Smoked Fish Brine Recipe And Smoking Directions Recipes

HOW TO SMOKE FISH

Steps:

• Make the brine: Combine water, sugar, and 1/2 cup salt. Place fish in a nonreactive dish; cover with brine. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
• Heat charcoal grill to medium, piling coals on 1 side to set up direct and indirect heat zones. Set a drip pan under the grill grate in the indirect heat zone.
• Soak wood trimmings in water for 30 minutes. Drain (if smoking whole trout or char, leave 1/2 cup wood in water); add to coals.
• Smoke the fish: Once smoke develops, place fish in a lightly oiled grill basket. Transfer to grill rack, and set over drip pan. Open lid vent, and position over fish. (This will direct smoke to impart maximum smokiness.) For the trout fillets: Smoke fish until cooked through but not dry, 12 to 15 minutes.For the whole trout: Smoke for 10 minutes. Flip basket. Drain remaining 1/2 cup wood; add to coals. Smoke fish until cooked through but not dry, 8 to 10 minutes more.For the side of arctic char: Smoke for 10 minutes. Drain remaining 1/2 cup wood; add to coals. Smoke fish until cooked through but not dry, 13 to 15 minutes more.

BRINED AND SMOKED SMELT

Steps:

• Rinse the smelt in cool running water. Set aside.
• Place all of the remaining ingredients, except the ice, into the electric kettle. Bring to a boil. Add the ice and stir until the mixture is cooled. Transfer the liquid to a 1-gallon ziptop bag along with the smelt. Seal and place in a container so that all of the fish are in the brine. Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Remove the smelt from the brine, rinse and pat dry. Place them onto a paper towel lined sheet pan, layering with paper towels in between if they won't fit in one layer. Allow to dry in the refrigerator overnight.
• The next day, place the smelt onto racks, belly side down, separating them by at least 1/4-inch and place into a smoker. Turn the smoker on so that it maintains a temperature of 150 to 160 degrees F. Adjust heat as needed and cook for approximately 3 hours or until desired level of doneness.

SMOKED FISH

Steps:

• Mix all brine ingredients thoroughly.
• Cut fish in 1-2" pieces, leaving skin on.
• If fish is fresh, soak for 1-1/2 hours; if it has been frozen, soak for 45-60 minutes.
• Remove fish from marinade and place on smoker-racks skin-side down.
• Allow to glaze at room temperature for at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight.
• I usually set a fan to blow across the fish and help them get dry to the touch and look very glazed.
• Cold-smoke (at 120-140 degrees F) for 8-12 hours to obtain desired flavor.
• Then hot smoke (at 180-200 degrees F) for 1-2 hours or finish in a 300 degree F oven for 30-45 minutes to get desired texture.
• I do not like a mushy fish, so I cook it until it firms up, though it's hard to tell, though, until after it has cooled down.
• Cool to room temperature, freeze on cookie sheets, package, and store in freezer.
• Best with stronger flavored, oily fish such as salmon, tuna, or swordfish; in general, mild fish smoke poorly.
• Notes: I use a Brinkmann Smok’n Pit water-smoker.
• The water helps to keep the temperature low, and the steam in the smoke keeps meat more moist during long cooking.
• My smoker is intended for charcoal smoking, but for fish, I place soaked wood chips in a metal (not foil, foil will burn through, use real metal) sitting on top of a cheap hot plate (with a rheostat control, not just an on-off switch), which sits on a brick so the pan is up under the bottom of the smoker, where the charcoal pan normally sets.
• Adjust temperature by adjusting hot plate up or down (usually somewhere between low and medium), and throw another handful of wet wood chips into the pie plate every 30-40 minutes, when the smoke stops generating.
• Depending on my mood, and what kind of wood chips are available, I usually smoke fish with alder, cherry, oak, maple, orange or lemon wood (on the rare occasion I can find orange or lemon) Alder and cherry are usually the easiest to find, and they both work beautifully for fish.
• Do not use hickory or mesquite; they are just too strong and completely overwhelm fish!
• I usually double or triple this recipe; I have rigged my double-size smoker to take up to 4 racks to handle the larger amounts.
• Since this whole process takes a lot of time, the little extra effort is worth while, and the smoked fish freezes well, lasting a couple years with only a little deterioration in flavor or texture.
• SAFETY NOTE: Needless to say, DO THIS OUTDOORS!
• Cabon monoxide KILLS!

DRY-BRINED SMOKED SALMON

Steps:

• Mix 1 cup brown sugar and kosher salt together in a small bowl.
• Spread a thin layer of the brown sugar mixture in the bottom of a 9-inch baking pan. Arrange 2 to 3 salmon fillets on top; cover with some of the brown sugar mixture. Repeat layers until all the salmon fillets are coated. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, 8 hours to overnight.
• Preheat a smoker to 195 degrees F (91 degrees C) according to manufacturer's instructions.
• Rinse brown sugar mixture off salmon fillets. Brush fillets lightly with honey and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar on top.
• Pour cola-flavored beverage into the smoker's water pan; add water to within 1 inch of the top. Place half of the wood chips around the perimeter of the hot charcoal. Place salmon on the cooking racks.
• Cook salmon, adding more wood chips if needed, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 145 degrees F (63 degrees C), about 2 hours. Cool before serving, at least 15 minutes.

BRINE FOR SMOKED SALMON

Steps:

• Pour the water into a large bowl or small bucket. If you must use a pot, use one that does not contain aluminum. Stir in the kosher salt, white sugar, brown sugar, lemon pepper, parsley and seasoning mix. Add the garlic, hot pepper sauce, lemons, oranges, lime and onion.
• Soak your salmon in this brine in the refrigerator for 12 to 36 hours. Smoke using your desired method (see Cook's Note).