Seeking Advise for Smoking Smelt...

[expat smoker]

Broke da mouth!!!!

Used AKhap's simple recipe, but added fresh ground pepper and my smoker had a hard time maintaining  150f.......mostly near 200 and taste tested @ 1.5 hrs and they were WOW......succulent, juicy burst in your mouth, but let them go a bit longer and still excellent, but a little drier.  Ate the whole damn fish from head to tail and dipped it into a Japanese sauce of molasas and soy sauce and definately will do it again, but not so long and hot.

Thanks guys...........

 

[akhap]

Broke da mouth!!!!

Used AKhap's simple recipe, but added fresh ground pepper and my smoker had a hard time maintaining  150f.......mostly near 200 and taste tested @ 1.5 hrs and they were WOW......succulent, juicy burst in your mouth, but let them go a bit longer and still excellent, but a little drier.  Ate the whole damn fish from head to tail and dipped it into a Japanese sauce of molasas and soy sauce and definately will do it again, but not so long and hot.
Thanks guys...........

Outstanding! Adding coarse ground pepper is good and easy and I will often do it to a portion of the smoker load.

The idea IMO&E is make fish with excellent texture and taste while using sauces to achieve extra sweetness, spice heat, or other tastes. It creates far more flexible table fare that way.

Getting the mechanics down to produce that perfect fish is not really difficult. Keeping it the same every time keeps you from ruining lots of pounds of hard-won or expensive fish.

good job!
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[biggear]

Well this is my first shot at smoking smelts ..put in a brine for 2 hours .1 cup kosher salt 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 lemon sliced some dill and bay leaves 4 cloves 1 teaspoon of garlic and ground perpper .I let them soak 2 hours then rinsed them well and let them sit overnight in my fridge ..on the smoker now going for 2 hours at around 150 and I will sample ...

 

[daveomak]

Big, morning...... are you smoking them guts, feathers and all ??? That's the way I liked them.... I used the head as a handle and gently bit into the meat and it slid of the bones easily... or eating the bones was OK also.... depends how far into the "cocktail hour" we were....

 

[leah elisheva]

Did someone say "smelts???" Smiles. I LOVE smelts - whole, with heads especially - although so often, the store only has headless here. If you check out a previous thread of mine, titled "I eat bait and I like it," in the fish section, that may help some???

If not, then simply know that I send some likeminded and very zealous SMELT cheer your way, as I do love the stuff and am sure you're will absolutely be delicious!

Cheers! - Leah

(I think this is the link, and I've also posted other smelt ones before it, but again, if helpful, then fabulous, if not, then Happy Tuesday anyway)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Make today amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/153127/yes-i-eat-bait-and-i-love-it

 

[biggear]

Smelts turned out good .no mine were cleaned .2 hours in the smoker did the trick ..very good dish ..

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• biggear
• Jan 14, 2014

 

[leah elisheva]

Fantastic!!! Smelts are good food! Indeed! Great job! Cheers! - Leah

 

[reinhard]

FishHuntMan, a fellow Minnesotan.  Did you get those smelt down on Park Point in Duluth?  That's a pretty good haul nowadays.  I used to smelt as a kid on the North Shore in the heyday's when you could get them by hand almost.  Things have slowed down a bit now since Lake Superior has rebounded with the game fish and salmon and trout.  We used to seine Park Point on the Harbor side also.  Hope your smoked smelt goes well.  Lot's of good ideas here.  Reinhard

 

[leah elisheva]

Hi all! I grilled smelts yesterday and they were fantastic! Happy Friday!!!!!!!! Cheers! - Leah

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• leah elisheva
• Jan 17, 2014

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• leah elisheva
• Jan 17, 2014

 

[adamlovesbbq]

I'm gonna give smelt a smoke this weekend.  Just bought a kilo for under $3 frozen here in Thailand.  So far, I've only had them fried crispy and the Thais eat them whole, from head to tail....guts included.  I usually stop at the head.  The ones we have here are either Japanese or Chinese and full of delicious eggs. I've read a few recipes that mostly say to brine for a short time [less than 2 hrs] and smoke for a long time [4 hrs], at low temps [160f].
My only experience with smelt is here in Thailand and was wondering if other cultures eat them whole....head to tail?? Google tells me that their diet before spawning on the beach is krill and plankton so maybe no pollution to worry about??
Any tips??

I grew up in Newfoundland. We catch a similar fish we call Capelin (say "Cape-Linn"). Some people out there fillet them or gut them. Most people simply eat them whole from head to tail. Myself included. Salted and dried is my favourite way to enjoy these fish but I'm looking forward to trying out smoking them.