Tullee time

[eyeguy 54]

First batch almost ready for the smoker. Doing 3.

[otterman91105]

I have five in the smoker right now cant wait till they are done. Have you ever used cherry wood to finish them off and give them a good brown color?

[eyeguy 54]

nope. they get nice and brown with the hickory. I like cherry for eggs.

[Hoffer]

How did they turn out...and what did you do to prepare them for the smoker?

[eyeguy 54]

taste great. just a sugar salt water brine.

[Walleyehooker]

Most people don't have a big enough smoker but if you hang them they will brown up more. After I take mine out of the brine and rinse them I coat them with brown sugar and let them sit for a day then into the smoker.

Everyone does things a little different when it comes to smoking fish but its a pretty simple deal.

[loosegoose]

All I ever use on fish is cherry wood.

[otterman91105]

I ended up useing hickory wood with my last batch and they turned out great.

[loadmaster]

Most people don't have a big enough smoker but if you hang them they will brown up more. After I take mine out of the brine and rinse them I coat them with brown sugar and let them sit for a day then into the smoker.

Everyone does things a little different when it comes to smoking fish but its a pretty simple deal.

I have a big enough smoker but I have tried every way that I could think of but they keep falling off after they start to smoke. Whats your secret????Thanks>>>>later the load

[Walleyehooker]

I cut the head off and split them down the back bone so they fan open when you smoke them. An electric knife works very well for this. I would bend S hooks out of coat hangers and poke them threw the skin near the tail and hang them in the smoker. Never had the meat fall off. Im wondering if you are smoking to hot and the meat is separating from the skin? I had a big smoker which was more of a cool smoker and took a full day + of smoking till done.

[Walleyehooker]

You don't need much heat to smoke/cure meat but it takes much longer with less heat. If you ever seen on TV people up in Alaska have a shack they basically hang the fish in and build a smoky fire and let it smoke probably for a couple of days or more till they are done.

[loadmaster]

I cut the head off and split them down the back bone so they fan open when you smoke them. An electric knife works very well for this. I would bend S hooks out of coat hangers and poke them threw the skin near the tail and hang them in the smoker. Never had the meat fall off. Im wondering if you are smoking to hot and the meat is separating from the skin? I had a big smoker which was more of a cool smoker and took a full day + of smoking till done. Did not follow you on the part about splitting and then run a S hook Did you poke all the way thru the fish and then hang. My smoker is not that hot, but I have tried thru the eyes thru the gills with string and wire maybe my fish are to heavy will have to try thru the tail section or loop around tail section. I smoke at around 170 for 6-7 hours>>>later the load

[fivebucks]

I smoked 9 fish in January hanging by mouth with "S" hooks and 6 of them stayed hung. I just did another 9 fish this past weekend and only 3 stayed hung. The hung fish smoked much better than the ones laying flat. I wonder how the professional smokers hang their fish - anyone know?

[eyeguy 54]

dont know. I have only done fillets. Had 2 for lunch yesturday. As good as always. I like to smoke em at 140 or so for a couple hours then I crank it to 200 till they reach 165. A little on the dry side but I really like them this way. The only negative is picking out the small bones but it's pretty easy.

[Walleyehooker]

Not sure it makes a difference in getting the meat more firm but I brine my fish for 24 hours. Then rinse with cold water and rub each fish with brown sugar and let sit for another 24 hours. The S hook I poke threw just below the tail threw the tough skin.

I had some salmon smoked by someone with a commercial smoker and they also laid them on racks. Im not positive but I believe a commercial smoker might have a fan to circulate the smoke to make it more even. The reason I had the salmon smoked by someone else is we had a lot of it and for $2 a pound they brined it and smoked it and vacuum sealed it and I know they do a great job. I like to smoke things but for $2 a pound Ill let someone else do the work.

[loadmaster]

I think it has to do with the size. If you buy smoked fish on the North Shore, and they are smoked whole, they are not that big and are thin. These are smaller ciscos. By the way, where is everybody getting their fish. We have to travel to get ours.>>> later the load