01-12-2011, 06:35 PM
I've had a few guys inquire about my recipe for smoked trout and salmon. Here's the information. Try it and let me know what you think.
Brine mix for trout and salmon
I've found that I prefer to use about half as much salt as most brine recipes suggest. My wife and I don't like the very salty smoked fish. So here is my recipe for the brine I use. You can do a good size batch with this and it can be used at least twice if you keep it refrigerated.
12 cups cold water
1 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce
2 cups non-iodized salt
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 heaping Tbl spoons garlic salt
1 heaping Tbl spoon pepper
2 Tsp paprika
2 heaping Tbl spoons lemon pepper
1 level Tbl spoon oregano
The juice of two oranges
The juice of three lemons
Mix the brine well and place thawed portions of the fish into the solution. Store overnight, or at least 8 hours in the refrigerator. Smoking times will vary with the unit. I find with my Masterbuilt smoker that 2.5 to 3 hours at 200 degrees works well for thick fillets from the salmon. Less time would be required for the thinner trout fillets. I'm planning to try about 1.5 to 2 hours on my batch this week. I suggest you check the doneness once in a while to avoid over drying the fish.
I had a Little Chief smoker until this summer. I found that I couldn't even use that smoker if the air temps were below about 70 degrees. My new smoker keeps a steady 200 degrees even if it's cold outside. Since this recipe uses less salt, the fish won't keep as long in the refrigerator. I vacpak my smoked fish and freeze it. When I want to enjoy some, I just thaw it out and it's always fresh.
Mike
[signature]
Brine mix for trout and salmon
I've found that I prefer to use about half as much salt as most brine recipes suggest. My wife and I don't like the very salty smoked fish. So here is my recipe for the brine I use. You can do a good size batch with this and it can be used at least twice if you keep it refrigerated.
12 cups cold water
1 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce
2 cups non-iodized salt
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 heaping Tbl spoons garlic salt
1 heaping Tbl spoon pepper
2 Tsp paprika
2 heaping Tbl spoons lemon pepper
1 level Tbl spoon oregano
The juice of two oranges
The juice of three lemons
Mix the brine well and place thawed portions of the fish into the solution. Store overnight, or at least 8 hours in the refrigerator. Smoking times will vary with the unit. I find with my Masterbuilt smoker that 2.5 to 3 hours at 200 degrees works well for thick fillets from the salmon. Less time would be required for the thinner trout fillets. I'm planning to try about 1.5 to 2 hours on my batch this week. I suggest you check the doneness once in a while to avoid over drying the fish.
I had a Little Chief smoker until this summer. I found that I couldn't even use that smoker if the air temps were below about 70 degrees. My new smoker keeps a steady 200 degrees even if it's cold outside. Since this recipe uses less salt, the fish won't keep as long in the refrigerator. I vacpak my smoked fish and freeze it. When I want to enjoy some, I just thaw it out and it's always fresh.
Mike
[signature]