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School me on smoking fish...

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  • School me on smoking fish...

    Okay I have never smoked fish before. Not a big fish guy other than pan or deep frying and I don't care for salmon but my brother in law gave me 4 salmon fillets and wants me to smoke them for him. I need a tutorial as far as a brine recipe. How long do I brine and at what temp do I need to run the smoker at and for how long etc. etc. Thanks in advance!
    G Spot BBQ Hittin' The Spot Since 2004

  • #2
    Well there are wet brines and dry/rub style brines. I personally use a dry style rub which is a mix of salt and brown sugar. The fish sits in the brine for around 12 hours then its rinsed off and dried then I like to add a little bit of brown sugar, garlic powder and pepper flakes as it is drying. Then I throw it on the smoker at around 150 degrees until the internal temp reaches 145 degrees which is usually around 3-5 hours depending on how big and how thick your fillets are. I love this recipe and I end up making it for my mother in law and all of her friends several times a year. One word gets out I am smoking salmon 8-15 fillets magically show up at my door an I throw them all on at once and I end up with a free fillet as my payment for smoking for them.
    Like I said there are several ways/recipes to brine the meat but this one is my favorite and is the only one I make now.

    If your interested my rub/cure is 1 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup kosher salt.
    That amount is enough to coat both sides of one nice size fillet of salmon so if you are doing 4 fillets you will want to make this recipe X4.
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    • #3
      Depends on what you want for a finished product. Some folks do what Ross says but that's actually a cooked, smoked product. Others go for a salt cure and cold smoke, but that's a totally different texture and unless you're use to it or a fan of sushi texture I'd stay away from it.
      And then there's a dryed smoked product or a jerky in which case you'd want to smoke it cooler than the 150 for much longer maybe someone can come along with a good temp for that. I've never done it.
      As for a recipe, heres what I use for my salmon candy;

      2 cups Low sodium soy sauce,
      1 cup brown sugar,
      3 cloves garlic
      cbp to taste
      crushed red pepper to tatse.
      everyone tells me to let it dry till it gets tacky, so it'll take the smoke better but I always get impatient and throw it in. I also cook mine a little hotter, again it's a patience thing.
      I like hickory smoke but some use others, like alder is real propular up north.
      JT

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      • #4
        I do salmon/steelhead real similar to what Ross does. Alder for smoke usually, or apple/light vine maple.
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        • #5
          You might want to take a look at this site:
          http://www.3men.com/threemen1.htm
          It gives you a step by step on the process of hot smoking fish.

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          • #6
            Basically what all the above have said is a good place to start.
            Once you go Weber....you never call customer service....

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            • #7
              lots of great smoked fish here in the "fish" forum...

              instead of the dry method, i use a brine. find it much easier when doing a bunch at a time. i generally smoke at temps of 150 or so for a few hours and then bump up to about 180 to finish them.

              find a spot of med thickness and when they are just starting to flake at that point remove from heat. the thicker portions will continue to cook with residual heat and will turn out just right. also watch the skins of the fish, when you see droplets of liquid hanging from them you are at the point where the flesh is releasing the liquids. time to stop or you will end up with a dry end result...

              smoking fish is something you need to mess around with, play with brines and rubs, find one you like.(or if you are lucky enough to know someone who makes some good stuff and will share recipie...) and while you are doing so you will be expierimenting and perfecting your smoking technique and ending up with something you like.

              tip... for salmon and trout, after the pellicle is formed, and yes i think it is important, sprinkle a little brown sugar on some before putting to the smoke...

              maybe someone will come along with thier cold smoking techniques.
              Charbroil SFB
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              • #8
                Thanks for all the advice everyone Going to be trying this in the next couple weeks. Thanks for that very informative link stanjk! Lots of good info there.
                G Spot BBQ Hittin' The Spot Since 2004

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by 3montes View Post
                  Thanks for all the advice everyone Going to be trying this in the next couple weeks. Thanks for that very informative link stanjk! Lots of good info there.
                  One thing I will say... cover your racks in foil, and don't let ANY dripping hit the heat source. The fish odor is VERY prevalent. Words to the wise.
                  In God I trust- All others pay cash...
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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Richtee View Post
                    One thing I will say... cover your racks in foil, and don't let ANY dripping hit the heat source. The fish odor is VERY prevalent. Words to the wise.
                    Thanks for that heads up Ritchee. I would hate to have my next few smokes taste like fish!
                    G Spot BBQ Hittin' The Spot Since 2004

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by rbranstner View Post
                      Well there are wet brines and dry/rub style brines. I personally use a dry style rub which is a mix of salt and brown sugar. The fish sits in the brine for around 12 hours then its rinsed off and dried then I like to add a little bit of brown sugar, garlic powder and pepper flakes as it is drying. Then I throw it on the smoker at around 150 degrees until the internal temp reaches 145 degrees which is usually around 3-5 hours depending on how big and how thick your fillets are. I love this recipe and I end up making it for my mother in law and all of her friends several times a year. One word gets out I am smoking salmon 8-15 fillets magically show up at my door an I throw them all on at once and I end up with a free fillet as my payment for smoking for them.
                      Like I said there are several ways/recipes to brine the meat but this one is my favorite and is the only one I make now.

                      If your interested my rub/cure is 1 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup kosher salt.
                      That amount is enough to coat both sides of one nice size fillet of salmon so if you are doing 4 fillets you will want to make this recipe X4.
                      Can't beat that - definitely a good place to start

                      Originally posted by erain View Post
                      lots of great smoked fish here in the "fish" forum...

                      instead of the dry method, i use a brine. find it much easier when doing a bunch at a time. i generally smoke at temps of 150 or so for a few hours and then bump up to about 180 to finish them.

                      find a spot of med thickness and when they are just starting to flake at that point remove from heat. the thicker portions will continue to cook with residual heat and will turn out just right. also watch the skins of the fish, when you see droplets of liquid hanging from them you are at the point where the flesh is releasing the liquids. time to stop or you will end up with a dry end result...

                      smoking fish is something you need to mess around with, play with brines and rubs, find one you like.(or if you are lucky enough to know someone who makes some good stuff and will share recipie...) and while you are doing so you will be expierimenting and perfecting your smoking technique and ending up with something you like.

                      tip... for salmon and trout, after the pellicle is formed, and yes i think it is important, sprinkle a little brown sugar on some before putting to the smoke...

                      maybe someone will come along with thier cold smoking techniques.
                      Look up some of erains fishing threads - man really knows his stuff, given the amount of piscine tonnage he lands in the year, he needs to

                      Originally posted by Richtee View Post
                      One thing I will say... cover your racks in foil, and don't let ANY dripping hit the heat source. The fish odor is VERY prevalent. Words to the wise.
                      Better yet cook the salmon in large foil trays, keeps the liquid with it and keeps the fish moist. Pretty much removes any chance of overcooking.

                      Far as cold smoking goes - try this
                      Many thousands of tons of this stuff is consumed in the uk daily :-) (and that's probably not much of an exaggeration)

                      Smoked fish is great and very easy
                      Made In England - Fine Tuned By The USA
                      Just call me 'One Grind'



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