smoking fish help?

[Cliff]

Hey, i was wondering does anyone have a guide to smoking fish or know where i could find one? also, do you smoke the fish right after you filet it up? or wait a few days? and what do you brine a steelhead in to make it taste good? How long to smoke for? etc.

Can you smoke a frozen fish?


Thanks for any help

Cliff

[D$_KFalls]

Yo, Cliff! Here's some recipes from two of the apparent smoked salmon masters. These are located in the "IFishers Recipes" forum:

Pete's Smoked Salmon

5-Cents' Smoked Salmon
(I have a variation of this recipe brining right now)

You can smoke fresh or frozen fish, but you need to thaw the frozen fish before brining to ensure the process takes place as intended. By the way, in terms of smoking, salmon and steelhead are interchangeable, other than maybe the smoking time, as steelhead fillets may be a bit thinner.

Good luck!

[FisherJack]

Hi Cliff. Some people say that freezing a fish and then thawing it for smoking will break down the fish meat and make it a better product smoked. You can do it either way. You can smoke steelhead just like salmon are smoked. I have used 5-cent's recipe several times now for salmon, and really like it. If you need any help finding ingredients locally, PM me and I'll tell you where I have found them.

Jack

[MacFish]

If you haven't got a smoker yet, most of them will come with this info. from there it's a matter of tweaking the techniques and recipes to suit you.

[IAMFORELK]

Does anyone monitor the tempature while smoking fish or other meats?

I have used my Big Chief for smoking pork lately... but I have to wrap the smoker in an old sleeping bag in order to get it to 250 degrees..

Just wondering???

[D$_KFalls]

250 seems like it would cook the fish to me. I have a big chief, which I really don't monitor unless it's real cold or windy (other than to see how the product is coming along). I also have a kettle type smoker with a thermometer ... it's got Low, Ideal, and High. I've had great luck with both smokers.

My father-in-law has a smoker with insulated walls that I've borrowed a couple of times ... it has an adjustable thermostat and vented chimney, with a thermometer on the front door. This works well for turkeys, sausage, etc. where it's more important to have a consistent temperature.

D

[Traskmilemrk11]

Smoked my first fish last X-mas time. I have a "Little Cheif" smoker. I downloded a mess of recipies from the internet for the brine. Just do a search on smoking salmon. My first attempt was very good as it was a cooler day and took about 8 hours and up to 10 hours for the thicker cuts. My second smoking I over did it as i used a metal garbage can as a wind resister and it obviously raised the temp some. The book that come with the Little Chief" says it it pretty consatnt at 170 degrees, but that can vary depending on ambient temp and wind. I over did the last batch, but have no fear, that makes it smoked salmon jerky!

[Uncle Milty]

Cliff,
Nomatter what brine you use, here is a secret I picked up at the Sportsman's Show a few years ago that will make all the difference in the world. After brining and rinsing, set your fish in the smoker racks, in a cool place, with a fan blowing directly on it (I do it from about 4 feet away). Fan the fish like this for about 4-5 hours. The pellicle (tacky surface on the outside of the fish) will be thick enough that you could smoke the hell out of it and not loose any fat. All of the juicy goodness will stay inside your fish and you won't see the tasty fat bubble out of your catch. I think you'll be pleased. I do this for both salmon and steelhead and just use one of Luhr Jenson's recipes for the brine.


Smoke it down,
-Milty

[Uncle Bob]

Hey Cliff,
Check your e-mail
I wrote you a book :grin:

UB

[WishinIwasfishin]

I have used a lil chief for 5 yrs now and smoke 50#/ yr, not that its alot compared with most on this board. I used 5 cents dry brine last and like many testimonials its fantastic. the thing I like the best is it takes so much fluid out of the fish, it smoked in about 1/2 the time. Aprox 4 hours. The flavor is fantastic and it just looked like a nice finished product. Smoking is a little bit of hard work, fun and art all in one and the end result is great when it turns out the way you like it. Not every time does that occur.
Sidenote..........You can't make chicken soup with chicken poop. Good fish is the only fish to smoke don't smoke dark fish you will tell the difference and waste alot of time.
my .o2

[Cliff]

Thanks for all the pointers guys! Really appreciate it!!

Gunna smoke up some steel this weekend, anyone wanna come over? :lurk:


Cliff