Out of the Smoker

[B-man715]

Here is my first attempt at smoking crappies and perch.

I tried a few different recipes as well as leaving them whole and doing fillets too.

Cooling down in the fridge right now, can't wait to mow'em down!

[hockeybc69]

Interesting!!!!

I have only ever smoked salmon, trout and tullibees.

[Gordie]

Pike are really good too and those crappiesvlook tasty

[eyeguy 54]

i bet the fillets are best :>)

[B-man715]

i bet the fillets are best :>)

Yep, the fillets turned out good! I didn't baste them at all, so they turned out a little dry, but not bad.

The whole fish could have spent some more time in the brine and smoker too. I didn't want to over-do the salt or smoke, but they need more of both to suit my taste.

Round two tomorrow night with tweaked recipes!!

[leech~~]

Had some Tullies smoked with cherry wood out of the smoker tonight! Yumm!

[reinhard1]

Hey, B-man looks like some tasty treats there. i also have never smoked crappies or perch. good luck.

[reinhard1]

what did you notice about cherrywood in camparison to hickory. when i look at the store shelfs, it seems cherrywood is the most popular. good luck.

[leech~~]

what did you notice about cherrywood in camparison to hickory. when i look at the store shelfs, it seems cherrywood is the most popular. good luck.

It did seem to add a sweeter flavor to it.

[reinhard1]

ok thanks. i got a big bag of it from FF but haven't used it although i've been grilling the last two days. will try it on smelt if i get some nice ones. good luck.

[eyeguy 54]

cherry is great with eggs. :>)

[DonBo]

Cherry is my wood of choice when smoking fish. Haven't tried it on much of anything else though as I really like the flavor of hickory on meats.

[OnAFly]

I did a load of goose pastrami with Cherry. It turned out as good as when I've done it with apple. I like those two. The smoke seems a little less intense.

[reinhard1]

that's good to know, i've been stuck on hickory for everything. not complaining, but i want to try out something different. Mesquite to me is a little too heavy. good luck.

[leech~~]

that's good to know, i've been stuck on hickory for everything. not complaining, but i want to try out something different. Mesquite to me is a little too heavy. good luck.

I don't care much for Mesquite as well. Hickory, Apple & Cherry is what I use most of the time.

[hockeybc69]

Bman,

how long did you brine the fish?

I have never done whole fish. I always do fillets. I just have always felt that getting the fish exposed might help get the smoke into it better, rather than having to get through the skin. I dunno.

[B-man715]

Bman,

how long did you brine the fish?

I have never done whole fish. I always do fillets. I just have always felt that getting the fish exposed might help get the smoke into it better, rather than having to get through the skin. I dunno.

I followed a recipe that I found online. Only brined them for two hours, and also injected them. Not near enough salt for my palate with such a short brining time. Just tasted like baked and lightly smoked fish. They were too moist if you can believe it. The skin really holds the juice in.

(Didn't have water in the pan either, so today I'm smoking them longer and colder to start.)

Last night I threw another batch of fish in a brine. I was planning on letting them go 18-20 hours and then smoking. But the snow has me home early from work. They sat about 14 hours and are now in the smoker.

Brine was: (gallon of bottled water, cup of pickling salt, cup of brown sugar, onion powder, and into a plastic container).

Some recipes call for rinsing, some don't. I couldn't let myself skip the rinsing.........That slime is nasty

Today I'm going to cold smoke for a couple hours at 110, then bump it up to 150. Yesterday I used apple, but today I'm testing out some hickory.

Only time will tell

With half of the fillets yesterday I simply sprinkled them with coarse salt and let them sit for an hour. The other half I did the same, but also sprinkled brown sugar too. No brine. The Misses liked the sweet, I prefered the salty.

Experimenting is the best part of smoking

[LABS4ME]

Make sure to let the fish sit for an hour or so after you rinse it. It will get a dry glossy look to the fillet, that is the time to put it in the smoker.

I do fillets with skin on the majority of the time, at times I do the whole fish... I hang them in the smoker when I do this... looks like you did too. Make sure the belly is split at least back to the vent, and you may have to put a small tooth pick in place to hold it open to get more smoke to the flesh...

I brine for 18-24 hours before smoking to make sure the fish really takes in as much brine as possible. I do like to do a final baste on the fillets of 1 part apple juice, 1 part brn sugar and one part honey, heat just to boiling and then baste on the final 30 minutes of smoking

Good Luck!

Ken

[hockeybc69]

I brine at least 24 hrs. I will leave salmon for a couple days.

Never ever had an issue with it coming out too salty.

2 hours in brine isnt close to long enough in my book for any fish. Even if injected.

[B-man715]

Labs,

Do you bother with letting whole fish dry before smoking, or to you only do it for fillets?

I like the idea of your baste towards the end! I would probally end up drinking the left overs

What do all of you guys use for a brine?

[hockeybc69]

6 cups water

2/3 cup sugar

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup pickling salt

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 clove garlic, crushed

1 TBS pepper

2 bay leaves crushed

2 lbs salmon, skin on

Combine ingredients and add filets. Brine up to 24 hrs.

Drain and discard brine. Rinse with water and pat dry. Air dry for 1 hr.

Set smoker for 200 degrees. Should take just a few hours to complete.

Smoke until internal temp in thickest part of meat is 170-175.

[eyeguy 54]

1 cup sugar

1 cup non iodized salt

2 quart water

I brine overnight. Fillets for me. Pat dry then I airdry 1 to 2 hours. Then I smoke skin side down at about 140 to 145 for about 3 hours. Then I bring the heat up to 170 and stop when they hit 165. I found that if i put a tadd of buttr on the temp probe it comes out easier. :>) Last batch had the maple syrup brushed on the last hour. Loved it.

[BLACKJACK]

Met an old guy one time up by Red Lake, he drug us to his place and let us sample a couple of his smoked crappies, they were great!!!

Never have taken the time to learn how to smoke but reading this post give me the lust to try it!! Think I'll start another topic!!

[LABS4ME]

Labs,

Do you bother with letting whole fish dry before smoking, or to you only do it for fillets?

I like the idea of your baste towards the end! I would probally end up drinking the left overs

What do all of you guys use for a brine?

I will let the whole fish dry before smoking. Unless you make sure the cavity is exposed to air, it most likely won't dry much... again a few small oak dowels or heavy toothpicks / skewers to hold open... leave them in place when smoking to get more smoke to the meat.

I use the basic salt - sugar - water brine and try others at times... usually when salmon is on sale .. If it is a real sweet brine, I probably would not do a baste.

I've used this one on some Rainbows I caught and it was good...

1/2 C. Salt

1 C. Brown Sugar

1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

1 cup pineapple juice

1/4 tsp Lowry's seasoned salt

4 Tbsp Molasses

1 Qt Water

Good Luck!

Ken