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smoking fish question

3K views 35 replies 22 participants last post by  Tony Polizzi 
#1 ·
i just bought a smoker and want to smoke up some steelhead. this may sound like a stupid question since i have never smoked fish but can i assume thatthe skin has to come off or does the skin stay on?
 
#5 ·
I leave the skin on, but put the flesh side down on the racks. The skin will easily peel off once the fish has smoked for a few hours. I'm pretty new to smoking as well, got one for xmas and have run a dozen or so hatchery zombies through it. Some of the things I have learned is not over - salt the fish in your brine, and only apply wood chips for the first 2-3 hours. Also, if your fish is too soft or undercooked after several hours in the smoker, pop it in the oven at 175 for 15-20 mins to finish it up.

Pete
 
#8 ·
Grey Ghost is right on about not over salting. I tried using pickling salt once due to its finer grain thinking it would dissolve quicker, which it does but I think you need to use way less. Zen why do you think non-iodized works better? I am not contesting the statement, just wondering as I can't remember is I have ever used the iodized stuff before. Is it a taste thing? I think the next time I smoke something I am going to try using kosher salt.

Jim Jones
 
#11 ·
If you are using a Chief series smoker from Luhr Jensen, I recommend that you also purchase the insulating blanket for it. This will boost the heat up to the 160 degree range that you want. Otherwise it may not get hot enough for complete smoking.
The old tried-and-true A.J. McClane recipe found in his book, "the Encyclopedia of Fishing" is still terrific for nice fresh steelhead or salmon. There are also some excellent recipes on the internet.
I steer clear of brining recipes that include too many exotic ingredients. If a salmon or steelhead is fresh and firm, a couple of hours in the brine, then dried and put in the smoker is, in my view, the best.
Cheers,
Les Johnson
 
#12 ·
Mike,
To add to what others have said.
1. Les' advice about a blanket or a box over the smoker is important, esp. during the cool moths.

2. Let the smoker get up to temp. before you put anything in it. Next put the chips in, and just when they are about to start smoking, put the fish in. This will expose the fish to more smoke before it the heat seals the flesh up. (This is my theory anyway)

3. I prefer a dry brine, and while I enjoy experimenting, a simple brown sugar and pickling salt brine is excellent. For fillets off fish in the 5 - 7 pound range, you don't need to leave the fish in the brine very long. Maybe 2 - 3 hours.

D3: How did you rig up your cold smoker. That's the way my grandpa use to do it, but my wife won't let me have a refrigerator in the yard :)
 
#13 ·
Cold smoking is just a temperature thing 150-170 degrees for long periods. This also allows for a drier smoke which I prefer. Most people tend to smoke fish/meat at 200+ degrees. Either dry or wet brine make sure you take it out and let it dry before smoking. This will keep that funky white stuff from bubbling up. I also start with the skin up and then after about 5 hrs. pull the skin off and turn it over to dry that side out. After smoking let sit on racks for 1- 2hrs and pat dry. I then vaccum pack the fish, my parents can theirs.
 
#14 ·
Jim Jones said:
Grey Ghost is right on about not over salting. I tried using pickling salt once due to its finer grain thinking it would dissolve quicker, which it does but I think you need to use way less. Zen why do you think non-iodized works better? I am not contesting the statement, just wondering as I can't remember is I have ever used the iodized stuff before. Is it a taste thing? I think the next time I smoke something I am going to try using kosher salt.

Jim Jones
You'll like the kosher salt. That's all I use for smoking anymore. Mixes well with some dark brown sugar and fresh pressed garlic. I've never tried it, but have heard that iodized salt leaves a metallic taste and doesn't cure the fish properly. :confused:
 
#15 ·
Les is right on about fresh, firm fish make the best finished product. If you start with a bad cut of meat and smoke it.... you still have a bad piece of meat at the end. I smoke a lot of chrome hatchery fish because it's a good way to snack on it and I have no problem giving it to coworkers and friends.

To substitute for an insulating blanket, I've heard that a cheap metal garbage can on 4 bricks over the smoker works well. Anyone have any experience trying this? I had a lot of trouble getting my fish to 160 back in Jan. and Feb when I was doing a lot of smoking.

I use coarse sea salt, but typically I use about 1/2 of what most recipes call for because I don't like my fish overly salty..... I tend to compensate with extra brown sugar. Also, I avoid things like soy that add lots of extra salt. The last batch I did was a dry brine with brown sugar, salt, garlic, dill, and pepper. Before that I did just brown sugar and salt, but after it smoked for 4 hours, I glazed it in honey, and popped it in the oven for 20 minutes.... it came out like candy. Do you guys have any tried and true dry or wet brines that you wouldn't mind sharing?

Pete
 
#16 ·
Jeff D- My dad and i built a smoke house based on one from a lodge in eastern canada where we fish. This smoke house used to do all the smoking of fish on the entire river and it is the best smoked salmon i have ever tried, but it is so damn expensive we decided that we had to do our own. Quillicene fish are fantastic for this :)
Our smoke house holds 10 fish. About 8-9 paces away we build our fire and cover it with a hood. Out the top of the hood we have a pipe running to the smoke house. I'll post some pictures of it sometime soon.
 
#18 ·
I smoke a ton of fish. All good advice so far. I usually use brown sugar and salt for my brine, 1 cup salt and 4 cups brown sugar as the ratio. Sometimes I do a little less salt. One thing that no one has mentioned that I really like is cutting candbar sized chunks in your meat without cutting through the skin. This allows you to pack your dry brine into the slices you've just made.

Here is a pic of some fish drying after the brine and before the smoke. You can sort of see the cuts I've made into some of the fillets.



It's really all in the brine, make sure you're patient in letting it get a good soak.

As for eating it, it's great on it's own, or get some crackers, cream cheese, and chop up some chives and then you're flavor country.

Unlike Zen I like to vaccuum seal my fish right away, I don't want a paper towell soaking up all the oils, I like to have that sealed for more flavor.
 
#23 ·
Even though I make my living making video games, I am also a trained and experienced chef who studies the art of meat preservation (Garde Manger in French terms) in my spare time.
Leave the skin on it adds some flavor.
Brining and salting are the same chemical process in that it applies a curative element (salt) to the protein, this changes the cell structure of the meat. I salt my meat and layer aromatics (herbs) and sugar on the fish. I wrap this all up in plastic wrap for a cure overnight. The next morning I rinse the cure off. I pat it it dry and then I let it form a skin on it uncovered in the fridge. This allows the smoke to better adhere to the meat, this skin is called a "pellicle" Then the fish go into the smoker. Cold or hot smoke, its all your personal preference.
Iodized salt is the "devil" in Chefing circles. Kosher salt is the best and cheapest overall, htere is no need to invest in "Fleur du sel"
Try different woods. I prefer mild such as cherry.
Change up your sugars for variety. I am really into Palm sugar (jaggery) right now. I have a pound of vanilla bean infused sugar waiting in the wings (insert evil laugh here)
always use fresh aromatics, stay away from lavendar, any citrus zest kicks ass. Some garlic always rounds it out.
 
#25 ·
the instructions are correct albeit the abbreviated drying time to form a pellicle.
Pat it dry and leave it dry.
Some techniques use a wet/moist cold smoke so as to retain moisture in the meat.
For me its about tranference of smoke flavor to my meat. The cooking I finish under more controlled conditions such as a oven, like stated earlier.
This thread is hitting all of my favorite subjects, kinda gives me the jimmy legs.
 
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