Jump to content

Recommended Posts

okay guys thinking i would like to start smoking some fish (yes i know they are buggers to get lit). I am after info on what people use for smoking (webers, store bought smokers etc)or if anybody has made their own. Looking at previous threads i have found brine recipies which look interesting. Where do you get your woodchips or sawdust from is that something you buy from the likes of bbq's galore and on that subject is there chips or sawdust that should not be used. I should probably keep digging through olod posts but out at Lewiston our internet is horribly slow. Thanks in advance.

Link to post
Share on other sites
jharli wrote:

okay guys thinking i would like to start smoking some fish (yes i know they are buggers to get lit).

Depends which end you are trying to get going! :P Smoking is one of my favourite subjects.Sawdust is very expensive, so if you know a woodcutter or similar you will save a packet.Only use quality hardwoods, and avoid treated timbers or pine.I'm not too fussed about the type of sawdust. Connoisseurs will all tell ya their favourites, but I really cant tell that much difference.Soaking the sawdust in water or wine will mellow the flavour, and that's good fun to experiment with.The fish must be brined (8 parts water/1 part salt) for 1-3 hours to extract excess moisture from the flesh, and you can also add brown sugar to the brine to sweeten it, but I like to sprinkle my fish with brown sugar when it goes into the smoker to give it a sweet glaze. Once the fish has been brined it needs to drain and dry before going into the smoker.There are now two choices in smoking.Cold smoking: Takes a long time. The fish is preserved and dried, so it will keep.Hot smoking: The fish is cooked as it is smoked. It retains moisture, but it will only keep for a few days.I'm a fan of hot smoking, and I've bought an Anuka electric hot smoker. These things are made in New Zealand, they are fantastic and convenient, but they are very expensive.Posted ImageOily fleshed fish such as Tommies, Salmon Trout and Slimey Mackeral is the best for smoking, but ensure you bleed the fish immediately upon capture.Good luck with smoking. It's all experimentation so have a play, try different herbs and spices sprinkled onto the fish, and ensure you have a quality Boags Premium or ten on hand as the perfect compliment to freshly smoked fillets!
Link to post
Share on other sites

i use a store bought smoker from one of the chain stores. has 3 metho burners but i usually only use 1-2 dependant on what i stick in there. id rather lower heat and longer time in there.wood chips.. can pay up to 10$ a kg! from various stores.. you can brine, or use rock salt to draw the moisture out. but the brines prob a better idea!brown sugar sprinkles as Ranger says is a good idea too!and mostly.. experiment and enjoy!

Link to post
Share on other sites

I did see a program recently on the TV where Scollop's were smoked with Earl Grey tea leaves. In my brine I throw in some pickling spices as well as salt and I have been knowen the add some Chilli Sauce to the mix instead of brown sugar . My last lot I sprinkled ground black pepper on the fish just before I put them in the smoker they tasted pretty darn good to me and the family liked them too , but that is a side issue. It is all about the flavours that you like. You don't have to stick to salt and sugar. and play around with your woods as well I like to use red gum myself it has a strong smokey taste. I use one of those hot boxes you get from the tackle shops and smoke my fish 3 times before I am happy to eat it . enjoy yourself mate smoking fish is great.

Link to post
Share on other sites

A good smoker can be made from an old Weber Kettle. These can often be found at garage sales for around $5-$10 and already have everything needed. All you need is some charcoal in the bottom or chuck in a heap of dry twigs (Mallee is good) and let them burn down to hot coals. Then place a shallow metal tray, (Wife or mothers baking tray) full of sawdust of your choice, directly on top of coals. Then replace grid with your fillets on an replace lid let smoke for around twenty minutes but check every five minutes in case things get too hot.If you happen to have a lemon tree with plenty of fruit then try a mix of half lemon juice and half water. Soak fillets in this until the meat starts to turn white around the edges. This does not take long!!! Dry filetts of with kitchen paper and let dry a bit more in the sun until a dry film is formed. (Five minutes on a hot day) Then smear enough Olive oil to just moisten the fish so that it feels soft. Then place in smoker. This works great with Salmon Trout or Tommies

Link to post
Share on other sites
RogerG wrote:

If you happen to have a lemon tree with plenty of fruit then try a mix of half lemon juice and half water. Soak fillets in this until the meat starts to turn white around the edges. This does not take long!!!

Interesting! The citric acid will begin cooking the fish, and lemon would have to be one of the perfect compliments to fish flesh (along with pepper and chili).I recon I'm gonna try that one!
Link to post
Share on other sites

I know snapper wings have been mentioned but mulloway wings are even better I reckon. I think smoking is the same as any other way to cook fish. Simple is best. BUT... My mate did do some marinated first in a mixture made up of just about every sauce he could find in his cupboard. I have tried to recreate it but never come close. My best way is a simple brine, just salt water, then smoked with some chilli flakes and some brown sugar.

Link to post
Share on other sites

There's an article on fish smoking in the June/July edition of "South Australian Angler". I've had good results with a Togar Oven which I ordered many years ago and had delivered by post from Queensland (see website below): http://www.togarovens.com/index.phpThey're simple, robust, compact & easy to use for smaller quantities of fish (as opposed to the "Hark" smoker featured in the above article).Most of the larger tackle stores stock various types of sawdusts for smoking fish - just experiment until you find one you like (redgum is a good all-rounder).Cheersarcherfish

Link to post
Share on other sites

i have been playing around with smoking fish for a few years now and have used my smoker that mich i now have a hole in it!i dont worry about using the metho burner, i just put the box over the side burner on my bbq.and with the fish i use freshly ground sea salt and cover them with a fair bit. then i load the racks with the fillets and use red wine chips ( i believe its mulched up barrels ?) that i got from a fellow fisherman a few years back.i then smoke for about 10 minutes and then turn off the burner but DONT OPEN THE LID!! let it sit for another 20 minutes to soak up akk that smoke. its the best way to eat fish!!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi Guys,Im a pretty avid fish smoker and enjoy snook, tommys, snapper,squid and another one worth a try is leather jackets,they are really good.An old fashion way of getting the salt/water mix is to get a bucket of water put a fresh egg in the water(in its shell) keep adding salt &mix so that it disoves compleatly till the egg floats to the top and just a little bit of egg comes out the water and that is the right brine mix then you can add brown suger and anything else that takes your fancy.The fish will last for a long time this is how they did it back in the old days when they didnt have fridges.(Ps what ever you do dont break the egg when you are stirring it take the egg out an just put it in to check it if you bust the egg in the brine tip it out and start again.I made my fish smoker out of an old hospital food trolly that was fully covered in with 2 doors on the side, with a trip to a second hand dealer I picked up a Second hand fan forced oven and pulled it to bits and put an element in the bottom to heat up the saw dust and installed the fan & ellement part of the fan forced oven bit and used parts of the control pannel so i can cold smoke /hot smoke and anything in between being made of all stainless steel it will last forever so for a $100 and a few hours and a couple of beers my smoker works a treat and can hang snook and have multable racks so I can do a heap at once The things you buy in a shop arnt a patch on one that you make yourselfCheersMick Z

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...

I recently bought a Hark gas smoker ($299) but worth every cent. Have tried a few different brines and also smoke some fish without brining it at all (the wife prefers them this way I dont mind them either way.)brine mix I use is this ratio1 litre of water60 grams of salt20 grams of sugar30 grams of maple crystalsyou can vary the salt/sugar quantities a little to suit you taste but I find this ratio very nice and not toooo salty. I have used it on everything from tommies, slimeys, snook, deep sea bream, snapper and barramundi wings and squid they all taste great when finished.I have tried soaking the wood chips and sawdust before smoking, but find that because the smoking process is fairly short with fish thats its really not necessary.I have smoked chicken wings, pork fillets, beef,rolled/boned pork shoulder, full chickens in the Hark and they all come out bloody beautifully. I brine most of these before smoking them but have also smoked marinated chicken wings/pork fillets/steak etc without brining and they all come out excellent. Italian sausages are an excellent snack when smoked as well.You can also use the Hark as a webber as well as a smoker. and rosts work just as well as smoked.hope this helps.p.s. I still have my old metho burning fish smoker but it will probably only get used on fishing trips if at all.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...

Well, after being a strong supporter of the Anuka electric smoker for a number of years, I looked at this post, and read the issue of SA Angler.I've since decided to readdress the situation, upsize, and go into smoking on a slightly larger scale!Posted ImageSo now a few questions for those more experienced: When cooking chicken, beef, pork and other meats, do you still use a brine? If so, what are the suggested brining times?When cooking whole chickens, do you first butterfly them out flat?What are the suggested smoking times for large cuts of meat?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Wouldnt the neighbours complain about the smoke or smell coming out of something that large?

What are these "neighbours" of which you speak? :whistle: Oh' date=' and I'll move the smoker, when they decide to stop their sh*tty little dog from barking all bl**dy night! :evil:Actually, the good part for me is that I don't work Mondays, so if there's smoking to be done after a weekends fishing, it can always be done on the Monday when all the neighbours are at work.

Ive never smoked anything before so I am a complete novice

Mate, you'll have to get yaself one of those little box smokers and give it a go sometime! Smoked fish is simply awesome with a cold beer, and even those Snapper wings smoke up beautifully!
Link to post
Share on other sites

:cheer: :cheer: :cheer: Yep I reckon your right, those ruggers would smoke up a treat in one.So what would the total investment or outlay be in the one that you have pictured. That looks like the Grand Daddy of all smokers and the sort of big boys toy that you would be proud to show your fishing mates.I could see myself standing around having a brew and admiring the spoils being smoked in that thing..Have you got a name for it yet?I would call it Arnie (short for Arnold swartzenegger) as its one TUFF SMOKER!

Link to post
Share on other sites

i finally had the chance to see the hark smoker at the 4wd boat show last weekend. it is alot smaller than i had hoped but there is more to come with this unit. i was talking to the rep and he said there is an attachment coming out which is shaped in a circle similar to a cake rack which has hooks on it so you can smoke whole fish or hang up your cuts of meat. im wondering if it would work like a steamer as it has a water tray? could be good to steam crabs in? i think i will be investing in one of these units!

Link to post
Share on other sites

i was talking to the rep and he said there is an attachment coming out which is shaped in a circle similar to a cake rack which has hooks on it so you can smoke whole fish or hang up your cuts of meat.

I actually suggested when I bought mine that it needs a hook to hang stuff like a leg of ham. For hanging fish you can just hang small hooks off the racks' date=' but I'll be interested to see this round attachment.

im wondering if it would work like a steamer as it has a water tray? could be good to steam crabs in?

The water tray increases the humidity, so that the finished product is still quite moist rather than dried out like cold smoking.I recon the heat in the unit would definately cook a crab in it's shell, but I don't know if it would actually be enough to steam anything, as the water tray is quite a way above the heat source.
Link to post
Share on other sites

If you're really keen, and also like oysters, try smoking some of the little buggers in your oven in a contraption like this:http://www.oystersteady.com.au/index.html(There are a few variations on a theme when you start checking the www.)I can guarantee that they will taste absolutely magnificent!(don't need to brine them, either.)If you can't be bothered doing your own, try these guys:http://www.harrissmokehouse.com.au/products.htmlCheersarcherfish

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...