RE: smoked steelhead
2008/12/15 09:52:41
(permalink)
Basic brine - one cup salt (non-iodized) per gallon of water.
Take portion of water (less than 1 quart) - boil - dissolve salt.
This is where it gets creative - add spices to taste - make "tea" of your spices with boiling water.
Spices I use are corriander, mace (husk of nutmeg), nutmeg, alspice, cloves, ginger, cinnamon, pepper, and anything else you think may be good or want to experiment with!
Add remaining water to cool down - add fish - let soak 6 - 8 hours or overnight if you have time!
Remove from brine solution - let air dry until fish gets a sheen (about 30 minutes +/-) - smoke until done! Usually 4 - 6 hours (don't rush or keep peeking - allowing the temperature to drop)!
I've used charcoal supplemented with hardwood - oak, hickory, cherry, maple, apple in a Brinkman and homemade 55 gallon barrel smoker and have recently acquired an electric which works well! Don't rush it!! You'll enjoy it, as will your friends!
One other thing - I usually use whole fish or the bigger ones cut into 2 -3 big chunks, but the last time I used some fillets (skin on) - after I removed them from brine - I coated generously with soy sauce - sprinkled liberally with cajun seasoning and some cayenne pepper - let air dry and then smoked - buddy said it was best ever! Good luck!