Smoked fish are a key component of many West African recipes, but what if you don’t have the right fish, or don’t have a whole smoked fish at home? Well, this recipe allows to you cook an approximation of smoked fish in your own oven at home. So you get juicy cooked fish with a smoky exterior. Typically you would use this for catfish, tilapia or mackerel. It’s also great for adding flavour to less popular fish such as whiting or pollack.
Prep time: 20 minutes/Cook time: 55 minutes/Serves: 6
Ingredients:
6 whole fish, heads removed, cleaned and scaled
sea salt
vegetable oil
smoked paprika
smoked sea salt
liquid smoke/oak smoked water/smoked oil
Method:
Wash the fish thoroughly with plenty of salted water. Use your kitchen shears and snip off all the fins, including the tail fins. Then pat the fish dry with paper towels.
Drizzle the oil over the salt then rub in with your hands. Scatter over 2 tbsp of the smoked sea salt and rub in all over the fish. For even more smoky flavour, drizzle over plenty of the liquid smoke or smoked water or smoked oil then rub into the fish.
Now, scatter over plenty of the smoked paprika and, once again, rub into the fish.
Line a roasting tin with foil, sit a wire rack in the tin and arrange your fish on top. Pour water into the roasting tin to half fill it then arrange the fish on the rack.
Add a little liquid smoke to the water in the roasting tin for even more smoky flavour.
Place in the centre of an oven pre-heated to 180C (355F) and roast for 40 minutes. After this time, heat your grill (broiler) to its highest setting. Sit the fish under the grill (broiler) and cook for 15 minutes on one side and 15 minutes on the other side until the skin is crisp.
By this time, the fish will be cooked but still plump with a crispy skin and a smoky flavour. You use the fish as they are or you can cool and freeze for later use.
