smoking time

[smokeybear]

I'm a rookie at this stuff  About 3 times for salmon..Got a question..Should I smoke for the full duration of cooking time..Thanks

[Gafala]

I smoke the hole time its cooking, but the time depends on the thickness and the oil content fish.

[Fireguy06]

Your only suppose to smoke for about half your cooking time

[tskeeter]

How much smoke to apply is really a personal preference.  And a function of what wood you are using.  And how oily the type of fish you are smoking is.

Salmon smoking expert Kummok recommends 1.5 - 2 hours of smoke as a starting point.  (Check out his smoked salmon recipe at www.susanminor.org.)  Most people use a milder wood, such as alder, cherry, pecan, etc.  But I'm sure people also use some of the more robust woods, such as hickory, oak, or mesquite.  Half of the fun is experimenting and dialing in the mix of smoke time and wood that you like best.  And remember, lighter is better.  If, after tasting what you smoked, you decide you want more smoke, you can put it back in the smoker for another shot of flavor.

Note that there is a school of thought that holds that most items won't absorb additional smoke after about four hours of smoke application.  Don't know if that's accurate, but I find that even on pork shoulder, four hours of smoke is enough for me.