03-30-2011, 07:45 PM
Here's the brine I use when smoking salmon or trout. My wife and I don't like salty tasting smoked fish, so my brine contains about half the salt of normal brines. It won't keep as long in a refrigerator so I vac pack and freeze all my smoked fish and then just thaw some out when I need to use it.
Brine mix for trout and salmon
12 cups cold water
1 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce
2 cups non-iodized salt
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 heaping Tbl spoons garlic salt
1 heaping Tbl spoon pepper
2 Tsp paprika
2 heaping Tbl spoons lemon pepper
1 level Tbl spoon oregano
The juice of two oranges
The juice of three lemons
This brine makes a very large amount and will work for a big load of fish. If you don't need as much brine, just cut all of the ingredients in half
Mix the brine well and place thawed portions of the fish into the solution. Store overnight, or at least 8 hours in the refrigerator. After brining, rinse the fillets in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Let the fillets air dry for about 30 miutes and they will develop a little bit of a glaze. This is important as it adds to the flavor later.
Space the pieces in your smoker so there is room for the air to circulate. Smoking times will vary with the unit. I find with my 30" Masterbuilt smoker that 2.5 to 3 hours at 200 degrees works well for thick fillets from the salmon. Less time would be required for the thinner trout fillets. I had good results on trout fillets using about 1.5 to 2 hours at 200 degrees on my last batch. I suggest you check the doneness once in a while to avoid over drying the fish.
I use wood chips I get from my own apple trees. I save all the smaller limbs from the annual pruning. I cut the branches into small pieces and then put them in a cardboard box to dry for about two or three months. I like the flavor of the apple wood and it is available commercially. All of the wood chips you can buy will produce some good flavors. I've also had good results with the Jack Daniels oak barrel chips, but they are a little expensive.
I had a Little Chief smoker until last summer. I found that I couldn't even use that smoker if the air temps were below about 70 degrees. My new smoker keeps a steady 200 degrees even if it's cold outside.
Mike
[signature]
Brine mix for trout and salmon
12 cups cold water
1 cup Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce
2 cups non-iodized salt
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 heaping Tbl spoons garlic salt
1 heaping Tbl spoon pepper
2 Tsp paprika
2 heaping Tbl spoons lemon pepper
1 level Tbl spoon oregano
The juice of two oranges
The juice of three lemons
This brine makes a very large amount and will work for a big load of fish. If you don't need as much brine, just cut all of the ingredients in half
Mix the brine well and place thawed portions of the fish into the solution. Store overnight, or at least 8 hours in the refrigerator. After brining, rinse the fillets in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Let the fillets air dry for about 30 miutes and they will develop a little bit of a glaze. This is important as it adds to the flavor later.
Space the pieces in your smoker so there is room for the air to circulate. Smoking times will vary with the unit. I find with my 30" Masterbuilt smoker that 2.5 to 3 hours at 200 degrees works well for thick fillets from the salmon. Less time would be required for the thinner trout fillets. I had good results on trout fillets using about 1.5 to 2 hours at 200 degrees on my last batch. I suggest you check the doneness once in a while to avoid over drying the fish.
I use wood chips I get from my own apple trees. I save all the smaller limbs from the annual pruning. I cut the branches into small pieces and then put them in a cardboard box to dry for about two or three months. I like the flavor of the apple wood and it is available commercially. All of the wood chips you can buy will produce some good flavors. I've also had good results with the Jack Daniels oak barrel chips, but they are a little expensive.
I had a Little Chief smoker until last summer. I found that I couldn't even use that smoker if the air temps were below about 70 degrees. My new smoker keeps a steady 200 degrees even if it's cold outside.
Mike
[signature]