Thought I'd bring this tread back from the dead.
I am smoking fish, Spanish mackerel to be exact. Went fishing with my brother-in-law yesterday and caught grouper, snapper and later in the day, seven keeper Spanish mackerel. Spanish mackerel are voracious feeders and strong fighters. They have very sharp teeth which can bite trough 50 lb line in a snap. They can also bite through your hand if you are not careful.
Anyway, Spanish mackerel are oily fish. This makes them perfect to smoke. I don't really care to eat them any other way other than smoked. Spanish mackerel, king mackerel and blue fish are all common fish in this area that are good to smoke. How do you eat smoked fish? In smoked fish dip.
Before smoking the fish, I like to brine them. This holds in moisture during the smoking process.
Here is the brine prepared:
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The brine is 1 gallon of water, 1 cup of kosher salt, 1 1/2 cups white sugar, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1 long squirt of chili sauce (**** sauce), 3 tbl black pepper, 2 tbl onion powder, 1 tbl garlic powder.
I brined the fish overnight. Here they are coming out of the refrigerator.
Next step is to take the racks out of the smoker and rub them with peanut oil so the fish won't stick (hopefully).
Remove the fish from the brine and rinse them completely to remove all traces of surface salt.
Place the fish on the racks skin side down and pat dry with paper towels.
Next step is to help them develop the pellicle faster. I put a fan blowing air over them while I get the smoker ready and smoking (45 minutes).
Updates to come as they occur.
I am smoking fish, Spanish mackerel to be exact. Went fishing with my brother-in-law yesterday and caught grouper, snapper and later in the day, seven keeper Spanish mackerel. Spanish mackerel are voracious feeders and strong fighters. They have very sharp teeth which can bite trough 50 lb line in a snap. They can also bite through your hand if you are not careful.

Anyway, Spanish mackerel are oily fish. This makes them perfect to smoke. I don't really care to eat them any other way other than smoked. Spanish mackerel, king mackerel and blue fish are all common fish in this area that are good to smoke. How do you eat smoked fish? In smoked fish dip.
Before smoking the fish, I like to brine them. This holds in moisture during the smoking process.
Here is the brine prepared:
The brine is 1 gallon of water, 1 cup of kosher salt, 1 1/2 cups white sugar, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 1 long squirt of chili sauce (**** sauce), 3 tbl black pepper, 2 tbl onion powder, 1 tbl garlic powder.
I brined the fish overnight. Here they are coming out of the refrigerator.
Next step is to take the racks out of the smoker and rub them with peanut oil so the fish won't stick (hopefully).
Remove the fish from the brine and rinse them completely to remove all traces of surface salt.
Place the fish on the racks skin side down and pat dry with paper towels.
Next step is to help them develop the pellicle faster. I put a fan blowing air over them while I get the smoker ready and smoking (45 minutes).
Updates to come as they occur.