Hot Smoking Mackerel...I'm not getting enough smoke coloring. What am I doing wrong?

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darthtrader

Newbie
Original poster
Oct 6, 2010
18
12
I've been hot smoking mackerel at 170ºF for two hours on a Masterbuilt Vertical Gas Smoker, replenishing the wood halfway through.  I get a nice smoke flavor, but sometimes I don't get any smoke coloring at all like I would when smoking on a WSM.  What could I possibly be doing wrong?  

Thanks in advance, guys.  
 
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Well fish is like red meat sometimes. If it getting the smokey flavor then I wouldn't worry about it. Each piece of meat takes the smoke the way it wants not the way you want it to.
 
It has been my experience that it takes longer than two hours to get good color on fish & other things.

Bear
 
It is also important to let the fish dry in cool air until a tacky film (pellicle) form on it, this allows for better smoke adhesion.
 
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