Smoked eggs are a product with an original taste that cannot always be found on the store counter.
And its price per ten is quite steep. Therefore, it is much more interesting and profitable to cook smoked eggs at home.
Smoked eggs - general cooking principles
The easiest way to cook smoked eggs is to place them in the smoker with other foods. Find a place among the lard or fish, lay out the boiled eggs and after a couple of hours you can enjoy the delicacy. But if desired, it can easily be prepared separately.
Three components of successful smoking:
1. High quality eggs.
2. Availability of a smoking apparatus or a household equivalent.
3. Good mood.
And for those who do not have the opportunity to do classic smoking, there is a wonderful product - liquid smoke, with which you can quickly and easily make a flavorful snack. Food coloring is used to add color, but it is better to use a natural analogue - onion skins.
In addition to eggs and smoking accessories, you may need aromatic spices, good sawdust (preferably from fruit trees or alder), foil, but it all depends on the chosen cooking method and is indicated in the recipe. It is advisable to store smoked eggs in the refrigerator, in a tightly closed container for no more than a week, but it is better to consume immediately.
Features of preparation for smoking and necessary ingredients
Preparation is carried out in three stages:
- Preparing the smokehouse - chips from alder, linden or elm are placed on the bottom. The top is covered with foil, in which small holes are made using a toothpick. Light a fire, let it burn well and accumulate the necessary heat.
- Preparing the marinade - mayonnaise is poured into a container, to which a small amount of apple cider vinegar, salt, ground pepper, turmeric, and curry are added. Stir until smooth, add a few bay leaves. It is recommended to store the marinade in the refrigerator. Under the influence of low temperatures, the marinating process is more productive.
- Preparing eggs - hard boil the eggs, allow to cool completely, and peel. Place in the marinade and let marinate for about an hour in the refrigerator.
The marinade is prepared based on your own taste preferences.
Recipe 1: Classic Smoked Eggs
Prepared in a smoking apparatus without any additives or aromatic spices. These smoked eggs are used in various appetizers and in the Minsk salad, the recipe for which is given below. But you can simply eat it pure, with various sauces and spices.
Required Ingredients
• 10 eggs;
• 3 tablespoons of salt;
• liter of water.
Cooking method
1. Boil eggs for 5-6 minutes. Then fill with cold water, cool and peel.
2. Prepare the saline solution, place the eggs and leave for 2-3 hours.
3. Remove from the water, wipe dry with napkins, place on the smokehouse grill and cook until the surface turns golden brown.
You can cook smoked eggs in the shell in the same way, but the taste and aroma of the peeled product is much brighter.
Smoking methods and recipes
The lack of a smokehouse is not at all a reason to deny yourself the delicacy. To prepare smoked eggs, you can use no less successful recipes without a smokehouse.
Smoking at home in a cauldron
Take any cauldron, camping pot or deep pan. Its bottom is covered with foil in several layers. Prepared chips of alder, cherry, apple, plum, and juniper branches are placed on top. To add a beautiful amber hue, you can sprinkle large-leaf black tea on top.
Smoking at home in a cauldron
Cover the top of the cauldron with a layer of foil so that it fits tightly to the edges and does not release the smoldering aroma. Using a toothpick, make small holes in the foil for the smoke to escape.
A fire is prepared, for which trees of any species are taken. As soon as the fire flares up, the cauldron is placed on the fire. You can place eggs on an improvised smokehouse after smoke comes out of the cauldron.
Place a grill grate on the sides of the cauldron (if not, you can use skewers), and place pre-marinated eggs. Smoking the eggs lasts 10-15 minutes, allow them to cool in the fresh air for at least 1 hour.
Smoked eggs with liquid smoke
If you can’t build a fire and tinker with cauldrons, there is a recipe for smoking without any problems. To do this, you need to use liquid smoke. The packaging contains instructions according to which the product is diluted with water and the eggs are treated. In a matter of minutes you can get the characteristic smoking taste and aroma without unnecessary movements.
To do this, you need to boil the eggs until tender, cool them and peel them. Prepare the marinade:
- Take 1 liter of water into a container and bring to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon salt and half the sugar. Stir until completely dissolved, add 1 bay leaf, cool.
- Add marjoram, cinnamon, curry, apple cider vinegar to taste.
- Add liquid smoke and stir well.
- The prepared eggs are placed in brine and allowed to stand for 15-20 minutes.
- The eggs are dried and placed on a dish. They are ready for preparing meals and snacks.
Smoked eggs can be cooked with liquid smoke
. To achieve the desired result, it is recommended to use eggs of approximately the same size.
Large and small eggs will be marinated to varying degrees, which will significantly affect the taste.
A few tricks
To make cooking smoked meats easier, you need to remember a few tips. They will greatly facilitate the cooking process and help preserve the taste of the product for as long as possible:
- choose eggs that have been in the refrigerator for several days, because the fresher they are, the worse the shells come off;
- if a decoction based on onion peels is used, filter it thoroughly using a sieve or cheesecloth;
- for better absorption of the marinade and the aroma of smoke, the product is pierced after boiling in several places;
- Before serving, dry the appetizer by placing it on a paper towel. This is necessary so that it does not leave red marks on the dishes.
These tips apply to both natural and artificial smoking. However, you should not pierce the product with a toothpick when using brine as the only “smoking” method.
General questions about hot smoking
As you may have already noticed, the eggs are boiled before smoking, so they are completely edible. This means that there is no risk in the entire procedure, and the degree of salting is not so important. Smoking is in the nature of a flavoring additive.
It can hardly be said that eggs smoked with natural smoke have a long shelf life. Many people are hesitant to cook such a dish because they consider it too energy-intensive. Everyone has to understand this issue. We note that the taste of smoked eggs is truly original.
If there is no risk in the cooking process, then preparing and smoking chicken and quail eggs can serve as an excellent school for performing more complex procedures. After all, here you will get acquainted with alder chips, its properties, and smoldering characteristics. Here you can try out a smokehouse for the first time, especially if you assembled it yourself. Finally, there is every chance of becoming infected with a love for natural food cooked over a fire.
Calorie content, composition and beneficial properties
The main benefit of eggs is that they contain a lot of digestible protein, as well as B vitamins in the yolk. The combination of other enzymes makes them an excellent source of nutrients that strengthen the immune system.
Including the product in the diet is necessary for the general strengthening of the body, nervous system, heart, and blood vessels. However, it should not be abused, since the dish is considered a strong allergen.
Eggs without adding sauce are beneficial even for people who are on a diet. At the same time, the use of a smoked product has little effect on calorie content, unless it is marinated in strong brine.
| Calorie content and nutritional value of smoked eggs | ||
| Parameter | Chicken (100 g) | Quail (1 pc.) |
| Calories | 78 kcal | 15 kcal |
| Squirrels | 6.4 g | 1.5 g |
| Fats | 5.7 g | 1.5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 0.4 g | 0.1 g |
What method do you use to smoke eggs?
HotCold
It is impossible to say which type is tastier. Since the product is heat-treated, there is no risk of becoming infected with salmonella when consuming quail or chicken ingredients.
Opening the smoke screen
In order for the dish to be successful, you can use two methods - classic hot smoking and using liquid smoke. Both of them give good results. Here everyone chooses at their own discretion.
Cooking this delicacy means smelling the presence of notes of smoke. Both methods are capable of providing them in the finished product. It is important to note: when purchasing liquid smoke, you should always pay attention to the manufacturing date and expiration date.
Give some light
The classic method involves the presence of a smokehouse, alder or fruit sawdust. They begin to smoke, adhering to the following rules:
- Fruit chips, dry loose-leaf black tea, and two pinches of sugar are poured into the bottom of the prepared apparatus.
- Place a wire rack and lay out the pickled and dried eggs in a row.
- Close with a lid. Place on a light fire.
- They catch the moment the smoke comes out of the hole in the lid. Then smoke for 10 minutes and remove.
For a deeper shade, the temperature is reduced to 85 degrees and the process is continued for up to 30 minutes.
Light salad with quail eggs
With quail eggs you can quickly prepare a light salad for dinner. The good thing about this dish is that you can change the ingredients depending on your taste preferences, for example, replace radishes with daikon or green radish.
Ingredients:
- 2 avocados;
- a bunch of green onions;
- a bunch of radishes;
- a bunch of dill;
- 2 cucumbers;
- 5-6 quail eggs;
- mayonnaise.
Preparation:
- Finely chop the dill and onion and pour into a bowl.
- Cut the radish and cucumber into thin slices and add the vegetables to the greens.
- Peel the avocado and cut into half circles, cut the quail eggs in half.
- Place the avocado and most of the eggs into the total mass along with mayonnaise, salt and pepper, mix and place the salad in a heap on a flat dish, decorate with the remaining egg halves and mayonnaise.
Delicious chicken salad
You can also make a tasty and nutritious salad with chicken meat and quail eggs. In order not to increase the calorie content of the dish, it is better to use sour cream or combine olive oil with lemon juice for dressing.
Ingredients:
- 1 large cucumber;
- a jar of sweet corn;
- 8-10 quail eggs;
- sour cream;
- a bunch of dill.
Preparation:
- Cut the boiled poultry breast and fresh cucumber into strips and pour into a salad bowl.
- Next we send sweet corn, finely chopped greens and quail eggs, which we divide into four slices.
- Season the salad with salt, pepper and sour cream.
Application of smoked dish
You can serve the delicacy as an independent snack with red, fruit wine and any non-alcoholic drinks. It is best eaten with classic mayonnaise-based garlic sauce, and also used as an addition to fresh salads and soups.
Salad options
Salads with smoked meats are prepared with the following ingredients:
- With salmon
. For 6–7 quail eggs you will need 2 medium-sized tomatoes, 150 g of fish, 15 olives, 1 yellow pepper and 1 onion, as well as herbs. Cut into arbitrary pieces, season with sauce from 3 tbsp. l. olive oil, 1 tsp. melted honey, salt and lemon juice. - Salad "Minsk"
. Prepared from 300 g of Iceberg lettuce, 4 chicken eggs, 150 g of pickles, 200 g of ham, 150 g of hard cheese and 70 g of pine nuts or cashews. Season with mayonnaise.
You can serve the dish on lettuce leaves, sprinkled with any herbs of your choice.
