Smoking Fish?


 
Gary S said:
I've done it. Are you cold smoking, hot smoking or just cooking fish with smoke? It's the oils that run which create the problem. I've done whole sardines and they would be about the worst you could get for odor and oil. Using foil or planking is the answer to preventing a long lasting odour and you have to catch any oils or drips. A thorough burnoff of the grill or grills and or washing will eliminate any lasting odor.
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Sometimes people just need to read all of the posts.
I used a Big Chief electric smoker for years smoking Georgian Bay Salmon. It depends on what you are trying to do and how your are doing it! Your WSM will not be contaminated by smoking fish as long as you follow certain procedures.
 
Never said they were but saying you would not try it when others have and discounting what others say when you have not tried it is not an experience it's an inexperienced opinion.
 
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Gary S said:
Never said they were but saying you would not try it when others have and discounting what others say when you have not tried it is not an experience it's an inexperienced opinion.
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You're entitled to your opinion.
Others will have their opinions.
 
some dont like it, some do..im on the dont like it side.. why put it in my WSM when I can put it in my big chief with the same result if not better.. and the fact that i dont like having to contain the oil that pour out of the king salmon here is a contributing factor..
 
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I get what you are both saying but neither of you have said you have done it based on what I am reading. I've brined the salmon and watched with agonizing pain the hours it took with the pans of smoke.
I've made wooden dowels and hung sausage placed on the top of the Big Chief rack and smoked them using nitrate.
I have placed 2" of R 12 insulation in the bottom of the original Big Chief Box under the burner leaving the smoker in the box to aid in temps. Then set it out in the driveway with a wind break in case it caught fire. I have worked the Big Chief in several different ways. The aluminium pan that catches the oils corrodes pure and simple. It stinks after repeated use and it does not come clean. You can't burn off the odour because the smoker does not get hot enough. They're not the same as a WSM, nowhere near. As other have said burn off any odours. You cannot do that with a Big Chief!
Catch the drippings from fish in a disposable pan or tray and you will not have that problem, pure & simple.
I have not read a single post including anything that Harry Soo has said where he has actually done it and ruined a WSM.
I totally agree that everyone is entitled to an opinion. Some are based on fact, some are not.
 
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Gary S said:
I get what you are both saying but neither of you have said you have done it based on what I am reading. I've brined the salmon and watched with agonizing pain the hours it took with the pans of smoke.
I've made wooden dowels and hung sausage placed on the top of the Big Chief rack and smoked them using nitrate.
I have placed 2" of R 12 insulation in the bottom of the original Big Chief Box under the burner leaving the smoker in the box to aid in temps. Then set it out in the driveway with a wind break in case it caught fire. I have worked the Big Chief in several different ways. The aluminium pan that catches the oils corrodes pure and simple. It stinks after repeated use and it does not come clean. You can't burn off the odour because the smoker does not get hot enough. They're not the same as a WSM, nowhere near. As other have said burn off any odours. You cannot do that with a Big Chief!
Catch the drippings from fish in a disposable pan or tray and you will not have that problem, pure & simple.
I have not read a single post including anything that Harry Soo has said where he has actually done it and ruined a WSM.
I totally agree that everyone is entitled to an opinion. Some are based on fact, some are not.
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I've already stated that I swap back and forth between beef jerky and fish in my Totem frontloader (Big Chief predecessor) and don't notice a difference.
The inherent problem with trying to smoke fish on a WSM burning charcoal is that you cannot hold temps low enough to properly smoke fish.
Now if you want to smoke-roast (read cook) some fish, have at it.
If you want to truly smoke fish on a WSM you will need a smoke generator and the WSM will effectively become a cold-smoker box.

Even the Chief smokers will run too hot on occasion (as in Spring, Summer, Fall).
There are many, many home "fish smokers" that are actually cooking their fish. That percentage goes way up when the "cold smokers" chime in...;)
The Chief smokers are made within 50 miles of my location and there are a ton of them in service out here.
We smoke A LOT of fish in the PNW. I'll bet more per capita than anywhere in the Lower 48.
Here's what I had to do to mine to get good product...
http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=679378&highlight=big+chief+mods


So in summary, with all the odor issues (if any) aside, the WSM is not a good fish smoker candidate unless modified with a smoke generator.
This makes any residual fish odor issues a moot point in my opinion, unless you want to pursue the smoke-roasting of fish or modify the WSM to properly smoke fish.
 
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Tom L said:
Harry Soo says one thing, others say the opposite. Can I smoke fish in my WSM 22 and not have it make everything else smell like fish later? Don't want to ruin my baby.


I think it's pretty clear what the questions was.

My answer: I've done it. Are you cold smoking, hot smoking or just cooking fish with smoke? It's the oils that run which create the problem.
These were the first comments in my initial post. We are not talking about the virtues of one smoker over another, that was not the question asked in the post. There is really nothing else to discuss. The merits of the Big Chief are not similar to the WSM. With experience those of us who have WSM's can keep them running at temps under 170F. That is not to say they can cold smoke.
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well I bow to you sir for doing it all. no one could possibly top your expertise. I respectfully rescind all my prior posts on the subject.
 
Dave_H said:
well I bow to you sir for doing it all. no one could possibly top your expertise. I respectfully rescind all my prior posts on the subject.
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+1

And I do admit (albeit sheepishly) to smoke-roasting some dandy, fresh sockeye today.
22.5 kettle, alder smokewood and KBB



:wsm:
 
Santa Rosa, CA (AP)
Year-old thread on BBQ forum triggers international incident.
The US President and the Canadian Prime Minister have to agreed to a mano-a-mano BBQ Cook-Off to settle the matter.



;)
 
john-candy-canadian-bacon_o_1589851.webp
 
I have used my WSM for hot and cold smoking for several years, without any major cleaning. Fish, mostly salmon, but also a several runs of perch, and I have never had any problems with "fish- taste" when switching back to pork or beef.

I think this is a myth, or details that normal users can leave to the experts.
 
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Geir Widar said:
I have used my WSM for hot and cold smoking for several years
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Oh? Any mod for the cold smoking? The only things I found about the WSM and “cold smoke” was about a significant mod. How low can you go (in temp)? Smoked some salmon in my Cheapo Offset Smoker, two winters ago. Had a hard time maintaining the temp below 200ºF. Can’t remember the outside temperature but it wasn’t too cold, since it was snowing most of the time.
Looked into the Big Chief Smoker. Might be a bit too big, for me. And though it’s not as expensive as I thought, it’s almost as much as the WSM 14.5, here in Canada. Probably wouldn’t cold smoke much, anyway. Sounds like fun, but it’s such a long process.
 
Joe F said:
Santa Rosa, CA (AP)
Year-old thread on BBQ forum triggers international incident.
The US President and the Canadian Prime Minister have to agreed to a mano-a-mano BBQ Cook-Off to settle the matter.



;)
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We certainly don't want to cause and international cooking incident over some smelly fish.
 
The originator of this thread asked a simple question...
Which is correct regarding cooking fish on the WSM... Harry Soo or others

I see a single post that touches on the reason(s) for Harry Soo's warnings.

If you are not a professional competitor in World Class BBQ, then it really doesn't matter.
BUT if you are, then it makes all of the difference in the world. Period.

Take for instance this competition later this year in Las Vegas....
One Hundred and Ten Thousand Dollars are at stake !!!

Ask yourselves this... If you were a competitor like Harry, would you cook fish in your WSM ????
 
Yes, I would smoke salmon in a WSM. :) BUT I'm not Harry, of course.

This "NEVER smoke fish in a WSM" sounds like a combination of Harry hero worship and hot air.

Hero worship in that one, maybe two guys think ol' Harry the Master Competitor can do no wrong.

And two, these one or two guys must also think everyone from competition judges to winos with no remaining tastebuds will detect molecules of particulate fish matter from a WSM which will remain in perpetuity inside the WSM no matter how the fish was smoked, how long ago the fish was smoked, what was subsequently smoked in the WSM or how the WSM has been maintained before AND after being ruiniously defiled by some filthy fish. :)

Hell, I don't even own a WSM but I'm reading up on them because I'm considering buying one. And I just have to go along with the VAST majority of the guys who say they've smoked fish in their WSMs with no ill effects.

And am I the only one who found it peculiar that Harry, the alleged "never smoke a fish in your WSM," guy had absolutely NOTHING to say about the matter in this thread??? Wouldn't you think someone at least told him of this thread's existence? One of his fan boys, maybe?

I think there's life in this elderly thread yet! It could live longer than the residual odor and taste of salmon in your WSM should you decide to smoke some in your WSM.
 
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whether or not you agree with Harry on this topic (I don't), following his instructions would definitely help me make a better product.

The percentage of fish to everything else that goes into my cookers is so low that I doubt it'd ever carry over.... but say you seasoned a smoker with fish and then cooked some beef on it :)

My worst mistake with my wsm came early on. I cooked a bunch of fish on the top rack, and chicken on the bottom. YUCK!

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