Smoking fish

[icefisherman]

Well I just stopped at Bass Pro on my way home today after a great last ice fishing day on Simcoe and bought myself a brand new smoker....Naturally I am impatient to try it with some white fish fillets....

never had a smoker in my life and never done any smoking...friends are giving me some basic advice but I am wondering is there is anything more to know especially on the different types of brine....did a quick Google search on the subject and found all kinds of (often contradictory) recipes...so what better than to ask some of you who I am sure have plenty ot personal experience with smoking.

 

Thanks.

[GBW]

Have you checked here for some past posts? There are some great ways to smoke fish in posts less then a year old.

 

I like to let my fish (salmon or trout) marinate in the brine for 24 to 36 hr. The brine is make of 500ML soy, 1L water, 100/150LM Sweet chili thai and a few hot pepers. When smoking the meat, I put the pepers on top too. Keep a spary bottle handy with some of the brine in it (just after you make it not after the fish has been in it) to spray the meat to keep it moist. Good luck and post pic's as to how you made out.

 

Geoff

[douG]

Emil,

GBW's recipe sounds delicious, but I started out a little bit simpler.

 

For 1 kg / two pounds fillets:

 

Kosher salt 1/4 cup. Sugar 1/8 cup. Lemon juice 1 tbsp. Garlic one half head minced. Water to cover, not more than 1/2 l - 1 cup. Marinate in a zip bag overnight in the fridge, and lay fillets on a rack to dry for 4 hours inside. Transfer to smoker, skin side down and cook slowly at 140 for a couple of hours. Throw on some chips of maple or hickory or mesquite onto your lump briquette fire. Pm me for Quality Control consulting. I can help, really.

[Fisherman]

Fillets laid in a glass or stainless pan, sprinkle pickling salt, refridgerate overnight, rinse clean next morning, place on racks, into the smoker for 4-6 hours depending size and outdoor temps. Real smoked fish doesn't is ruined by a spicerack.

[asdve23rveavwa]

Brine --- 2cups water, 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of pickling salt, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup maple syrup...whisk until all is disolved. Lay the fillets in the brine for at least two hours up to 12 hours. Remove from brine, let air dry for about one hour. Place in smoker, for trout and salmon I prefer apple or cherry wood.

Did up some Simcoe Lake trout last week...turned out awesome...find the bit of maple syrup gives it an awesome little sweetness...the better half, loves it, even got one of her young boys to try it. Two thumbs up from both.

Man, I'm getting a craving for it now!!!!!

[Court R]

4 cups brown suger to 1 cup table salt let sit 8 hour or less to it looks like snot, pat dry with paper towel or light rinse and smoke.

[castgame]

simple brines are best. water, sugar, salt. the sugar can be any sugar you like (brown sugar, maple syrup, birch syrup, agave...), and the salt should be coarse and uniodized (pickling, kosher, sea). i agree with Fisherman--don't overdo the brine. let the fish be the focus.

[BUSTER]

please......Try putting skinless fillet on grill and smoking it with your choice of chips...thats it....try eating the real deal. Great stuff this is plain lake trout caught on march 7th ,skinless on the grill,very good eating. no added salt,sugar,lemon or nothing..

Edited March 16, 2010 by BUSTER

[icefisherman]

Well in less than 24 hours from when I bought my new smoker here is the result of my first smoking test

 

Love the taste of it....gave some to my neighbors waiting on them to let me know how they liked it tomorrow morning...

It sure was easier than I thought///

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

[Fisherman]

Well in less than 24 hours from when I bought my new smoker here is the result of my first smoking test

 

Love the taste of it....gave some to my neighbors waiting on them to let me know how they liked it tomorrow morning...

It sure was easier than I thought///

 

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

Ice Fisherman

 

Nice work Emil, don't forget to really clean up the grills and oil them before you put them away.

[asdve23rveavwa]

Way to go, Emil...my stomach just growled

[F7Firecat]

wow those pics are making me hungry, looks good

 

one thing that was mentioned, when you take them out of the brine let them dry for an hour or so where they are almost become sticky feeling, then after that put hem on the smoker.

 

smoked fish and muskie fishing kind go together I have found

[Meegs]

nice job dude! looks like it turned out perfect! lol easier than it sounds eh!

[douG]

Very nice, Emil. Looks to me like a professional job.

[GBW]

nice job, good on ya for getting it going right away too...

[Billy Bob]

Actually the only thing really needed in the brine is salt and water.......I have found 1/4 cup of Kosher Salt to one gallon of water is the perfect mixture.......but I do like to add 1 cup of brown sugar to the brine....let it soak overnight in the fridge.....just before smoking rinse with water and dry off real good with paper towels.......I fillet my fish but leave the skin on with of course the skin side down when smoking.

 

BTW I think white fish is by far the #1 fish to smoke.....pike and large walleyes from Lake Erie are also good with of course trout and salmon be right up there too.

 

Bob

[bobzhang]

tasty! Delicious! Cheers!

[fish_fishburn]

Brine:

1 gallon of water

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup of kosher sat(do not use table salt)

Add ingredients to a pail and stir to dissolve the sugar and salt

Do this the night before you smoke your fish. If your fish is frozen no worries add to brine and keep in a cool place with a tight fitting lid. let soak for 8 to 12 hours. The fish has to be totally covered in the brine

 

Prep:

Carefully remove from brine and place on paper towel to remove eccess moisture. Place on a rack and let air dry for a few hours until the meat starts to get a little stiff to the touch. place on smoker racks, if skin is on, skin side down. Brush the tops with pure maple syrup and place the thicker pieces on the bottom racks and the thinnest pieces at the top. Load smoker.

 

Not sure what kind of smoker you have but mine is electric(big chief) Do not use smoke for the first hour Your wood chips should be soaked in water before using so you get a nice slow smoke. Add wood chips to pan and redo this every two hours for 8 to 9 hrs total cooking time. Remove when done and brush with maple syrup and allow to cool for a couple of hours. Put the fish in ziplock plastic bags with the fish wrapped in paper towel this is to absorb moisture when thawing from freezer or storing in the fridge. This recipe will do a full smoker about 20 lbs on average.

 

Ps. Stay away from the spice rack if you want awesome smoked fish that tastes like smoked fish. Whitefish is the best followed by lake trout salmon and everything else IMHO. Enjoy

[Gerritt]

what chips did you use?

[Billy Bob]

Brine:

1 gallon of water

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup of kosher sat(do not use table salt)

Add ingredients to a pail and stir to dissolve the sugar and salt

Do this the night before you smoke your fish. If your fish is frozen no worries add to brine and keep in a cool place with a tight fitting lid. let soak for 8 to 12 hours. The fish has to be totally covered in the brine

 

Prep:

Carefully remove from brine and place on paper towel to remove eccess moisture. Place on a rack and let air dry for a few hours until the meat starts to get a little stiff to the touch. place on smoker racks, if skin is on, skin side down. Brush the tops with pure maple syrup and place the thicker pieces on the bottom racks and the thinnest pieces at the top. Load smoker.

 

Not sure what kind of smoker you have but mine is electric(big chief) Do not use smoke for the first hour Your wood chips should be soaked in water before using so you get a nice slow smoke. Add wood chips to pan and redo this every two hours for 8 to 9 hrs total cooking time. Remove when done and brush with maple syrup and allow to cool for a couple of hours. Put the fish in ziplock plastic bags with the fish wrapped in paper towel this is to absorb moisture when thawing from freezer or storing in the fridge. This recipe will do a full smoker about 20 lbs on average.

 

Ps. Stay away from the spice rack if you want awesome smoked fish that tastes like smoked fish. Whitefish is the best followed by lake trout salmon and everything else IMHO. Enjoy

SORRY, but WAY TOO MUCH salt.....

[Fisherman]

Yes waaay tooo much salt, apple and alder wood chips.