Smoked Vomer

1. Before you start cooking, the vomer needs to be defrosted. It is better to do this in advance. To do this, we send the fish to the refrigerator and leave it there overnight. Gradual defrosting is the best way. But it can also be defrosted at room temperature, it will take at least 4 hours.

2. We make a neat longitudinal incision on the carcass of the vomer. We clean out the insides. Then I wash the fish under running water to wash off the remains of the entrails. The head can be removed or left as desired. If the fish is not large, it can not be gutted at all. Both options are acceptable. Dry the carcass with paper towels.

3. Chop the bay leaf in a mortar. Add ground pepper and spices for fish to it. Mix it up. Combine spices with salt. Rub the wax with the resulting mixture. Part of the mixture can be poured into the abdomen if the fish is gutted.

4. Put the fish in a container, sprinkle with lemon juice. We close the container with a lid, put it in the refrigerator for 8-10 hours (overnight).

5. After the specified time, the fish is washed under running water. Dry with paper towels. We hang it in the fresh air or in a well-ventilated room. We leave it for 2-3 hours.

6. In the chamber of the smokehouse, we spread a thin layer of alder chips, place a pallet for collecting fat. We fix the grate, lubricate it with vegetable oil. We place a vomer on the grid. We close the chamber with an airtight lid, put it on heating and smoke for an hour. For the first 10 minutes of cooking, we maintain a temperature of 110-120 degrees, then reduce it to 80 degrees.

7. After the specified time, we cool the fish to room temperature directly on the grill. You can not immediately remove it so that it does not lose its integrity, because this fish is quite tender. Then we ventilate the smoked vomer in the fresh air for several hours.

Have a pleasant tasting!