Smoked Tullibee/Whitefish

[sjuduckhunter]

Hey all. Just wondering if anyone has any good recipes/techniques for smoking tullibees or whitefish. I have tried some of the recipes I have seen on here and I must say they are stellar. Thanks guys!

MJ

[DIRTY BIKER]

I have used the hi mountain gourmet fish brine from gander mountain with great success on tullibees they also have a web site that you can order from its www.himtnjerky.com

[Jim Uran]

An elder I knew always used pickling salt in water, " enough salt to float an egg in" what ever that meant but he said to soak them over night then rinse them off really good, and than soak them again in a fresh brine mixture over night again, rinse them off again and throw them in the smoker. He said he rinsed them off really good to keep them from drying up to fast in the smoker so it had time to inherit some of the smokey flavor. This is the way I do it and it turns out great..

[sjuduckhunter]

Thanks guys.

So the brine is used to remove the slime and such from the skin? Also, do you leave heads on or do you chop them off?

MJ

[Jim Uran]

I chop them off, just to make more room in the smoker, Plus I don't want to look them in the eye when I throw 'em in the smoker, ha ha.

[IndyEFI500]

What kind of smokers do you guys use? I have thought about using my gas/charcoal smoker but haven't been brave enough yet. I don't remember what brand it is but it is a great unit. Turns out awesom turkeys and pork. When used with gas it is very controllable. I haven't been as successful with charcoal yet.

[Jim Uran]

I built one out of plywood, it's about as big as a refrigerator and it has 4 big trays that slide out. I dug out the bottom to make the fire. and out a vent on top to regulate the heat. I've had it for 3 years now. I used chicken wire for the grates, it's getting beat up but it still works great.

[Surface Tension]

I smoke Herring and Whitefish whole, because of that I up the salt in my brine from 1 cup non iodized salt and 1 gallon of water to 1 1/4 cup salt and 1 gallon of water, to that I add 1 teaspoon sodium nitrate. Soak overnight, rinse lightly and air dry. I have a few smokers but the electric I made has a thermostat and relay. I smoke sausages and temp control is critical, with the electric I set the temp and and forget it. Dampers(vents)are used for moisture control.

Smokers can be elaborate or as crude as a cardboard box. All you need is a heat source, a way to hang or lay meat and something to contain the heat, and smoke. A word on racks, stay away from galvanized steel or refrigerator racks, they react with the meat. You can't go wrong with stainless steel. My best advice is use good controls to be able to duplicate what you like or alter what you don't like, keeping records of brines, wood types and so on helps to keep every batch a good batch. Heres a tip, instead of soaking your wood chips in water to prevent flare ups, partially cover your chip pan with tinfoil or an old lid. The chips will start to smoke a lot sooner then if they were soaked in water and the cover chokes the air intake enough to where the chips can't flame.

[dirtking]

Just got back from LOTW and kept a couple of whiteys after reading this post - do you need to scale the white fish before smoking them?

[Jim Uran]

NOPE

[Tom Linderholm]

ST is right in his statement that smokers can be as crude as you want them to be. I for years inside restaurants have used makeshift smokers to flavor Meats & Seafood. My standby is what we call a Full Pan or 800 pan. Its basically a Large Stainless Pan with a nearly airtight lid and another stainless perforated pan that hangs 4 inches down inside of it.

We use this method on top of a gas range and keep a close eye on the flame controls.

Unless you have a commercial air handler hood reserve this method for outdoors.

My most natural has been in the BWCA using ledgerock to build a box near our fire grate and ceder shavings for the smoke. Packed in our salt and brown sugar for curing. That may have been the best smoked Lake Trout I ever had

[Havin' Fun]

best brine is to use only enough salt to float an egg. it's completely scientific actually! The density of the egg will dictate the amount of solute(salt) you use. Than just add the seasoning you want. I just use salt than smoke with wet(soak for about an hour or so) applewood chips. I make sure they are wet as this keep my fire cooler and it smokes real good. Love te applewood flavor for both whities/tullies and salmon.

[island guy]

I remember a old friend using a method for fish that had brown sugar as part of the process but I can't remember the details. Anyone help me out with this?

[Surface Tension]

island guy, I've often used brown sugar in equal parts to the salt. Something else to try is skip the brown sugar in the brine and spinkle it on top the fish come smoking time. Both methods work well with different effects on the taste.

About the egg, I've made brine that way and it isn't a consistant measurement. No two eggs are the same and like I said before, the age of the egg makes a huge difference. Now factor in the differing water temps and the differing temp of the egg from the last batch of brime you made into this formula and your controls are way to iffy. Something else to keep in mind is the difference of suspending an egg and floating and egg could mean double the amount of salt. Why not just measure your salt and water, its faster, easier and its accurate not meantion you have something accurate to go by if you want to adjust your brine.

[Tom Linderholm]

You may also use the Brown Sugar in a dry pack instead of brining.

2 parts brown sugar to 1 part Kosher salt (iodized can be overbearing)

I like to allow my fish to air dry for at least a half hour and will put various seasonings on top of it prior to packing it in the Dry Mix. Try cajun, dill and lemon zest, or your favorites.

Surround entire portion of fish with mixture and pack in a pan that will allow you to stack pressure on top of fish. Add roughly 10-15#'s and refridgerate for up to 18 hours. For thinner filets go about 10 hours. Remove from Dry pack and rinse excess off prior to smoking.

Enjoy!