Jump to content

Smoking Fish


arpie

Recommended Posts

Smoking fish:

Main Rule No 1 - Smoke the fish outside, away from the back door/open windows, or the house will smell of smoked fish for days!

For smoking, I use a 2 layered portable one, & use one of those small 'camping' gas stoves (with disposable gas bottles) to cook them.

I prefer hickory or mesquite chips ahead of sawdust - much better result. Soak the chips in water for about 3 minutes (about 1/4cup of hickory chips depending on how many fillets you are cooking.)

Make sure the fish you are smoking has been 'rested' overnight, or at least for some hours before smoking. THe fillets can curl up & not cook evenly if smoked too soon. I usually leave them overnight at least, and smoke them later the next afternoon. You can leave the fish whole (less messy) or Butterfly or fillet your fish, leaving skin & scales on. Remove as many bones as you can, if filleted.

If left whole, just put them on the racks (thick side towards the centre) and fire it up. If filleted or butterflied, I rub brown sugar (be reasonably generous but not too thick) onto the exposed flesh on both fillets then sprinkle a bit of salt all over it (about as much as you'd put on hot chips!) You will notice a 'juice' appearing - that is just the salt sucking out some of the moisture. No need to wait long - take it outside & turn on the gas!

Any decent sized baking dish or an old electric frypan makes a good smoker - no need to buy a 'special' one if you don't have one. The one you use, keep only for smoking! Even 2 round stainless steel bowls will do, as long as one is slightly smaller than the other, to act as a lid. Get a cake rack to fit the shape of the dish/pan you have selected. If you are lucky, you will find a 'layered' rack, ie 2 layers.

Line the dish with alfoil (put alfoil up the sides a bit to collect the juices.) Place the damp wood chips in the centre of the alfoil & spread it out a bit so they are in a single layer in the centre for better contact with the heat source. Put the cake rack in & place the fish on it, flesh side up.

Put the lid on & turn on the heat (doesn't have to be 'full on'!) If smoking 4 - 8 fillets, the fish should take about 20-25 mins to cook Less time for less fillets. Check after 20 mins ... use a skewer to test 'doneness' in the thickest part. It is better not to overcook them, as they go dry & tough. When done, remove the fillets & rack, then roll up the alfoil & toss away the 'mess'!

Never use treated timber for smoking - but if you find a favourite 'flavour' of timber & manage to bring some home, just set your electric planer to 'fine/med' & take off as many shavings as you need (or do the whole lot!) Keep dry in an ice cream container. Some forms of Ti-tree are fantastic for smoking fish. Kiwis call it 'Manuka'. You can also use flavoured tea (eg earl grey etc) and some folk use wildrice! Never tried them!

If camping out, you can use small leafed native plants (not eucalytpus, as it is too strongly flavoured.) I did some trout in the Snowies with it & it was great!

5 mins preparation, 20 mins cooking (approx) & dinner is ready! Also great cold, spread on crackers! Watch for the bones tho!

Double layered smoked blackfish

post-2231-1182318481_thumb.jpg

Edited by Roberta
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

just had smoked drummer for dinner yummo....

try soaking fish in relatively strong brine for 20 mins then pat dry, black pepper.... smoke and eat yummo...

when we were underwaterfishing hard a few years back we never went down for an early dive without the smoker a fry pan, half a loaf of bread and half a dozen eggs.... i can still taste that smoked maori wrasse.... our smoker would usually burley up a few hungry rock fishos most days lol :thumbup:

Edited by flathead fanatic
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Hey Roberta,

I reckon you, me and kiwi dan should get together at one of the socials and have a smoke off. Dont think we'd get to many complaints from a bunch off raiders asked to be judges.

Lata Raida.

Waynie

Id be up for this for sure.

We could even go one better and have the judges go out and catch the fish while we drink beers!!

Or set up a table at a social with smoking equipment and let everyone have a crack at doing it.

cheers

Dan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Dan & Waynie

I'd be in that - first catch your fish!!!! I actually smoked my 'winning' fish at the blackie social & quite a few had a taste (tiny tho it was!), but I rushed it a bit & he didn't turn out as good as he could have!! Also better smoking more than 2 fillets!!!!

I tried smoking flatties once, but it was a failure .... a waste of 4 good flatties!! I had tried the brine method & it didn't work for me (or the fish!) unfortunately!

Mullet, tailor and blackie are the best, I reckon - however, in NZ they do aussie salmon (smaller ones), eels, snapper, and just about anything else that swims!!

Cheerio

Roberta

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Dan & Waynie

I'd be in that - first catch your fish!!!! I actually smoked my 'winning' fish at the blackie social & quite a few had a taste (tiny tho it was!), but I rushed it a bit & he didn't turn out as good as he could have!! Also better smoking more than 2 fillets!!!!

I tried smoking flatties once, but it was a failure .... a waste of 4 good flatties!! I had tried the brine method & it didn't work for me (or the fish!) unfortunately!

Mullet, tailor and blackie are the best, I reckon - however, in NZ they do aussie salmon (smaller ones), eels, snapper, and just about anything else that swims!!

Cheerio

Roberta

Hi Roberta,

Havent tried the brine method and probably wont, not saying it wont work but as the saying goes if it aint broke dont fix it.

If i am smoking smaller fish i open out the fish, in NZ we call it butterfly by running the knife through the top of the fish to 1 side of the backbone all the way to the stomach and straight through the head and back through to the tail and smoke it back bone and all. That way you get all the meat inside the frame, a bit of extra work i know but its enjoyable.

dan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Dan

I remember the kiwi butterflied smoked kawhai - even sold in Coles! Yum! Made the best smoked fish pie ever! That manuka bush is sooo good for smoking.

Hi Pete - only tried smoking frigate mackerel last year - YUK! Haven't tried slimeys, but would imagine they would come up a treat!! THey are the Italians 'sardines'!

Cheers

Roberta

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Last summer a mate of mine invited me around to taste some fish he'd smoked. The tailor was great. I'd tried that before, but the biggest surprise was the sweep and maori wrasse! I was so impressed that I actually keep a few sweep now, just for smoking.

You need a few because the fillets are fairly small. He had soaked them in a brine and brown sugar mixture for a couple of hours, rinsed them and patted them dry, before putting into the smoker.

Beautiful!

Peter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Last summer a mate of mine invited me around to taste some fish he'd smoked. The tailor was great. I'd tried that before, but the biggest surprise was the sweep and maori wrasse! I was so impressed that I actually keep a few sweep now, just for smoking.

You need a few because the fillets are fairly small. He had soaked them in a brine and brown sugar mixture for a couple of hours, rinsed them and patted them dry, before putting into the smoker.

Beautiful!

Peter

sweep are good however you eat em...maori wrasse are best if smoked the day caught

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 6 months later...

Hey guys,

not to raise a dead thread. but Roberta. thanks so much for the instructions. my old man bought me a cheapie smoker and finally starting to get success out of it after reading your instructions.

heres some tailor fillets i did last night. they were beautiful.

post-268-1205826083_thumb.jpg

Thanks again.

Col

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice, Col!!!

I have cut back on the amount of chips I use now (make sure they are damp) & check the fillets with a skewer at about the 15-18min mark now! Depending on how many fillets you are doing or how thick they are, some cook really quickly & it is better to have them moist than dry. Trial & error, but still very tasty!!!

Yummy with mashed potato & salad! I usually peel them whilst they are still hot (easier to remove the skin - use a plastic egg slice between the skin & flesh, should come off easily.) I also try to get all the bones out before I cook them, too.

Next social, we should have a 'Smoked Fish' cook off!!! Don't count the one I did at Forster .... it was too fresh!!! I prefer to smoke them at least 24hrs after they have been caught, to allow the flesh to relax!

Well done, YUM!

Roberta

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Heya Roberta,

I am another one that has been smoking fish for the last 6 months since reading some of your posts on fishraider.

Have 8 nice bonito fillets in the fridge waiting to go in the smoker (caught on Sunday).. I have found leaving them a day or two makes the end result that much tastier too.

Also, I tend to just salt down the fillets in the fridge overnight, wash the salt off and put some coriander sprigs over the fillets just before going in the smoker. They come out delicious but wondering if there is a better way...

Another thing you might like to try is drying the fish. My wife is Thai and she loves dried fish & squid. She dried two of the biggest fillets under a grill at low heat for maybe 40 minutes or so yesterday and they come out very tasty. The bonito is by far the tastiest dried fish that we have done to date - maybe because of the oily flesh. This is not for everyone though as the end result can be salty and fishy ;-) that is kinda the idea...

Love smoked fish threads - keep them coming! I dont know about everyone else but I find after being out on the water since the early hours of the morning, handling dead and live bait, killing, cleaning, preparing the catch - the last thing I feel like at the end of the day is fish for dinner!! SO ironic but it happens everytime we go fishing... The smoker means we dont waste any of the catch (salting/smoking and drying fish preserves it) and I dont feel pressured to eat the fish immediately!

Cheers

Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Andy - great idea on drying the fish too - have seen documentaries on smaller fish just being dried in the sun! With the smoked fish, if you have a vacuum sealer, it will keep indefinitely, once sealed correctly!! No need to freeze.

I tried doing some frigate mackerel last year, but they didn't work out well at all .... maybe I got it wrong!?

If you haven't tried it, give it a go! Great for tailor, mullet & blackfish - try them whole (like Lyn & Geof) or filleted - don't be afraid to 'give it a go'!

Great for easter!

Roberta

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where does everyone get their wood shavings/chips/chunks from? I'd prefer Hickory if possible, but would be happy with any fruit trees (eg: peach, pear, apple etc..) instead, all depends on what I'm smoking.

I've seen brickettes and stuff at Bunnings & BBQs Galore, but I'd prefer to buy bulk. I found one bloke on eBay in the US but postage was a killer and he (seller) thought I'd have trouble getting it through customs as it was untreated wood.

I tried my local timber yard but they said they really only dealt with pine & mahogony - most of which had been treated in some shape or form.

Where does everyone else buy their shavings/chips for smoking?

Im in Newcastle, but I'm willing to pay for postage - within reason.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Zoddy

I was really lucky - got 2 x 1kg bags of Hickory chips from a local Big Well known Chainstore that has 25-30% off fishing stuff at times ..... these 2 bags had holes in them & I got them for $2 each! Even so, it is generally not too expensive if you buy the bigger bags.

Each bag lasts forever, as you only use less than a handful at a time!! I have only just started my 2nd bag now after 4-5 years & am the lookout for a replacement ... :) Mind you, I don't smoke fish that often, either!

I have a lump of wood in the garage I salvaged from a campsite we were in - it is a hardwood & smells devine, so I grabbed one & will run the planer over it to get the chips!! Choose your own size! :):) Do it yourself, smoking chips :)

Yeah - you've got to make sure they have not been treated in any way or naturally too resiny - eg most pine is no good.

You can use the leaves of many bushes - lots of ti-tree are perfect! I have used really small leaved gum before, when travelling - the big leaved ones are no good. You can even add dry tea leaves (drinking tea) to add flavour - eg earl grey etc or wild rice.

Cheers

Roberta

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any reasonable BBQ shop will have some too, Zoddy. The ti tree is the same as the Kiwi Manuka bush & is the 100% preferred smoking material over there above everything!! Check out buddies gardens, specially if they live on the coast - their preferred habitat!

Roberta

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a bad experience with some of the 'pellets' from Bunnings.. desperate for wood I headed to Bunnings thinking they must have smoking chips or sawdust.. they had hickory chunks (which were no good for my smoker although I probably could have shaved them down somehow) and these 'flavoured' pellets..

I found the pellets to be $%#house although we were smoking a striped tuna which probably wasnt the brightest idea in the first place... Meat was ok but the cat ended up with an exotic dinner .. Even she wasnt too impressed!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The only decent Bunnings pellets I've seen to date are the Jack Daniels ones... which are typically only good for steak :)

Chunks wouldn't bother me, I'd just plane then down to 'shavings'. I haven't seen them at my local store/s before - but if other stores have them I'll ask them to order some in for me.

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...