Smoking Fish Without Using Any Type Of Brine

[daveomak]

Botulism in fishes seems to be on the rise from the food safety articles I read...
Again, it would be wise to treat all meats with cure#1 if it is smoked... A smoker is an ideal incubator for all bacteria and especially botulism due to the reduction of oxygen.... Botulism grows in a low oxygen environment...

 

[MikeFR]

Smoked fish (salmon) for the first time yesterday. Never read up at all on how to do it until I had it seasoned up and waiting on the pellet grill to get going.

That is when I read about the hours of brining.

Too late at that point.

Just one filet, it went straight from the packaging to the smoker, barring the few minutes it sit being seasoned and waiting on the grill.

Came out great, and it was all eaten during supper yesterday.

After reading this, I will do the brine going forward, as we will probably do enough at one time to last for a week or so.