Smoked Tuna, the easy way..........

[Pilar]

Thanx for all the compliments on the smoked albacore. It's easy too! Most really good things are simple as well...........

Ingredients:::::
(1) box of ordinary rock salt 5lb
(1) sack of alder or hickory smoker chips
(1) medium size albacore tuna 20lb
or
(10) lbs of fresh albacore tuna loins

You will also need a glass or plastic tray that fits in your fridge (vegetable drawer?) and a little chief smoker.

-Hard Way
Pick a tuna that is firm with clear eyes and well bled. If you must buy frozen whole fish, buy one that doesn't look beat up. Allow at least a day to thaw the fish in a cooler with ice.

Remove the skin and quarter the fish. This is done by cutting around the edges (the dorsal fins) and peeling it off with pliers. The quarters separate along the lateral line down the side of the fish. Remove all the red, dark meat from the quarters as it is cat food.

-Easy way
Pay the fishmonger to clean your fish!

Split each quarter lengthwise into planks about an inch and a half thick. You should get 3 per quarter. Dredge each plank in rock salt and place in the vegetable tray. My smoker can only hold 10 - 12 lbs at a time and this is a vegetable drawer full. Fill the spaces around the planks with rock salt. Use the whole box. Put the drawer in the fridge.

For Primo 'Pilar' tuna, caught that day, salt for 30 minutes. If the fish is soft, salt it longer up to an hour.

When time, rinse each filet and remove all of the salt. The filet should hold together and the salt will toughen it up. Load the smoker, placing the planks across the grill wires so it doesn't fall apart.

Allow the fish to drip dry on the rack for an hour before smoking. Smoke 2 to 3 pans of chips as fast as they burn out. Total drying time can vary from 6 to 10 hours. I usually try to rotate the top rack and bottom about half way through the time to get more even drying. You can even flip the planks if the fish is firm. Be careful and patient or you will break up the planks.

What is done is a matter of taste and experience. Some people even (me) use the box the smoker was bought in as an insulator or an old flannel shirt.

When it's cooked all the way through, serve it up and get out of the way or get trampled.

The bend is your friend!

[RKB]

Pilar
Looks to me like the secret is the Primo 'Pilar' tuna of course us regular folks have a hard time coming by this tuna.Any ideas how we could do this.
RKB

[Pilar]

Let me plug Fergus McBerendse on 11th in Astoria. They know a prime tuna when they see one. Or take your chances on a commercial boat in Astoria, Tillamook, Depoe Bay or Newport. Most of them will sell for a buck to a buck and a half a pound. My favorite is "White Swan III" in Newport. He provided the consolation fish for our Ocean rejected earlier attempts at this fishery.

You all know a fine fish when you see one. The key is proper care. This is what makes a troll caught Salmon far superior to the gill netted one.

Quickly killed and completely bled tuna are the best. Then they must be quickly cooled in ice water to remove the body heat. Yes they are hot inside when you catch them. Ask the guy you're buying from about how he cares for his fish.

I started fishing because I wanted to know where the fish I was eating had been. If you know that then the rest just takes care of itself!

[RKB]

Pilar
Thanks for the shopping tips but remember I'm a desert dweller from the other side you know one of those guy's.
RKB