I have used this a lot and have had great luck with it.
- 1 gallon cold water
- 1 quart teriyaki OR soy sauce
- 1 cup pickling salt
- 2 lbs. brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. garlic powder
- 3 Tbsp. cayenne pepper
Brine in refer overnight, rinse and allow to dry a couple hours to form pellicle. Room temp is fine as the salt in the brine is keeping your fish from spoiling for that short of time. Pellicle is a rather shiny dry but maybe tacky surface on the fish. That step is important in my opinion.
This the schedule I follow for smoking using alder wood dust
- 100°-120°F for 1-2 hours, then increase to
- 140° for 2-4 hours, then increase to
- 175° for 1-2 hours to finish
- Finish to internal temp of 145*
Good luck..