Hot Smokers for Fish

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Downhilldai

I carry a small portable radio on board (cost about a fiver ) which is handy for a few tunes/news when the fish aren't biting - I use it quite a lot
A lot better than George Michael via 100watt amp at nightfall in a quiet harbour

Ditto.Rarely use it though. Mine came free with the hot smoker from Askaris (fantastic bit of kit-try Pollack hot smoked with Alder and you'll never eat it any other way again)

[Downhilldai]

Sounds good - you wouldn't believe how many Pollack I've chucked back - decent size ones too, they're just so tasteless. An ex-fishmonger friend of mine recommended leaving them in the fridge for a 2-3 days before cooking, to allow them to mature. Been meaning to give that a go too.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Downhilldai

Sounds good - you wouldn't believe how many Pollack I've chucked back - decent size ones too, they're just so tasteless. An ex-fishmonger friend of mine recommended leaving them in the fridge for a 2-3 days before cooking, to allow them to mature. Been meaning to give that a go too.

www.askari-fishing.co.uk/

The smokers were on offer there at 15 quid a few months back-almost exactly the same as Force 4 sell for 50 quid (or everywhere else sells for 30...) but there's a minimum order of 30 quid so grab some 'free' tackle at the same time. Very good company to deal with-they even rang me to check it had arrived! Their website is playing up at the moment though-can't get into the shop.

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Downhilldai

Sounds good - you wouldn't believe how many Pollack I've chucked back - decent size ones too, they're just so tasteless. An ex-fishmonger friend of mine recommended leaving them in the fridge for a 2-3 days before cooking, to allow them to mature. Been meaning to give that a go too.

Well, that tosser didn't know wtf he was talking about!!

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

www.askari-fishing.co.uk/

The smokers were on offer there at 15 quid a few months back-almost exactly the same as Force 4 sell for 50 quid (or everywhere else sells for 30...) but there's a minimum order of 30 quid so grab some 'free' tackle at the same time. Very good company to deal with-they even rang me to check it had arrived! Their website is playing up at the moment though-can't get into the shop.

Cool - must give that a go .. I do like me smoked fish , but likewise I only ever used the buggers for lobster bait as they were deemed tasteless, but even restaraunts are selling them now and you have to agree theres plenty meat on them .. so Nos.. Alder is the best ? .. have you tried anything else with them ?

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

Cool - must give that a go .. I do like me smoked fish , but likewise I only ever used the buggers for lobster bait as they were deemed tasteless, but even restaraunts are selling them now and you have to agree theres plenty meat on them .. so Nos.. Alder is the best ? .. have you tried anything else with them ?

I have quite a range of different woods for it(Alder,oak,maple,mesquite,cherry and some smoking mix with juniper berries in I got from Askaris which is nice on chicken but too bitter for fish).
So far I've tried Alder,Maple,Mesquite and the smoking mix. Alder seems to be the best for fish. Mesquite works well too but a stronger flavour.Don't use softwoods as the resin apparently ruins the fish.

You need to brine the fillets before smoking them-I just chuck them in a clean bucket with 3 parts water 1 part salt for 20 minutes. You can add flavourings to the brine too-Lazy Garlic or Lazy Ginger and a bit of brown sugar work quite well.
The fillets need to be dried afterwards too-I'm lazy and just dry them with some kitchen towel til the towel stops looking damp when I pat the fillet with it but apparently it works better if you do that then air dry them in the fridge overnight. All the above is open to experimentation though. It sounds complicated but it's really not and the results are worth it.

It's very hard to make it taste bad as long as you don't use too much wood-a large heaped tablespoon is enough to do 4 decent sized fillets.

This is the smoker I have-runs on meths and can be used as a camping cooker too.

https://www.angelsport.de/cgi-bin/as...575&2E85&2E585

[willk]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Don't use softwoods as the resin apparently ruins the fish.

I can confirm this . A chef I knew foolishly smoked a salmon using pine! I'd try to describe the flavour but, for once, words fail me. Don't try it!

[J S]

Originally Posted by Mollers

Well, that tosser didn't know wtf he was talking about!!

Yes most people cant tell the difference between cod and pollack its just as nice.

James

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

I have quite a range of different woods for it(Alder,oak,maple,mesquite,cherry and some smoking mix with juniper berries in I got from Askaris which is nice on chicken but too bitter for fish).
So far I've tried Alder,Maple,Mesquite and the smoking mix. Alder seems to be the best for fish. Mesquite works well too but a stronger flavour.Don't use softwoods as the resin apparently ruins the fish.

You need to brine the fillets before smoking them-I just chuck them in a clean bucket with 3 parts water 1 part salt for 20 minutes. You can add flavourings to the brine too-Lazy Garlic or Lazy Ginger and a bit of brown sugar work quite well.
The fillets need to be dried afterwards too-I'm lazy and just dry them with some kitchen towel til the towel stops looking damp when I pat the fillet with it but apparently it works better if you do that then air dry them in the fridge overnight. All the above is open to experimentation though. It sounds complicated but it's really not and the results are worth it.

It's very hard to make it taste bad as long as you don't use too much wood-a large heaped tablespoon is enough to do 4 decent sized fillets.

This is the smoker I have-runs on meths and can be used as a camping cooker too.

https://www.angelsport.de/cgi-bin/as...575&2E85&2E585

That smoker looks as good as any I've used for a fraction of the money and I was looking for one for the house

I must confess I've only ever used hickory, but I'm getting bored with that flavour now.

Have you tried just salting them, rather than brining them, thats even lazier and I find it works ok , I think this is only relavant to fish caught that day though, (as opposed to shop bought) it seems to accelerate part of the post mortem change that adds to their flavour, and despite the amount of 'juice' it takes out, when you leave them overnight in the fridge .. the fish doesnt seem to get dried by it too much, that said most of my smoking has been done with oily fish, so the rules might be different for pollack ?

[Nos4r2]

I've only used ours for fish when we've been camping so not had the opportunity yet. The brine in a bucket is a nice easy way to do it 'out in the field' as it were.

Might give salting a go.

BTW, fresh sardines are amazing smoked but put something under them to catch the oil or it makes a hell of a mess in the smoker.

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

I've only used ours for fish when we've been camping so not had the opportunity yet. The brine in a bucket is a nice easy way to do it 'out in the field' as it were.

Might give salting a go.

BTW, fresh sardines are amazing smoked but put something under them to catch the oil or it makes a hell of a mess in the smoker.

Yes there are some things that are a nightmare for your cooking gear, I tried barbecuing some Gressingham duck once, and it turned my barbecue into a fireball XL5 inferno that I couldnt put out

Can you eat the sardines whole without head & tail ?

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

Yes there are some things that are a nightmare for your cooking gear, I tried barbecuing some Gressingham duck once, and it turned my barbecue into a fireball XL5 inferno that I couldnt put out

Can you eat the sardines whole without head & tail ?

The ones I did in mine were a bit big for that but the bones came out easily.

[Mollers]

I ran a wholesale/retail fish business for a few years. We had a commercial smoker which was an integral part of the business. We put loads of pine shavings through it, the results were perfect. The only problem with pine was that the resins would clag-up the chimney which caught fire one night.
As for pollack, when a whack of it hit the market the price would drop to as little as £2/stone round. We'd buy tonnes of if, fillet it off, smoke it and freeze it. We sold piles of smoked haddock, but never smoked a single haddock.
We did well with hand sliced smoked salmon at Xmas. Salmon is dry salted rather than soaked in brine as with white fish cold smoking. Hot smoking commercially was a pain as the smoker couldn't be left unattended.

[Gentiana]

I regularly hot smoke pollack and fine it is too. Use either alder or apple chips. Always salt the fillets and leave them in the 'fridge overnight. This firms the fillets.
My mate Mullins, fillets on board and leaves them in a bucket of sea water overnight. Same result as above.
Did, some years ago, smoke fish using turf ( peat ) bits. The results were worse than foul.

[willk]

Originally Posted by Gentiana

Did, some years ago, smoke fish using turf ( peat ) bits. The results were worse than foul.

Hard to resist trying though, considering how well it works on Whiskey....

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by willk

Hard to resist trying though, considering how well it works on Whiskey....

Arrr .. that be a different talent.. altogether.. sor !

[willk]

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

Arrr .. that be a different talent.. altogether.. sor !

Indeed, and one that you lot should be a little more grateful for, seeing as how we taught you to make it in the first place.....

[The Garfish]

Originally Posted by willk

seeing as how we taught you to make it in the first place

yus. iym parshul too a bitt ov blakk bussh



garF

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by willk

Indeed, and one that you lot should be a little more grateful for, seeing as how we taught you to make it in the first place.....

And you should be grateful we told you how to do it properly

where is your catalogue of single malts then ? Mash, Rye .. no thanks

each to their own

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by The Garfish

yus. iym parshul too a bitt ov blakk bussh



garF

I didnt know you were that multicultural GaRf