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[tyler]

Since this might be a good weekend to smoke fish instead of catching them, I thought I would post this recipe Johnny French sent in.

BRINED & SMOKED FISH


I used to prepare to smoke fish by sprinkling filets with Lawry’s Seasoned Salt and black pepper. When in a hurry, I still do. However, after sampling smoked salmon and halibut while on trips to Alaska, I bought an Alaskan cookbook and read about brining fish before smoking them. The theory is that, more than marinating, flavoring and maybe helping preserve smoked fish, brining glazes the surfaces of their flesh, sealing in the moisture so that the fish aren’t quickly turned into jerky. Brining might even be a misnomer, since the following recipe doesn’t use salt. The original recipe called for a cupful of pickling or kosher salt, but my father wanted something more in line with a cardiac diet. I obliged by replacing the salt with the same amount of brown sugar, which that original recipe also included. Then, I made the mistake of buying a gallon of Worcestershire sauce instead of soy sauce, so the modified brine got still less salty. This also turned out to be a happy accident, flavor-wise, even if you’re not sodium challenged.

Anyhow, you mix the ingredients, put the filets in Zip-loc bags, pour enough brine over them to coat all their surfaces, seal the bags, slosh the brine over the fish and stick them in the fridge for anywhere between four hours to overnight. Manipulate the bags to slosh the brine over the filets and rewet the surfaces again several times during that period, if you can. Then, before sticking the filets in the smoker, lay them on a Pam-sprayed grill and let them sit at room temperature where the cat can’t get at them for about an hour, or until the surfaces dry, forming a glaze or skin that will seal the moisture in. I do all my smoking with a charcoal-fired Brinkman water pan smoker, so I ignite the charcoal and let the skin form for as long as it takes to get the charcoal briquettes completely lit.

My preferred smoking wood is six-inch-long chunks of pecan (same genus as hickory) limbs, soaked in water about an hour and laid atop the lit charcoal at the last second before putting the water pan over it. A double handful of wetted pecan shells works as well as sawn limbs if you don’t have a couple of pecan trees constantly dropping limbs on your yard. Alaskans like to use alder branches for this purpose, many South Texans like mesquite or oak, Yankees go for fruit woods like apple, and I have even seen pineapple leaves dried, chopped, packed in a can and sold for this use in Hawaii. Do NOT use pine or other evergreens unless you like the taste of turpentine.

Smoking time varies with the equipment, outside temperature, wind conditions, and thickness of the filets. In cool, windy weather, I may have to use more charcoal and cook longer in my Brinkman, but usually half a pan of charcoal and 2 to 2 ½ hours at 212 degrees (the temperature is regulated by the water in the pan to no more than that of its boiling point) is sufficient. Electric smokers with manual temperature controls, wood pans and water pans will also do the job, but you’ll have to experiment with their timing. When you can push a fork through the thickest part of a filet without resistance, it’s done. Don’t overcook.

Once kippered (the fancy expression for hot-smoked), the fish should still be refrigerated if not eaten right away. Cool the filets on open trays in the fridge before sticking them in fresh, clean Zip-loc bags for storage, or a lot of condensation will form on the insides of the bags while they cool. You can freeze the smoked fish and nuke them later for a hot meal anytime. Again, don’t overcook when reheating.





French’s Un-Briny Brine

1 cup water
1 cup white cooking wine
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup lemon juice
2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

Mix until sugar dissolves. Makes enough to brine 5 pounds of filets. If desired, substitute kosher salt or pickling salt for half the sugar. Do NOT use iodized salt.

So far, I’ve used this brine on Spanish mackerel, halibut, several species of salmon, and even gaspergou (freshwater drum) with great success, but the best tasting brined and smoked fish ever has been pompano. My advice is to brine, smoke and freeze plenty of your favorite fish whenever they’re running, and feast long after the season’s over. They make pretty good gifts and party treats, too.

Johnny French

[C.A. Golla]

Johnny,
Can you leave the skin on the Spanish Mac & Pompano or is it best removed?
Charlie

[tyler]

[C.A. Golla]

Thanks Tyler,
I'm going to give it a try real soon. Smoked pompano in the old duck blind sounds like a real treat.
Charlie

[Seabass]

I had my first pomp fillet last night (of that bunch I caught Monday). Mighty fine eatin! All I did was melt some butter, adding basil & garlic powder... put the marinade over the fish and broiled it.

I plan on grilling some pompano, or maybe smoking it (ala that recipe that came off of the Florida board a few years back). With the leftovers, I'm gonna make Kelle's Pompano Salad.

I also had some fried whiting for lunch. The whiting fillets hadn't been frozen yet and provided a tasty meal. I LOVE fresh fish.

Seabass

[RodBreaker]

[Guest]

Tyler's right, 'tho' I've not had any problem slipping them off the grill. Leaving the skin intact is another way to seal the moisture inside your fish. If you WANT fish jerky, by all means, skin them, but there's a good chance they'll crumble and fall through the grill without the skins to hold them together. Yes, place and leave the filets skin side down on the grills; don't even think of turning them over.

Actually, you can smoke small, dry-fleshed fish w/o their skins if you put some aluminum foil under them so they don't fall through the cracks. Oiler fish with firm flesh like the pompano is tastier and less trouble, though. When I think of the South Beach Diet, I'm dreaming of pomps caught on the South Beach of PINS. Gotta love those omega-3 fatty acids.

[tyler]

OOOH POMPANO!

[Seabass]

[rabbit]

Is that a pic of smoked pomp? My mouth is watering.
_________________
Fishing and Kayaking its a rough life but somebody has to do it.

[jerry]

Anyone ever try smoking a redfish? I've done salmon when I lived in washington state. Alder wood does a great job. I keep thinking about getting some fedexed down just for that reason.
_________________
Broken or not fix it!
NRA Life member
CCCTKF

[putawaywet]

Oh yeah!
I smoke redfish and drum often.
It's just hard to keep em' lit.

I think I'll be trying Johnny's recipe today.

Tyler,
Your smoked pompano filets are my new desktop.
_________________
"If you love something let it go.If it comes back to you gaff it and throw it in the icechest."

"Many men go fishing all they're lives without knowing it is not fish they are after."-Henry David Thoreu

[Guest]

I take it that it is ok to freeze fish and then thaw them out and smoke them.

[rabbit]

OOPS that was me
_________________
Fishing and Kayaking its a rough life but somebody has to do it.

[putawaywet]