Fish Brine Recipe For Flavor And Moisture Food

SMOKED FISH ( BRINE RECIPE AND SMOKING DIRECTIONS)

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients very well until sugar is disolved.
• Split the fish into halves and soak them for about 12 hours (more or less) in the refrigerator.
• Prepare your fire using charcoal and a mix of old birch (with bark removed) or apple wood or you can use just charcoal.
• Place fish in smoker and allow to smoke for about 6-8 hours for smoking, depending on the outside temperature and how hot your smoker gets of course.

FISH BRINE RECIPE FOR FLAVOR AND MOISTURE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Combine water, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Stir to dissolve.
• Add remaining ingredients, along with ice, and stir so that liquid is fully chilled.
• Pour brine into a heavy gallon zipper bag. Add fish, squeeze excess air out of bag, and seal it. You can use another type of container as long as it has a lid.
• Refrigerate overnight, and take it out of fridge about half an hour before you're ready to cook fish. Rinse with cold water and proceed with recipe as directed.

BRINE FOR SMOKED FISH

Steps:

• I bring this to a simmer over medium heat until all sugars are melted and combined with the salt and water.
• Cool and pour over salmon pieces. ( I do not use all the brine and will have to tweak further ).
• Place in the fridge for at least 24 hours.
• Drain fish and pat dry.
• Place on racks for about 1 hour, blotting with paper towel occasionally.
• Place in smoker for 5 hours, checking and adding smoking chips.

SMOKED FISH

Steps:

• Mix all brine ingredients thoroughly.
• Cut fish in 1-2" pieces, leaving skin on.
• If fish is fresh, soak for 1-1/2 hours; if it has been frozen, soak for 45-60 minutes.
• Remove fish from marinade and place on smoker-racks skin-side down.
• Allow to glaze at room temperature for at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight.
• I usually set a fan to blow across the fish and help them get dry to the touch and look very glazed.
• Cold-smoke (at 120-140 degrees F) for 8-12 hours to obtain desired flavor.
• Then hot smoke (at 180-200 degrees F) for 1-2 hours or finish in a 300 degree F oven for 30-45 minutes to get desired texture.
• I do not like a mushy fish, so I cook it until it firms up, though it's hard to tell, though, until after it has cooled down.
• Cool to room temperature, freeze on cookie sheets, package, and store in freezer.
• Best with stronger flavored, oily fish such as salmon, tuna, or swordfish; in general, mild fish smoke poorly.
• Notes: I use a Brinkmann Smok’n Pit water-smoker.
• The water helps to keep the temperature low, and the steam in the smoke keeps meat more moist during long cooking.
• My smoker is intended for charcoal smoking, but for fish, I place soaked wood chips in a metal (not foil, foil will burn through, use real metal) sitting on top of a cheap hot plate (with a rheostat control, not just an on-off switch), which sits on a brick so the pan is up under the bottom of the smoker, where the charcoal pan normally sets.
• Adjust temperature by adjusting hot plate up or down (usually somewhere between low and medium), and throw another handful of wet wood chips into the pie plate every 30-40 minutes, when the smoke stops generating.
• Depending on my mood, and what kind of wood chips are available, I usually smoke fish with alder, cherry, oak, maple, orange or lemon wood (on the rare occasion I can find orange or lemon) Alder and cherry are usually the easiest to find, and they both work beautifully for fish.
• Do not use hickory or mesquite; they are just too strong and completely overwhelm fish!
• I usually double or triple this recipe; I have rigged my double-size smoker to take up to 4 racks to handle the larger amounts.
• Since this whole process takes a lot of time, the little extra effort is worth while, and the smoked fish freezes well, lasting a couple years with only a little deterioration in flavor or texture.
• SAFETY NOTE: Needless to say, DO THIS OUTDOORS!
• Cabon monoxide KILLS!