DBWallis
TVWBB Super Fan
So, I've had my WSM for 3 months now, and tried smoking fish (mostly salmon) a few times. I've used what looks like the standard method of brining the fish with a mixture of kosher salt and brown sugar, with various other seasonings. Articles I've found on the web called for brining the fish anywhere from 2 hours to 24, and the first few times, I brined overnight. The fish has turned out too salty and too dry. Recipes call for smoking for up to 8 hours, but my fish has hit temps of 140 and above in as little as 30 minutes.
Last weekend, I tried a different approach... I brined in a mixture of 2 parts brown sugar to one part kosher salt, for only three hours, and I sprinkled it liberally with fresh ground black pepper and cayenne after rinsing it. I was using a piece of Atlantic salmon that was about an inch thick. I was planning to smoke a couple racks of baby backs, so I prepped the smoker (about 10 pounds of KBB, 12 briquettes of lit charcoal and 3 fist-sized chunks of hickory) and assembled it, fully closing 2 vents and opening the third about halfway, I added the fish. The smoker started at about 100 degrees, and built slowly up to about 220 over the course of an hour. At about an hour, the fish showed an internal temp of 140, so I pulled it.
The fish was just cooked through, and really juicy. The black pepper and cayenne were prominent in the finished product. Overall, I was very happy with the result. In fact, the fish could have used a little salt at the end.
This seems like a pretty good process when I'm smoking fish at the same time as some other meat. Oh... the ribs were awesome too!
The final product:
Last weekend, I tried a different approach... I brined in a mixture of 2 parts brown sugar to one part kosher salt, for only three hours, and I sprinkled it liberally with fresh ground black pepper and cayenne after rinsing it. I was using a piece of Atlantic salmon that was about an inch thick. I was planning to smoke a couple racks of baby backs, so I prepped the smoker (about 10 pounds of KBB, 12 briquettes of lit charcoal and 3 fist-sized chunks of hickory) and assembled it, fully closing 2 vents and opening the third about halfway, I added the fish. The smoker started at about 100 degrees, and built slowly up to about 220 over the course of an hour. At about an hour, the fish showed an internal temp of 140, so I pulled it.
The fish was just cooked through, and really juicy. The black pepper and cayenne were prominent in the finished product. Overall, I was very happy with the result. In fact, the fish could have used a little salt at the end.
This seems like a pretty good process when I'm smoking fish at the same time as some other meat. Oh... the ribs were awesome too!
The final product:
