Smoked northern problem

[KidWalleye]

When I smoke northern I end up with a thick "skin". Has anyone tried smoking northern wrapped in cheese cloth? Someone told me to try this. Also I usually let my fish sit out to dry after soaking over night. If I put them right into the smoker will this help the outside from getting tough. Thanks for the info. Kid

[eyes']

It sounds like you are smoking them for to long... Are you smoking them whole? I like to use about 3 to 4 lb fish and fillet them but smoke with the skin side down and they always turn out great... Straight out of the salt brine and into the smoker. They will be some what drier that other fish just because they don't have the oils that most fish do that people smoke but thats what I like about them...

[89Bronco]

eyes'---You don't air dry 'em? All the recipes/books I have say that you have to rinse well and then air dry them before putting them in. Do they turn out salty...or is that the taste you're going for?

[Jim Uran]

I'd say to rinse some of the salt brine off and throw them in right away, By letting them air dry out of the brine most of the moisture is probably gone from the salt in the brine and you end with old leathery skin. Rinse them off and then smoke them until you can see the "juices come out" , and not much longer the juices will start drying out and they should be done, I don't know just my $.02

[Surface Tension]

Air drying helps to seal in the moisture. If your getting a thick skin I'd have to ask what brine are you using and what temp your smoking at. Too high and your going to cook the fish, if your to low your going to make jerky. Floating an egg isn't a consistent measurement. I can take an old egg and it'll float without adding any salt. A brine of 1 cup non iodized salt to 1 gallon of water works much better then the egg trick. Add what sugars and spices you want to that.

In addition to that brine I add 1 teaspoon sodium nitrate.

If you can't find the sodium nitrate you can substitute the non iodized salt for Morton's Quick Cure. Soak overnight and rinse, pat dry and let air dry.

Pike are a dry fish and theres a few things you can do to keep them moist. Leave the skin on and place if skin down in the smoker. That skin will keep some of the juices from dripping and keep it in the meat.

Something else is place a large pan of water above your chips, start out with hot water. Next close your dampers down to keep that moister in the smoker. Lastly if you've left enough moister in the fish but the outside is dry,(most likely from too high of heat)packaging in plastic bags will help rehydrate those areas.

[bigdog]

I spread some butter on the fillets and wrap in one layer of cheese cloth before smoking. The cheese cloth keeps the meat from sticking and the butter adds a little oil to the dry meat. I suppose you can rub some cooking oil or olive oil instead of butter but I have not tried that.