Looking for a Whitefish recipe to smoke...

[Dilsnic]

Im getting some whitefish and I like to smoke them! Just never smoke fish before and I thought I come here to see any what good option out there to smoke em. Any recipe or info would be greatly appreciated :)

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Dilsnic;

Welcome to the forum.

I've been looking for a recipe for whitefish lox. A friend of mine swears they use to eat it every Sunday; they lived in the Rochester, NY area. Well anyway to make a long story short. While looking for that recipe, I came across this, but have not tried it.

Brine For Whitefish Smoking

It also includes his smoking instructions.

[Sam3]

I have a great recipe. I'll post it tonight when I get home.

Smoked Striped Bass with Jack Daniels Honey Pepper Glaze. Mmmmmmm.

[Dilsnic]

Thanks habernero! I'll be reading up more this afternoon... I guess I'm too use to the beef jerky dry rub style. Just wanted to see what other option there are for brine flavor.

Sam-- cool I'll wait till you post your way of doing it.

[Sam3]

Dilsnic, here is the recipe I use. I usually do 10lbs at a time.

Brine:
1 gallon water
3 cups kosher salt
3 cups brown suger
2/3 cup dark soy
1/4 cup minced garlic

Soak fillets for minimum 24hrs, I let mine go for 40hrs.

This is important... remove the fillets from the brine and give them a quick clean water rinse and let the dry for at least 1/2 hour before putting them in the smoker.

Smoke for approx.. 1.5-2 hours @130. Bump up temp 10 degrees every hour and rotate racks. I have never gone past 4 hours total just to give you an idea.

They are done when they LOOK done.  8)

Good luck!

[Dilsnic]

Hey Sam, only thing is I got a Big Chief smoker where it set at 1 temp... Im sure I can pull it off using that smoker or using a bbq where that temp is more controlled.

[SoCalBill]

Dilsnic, here is the recipe I use. I usually do 10lbs at a time.

Brine:
1 gallon water
3 cups kosher salt
3 cups brown suger
2/3 cup dark soy
1/4 cup minced garlic

Soak fillets for minimum 24hrs, I let mine go for 40hrs.

This is important... remove the fillets from the brine and give them a quick clean water rinse and let the dry for at least 1/2 hour before putting them in the smoker.

Smoke for approx.. 1.5-2 hours @130. Bump up temp 10 degrees every hour and rotate racks. I have never gone past 4 hours total just to give you an idea.

They are done when they LOOK done.  8)

Good luck!

I to am looking to smoke some white fish. When you say they are done when they look done;  what exactly would that look/feel like to someone who has never done fish?

[pmmpete]

My first smoker was a Little Chief smoker, and in my opinion, Little Chief and Big Chief smokers suck, because you have no control over the temperature in the smoker, the smoker probably won't get hot enough (particularly in cool or windy weather), and unless you install a temperature probe in the smoker, you won't know how hot it is.  Notwithstanding the many deficiences of those smokers, I did manage to smoke a lot of fish in them.  All you can do is brine up the fish, dry the fish for an hour or so until the surface is no longer moist and forms a shiney surface, load them in the smoker, and fire it off.  Smoke the fish for perhaps two hours, rotating the trays occasionally, and then just leave the heat on until the fish dries out sufficiently.  Keep checking the fish and rotating the trays periodically.  If the fish is soggy and bends, it needs to be dried out more.  If it's starting to get hard and cracks when you bend it, you've left it in too long, so take it out right away.  You want a nice flakey texture, just slightly moist.  With non-oily fish like Mountain Whitefish and trout, they'll tend to dry out too much.  If you don't eat it immediately, don't put it in a plastic bag right away, because you'll get a lot of condensation in the bag.  Put the fish on a plate and leave it in the fridge overnight to cool off and dry out.  Then vacuum pack it or put it in a ziplock bag and put it in the freezer until you're ready to eat it.

If you like smoking fish, and you like eating smoked fish, you'll probably get tired of the Big Chief and its erratic performance pretty fast.  You'll be much happier and produce better smoked fish if you invest in a thermostatically-controlled smoker.

[Smokeville]

Im getting some whitefish and I like to smoke them! Just never smoke fish before and I thought I come here to see any what good option out there to smoke em. Any recipe or info would be greatly appreciated :)

Hi Dilsnic;

{As I finished writing this I realized the thread is a bit old, but will post anyway}

I have done about 30lbs of whitefish over the past 2 weeks. My wife and I smoke fish and sell it at a local Farmers' Market. Our supplier gets it from Lake Huron and it is already filleted. Each fillet weighs about 3/4 lb.

My choice for a brine was just 1 gallon of water to 1 cup of kosher salt, 1 cup of dark brown sugar, and lots of garlic powder. And the fish sit in it overnight (12 hours). The smoking procedure is the same as for salmon. Rinse, let it air dry then smoke. I use Oak.

What I was trying to match tastewise was the smoked whitefish that is produced by the First Nations people. Many people in Southern Ontario remember visiting Tobermorrey on Lake Huron / Georgian Bay and eating smoked whitefish there. There is even a restaurant there that specializes in nothing but whitefish, including what I am told is the best fish and chips ever.

I have never been to Tobermorrey, so I was in the dark as to whether I had suceeded or not, but the folks who sample it always buy it and tell us it reminds them of their childhood trips there.

Let us know how it turns out, and don't forget photos!