Using a smoker

[lovetofish]

With all the different fish recipes being posted lately I thought I'd see if any of you ever smoke any of the fish you catch. 

Years and years ago I bought a 'Little Chief Smoker' for my dad as a Christmas gift. Since he has long passed away, I obtained the smoker but have never used it.  He played around with different brines before smoking the fish, but he never wrote down the ingredients that he used. Being a teenager at the time I had other things on my mind besides learning how to make a brine to smoke fish. However, I did eat my share of smoked fish as it was quite tasty. All he ever smoked was trout as my parents had a cabin at Strawberry and that is the only place they fished. I'm not even sure if I've ever seen anyone smoke anything other than trout or salmon. 

Do any of you use a smoker and do you make your own brine.

[wiperhunter2]

With all the different fish recipes being posted lately I thought I'd see if any of you ever smoke any of the fish you catch. 

Years and years ago I bought a 'Little Chief Smoker' for my dad as a Christmas gift. Since he has long passed away, I obtained the smoker but have never used it.  He played around with different brines before smoking the fish, but he never wrote down the ingredients that he used. Being a teenager at the time I had other things on my mind besides learning how to make a brine to smoke fish. However, I did eat my share of smoked fish as it was quite tasty. All he ever smoked was trout as my parents had a cabin at Strawberry and that is the only place they fished. I'm not even sure if I've ever seen anyone smoke anything other than trout or salmon. 

Do any of you use a smoker and do you make your own brine.

A lot of us smoke our kokes and yes I make my own brine, it's not hard and the kokes always turn out great when smoked. What i like best about it is that when I'm done I vacuum pack them, then bottle them when I have enough to do a batch and all the bones dissolve. TubeDude, even smokes catfish

[TubeDude]

Been using Chiefs...Little and Big...for a lotta years.  And have eaten a whole lotta  smoky output.  Good stuff.  You will get a lot of good advice but the best advice I can give is always keep an open mind and be willing to experiment.  Ain't no guaranteed, never fail stuff.  Here are a few guidelines I have put together over the years.

Brine?  I prefer the dry brining method but have had a lot of good wet brined fish too.


  SMOKED KITTY PREP.pdf (Size: 1.49 MB / Downloads: 10)
  SMOKIN CATFISH.pdf (Size: 645.52 KB / Downloads: 5)
  TROUT SMOKIN'.pdf (Size: 929.13 KB / Downloads: 11)
  WHITEFISH PREP.pdf (Size: 1.4 MB / Downloads: 8)

[dubob]

I have always used this wet brine mixture with great results.

Soak in the following brine solution for at least 12 hours at refrigerator temperatures.  Use a stainless steel or wooden grate over the top of the meat to hold it completely under the brine.  Stir fish a few times during the brining process.

 
1 gallon cold water
10 oz Teriyaki sauce
5 oz orange juice
1/3 cup pickling salt
2 cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper (optional)

[Mildog]

I use my smoker a lot Fish, Duck, Goose, Moose, deer elk , turkeys , sausage , cold smoke cheese and more!
My go to fish brine is a wet brine use only stainless , glass or plastic bowls as the salt can react with other metals better yet I always soak/marinate in heavy duty ZIP LOCK bags. You can use much less brine and squeeze all the air out so it is all covered and evenly  brined, I usually brine over night and shake and or turn the bags a few times during the process to evenly brine everything.
Many brine recipes are overly salty.
I use
1/3 cup NON iodized salt
3/4- 1 cup brown sugar
Per 4 cups cold water
Then a healthy few splashes of Worcestershire  sauce
Small splash soy sauce
Couple Shakes of lemon pepper
Either some minced garlic or garlic powder ( not salt)
Can add other spices but this is solid start
After marinating/brining the skin on fillets over night take out of brine, then pat dry with paper towels and let air dry on rack , skin side down, For about an hour,  plus minus  it forms a film (pellicle) that will absorb smoke and keep fillets moist, while smoking.
As for smoking times there are many variables on types of smokers, the outside temps ( for little chief type it can make a big difference) the internal temps/heat source ventilation etc. so you will need to learn how yours works . When I used little chiefs I used to smoke for 1 or two pans of chips then move racks to cookie sheets and Finish in low temp oven
(175-200 degrees) until desired dryness:texture is achieved. Usually snd hour or so depending on thickness of fillets , have to watch and check when it is done to your liking. I Made lots of great stuff in little chief and big chiefs over the years. It can take several hours to do the complete process in a little chief, the more you do at a time will add to the time and if it’s very cold out it will take longer. That’s why I used to finish in the oven could get a consistent result faster.  I now for the last 25 years use a smokin Tex electric that has variable temps and I know how it works and can do up to a 25 lb turkey, 25 lbs of sausage elk roast etc. . Fir fish std koke and trout fillets are done in about 1-1.5 hours. Larger salmon like coho fillets from AK will take longer.
With temps up to 250 degrees  in the smokin Tex and a vent fan to pull out moisture it’s something little chiefs can’t duplicate. But they are excellent for fish and adding smoke to items that may need to be finished in an oven or higher heat source other than taking all day to finish in the smoker.
Hope that helps!!
Get many rave reviews!!

I make mean Smoked Salmon cream cheese balls and spread that get rave reviews, with he finished product!
Here are pics of some smoked coho salmon collars, koke fillets out of marinade ready to put on racks to dry for a bit then into smoker, I vac pack what we won’t eat soon, usually one fillets disappears right out of smoker for tasting and quality control!! ? some vac packed smoked Koke and some smoke salmon cheese balls, frozen to pull out when needed. We make a bunch at a time so we always 











have some handy! Last are some smoked elk roast Pastrami for sandwhichs!! Yummy!
ENJOY!