by Jason Brooks, December 31, 2014

It’s time for the Holidays and of course that means festive parties, social gatherings, and time with family and friends. Each year I dig through my freezer and on the first day without rain in December I stoke up my smoker and make some special treats for the holiday’s ahead. Smoked salmon and steelhead is a Northwest favorite and luckily most of us who fish like to smoke them as a way to say thanks to all our family and friends.

Unfortunately some think this is time to pull out the nasty turned fish or fish that has been in the freezer for a year or two too long. Then you wonder why your smoked fish goes untouched, especially if you have brought it in the past and people around told you how “good” it was. In reality your name probably came up on the drive home when in private with those that tried your smoked fish confessed to each other how disgusting it was. My rule for smoked fish is that if I wouldn’t bake or barbecue it then I won’t smoke it. In fact I save my best salmon and steelhead for the smoker and the mediocre fish go into either the canner or chowder. This year I smoked up the last of my Fraser River Sockeye I caught last August. It is important to know that the fish was bled right away and then froze and vacuum packed. If you have any fish that was not properly bled do not use this fish for smoking as the taste of turned blood will remain in the fish.

It’s also very important to know that smoked fish is not cooked fish. Instead it is dried fish. This is why high oil content fish, like Spring Chinook or Sockeye make the best smoked salmon as the oil absorb the brine as well as the smoke and keep the fish moist after the curing and drying process is completed. If you use commercial brine then more than likely it will contain preservatives along with salt which cure the fish as well as drying it during the smoking process. I use homemade brine that is a rub, or dry brine, and has little salt and sugar with no other preservatives. My smoked fish won’t last very long even in the refrigerator but then again it usually doesn’t last long anyway as it gets eaten. Regardless if you use a commercial brine, your own perfected brine, or mine, if you plan on vacuum sealing your smoked fish make sure you let it “rest” in the refrigerator overnight or until all the way cool. If you take it right out of the smoker and into the vacuum bags and seal it up botulism can form but once it is cooled off this bacteria has less of a chance to grow.

After you smoke the fish you can serve it many ways. Of course just plain by itself is usually good enough but I have gone to parties and had the fish devoured by the first few people who see it on the table. To make it last longer I will either put a dab of cream cheese on a cracker and then a piece of the smoked fish on top making several hors d‘oeuvres. Another way is to mix about a cup of smoked salmon into a block of cream cheese making a dip. You can add some chopped garlic and a bit of dried and crushed oregano if you want.

To smoke the fish first cut the fillets into manageable size portions, about the amount for one person if you were to barbecue the fish, or about 8 to 10 ounces. Make sure if you are using a thick fish that you keep the pieces uniform in thickness as well as size when you put them on the racks to smoke. Brine the fish overnight in a non-metallic container. Once you are ready to put the fish into the smoker make sure you take your time and smoke the fish correctly. First and foremost is that the smoking process is during the first hour or so. Smoke will infuse into your fish while the fish is raw and wet. If you want the dark red color make sure you let the fish sit on the racks for about 30 minutes before you apply the smoke allowing a glaze, known as “Pellicle” to form on the fish. Once you apply the smoke monitor the temperature of your smoker. It’s important to keep it cool during the smoking part of the process. I try and keep my smoker around 130 degrees during the first hour while the wood chips are smoking. Change out the chips regularly as you don’t want them to turn to white ash but instead just smoke. Once the wood chips are all black I change them out with fresh chips. When the chips burn completely to white ash they release carcinogens which are bad and also leave that ash tray taste. You can slow down the burning of the wood chips by soaking them in water first if you have a smoker that allows the use of loose chips. For smokers that use wood pucks make sure you change them out regularly and don’t soak those as the pucks fall apart and make a big mess.

Temperature control is crucial in smoking fish as “Low and slow” is the motto you want to use. If you use too much heat you will cook the fish instead of smoke and dry it which causes a big mess that nobody wants to eat. If you try and use a higher temperature to dry the fish you have a short window of perfection before it turns to fish jerky but if you start with a low temperature and check your fish about every hour until it starts to get close then up the temperature ten degrees and monitor it about every ½ hour you will be able to perfect the fish to your liking. I like mine where the fish flakes but is still moist in the middle with the outside a bit chewy as this is where the sugar concentrates and makes it irresistible. If you have every tried to smoke fish and notice a white or cream colored goo on top of your fish it’s because the heat was too hot at the beginning and the oils and fats rose to the top.

I am able to adjust and monitor my smoking of the fish fairly easily because I use the Smoke Vault by Camp Chef; a smoker that allows temperature control and a door mounted exterior thermometer. In the beginning of my smoking I open all three damper valves and make sure the water pan is full. Once the smoke is billowing out I adjust the dampers and keep an eye on the temperature. After an hour of smoking I remove the wood chips and again use the dampers to control the temperature. It is important to remember that you need to properly dry your fish which can take a few more hours. In total my fish take between 5 and 8 hours to properly smoke and dry depending on how thick the fillets are. The last hour I will turn up the heat to as high as 180 degrees but check the fish often. Once the fish is done I turn off the smoker and open the dampers to allow it to cool.

Here is my brine and smoking process:

Jason’s Dry Brine:
• 4 cups brown sugar
• ½ cup Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons ground cloves

Mix the brine together in a bowl. Place thawed and washed fillets into a plastic container. Sprinkle on brine (do not add water as this is a dry brine). If you need to layer the fish in the plastic container make sure you put it flesh to flesh and skin to skin. With whatever brine you have left dump it on top. Place into refrigerator overnight but after a few hours you will notice the brine has turned to a thick gooey mess. After this occurred continue to mix up the fillets and the brine and if you notice any areas of the fish that haven’t absorbed the brine make sure you get that part of the fish exposed to the brine. I let my fish sit overnight and have let them sit for as long as two days after running out of room in the smoker. After the fish is brined you will notice that it’s tougher, almost like leather. You can remove the fish and quickly rinse it or if you like a really sweet smoked fish then don’t rinse the brine off. Place them on the smoker racks and let them sit for about a half of an hour before starting the smoking process. If you let them sit in the smoker I keep the door open to allow air to flow over the fish causing it to glaze. This brine is good up to about 20 pounds of fish but I make sure my pieces are not touching in the smoker which means I can do about 8 to 10 pounds of fish. Just make sure you make enough to keep some at home for yourself!