wide variety of fish smokers on the market today and a great place to start your search for one that suits your needs and budget is at FishSmokers.co.uk.