2nd attempt on smoking some fish and need some suggestions....

[bnb]

Hi All, 

Just got a new Davy Crockett Green Mountain Smoker for Christmas and smoked some fish on it already. It turned out pretty good but the outside was a little tough and not sure how to fix that. 

Here is what I did:

I defrosted some king salmon, coho salmon, yellow tail and halibut and put it in a wet brine overnight which included:

2 cups brown sugar

1/4 cup kosher salt

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbs hot sauce

1 1/2 cups soy sauce

1 cup water

After letting the fish soak in the brine over night I rinsed it well and put it on drying racks in the fridge for about 4 hours and then onto the smoker. The smoker temp was set to 150 and I used hickory pellets and pulled the fish off once the internal temp hit 150.

The flavors were pretty good but the outside was a little tough.

Love some ideas on how to make it not so tough and if you think I should make any changes to the brine.

Thanks!

 

[cmayna]

For me, King salmon and halibut require very different brines.  King= dry brine,  Halibut = wet brine.  No matter what fish, I would pull it when the IT reached 135+ - 140.  I also use alder and apple wood.   Hickory to me is way too strong for fish.  But that might be just me.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

For me, King salmon and halibut require very different brines.  King= dry brine,  Halibut = wet brine.  No matter what fish, I would pull it when the IT reached 135+ - 140.  I also use alder and apple wood.   Hickory to me is way too strong for fish.  But that might be just me.

I agree with Craig on this.

For the salmon and tuna Inprefer a 4:1 brown sugar to kosher salt dry brine. You can add other seasonings after the brine process prior to smoking.

Halibut in my opinion is best hot smoked and eaten hot.

I also agree with wood selection. Milder woods are best for fish. Alder, apple, peach etc.

 

[bnb]

Any advise on how to make it so it's not so tough on the outside?

 

[cmayna]

As we already suggested, do not treat all the fish, the same.  Salmon, dry brine, maybe 5-6 hours.  Halibut wet brine, 6-8 hours.  Smoke either to an IT of 135-140.