Smoking Fish

Fish, shrimp, lobster, crabs, scallops, and any other type of seafood.

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Smoking Fish

Postby HOF » Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:23 pm

Spent a little time in the Pacific North West and fell in love with the tradition of smoking Salmon. Thought it would be fun to start a post where we could share about nothing but fish:

Start by cutting fillets into 2-3" strips. Leave the skin on.


Brine Mix

1 QT Sushi Grade Soy Sauce (Kikomans is too Salty)
1 jar Schezwan Sauce (The little size - like pimento cheese comes in)
4 cloves minced Garlic
4 handfulls of brown sugar
1 tspn of fresh cracked pepper

Place the fillets in a dish, skin side down, and cover with brine mixture. If it's thick King fillets, go for 24 hours. If it's thin fillets like coho go for only about 8 hours.

After brining set the meat out on the racks skin side down. Rub them with brown sugar until the dry and look "candied".

Load the smoker with alder wood.

Don't over cook the fillets. As soon as the meat flakes, it's done. I repeat, do not over cook. Upon removal dust with fresh cracked black pepper one more time, I like black pepper. :D

When you take the fillets off the racks the fillet should easily seperate from the skin. I've got other brine recipies I'll try and post as we go. I'll also try and find some of my old smoking pictures. MMMMMMM.

Enjoy.
My greatest fear is when I die my wife will sell my fishing gear for what I told her I paid for it.
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Postby DATsBBQ » Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:26 pm

Great post HOF :D
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Postby Bill » Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:31 pm

Thanks HOF. Was this something you came up with or adapted from another recipe? I like your method of measurement ~ 4 handfuls.. :wink:
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Postby HOF » Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:04 pm

Bill wrote:Thanks HOF. Was this something you came up with or adapted from another recipe? I like your method of measurement ~ 4 handfuls.. :wink:


Bill, I have about a dozen fishing buddies up there and they all have a different brine recipe. Mines a variation of several. Most call for Kosher salt and water instead of the soy sauce. It's a matter of preference.

The schezuan (sp?) gives it a nice kick. I pulled that in from a salmon bbq recipe given to me by a friend in Longview Wa.

As to my method of measurement :wink: :D I like the Salmon to have a sweet coating.

On other recipes I finish off with honey. Umm, Umm, good. :D
My greatest fear is when I die my wife will sell my fishing gear for what I told her I paid for it.
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Postby Bill » Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:37 pm

That does sound good. Have you tried Cardogs BBQ Salmon by Jim Minion and Jack Rogers?
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Postby HOF » Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:59 pm

Bill wrote:That does sound good. Have you tried Cardogs BBQ Salmon by Jim Minion and Jack Rogers?


That sounds good. I'll have try it sometime.
My greatest fear is when I die my wife will sell my fishing gear for what I told her I paid for it.
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Postby JamesB » Sun Sep 23, 2007 2:45 am

We love the Cardogs Salmon recipe! The one the HOF posted sounds great as well.. Will have to try it soonish...

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Postby bowhnter » Sun Sep 23, 2007 7:20 am

I certainly am interested in this thread. I haven't smoked fish, but want to do some salmon soon.

Is a brine always necessary?

I am unable to see the cardogs recipe. It gives me a blank recipe and ingrediants.
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Postby JamesB » Sun Sep 23, 2007 7:37 am

Here is a copy of the Cardogs Salmon. It is a dry cure.


"Official Cardogs BBQ Salmon"

Dry Rub
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup non-iodized table salt
3 TBSP granulated garlic powder
3 TBSP granulated onion
1 TBSP dried dill weed
1 TBSP dried savory
2 tsp dried tarragon
Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Turbinado sugar may be substituted for brown sugar. To substitute garlic salt and onion salt, reduce table salt to 1/2 cup and double garlic salt and onion salt to 6 TBSP.

Finishing Rub
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 TBSP granulated garlic powder
1 TBSP granulated onion
1 tsp dried savory
1 tsp dried tarragon
Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Turbinado sugar may be substituted for brown sugar.

Buy a fresh, 3-pound salmon fillet, preferably Sockeye or King. Remove the pin bones using tweezers or needle nose pliers. Do not remove the skin. Place skin-side down in a glass or stainless steel pan.

Pack the dry rub on the flesh side of the fillet, approximately 1/4" thick. Let the fillet rest in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours (the longer you leave the rub on, the stronger the salt flavor). Rinse the fillet in cool, clean water to remove the dry rub, then pat dry. Allow to dry for about 30 minutes, until the flesh becomes tacky.

Heat a barbecue grill to medium to medium-high. Sprinkle finishing rub on the fillet (twice what you would use as if you were heavy salt and peppering). Cook with the lid closed to an internal temp of 140-155*F (your preference) measured in the center of the thickest part of the fillet.

We recommend using wood to produce smoke while cooking. On a charcoal grill, just sprinkle a few wood chips on the coals. On a gas grill, place wood chips in a pouch made of aluminum foil. Poke holes in the top of the pouch and place it on the hottest spot under the grill. Alder is our wood of choice, but fruitwoods are a wonderful substitute.

You can also smoke it at lower temps of 225-250*F; this allows for more smoke on the fillets.
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Postby bowhnter » Sun Sep 23, 2007 8:21 am

Thanks James
Mike

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Weber 26”, 22”, and Jumbo Joe
Weber Genesis
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Postby DATsBBQ » Tue Oct 23, 2007 9:26 am

This is a good primer on smoking fish:
http://bbq.about.com/cs/fish/a/aa030400a.htm
I usually add a little brown sugar to the brine along with pepper corns, sometimes juniper berries. I've found that the fattier fish smoke better. Examples are Salmon, suckers, Tulabee, and lake trout.

I've never tried a dry rub or high heat method, but I bet you need to watch the fish pretty close.
I did this one for the Mrs Birthday about a year ago.
Image
Salmon 11/20/06 29K
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Postby Papa Tom » Tue Oct 23, 2007 11:40 am

Been a while since I've done a fish but I love em.
I did it very simply I dry cured them with Morton's sugar cure then rinsed and dried then coated with teriyaki sauce or brown sugar and to the smoker.
Fish are very easy to smoke in that they accept the smoke readily and cook at low temperatures. If ya like smoked fish give it a try.

This triggers yet another "Papa Story". The last fish I did was a couple years ago when Mrs. Papa was Fellowship Director at our church they put on a meal after services once a month. In the church news letter was an article about how popular her lunches were yet she spent so little that she could rival biblical stories of feeding the multitudes. So of course the next luncheon the center piece for the serving line had two large smoked salmon and five loaves. Went over big.
tarde venientibus ossa....

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