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How to Smoke a Fish
One of the best ways to enjoy fish is smoking it. This page contains some of the varieties and best ways to smoke your latest catch. If you have some more ways feel free to email us at and we will add it. Enjoy!


How to Smoke Fish

One of the best ways to enjoy fish is to smoke it as pretty much any fish can be smoked. However experience will show you that the species high in fat content will taste better as they absorb smoke faster and have a better texture. Some of the fish that we recommend are salmon and trout. If you decide to use a leaner fish watch make sure you cook them correctly as these fish tend to be dry and tough after smoking.

When you are thinking about smoking a fish make sure you purchase seasoned non-resinous woods such as hickory, oak, apple, maple, birch, beech, or alder. These woods will give a more intense and smoky flavor due to the density and composition of the wood. A always remember to avoid such resinous woods such pine, fir, spruce as you will be very disappointed in the taste. Also if you want to increase the flavor to have it taste very smoky, add moist sawdust to the heat source during the smoking process.

Temperatures to be Used During the Smoking Process:

• Hot-smoking- 90F for the first 2 hours; 150F for remaining smoking time
• Cold-smoking- 80-90F for 1-5 days or more
• Lox- 70-80F for 1-3 days

Preparing Fish For Smoking

When you are preparing a fish for smoking make sure you use a freshly-caught fish that has been kept clean and cold. The reason for this is fish which have been handled carelessly or stored under improper conditions will not consume the smoke which will lead to a bad finished product. If you decide to you a fish that you caught, make sure you clean and pack them in ice as soon as possible to keep them fresh. Once you get home, store the fish in the refrigerator or an ice box until you are ready to prepare them for smoking.

Just like meat, different species of fish require specific preparation methods. Some of these methods include;
• Salmon are split (backbone removed)
• bottom fish filleted
• herring headed and gutted, and smelt dressed

However we have come up with some methods that can be applied to any type of fish that you decided on preparing. They are

1. Remove scales by scraping against the grain with the dull edge of a knife.
2. Remove head, fins, tail, viscera.
3. Wash body cavity with running cold water to remove all traces of blood and kidney tissue. You can tell this as they are the dark red mass along the backbone.
4. Split the fish by cutting through the rib bones along the length of one side of the backbone.
5. For large fish, remove the backbone by cutting along the other side of the backbone to produce two fillets or boneless sides. For small fish, the backbone can be left attached to one of the sides.
6. Cut the sides of large fish into uniform pieces about 1? inches thick and 2 inches wide. Small fish halves can be brined and smoked in one piece.

Preparing Brine

Once you have prepared the fish for smoking using the method above or one of your own, brine needs to be prepared. Brine is a liquid which is applied to a fish to give it taste and increase the flavor. Always make sure you make about 1 gallon of brine for every 4 pounds of fish. In addition make sure you brine fish in the refrigerator, if possible to maximize the flavor.

The recipe that I use is prepared the following way

• Combine 3 cups table salt in 1 gallon of cold water in a plastic, stainless steel, or crockery container. If you desire a specific taste you can always substitute Red or White wine for a portion or all of the water.
• Stir the salt until it is dissolved in the liquid.
• Add spices to the brine such as black pepper, bay leaves, seafood seasoning, garlic, or brown sugar, depending on your preference.

Once you prepare the brine keep the fish covered with brine throughout the brining period so each section sucks in the juices. If you are having a tough time keeping the fish submerged, a heavy bowl can be floated on the brine to keep the fish submersed.

Cold-Smoking

Now comes the fun part, smoking. Depending on your preference you will either try one of the smoking methods, cold or hot. This area includes how to cold smoke your fish. Keep in mind that the preparation is the same for both which means you have to follow steps 1-6 located in the “Preparing a Fish for Smoking”.

1. Brine -inch-thick fillets for an hour; 1-inch-thick fillets for 1 hour; and 1-inch-thick fillets for 2 hours. Brining times can be lengthened if the cold-smoked fish are to be preserved for long periods of time.
2. After brining, rinse the fish briefly in cold running water.
3. Place the fish skin-side down on greased racks in a cool shady, breezy place to dry. The fish should dry for 2 to 3 hours or until a shiny skin or pellicle has formed on the surface. A fan will speed pellicle formation.
4. Place the fish in a homemade or commercial smoker. The temperature of the smoker should be kept at about 80F, and should never exceed 90F. If a thermometer is not available, the temperature may be tested by hand. If the air in the smoke-house feels distinctly warm, the temperature is too high.
5. Smoke the fish until its surface is an even brown. Small fish that are to be kept 2 weeks or less may be ready in 24 hours. Salmon and other large fish will require 3 to 4 days and nights of steady smoking. To store longer than 2 weeks, smoke all fish a minimum of five days; for larger fish, at least a week or longer.
6. The smoker should not produce a lot of smoke during the first 8 to 12 hours if the total curing time is 24 hours, or for the first 24 hours if the curing time is longer. When the first part of the smoking ends, build up a dense smoke and maintain it for the balance of the cure.
7. If cold-smoked fish has been brined for at least 2 hours and smoked for at least 5 days, it will keep in the refrigerator for several months.

Hot-Smoking

Now comes the fun part, smoking. Depending on your preference you will either try one of the smoking methods, cold or hot. This area includes how to hot smoke your fish. Keep in mind that the preparation is the same for both which means you have to follow steps 1-6 located in the Preparing a Fish for Smoking area.

1. To hot-smoke fish, follow steps 1-6 under "Preparing Fish for Smoking."
2. Brine 1-inch-thick fillets for about 15 minutes, 1-inch-thick pieces about 30 minutes, and 1-inch-thick pieces about 1 hour. Brining times can be adjusted to give the fish a lighter or heavier cure.
3. After brining, rinse the fish briefly in cold running water.
4. Place the fish skin-side down on greased racks in a cool, shady, breezy place to dry. The fish should dry for 2 to 3 hours or until a shiny skin or pellicle forms on the surface. The pellicle seals the surface and prevents loss of natural juices during smoking. A fan will speed pellicle formation.
5. Place the fish in a homemade or commercial smoker. For the first 2 hours, the temperature should not exceed 90F. This completes the pellicle formation and develops brown coloring.
6. After the initial 2-hour period, raise the temperature to 150F and smoke the fish for an additional 4 to 8 hours. The length of time will depend on the thickness of the fish, and on your preference for dry or moist smoked fish. Generally, 1/2-inch-thick pieces are smoked for 4 hours, 1-inch-thick pieces for 6 hours, and 1 1/2-inch-thick pieces for 8 hours.

Store hot-smoked fish in the refrigerator


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