Smoked Northern Pike

[wild west]

I haven't smoked pike before but I had about 4 lbs of boneless filets in the freezer from a pike I caught in the summer. I used Mr. T'S salmon brine recipe and brined it for 18 hrs then gave it a good rinse patted it dry then onto racks to form the pellicle for about 5 hrs. Smoked it in the mes with lumberjacks sweet blend of pellets at 180* until it hit 145* IT and held it there for 30 mins.

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• wild west
• Nov 3, 2016

. It looks and tastes great maybe just a touch salty. I was surprised by the texture. Almost like a fish jerky. Maybe because I brined it too long for pike which is alot dryer fish than salmon. I'm still happy with the results but I'll tweet times and Temps next time. Thank you to Mr. T for a great brine recipe.

 

[stump jumper]

That looks really tasty!

I love smoked fish..

Mike

 

[crazymoon]

WW, looks great!

 

[SmokinAl]

It looks delicious!

Nice job!

Al

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Looks tasty! For fish like Pike that have Les oil and are milder I would use a shorter brine. My preference is to actually use a dry brine method. For salmon I use 4 parts brown sugar to 1 part koasher salt. For milder fish I cut the salt down so the ratio is 5:1.

Layer dry brine 1/4" thick in a non-reactive container. Place fish on dry brine . Cover with dry brine, repeat if needed.

Place in fridge for 4-8 hours. Rinse, season, air dry fish to form pellicle. Smoke. I use a step method for the heat. 130 first hour no smoke. Add smoke and jump temp 10 degrees every hour until smoker hits 180. Do not exceed 180. Smoke until desired texture is achieved.

 

[wild west]

Thanks stump jumper.we love smoked fish too. Thanks CM and AL. I've always used my amaznts in the past. This was the first smoke with the 5x8 maze and I'm real happy with the color and flavor the pike took. Thanks dirtsailor I will try the dry brine method.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I have been smoking fish since I was 12 years old. I have messed around with all kinds of methods and have found that the 4:1 Sugar to salt dry brine to be my favorite method. And you can play with other seasonings since they are applied after the cure. You can even mess around with glazes during the smoking process.

For most white meated non-fatty fish, less is more. Less salt, less heat, less time in the smoker. With that said the rockfish that we catch here in the ocean I tens to always smoke longer to achieve the jerky texture. I prefer it that way.

Here's a sample of one of my last smokes using a mixture of fish. Note that I do not brine different fish with other fish in the same tub. I don't like my salmon tasting like tuna!

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/173259/fish-trifecta

 

[disco]

Nice looking fish. I've never tried pike but this looks good.

Disco

 

[wild west]

Thank you Disco

 

[tarragonchicken]

looks fantastic. My future son in law is in North Dakota with lots of pike in freezer. This will be perfect

 

[huntfishdude]

I've been smokin' Pike for some time now and it's like candy. I use liquid brine for only 3 hrs, sit overnight and then cold smoke for 6 hrs. It's golden delicious if done right.

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• huntfishdude
• Jan 7, 2017

Even tried this same method on a fat Catfish last year with amazing results.

Pike makes for a great appetizer dip too. Take about 1/2 of a smoked fish quarter and crumple. Add to a block of cream cheese. Add a tablespoon or so of chopped fresh chive. Mix all together into a cheese ball and serve with crackers. My favorite crackers with Pike Candy is Sea salt Pita chips. Dang tasty I do declare!