Smoked eel

Dedicated to the wives of fishermen. As well as fishermen themselves and people who appreciate smoked eel. Nowadays smoked eel is found in recipes of Japanese cuisine (rolls, sushi), the Balts and Finns widely use it in food.
Everyone has their own secrets of smoking. Our smoked eel will be cooked according to the Finnish recipe of hot smoking.
Clean fresh fish, thoroughly gut and rinse. Be sure to remove all the mucus, otherwise the flesh of the finished fish will be gray. Before smoking, the eel should be salted in brine. Brine is prepared from water and salt. We lower the fish into the brine for two hours (salting number one); salting number two - drain the solution and sprinkle the eel lightly with salt.
We hang salted eels on hooks for drying. Dried fish can be sent to the smokehouse. In order for the fish to acquire a delicate aroma without a strong smell of smoke, we put birch rods, birch bark and straw into the smoking oven.
We lay out the eel directly on the "twig" billet, carefully make sure that the twigs barely smolder. We're waiting. The finished eel's belly opens wide, and folds form on the back of the head.
Smoked eel can be served with green lettuce leaves, in a friendly family of boiled potatoes, fresh tomatoes, garnished with lemon slices.