Smoked Fish Recipes

[Woody]

What's your favorite smoked fish recipe?  Not just the recipe, but the whole process.  And is anything different when smoking different species of fish? 

[Woody]

 

Anyone? Bueller?   

[Randy Kaar]

I havent smoked any in a long time..  Hard to light them! 
I have done carp and pan fish. I just gut em, then brine them. then put them in the smoker.
I always just used a salt brine.

randy

[Woody]

Any particular wood that is better for smoking fish?  I've never smoked fish before.  (actually quit smoking altogether 2+yrs ago) 

Since I've never done this before can you give me a step by step how to on doing this? 

1. Catch fish
2. Clean fish (leaving skin on)
3. 

[Joe]

I smoked some salmon last fall and it was tasty. I'll see if I can find the recipe.

[Woody]

Thanks Joe!  I've never smoked fish before and providing I can catch some decent northerns, I'd like to give it a try.  This is all new to me, so any advice is appreciated.   

[Randy Kaar]

Here is one I came across.. This is for panfish

3C Water
2 Tbs Salt
1/2 C Brown sugar
1 tsp Worschester
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

Leave the skin on the fillets.Mix the above ingredients and add the fillets.Make sure they are covered.Put in the fridge 4 hours
Smoke 1 hr
Leave in smoker until they are done to your liking.They will be a rich brown color.

I would add some salt myself, Either kosher or sea salt.

randy

[Randy Kaar]

Here is another that should work. this more for like salmon, but the basics are the same
Brine Recipe
·1/2 Gallon Good Clean Spring Water
·3/4 Cup Kosher Salt (or Plain Salt, but not Iodized Salt)
·1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
·1 ts Granulated Garlic or Garlic Powder
·1 ts Tenderquick (curing salt, optional)
·3-4 whole black peppercorns, slightly cracked
·a few thin slices of lemon or lime
·*optional, anything you like...pickling spices, thyme, honey, wine.....

Warm the water in a large pan until all spices are dissolved. Cool thoroughly before using (cold, very cold).

Add the cleaned fish to the brine and refrigerate for 1-hour. Make sure that brine covers the fish completely. (tip: Weigh down with a plate or use a plastic bag and remove the air). Do not soak the fish for more than an hour, absolutely not more than one and a half hours.

After an hour in the fridge, remove fish from brine and rinse thoroughly under cold running water (trust me, you won't lose any flavor....if you don't rinse it, you'll have a salt-cake)


Drying
Pat dry with paper towels and hang on a rack to air-dry for 1-2 hours. An electric fan will help. (tip: at this point, you can also sprinkle your fish with some coarse black pepper)
Let your fish air-dry until the "pellicle" has formed. This is the shiny, slightly tacky, coating that your fish will get after it has dried. The pellicle helps the smoke to coat evenly and not get blotchy.

Cooking
Smoke at 220* for approximately 2 hours/pound.

Or Hot smoked at 212 to 225 for 4 hours, first 2 hour I used Alder wood, then switched to Apple for the final 2 hours.

Hot smoking is done at 140 - 200*
Cold smoking is below 100*


I would cut the salt in half, no need for the tender quick if you keep in the fridge.  randy