Handle your fish carefully in the many processes necessary before you share them with your family and friends. This means cleaning your fish as quickly and completely as possible. Keeping them cool or frozen until you plan on processing your fish. And then, depending on the size and thickness of your fish, cut them into chunks, or into a slab filet removing all the bones (backbone, ribs, rays), or smoking the fish whole (without the head or entrails, propping the belly cavity open with a toothpick).
When smoking fish I generally use a brine to cure the fish before smoking. I have tried 100's of different ingredients, from various pepper sauces, soy sauce, to wines in my brines and found that a basic no-nonsense brine gets just as many compliments as a complex brine. But you be the judge. I have my favorite ingredients to brines like soy sauce and brown sugar.
The smoke flavor of your fish depends on the species of fish that you're smoking. The stronger the fish flavor, generally an indication of oilyness of the fish, the stronger the smoke flavor. Delicate, mild flavored fish generally do not smoke overly well since they lack the natural oils. And, smoking mild flavored fish may conceil the mild flavor of the fish. Shorten the brining time for most delicate and medium textured, mild flavored fish, otherwise they'll taste too salty or taste like the brine. Use the graphic chart below to help you decide whether you should smoke your fish or not. My general guideline is delicate textured fish - brine less, firm textured fish - smoke more.
My secrets to always getting compliments on smoked fish are by the following tips:
- Make sure your fish are neatly prepared so they are presentable when done. Cut away all unsightly material and wash your fish before brining.
- Stir your brine solution and rotate the fish in the brine. Keep your fish in brine in the refrigerator. Never use metal containers, always use glass or plastic.
- Don't over-brine your fish, that is chunks of fish of fish 1" thick for about 5 up to 8 hours, ½" thick for about 4 hours, and for thinner filets or pieces 2-3 hours.
- After brining, always rinse your fish with plenty of fresh water.
- Pat the fish dry, and allow them to air dry for about 1 hour. This will cause a "pellicle" (a tacky glaze on the fish) to form indicating that it is ready for the drying and smoking process.
- For smokers, and barbeque grills, add plenty of wood for smoking early in the drying process, using only heat later. Know your woods, fruit woods (plum, apple, etc.) leave a slightly sweet smoke taste, alder is great for salmon, hickory and mesquite leave a sharp smoky taste. (If you can't find alder wood chips, email Starfish Consulting and we can sell you some.) Never use green woods, they leave a bitter taste. In barbeque grills it is probably best to soak your wood in water for an hour before using - keeps the heat down. For the oven, rub your fish lightly with liquid smoke (a little goes a long way) initially, and maybe once more if you like a heavy smoke taste. The trick here is to use less at first, so you can re-apply.
- Keep your smoker, or grill out of the wind and rain.
- Monitor the temperature of your smoker, grill, or oven. Don't let it get too hot. Smoking temperatures should be between 145-165F. A problem with barbeque grills is that they get too hot and you end up barbequing the fish. The solution is to close down the vents, and don't use too much charcoal.
- Periodically check your fish for doneness, don't rely on time only. I like my fish moist and not completely dried out like jerky. My reccomendation for chunks 1" thick smoke for about 3 - 4 hours, 1/2" thick fish about 2-3 hours, and thinner fish pieces up to 2 hours. Remember if smoking whole fish, prop the belly cavity open with a toothpick.
- Finally, I always present the smoked fish so that it looks appetizing (usually on a bed of lettuce), and let my family and guests know exactly what kind of fish they are eating.
