FREEZING
Fish is needed to be unfrozen just before cooking. Such fish, as halibut, flounder, haddock, sole, cod, trout, salmon, herring, hake, rock lobster, smoked haddock and smoked salmon, are often sold frozen.Before cooking frozen fish, check if:
- it has no “cold burns”,
- the package has no blemishes,
- all the liquids are reserved while the fish is thawing out,
- the meat has quite dense consistency.
Frozen fish is preserved at 64 °F (18 C°), and once it gets freezing it mustn’t be frozen again.
MARINATING
You can fillet marinated sole, roll it up in a collar, and fasten with toothpicks. Such roulades of marinated fish are called
rollmops.FISH SMOKING
For smoking, fish is either cleaned out or taken as a whole. It is dipped in strong brine, where often dye is added. Then it is leaven hanged on drying grills in a smoke-chamber for 5-6 hours until smoked.
The average temperature for cold smoking is 66 °F (33 °C), and so the cold smoked fish has a dense consistence.
Fish is usually cured by hot smoking at the temperature 140 °F (70–80 °C), and doesn’t need some extra processing.
For table, choose fish with fragrant smoke smell and bright glossy surface. Meat should be dense; soft or wet meat is the sign that fish perhaps went bad or is undersmoked.
STORAGE
After smoking, fish is cooled, as the smoke preserving effect is not very strong. Smoked fish can be preserved a little bit longer, than the fresh one.
Arbrot — small haddock that is got from waters near Arbrot in Scotland. It is smoked until ready to serve; it may be greased with melted butter and fried on gridiron as well.
Finnan (haddock) (the name is taken after the city of Findon in Scotland) — slightly salted fish without dyeing and cured by cold smoking, it has pale colour. It is usually cooked in a small amount of milk.
Smoked yellow haddock — cold smoked fish, cured by using yellow dye. Smoked herring — the whole herring, which is slightly salted and cold smoked. Its storage time is short — some days — as it is slightly salted and not cleaned. Before serving clean it and fry on gridiron.
Bukling (small hot smoked herring) is usually served cold or warmed over.Smoked (carved) herring — it is salted and cured by cold smoking fish. Fillet is often sold in vacuum package. It is fried on grill or cooked at slow fire.
Strong salted smoked herring — the whole fish is strong salted and smoked until firm.
Smoked cod — is filleted, dipped in brine, dyeing until bright yellow (or dipped in a smoking liquid to get yellow colour and smoky taste). Before taking cod, cook it some water, fry on gridiron or bake.
Smoked eel is usually smoked as a whole or as a fillet and served cold for starter.
Smoked mackerel is usually hot smoked and then grilled.
Smoked salmon is generally regarded as the best smoked fish. As a tradition, they serve salmon thinly sliced for starter, but it is used and in many other coverings as well.
Sprats in oil are cured from smoked sprat, it is served cold or may be fried on gridiron as well.
Smoked trout — hot smoked whole fish or fillets, that usually are served cold for starter.
Cod caviar, and also smoked caviar. Usually serves as a delicious snack food.
