This year I was lucky enough to spend part of my spring vacation on a forest river. Going fishing with tents with a group of friends is a special kind of pleasure. Our camp was not permanent; during the week-long journey we changed three campsites. Ultralight fishing in a forest river is a topic for a separate story. Caught fish naturally made up the lion's share of our diet. By the middle of the trip, the traditional fish soup, fried fish and kulesh began to get rather boring, and the stew, which my partner and I are given monthly as part of our ration (we serve in the Ministry of Emergency Situations), has not been in our mouths for a long time.
As an experiment, my partner took with him a homemade smokehouse to diversify his diet. We rested on a small river. I moved along the river bank with a spinning rod, and my partner settled down with a swing not far from the camp, waiting for roach on a pavement built by someone.
It was decided to smoke the morning catch.
Everything turned out to be extremely simple. We simply sprinkled all the fish we caught with salt and put them in a bucket. We lit a fire and began to prepare for smoking.
Alder chips were used to create smoke.
The smokehouse was a medical stainless steel smokehouse. A couple of handfuls of wood chips were poured onto the bottom, a stainless steel sheet was placed on top of three metal nuts at a distance of about 2 cm from the bottom. Then a grate was placed inside, on which the fish was placed.
Cover the bixa with a lid and put it on the fire for 20 minutes.
The fire of the fire, heating the bottom of the smokehouse, heated the wood chips, and it produced hot smoke for smoking fish. After removing from the heat, the smoker was allowed to cool for about ten minutes.
The fish turned out golden brown.
While they were setting the table, they put a second portion of fish in the smokehouse. The roach turned out golden, and the perch darker.
All the fish tasted decent, but I still liked the perch more. Together with the grill, the fish can be placed on the table and it will be beautiful and tasty.
Foam would have been ideal for smoked meat, but in the forest it’s difficult to deal with, so we ate it with bread and tarragon. For one stash, a kilogram of fish fit into the smokehouse. There is no hassle with preparation, and the result is simply wonderful. In the absence of a refrigerator, this is another good way to preserve your catch. Everyday life while fishing is also very important, so on a long trip a smokehouse is simply necessary.
