Nooob Talapia Smoke

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bigal

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
OTBS Member
Sep 21, 2006
970
10
Western Kansas
Found some talapia in the freezer, thought "what the heck". Did a search and looks like nobody has talked about smoke'n talapia so I take that as a big sign..........still gonna do it though.

Using Jeff's brine for trout, 2cups water, 2T k.salt, 1T cajun seasoning. (also doing some salmon this way)

We'll see how it goes and I'll try to take some pics.

This is all I had to smoke, except a big frozen brisket and didn't want to spend all day by smoker, want to see kids.....................oh yea and the wife.
PDT_Armataz_01_28.gif


If you've done it, let me know how it turned out and how you did it. right now the fish is brine'n and will go on smoker in about 3 beers..........or 1 hour(which ever comes first)
 
you have to be careful not to leave talapia in the brine for too long or in the smoker too long... it is a very light fish as you know and will be over powered by the smoke

smoke it like you would a whitefish or similar fish

tilapia.. the best way i have had it is... mexican rest. whole fish, oil bath, oil poured over and over again... served with some limes, peel and squirt..nummy
 
Thanks Teacup, I guess pecan & mesquite might not be the right wood. I'll have to put in some hickory or maybe straight pecan. I like the pecan..........yep, pecan it is.
 
Sorry, no pics.

The talapia is great. I spritz'd w/lemon/white wine/water mix. Added butter near the end. Also added some garlic/onion pwdr. Tastes great.

Happy Easter, I'm going in the house to see the family.
 
Just saw your post. My wife and tried to smoke some Tilapia earlier this week as well. We didn't use a brine. I smoked it using Hickory chips after brushing it with Lemon, pepper and Basil. I thought it was alright but Andi thought it had too much smoke flavor.

How long did you keep yours in the smoker?
 
its the hickory chips that did you in... some people like hickory on their fish but me i find it too strong of a flavor...

growing up smack dab in the middle of the Great Lakes, fish was the first thing i learned to smoke, fish were plentiful, especially in the fall.

next time if you want, try some apple, cherry or even maple. Depending how hot your smoker gets and the thickness of the cut of the filet, determines the length of smoke time.

when i smoke a fish, i generally dont give them more than an hour of smoke, exception to that rule is salmon.

if yah need anymore help with smoking some fish, let me know.
 
I appreciate the advice and may have to try some apple or cherry wood. They both seem to be popular choices in here. Have you tried using citrus tree wods before like orange or grapefruit?

The filets are usually about 3/4 inch thick so they are not big. I cooked them at about 200 - 205 for about 1.5 hours using smoke the whole time.
 
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