“Fake” hot smoked mackerel in half an hour

All fish lovers urgently need to come here. Today I’ll tell you my favorite mackerel recipe. Moreover, I will not just bake the fish, but I will make it hot smoked. I'll show you step-by-step photos for clarity. And if someone is already about to leave, thinking that this is a very labor-intensive process, then it is better to stay and read to the end. After all, it’s impossible to think of a simpler recipe. All you need is fish and “liquid smoke”. Buying it now is not a problem in any grocery store.

Cooking hot smoked fish

You can take any fish to your taste. I like hot smoked mackerel. It has practically no bones (only a spine), and it is inexpensive. Fish can be bought frozen or fresh, with or without heads. It makes no difference. You just have to spend a little time cleaning the fish from the entrails and cutting off the head if the fish was sold ungutted. Further, the entire algorithm of actions is the same.

I had the mackerel frozen with the head on, so I had to wait a little while for the fish to defrost a little before cleaning and decapitating it.There is no point in defrosting completely. Firstly, this will take extra time, and secondly, it is much easier to clean slightly frozen fish from its entrails.

So, I transfer the headless, cleaned, and then washed outside and inside fish carcass into any container, and then add a little salt. But you don’t have to add salt. Focus on your taste.

I do the same with each fish. Then, using an ordinary culinary brush, I coat the mackerel carcass well on all sides with “liquid smoke.” And I leave it to rest for half an hour so that the fish is saturated with “smoke.”

At first I cooked two pieces, but then I decided that two would not be enough and added a third mackerel, doing the same with it as with the previous ones. Therefore, after half an hour, I immediately transferred three fish to the air fryer grill.

I turned it on for exactly half an hour at a temperature of 205 degrees Celsius and medium fan speed. And after the specified time, hot smoked mackerel, prepared at home, is completely ready.

The fish turns out very tender. The fillet separates easily from the backbone and simply melts in your mouth. I recommend trying this simple recipe.

Bon Appetit everyone!