Smoking Striped Bass or Bluefish - Timing


 
M

Mike Arnold

New member
Smoking Striped Bass or Bluefish - Advice needed

I have a few questions about about smoking fish.

How much time do you allow for brining? I have seen recommendations from 1 hour up to as many as 12 hours.
I was just wondering for planning purposes.

I also know that you need to allow time for it to dry. How much time should I allow?

How long do you smoke them and at what temp?
I have seen in the low 200's for about 2-3 hours.

Finally, once smoking is complete, if you freeze the leftovers, how long do they keep fresh?

Thanks.
Mike
 
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Hey Mike, wish I had some answers for you but, alas, I do not. I too am interested in smoking whole fish. Smoked many salmon sides but never a whole fish. Had a neighbor a bunch of years ago who use to give my wife and I a smoked blue from time to time. It was great. She was also a fisherperson who caught her own. This year I tried to locate some whole blues with no success. I thought if I could find them I could experiment. How bad could it be? I live in western Connecticut. Hopefully you'll get some good replies to your post.
 
Thanks John. I have done some Google searches on the topic and have a general idea of what to do, but I'm finding different things. I would like to hear what others have done based on personal experience.

I have had the recent urge to go deep sea fishing again because I haven't done it in a few years. I live in central NJ and I'm not far from the Jersey Shore. I loved fishing for blues because they are such great fighters, but I have heard mixed things about the taste. I personally liked it but I know that many people don't. However, I heard lots of good things about smoked bluefish. I never fished for striped bass (also known as rockfish), so I would like to try that too. Now I will have the opportunity to combine both activities that I enjoy: fishing and smoking.

Looking forward to some feedback on the topic and would like to hear about everyone's experience.

Mike
 
Don't have any answers for you but I will throw in another question. I thought I heard that it is not a good idea to use a smoker for fish if you use it for other meats? I seem to remember John Zell saying that he has a separate smoker for fish only. This could have a bearing on what you want to do.
 
There's different ways to do it, I've just always used a dry rub of salt pepper and garlic powder, on skin on fillets, smoked pretty low, about 180-200, with a water pan . they cook fast, lower temp will get you more smoke flavor, but this is a cooked product.
 
Hi Mike,

I grew up in a fishing community on long island and I've fished off the jersey shore for striped bass and blues a bunch of times. Bluefish eaten the day it's caught is great but after a day or two, it gets pretty fishy. You can soak the fish in milk for a couple of hours to remove some of the fishiness but IMO, it's still not great. So what we do is filet all the fish, eat bluefish the first night, smoke the rest of the blue fish the 2nd day and eat striped bass (which is fabulous) the second night (and third if we've caught enough).

with some of the bluefish, I make a big batch of this dip, substituting blue for salmon, it's a big hit with family and friends, thanks to chris for posting it:
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?17429-Gordy-s-Salmon-Dip&highlight=dip
 
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FWIW, I have two smokers. My old Brinkman that I use strictly for fish. This was my first smoker before I tried the electrics and then bought my WSM. It really doesn't hold the heat, leaks like a sieve and is tough to regulate. Fortunately fish is not that difficult. Well at least sides of salmon are not that difficult. Have heard from others that they mix fish and meats with little ill effects.
 
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