Thawing and smoking fish

[smoksignlr]

Is there a negative effect on thawing a frozen Lake trout and smoking it? The fish will only be frozen for a couple of days with the skin on. My worry is having the final product be soggy. Thanksl Gary

 

[Dutch]

Gary, thaw your trout under refrigeration. Some folks will thaw fish under cold running water and that is usually when they get that "soggy" appearance from. Once you have thawed the fish out it's OK to give it a quick rinse under cold water then just pat dry with some paper towelling.

 

[bob-bqn]

The first time I ever had trout, it was smoked trout. Man, that was some good stuff! It was smoked for a longer time than you would to just cook it because it was a very dry product. Almost like fish jerky but not quite as dry. Therefore, I would presume that if the fish seems to be a little soggy that it would firm up some if you lower the temperature and cook it longer.

 

[smoksignlr]

Thanks Boys. I'm fire'n up the smokin machine today. Hopefully even figure out the picture posting today. I asked Jeff and think the file I was trying to post was too big. Talk to ya gotta go make fire Bye.

 

[Dutch]

Gary as for posting pic's-sign up for an account with imageshack. It allows you to post "thumbnail" pic's in your post and when you click on the thumbnale pic it opens in another window at full size. Check some of my posts that have photos in them and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Good luck with the trout!

 

[smoksignlr]

Lake trout Filets cooling. This time I have it for sure. Quality of photo not the best.

 

[Dutch]

Nice job, Gary!! What kind of wood did you smoke them with?

 

[smoksignlr]

Thanks Earl not only for the compliment but for the help in getting the pic up and tips for the prep. I used a basic brine of 1 lb. of salt to 1 gallon of water. I then added a bit of brown sugar and some maple syrup as well. I then soaked it overnight then padded it off and let it dry for a day. I used maple to smoke it. I found that right out of the smoker it was salty but after sitting overnight It was juuust right.

 

[bob-bqn]

Those fish look wonderful Gary. You were concerned about the texture of the fish, how did they turn out texture-wise? You got me wanting some trout. 8)

 

[smoksignlr]

Thanks Bob. They turned out nice. Right now one side of the smoke room is slightly hotter than the other so the ones in the front of the picture where on the right side of the smokeroom those ones were a bit drier nice if you like it that way, the other ones were firm with just a little bit of moisture. I wished I could tell you I planned to to have a variety but we don't stretch the truth here. Right?

 

[bob-bqn]

Around here .... the truth is as it is told.

Sounds like it wasn't mushy and all turned out well. :D