Fish Trifecta!

  • Some of the links on this forum allow SMF, at no cost to you, to earn a small commission when you click through and make a purchase. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
SMF is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
What this 80 degree brine you speak of? Need more info please! When I brine the rockfish like this I like to add a glaze part way through, but didn't this time as I didn't have any!


Smoke away!!!
Brine is just a solution of salt and water. The degrees is how much salt is in the water.

To get roughly a 80 degree brine you need 2.25 lbs of salt to one gallon of water. This is enough to brine 8 pounds of fillets after that the brine is too weak.

I checked my recipe I do use 1 lb. of brown sugar and 1 Tbs. Garlic powder and add pink cure. I let the fish soak for 15 minutes per 1/2" of thickness. Remove them from the brine rinse and refrigerate over night uncovered to form a pellicle . I hot smoke mine starting at 140 degrees moving to 170 degrees after 2 hours. Fish is done when the IT reaches 150 degrees. Comes out great not too salty. Cold smoking requires more soak time I think it's 1to 1 1 hr / 1".
 
Last edited:
Brine is just a solution of salt and water. The degrees is how much salt is in the water.

To get roughly a 80 degree brine you need 2.25 lbs of salt to one gallon of water. This is enough to brine 8 pounds of fillets after that the brine is too weak.

I checked my recipe I do use 1 lb. of brown sugar and 1 Tbs. Garlic powder and add pink cure. I let the fish soak for 15 minutes per 1/2" of thickness. Remove them from the brine rinse and refrigerate over night uncovered to form a pellicle . I hot smoke mine starting at 140 degrees moving to 170 degrees after 2 hours. Fish is done when the IT reaches 150 degrees. Comes out great not too salty. Cold smoking requires more soak time I think it's 1to 1 1 hr / 1".

Still confused why is it called a 80 degree
Brine?
 
Case that is a nice batch of fish. Tuna bellies are great I took the ones they brought for bait on one trip LOL
 
Still confused why is it called a 80 degree
Brine?
Brine strength is measured with a salinometer. A salinometer looks kinda like a gigantic glass bulb thermometer. It has markings on it just like a thermometer. Salinometer scale is from 0 degrees to 100 degrees. 0 degrees no salt at 100 high salt concentration. You place the salinometer in a bucket of water it will float. Where the water line touches the salinometer is where you get your reading( salt density in degrees).
So if I have a recipe to cure a ham that calls for a 50 degree brine. I place my salinometer into a bucket of water and add salt until it reads 50 degrees. No need to measure the amount of water or salt . Just use a salinometer and you have the same salt density every time

I hope this's helped.
 
  • Like
Reactions: crankybuzzard
Hi Mike, 100 degree brine is only 26.4% salt solution. I had to dig my book out to double check that number. It gets confusing.
I had to come back and correct my self.  Mike you are correct my salinometer is marked in degrees but I just checked and the new ones are marked in % I'm sure that 80 degrees with my salinometer will equal 80% with a new salinometer or solometer.  So i guess it's how you look at it.

 80 degree or 80 %  of  saturation.

To make a 80 degree brine you need 2.229 pounds of salt added to 8.33 lbs of water (1 gallon)  which is only 21.116% of salt by weight.
 
Thanks for the explanation Jerky Nut. Never heard of your method. Wi have to do some reading up on it.
 
Thanks for the explanation Jerky Nut. Never heard of your method. Wi have to do some reading up on it.
 No problem glad you understood what I was trying to say.  I use the brine method when I make smoked rock fish every one loves it. it turns out like a fish jerky, salty and smokey but not as tough.  I have to try using a glaze like you did next time see how that tastes. Good job on the fish they look great!
 
Dang you're killin me with those bellies Case! Reminds me of the smoked sturgeon bellies we used to get when I was a young man. Me and a buddy would buy 2 pounds and 2 quarts of beer and head for the beach.
 
Excellent job, Case!

I used to believe the hype and cut off and pitch the bellies.  After I cured some up I love them!

Waiting for the final drool pics!

Good luck and good smoking.
 
Nice job Case. Salmon was one of the first things I smoked (hence my avatar) but I haven't done much since. I'll hit you up if I ever need any advice.
 
 
Dang you're killin me with those bellies Case! Reminds me of the smoked sturgeon bellies we used to get when I was a young man. Me and a buddy would buy 2 pounds and 2 quarts of beer and head for the beach.
 
Dang , Case ,That looks absolutely Marvelous . . .
 
Excellent job, Case!

I used to believe the hype and cut off and pitch the bellies.  After I cured some up I love them!

Waiting for the final drool pics!

Good luck and good smoking.
 
Nice job Case. Salmon was one of the first things I smoked (hence my avatar) but I haven't done much since. I'll hit you up if I ever need any advice.
Thank you! Yeah the tuna Bellies are fantastic!

Kurt the first thing i ever smoked was salmon. Bought my first smoker back when I was 12. Top loader Little Chief. I smoked salmon all summer long. Since fishing was my job I'd bring home salmon everyday. Brine overnight, put in the smoker in the morning and pull it out in the afternoon when we got home Repeat the process!
 
I've only smoked ahi bellies once; did a soy, sugar, ginger and garlic marinade. They were okay but I didn't like the texture. I also hot smoked them and the belly was from a 230 lb. yellowfin. I think It would be better from a smaller fish...

Last week at the fish market we got 24 shibis and. a 45 lb tombo. I should have grabbed some bellies!!! I work tomorrow so I hope they got some more in by then...

Shibi: juvenile ahi: either big eye or yellowfin.
Tombo: albacore.
 
I've only smoked ahi bellies once; did a soy, sugar, ginger and garlic marinade. They were okay but I didn't like the texture. I also hot smoked them and the belly was from a 230 lb. yellowfin. I think It would be better from a smaller fish...

Last week at the fish market we got 24 shibis and. a 45 lb tombo. I should have grabbed some bellies!!! I work tomorrow so I hope they got some more in by then...

Shibi: juvenile ahi: either big eye or yellowfin.
Tombo: albacore.
These bellies were all from Albacore that weighed in around 25 pounds. I caught seven this season. Didn't get all the bellies, wishing had! Part of them went to the fish filleter as he wanted them for salmon bait for river fishing. Couldn't say no as he wasn't charging us  to fillet the fish!

Great weather here right now for cold smoking. Balmy 29° with freezing fog, yay, not !
 
SmokingMeatForums.com is reader supported and as an Amazon Associate, we may earn commissions from qualifying purchases.

Hot Threads

Clicky