Being that trout season has recently opened, the kokanee fishing is in full swing and an excellent summer salmon forecast is on tap we as fishermen may be trying to figure out what to do with all these fish, well hopefully that is the case anyway. Around our house fresh kokanee is always welcome and is incorporated into many tasty meals but smoked kokanee is always a treat and is an excellent way to assure that the fish that isn’t eaten fresh is preserved and not wasted. I know there are many smoked fish recipes and I am sure that most produce an acceptable product but the whole smoking subject can be intimidating. Following are what I hope will be some simple instructions and comments to help assure that your smoking experience is a positive one (If you have a wood shed don’t tell your dad that I just said that). You need to plan on 2-3 days to complete the process and cannot skip or significantly shorten a step. Depending on what time of the day you start the process you should allow approximately one day to brine, one day to form the pellicle and one day to smoke. 

Mankind has been preserving fish and game with smoke for centuries. The smoking process is variable and can be as simple as running a stick through a piece of meat and placing it near a smoky fire or smoking can be a very technical affair as what is used by the commercial smoke houses. This is written based on what the average recreational fisherman will be using to smoke their catch. These are basic steps and will work with a Green Egg, box type smoker, pellet grill/smoker, old refrigerator, barrel or even a cardboard box over a hotplate. Although I have many brine or dry rub recipes that I use and I am frequently tweaking things, my favorite and the subject of this Blog post is my back to basics brine recipe. It is simple, fairly low in sodium and consistently produces excellent smoked fish. The basic recipe is for my smoker full of fish (10, 1 pound kokanee or equivalent). I usually double the recipe when smoking salmon to assure that the larger pieces are properly brined.

1 gallon warm fresh water
2 cups brown sugar
1 cups pure (non-iodized or pickling & canning) salt
1-2 Tbsp coarse ground black pepper
3-4 whole Bay leaves crumbled

1 Tbsp garlic powder

2 tsp powdered ginger

To assure that your efforts result in an excellent piece of smoked fish you have to start by taking care of your catch as soon as you net it. If you can, bonk your catch on the head and put it on ice immediately. This will help to assure that your fish remain firm and in the best possible condition for smoking. Many people also bleed their catch but with the exception of humpies I don’t bleed our fish. Fillet the fish as soon as possible and then continue to keep the fillets cold. For trout and kokanee I don’t worry too much about bones and I am looking for a pretty fillet, the few remaining bones can easily be removed from the finished product.

So now what? You have a pile of chilled fish fillets, the ingredients above and a large plastic container with a lid. Unless you like odd metallic tasting smoked fish never brine in a metal container. Mix the brine ingredients until there are no salt or sugar solids in the solution. I use room temperature distilled water to help assure that the sugar and salt dissolve but don’t heat the water, you don’t want to cook the fish during the brining process. Once the brine is mixed add the fillets to brine mixture. When smoking trout and kokanee I leave the skin on the fillet, the dogs love smoked fish skin and it helps with handling as you remove the finished product from the racks.  Brine and fish now go into the beer/bait refrigerator in the garage. Speaking of, now would be a good time to crack open a cool one because your fish will need to soak in the chilled brine for 12-16 hours.  For Trout and kokanee fillets I usually brine for 12-16 hours, starting the brine process around 3 to 5 in the afternoon so that you can start step two at a reasonable hour the next morning. 

A pot of coffee down the hatch and the morning news is over so it is time to start the next step. For me this is the most critical step in the process. You must allow the fish to dry and form the pellicle, a varnish like substance that concentrates the flavors and seals the surface of the fish helping to assure a moist finished product and reduce the fatty deposits often found on smoked fish.  If you have room in your refrigerator for multiple smoker racks you are lucky, or possibly starving. If not, this is my method for forming the pellicle and you will have to figure out what works best for your household. I clear off about 10 feet of stove top and counter space under the kitchen exhaust fan and then lay a continuous sheet of plastic, in my case a drum liner that I split up the sides to form a continues plastic drip shield on the counter. I then set the smoker racks on the plastic and hit them with a light mist of cooking spray. Next I lightly rinse the fish and let them drain for a few minutes in a colander or a wire rack over the sink. From there I transfer the brined fillets to the smoker racks, skin side down and turn on the kitchen exhaust fan. I let the fish air dry to form the pellicle for 6-18 hours or what ever it takes to form the pellicle. Don’t rush this step; the fish has to be dry to the touch with no tackiness. Using a light touch you should not leave a fingerprint on the fish. 

After the fish has dried and formed the pellicle I load the racks in the smoker. The actual smoking process varies widely depending on personal preference and type of fish but here is the general process I use to smoke trout or kokanee in my Master Digital Smoker (similar to the Bradley). I use an equal mix of apple and alder chips, loading the wood chip chamber on my smoker before I start the smoking cycle. The temperature uniformity of my smoker is very inconsistent so I load the racks with the thicker pieces on the bottom and thinner pieces towards the top. I can adjust the temperature in my smoker so I use a phased temperature process. I start with 130 degrees for 1 ½ hours, then go to 140 degrees for 2-3 hours and finally 170 degrees (for food safety) for 1 to 2 hours. I check the fish occasionally to assure that it is not drying out. At the start of the both the 140 degree and the 170 degree cycle I reload the wood chip chamber. I leave the smoker vent open to assure a more delicate smoke flavor in the final product. If you are using any other type of smoker follow the manufactures instructions but I would say that as a general rule, when smoking trout or kokanee you want to expose the fish fillets to a total smoking time of 5-8 hours at temperature and check the fish occasionally to assure that it is not drying out.

Final note; after the smoking process is complete, keep the smoked fish in an airtight container or in a ziploc in the refrigerator for a few days and also remove any sharp bones from the smoked fish before you vacuum seal the fish and freeze for long term storage.

I hope this helps with your smoking concerns and if followed the process consistently produces excellent smoked fish.