Smoker Help

[fishnpro]

Hi guys, I got a nice steelie this weekend and my friend asked me to keep one for smoker(just bought it). Neither me or him have ever smoked fish so I was hoping that some of you might have some first hand experience in this. What is the best way to smoke fish? What chips should be use and do we need to soak it in a brine first? Also is it better to cut the fish into fillets of steaks? Hoping to start today if possible so any info you can give me will help a bunch. Thanks guys.

 

-Fishnpro

[jwl]

really big papers

[Fisherman]

Apple and alder chips, fillet fish, sprinkle with coarse salt, let sit for 8 hours,(overnight), rinse off, place on racks and smoke for 8 hours. Some add the whole spicerack and booze, to me that's not smoked fish.

[Fang]

Real simple process we did a ton when my buddy had his big boat on Lake ontario. You can cut fillets into smaller chunks. Leave them on the skin. Never tried smoking a steak but I'm sure there's some reason not to do it.

 

Brine fillets for 24 hours in a fridge

 

Brine is 3 cups water, 1 cup soya sauce, 2 cups brown sugar and 1/2 cup salt. There's a ton of similar brine recipes on the net. Pick one and then keep adjusting to your tatse. Place fillet meat side down into brine and stick it in the fridge.

 

Remove fillets and then I usually pack on a bit more of the undissolved brown sugar, Put fillets skin side down and smoke until firm, 4-6 hours usually - depends on your smoker. Fillets should be firm right through. Watch them regularily until you get the hang of timing with your smoker. Get a bunch of different flavored chips and keep trying them until you settle on the one you like. I prefer the cherry and hickory

 

Call me to help with the next step - eating!

[douG]

I add a little sugar to the brine, add fillets (skin on) and let set in the fridge overnight. Pat the fillets dry and place on a rack, to dry further. I add maple sticks from the back yard that have been soaked in water to the charcoal pan once it is hot.

 

Put the fillets skin side down, and add more maple or chips as needed to keep the smoke coming.

 

You have to tend this frequently, so a nice sunny afternoon and a box o suds and a buddy are also good ingredients.

 

The time required depends on how hot you keep the fire, and generally cooler and longer is better. I generally find that after about 3 or 4 hours, the fish has started to colour from the smoke, and the fat has moved up from the skin to the top. Take a taste of the fish at this point and see if it is to your liking. If not, give it another 45 minutes and taste again.

 

Just get started already.

[Billy Bob]

Been smoking for about 20 years now and have found keeping it simple works fine.

 

Fillet fish and leave skin on.

 

Take one gallon of water and 1/3 cup of KOSHER salt and 1/2 of brown sugar. Mix throughly.

 

Place fish in a NON metal container and pour brine (see above) over the fish. Leave in frig until next day.

 

Rinse fish off with cold water and pat dry as possible with paper towels. Place skin side down in the smoker.

 

As far as smoking I have hickory, apple, cherry and mesquite wood but as someone else here mentioned MAPLE wood works GREAT.

 

Because you are smoking fish that has been filleted it only takes about 3 hours.

 

Now here's the trick to smoking properly.......................... you have to drink large amounts of either cold Canadian beer or RUM & COKES until the fish is done. Then it doesn't matter how it comes out as it will still taste GREAT.....

 

Now if you think this is fun you should be around for smoked ribs or smoked turkey................

[dannyboy]

How hot do you have the smoker for fish?

 

thanks

Dan

[Fisherman]

160F, if it's real cold out and you can't seem to get the temperature up, use the box it came in to cover it...betcha didn't save the box, eh. Leave a couple of small holes at the top to let out the vapour.

Edited March 16, 2009 by Fisherman

[Billy Bob]

How hot do you have the smoker for fish?

 

thanks

Dan

 

200 degrees or under works fine.

[Burtess]

What smoker did you buy? I use the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker, this is by far the best bullet smoker you can get.

 

Depending on what type you have, this is a fantastic recipie for a charcoal fired bullet smoker.

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/salmon1.html

 

Burt

[fishnpro]

Hey guys thanks for your replies. Havent had time to post because we had a smoker problem but everything turned out good and I will try to post some pictures of the finished product. Thanks for all your help.

 

-Fishnpro