Golden, aromatic smoked fish is always appropriate on the table - both on holidays and on weekdays. Cooked with your own hands according to a proven favorite recipe, it will bring special pleasure to both household members and guests. You can smoke mackerel at home in an air fryer. It will take very little time, but the result will exceed your expectations - juicy, aromatic and beautiful smoked mackerel, and you can always experiment with different recipes. We bring to your attention some of the most interesting and easy-to-prepare recipes.

Original recipe with Provençal herbs

Let's look at a detailed step-by-step recipe for smoked mackerel cooked in an air fryer.

For this we use fresh frozen fish - 3 pieces. When buying a product, you should pay attention to the quality: the fish should be the same size, without dents, without an unpleasant odor.

1. First you need to defrost it, cut off the heads and tails, remove the entrails, rinse well, let the water drain and dry slightly with paper towels or napkins.

• salt - at the rate of 1 table. spoon for each carcass;
• vegetable oil – 1-2 teaspoons;
• Provençal herbs – 1 package;
• ready-made sawdust from alder and apple trees;
• liquid smoke – 10-15g.

While the fish is drying a little, prepare a mixture of salt and herbs, carefully rub it on the outside of the fish and, of course, on the inside - otherwise the meat on the thick backs will not have time to soak in the salt and spices. Place the fish prepared in this way in a plastic container or plastic bag and leave for marinating for a day.

3. We prepare the air fryer: place slightly moistened alder sawdust on the bottom of the device in a special tray, in a layer of at least 1-1.5 cm. If desired, you can add 2-3 sprigs of rosemary, this will give the finished product a subtle, unique aroma. Cover the top of the sawdust with another tray with holes or foil in which small holes are made - the foil will prevent fish oil from getting on the sawdust.

4. Prepare the fish for placing in the air fryer: carefully remove excess salt and herbs with a napkin. Using a silicone brush, apply liquid smoke evenly, tie the carcasses with thread, and place them on a wire rack pre-lubricated with sunflower oil.

5. We close the device, set the necessary program: cooking time - 25 minutes, temperature - 160 o C, fan speed - medium. At the end of the set time, the fish must be greased with vegetable oil to give it shine and an amber-golden color, and continue smoking for 5 minutes.

6. It is advisable to immediately wrap the finished fish in foil so that it cools more slowly and retains its juiciness and unusual aroma. Cut into portions and serve only after complete cooling, otherwise the pulp may separate.

In order to slightly diversify the cooking recipes, you can use various spices, add hot ground red pepper or allspice. Before marinating, you can sprinkle with the juice of one lemon - the taste will be even more delicate and the aroma more pleasant.

• The air fryer should be allowed to warm up for a few minutes before adding food to be smoked. After use, the device does not need to be washed or cleaned - it handles it itself.
• We should not forget that liquid smoke is a synthetic flavoring obtained by mixing water and smoldering wood products. It adds a unique smoked aroma to any product (lard, meat, sausages, fish), and cooking smoked products with it is very easy and simple. But you still shouldn’t use it too often; it’s quite harmful to the body. Although smoking with conventional sawdust also saturates products with harmful resins, tar and ash.

If you follow all the rules and sequence of cooking hot smoked mackerel in an air fryer, you get a very tasty and appetizing product. Sometimes you can treat yourself to a delicious dish - the main thing is not to get carried away often!

Mackerel is not an expensive fish, moderately fatty and very healthy, thanks to a whole set of unique acids and a high content of vitamin D. And therefore it should be found in our diet more often, once or twice a week. You can cook mackerel in different ways: marinate, fry in a frying pan or bake with vegetables in the oven. But it turns out especially tasty in the air fryer. The uniqueness of this kitchen unit is that mackerel can not only be baked in it, but also smoked. Oh, in the air fryer, we already wrote. Today we’ll talk about the most useful and simplest way to prepare mackerel - baking it, with or without foil.

Recipe for mackerel baked in an air fryer

Ingredients:

• mackerel – 1 piece;
• salt, fish spices - to taste.

Preparation

We clean the mackerel, cut off the head, tail and fins. Rub the carcass with salt and spices. Leave for at least half an hour to soak in the herbs. Then we place the carcass on the bottom rack of the air fryer (don’t forget to grease it first so that our fish does not stick) and bake for about half an hour at a temperature of no more than 190 degrees. Then we turn it over to the other side and brown it on this side. As you can see, everything is very simple, fast and with minimal effort on your part!

How to cook mackerel in an air fryer in foil?

Ingredients:

• mackerel – 1 piece;
• onions – 2 pcs.;
• carrots – 1 pc.;
• lemon – 1 pc.;
• olives – 6 pcs.;
• green onion – 1 bunch;
• green salad – 1 bunch;
• mayonnaise – 2 tbsp. spoons;
• salt, ground black pepper - to taste.

Preparation

First, let's prepare the fish. Thaw the mackerel, remove the head, entrails and fins. We cut the ridge from the belly and take out the bones and ribs. We wash the carcass, pat it dry and rub it with salt and pepper. Sprinkle lemon juice on top and inside. Finely chop the onion, cut the carrots into strips and stuff our fish with this mixture. Wrap it in a double layer of foil and leave to marinate for a couple of hours. Then open the foil, coat the mackerel with mayonnaise and wrap it again.

Half an hour in a convection oven at 200 degrees. For the last 5 minutes, unroll the foil and let the fish brown. Carefully place the finished mackerel on green salad leaves, garnish with lemon slices, olives and onion feathers. Boiled rice or baked potatoes are perfect as a side dish.

You have a convection oven, a modern multifunctional household appliance, and you are mastering more and more of its functions.

The air fryer is a “miracle” device; its capabilities cannot be listed in a few words. It is designed for various operations, which, if desired, over time you can easily master.

The air fryer “can” defrost, heat, cook various foods, bake, and perform many other functions.

Its transparent walls allow you to visually observe the preparation of food without opening the lid. Meat or fish baked in an air fryer have an appetizing crust, aroma, and extraordinary taste.

But that is not all. You can cook smoked meats in it, and not only meat, fish, and many other products.

Now we will dwell in more detail on such a process as smoking mackerel in an air fryer. It is this fish, according to experts, that is the most delicious and suitable. It can be prepared in two ways - cold and hot smoking.

Smoking mackerel in an air fryer - recipes

• Hot smoked mackerel in an air fryer.

Take the fish, thoroughly clean it of the insides, rinse it well, then pat dry with a napkin, rub with salt, brush with liquid smoke - leave to marinate for 30 minutes.

Before placing the fish in the air fryer, wrap it around a thick thread (string) several times, then carefully place it on the middle rack and cover with a lid.

Smoking mackerel in an air fryer lasts 25-30 minutes at a temperature of 180 degrees. After this time, remove the fish, brush with vegetable oil (this will give it a golden crust), sprinkle with additional spices, and wrap in foil until it cools completely.

• Recipe for cooking cold smoked mackerel in an air fryer.

Wash the fish, dry it, marinate for 30 minutes (as in the previous case), tie it with thread, and place it on a wire rack.

It needs to be cooked at low speed, at a temperature of 65 degrees, for 30 minutes. Also, after cooking, grease with vegetable oil, but you can wrap it in foil after it has cooled.

The mackerel must be washed and cleaned well - cut off the head and remove the entrails. If you take frozen fish, then defrost it first in cold water.

After cleaning, we also wash the fish and dry it very well with a towel or napkin. Mix the package of “Provençal herbs” with coarse salt.

After which we rub the fish very carefully on all sides, do not forget to salt the inside.

Place the prepared fish in a plastic container or plastic bag and leave it in the refrigerator for a day so that it is well salted. If you are using liquid smoke, you can lightly coat the entire surface of the fish - a few drops of concentrate will be enough.

After the fish is ready, taste it and clean off the excess salt. To smoke fish and meat, use alder sawdust; you can add a little dry rosemary - it will give the finished fish a surprisingly spicy aroma.

Place sawdust for smoking in a small bowl and fill it with warm water.

Place the prepared sawdust on the bottom of the air fryer - use a special tray so as not to contaminate the flask. You can also place sawdust on a sheet of foil, cover it with a second one and make small holes - this is done so that the juice and fat from the fish do not get on the sawdust. You can cover it with a steamer - a baking sheet with a hole, which is sold complete with an air fryer.

Place the prepared fish on the middle rack. Cook mackerel in an air fryer at a temperature of 160 degrees for 30 minutes - set the speed to medium. You can lubricate the fish with vegetable oil so that it has a more attractive appearance and will not be dry.

Brush the fish with oil every 10 minutes. If you don't like fatty foods, you don't have to do this! To make the mackerel even tastier, wrap it in a sheet of food foil so that it cools gradually.

Only after complete cooling, remove the foil and cool in the refrigerator. The chilled fish can be cut into portions and served.

When you cook in an air fryer, remember to preheat it a few minutes before filling it with food. If you cook mackerel in the same way, but at a temperature of 60-65 degrees, you will get an excellent cold-smoked fish. Cold smoking can be done at low speed. Cool cold smoked fish without foil.