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Smoked omul
Kopchyonyi omul (копчёный омуль): Lake Baikal-style whitefish brined and hot-smoked over wood
On the shingle beaches of Listvyanka, at the edge of Lake Baikal, women sell omul still warm from the smoke, the fish split open, threaded onto alder sticks and set around a fire until the skin turns bronze and the flesh pulls away in moist, salty flakes. Omul lives only in Baikal, so at home use small whitefish, trout or mackerel, gutted and split. A short brine in the fridge seasons the fish, then it is hot-smoked in a kettle barbecue or a lidded smoker until cooked right through. Serve it warm or cold with boiled potatoes, black bread and spring onions. The usual slip is smoking over flames rather than smouldering chips, which chars the skin before the inside is done. Chef's tip: let the brined fish dry in the fridge, uncovered, for an hour: the tacky surface takes the smoke far better.
- Total time
- 120 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the brine
- 4 ¼ cups cold water
- 2 ⅛ oz coarse salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 10 black peppercornscrushed
For the fish
- 1 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 handfuls alder or fruit-wood smoking chipssoaked in water for 30 minutes
To serve
- 1 ⅓ lb boiled new potatoes (optional)
- 4 spring onions (optional)
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Stir the 2 ⅛ oz coarse salt and 1 tbsp sugar into the cold 4 ¼ cups cold water until dissolved, then add the 3 bay leaves and 10 black peppercorns.
3 minStep 2: Rinse the 4 whitefish, trout or mackerel, gutted, heads removed and split open along the belly (about 300 g each) inside and out, put them in a non-metallic dish, pour over the brine and brine in the fridge for 1 hour, never on the counter.
60 minStep 3: Lift out, pat dry with kitchen paper and set on a rack in the fridge, uncovered, for 1 hour until the skin feels tacky. (This waiting time is extra to the times shown.)
0 minStep 4: Set up a kettle barbecue or smoker for indirect heat at about 100–225°F: coals on one side only. Scatter the drained 2 handfuls alder or fruit-wood smoking chips over the coals; they should smoulder with thick white smoke, not flame.
20 minStep 5: Brush the fish skins with the 1 tbsp sunflower oil and lay them on the grill away from the coals, skin side down and opened out flat. Close the lid with the vents half open.
2 minStep 6: Smoke for 60–80 minutes, adding a handful of chips after 30 minutes, until the skin is bronze and the flesh at the thickest part is opaque, flakes easily and reads 145°F.
70 minStep 7: Rest for 10 minutes, then serve warm with 1 ⅓ lb boiled new potatoes and 4 spring onions, or chill and eat within 3 days.
10 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 38 g
- Carbs
- 2 g
- Fat
- 15 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does smoked omul take?
- About 120 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 90 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of bay leaves?
- Leave it out, or a pinch of dried thyme (it's a background flavour).
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