smoking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mickp169]

have just bought a smoker (19.99 at lidals bargain)its got spirit burners any ideas what the best spirit might be?

[Roland Rahal]

I should imagine methylated spirit is the answer.

 

Go ahead and smoke some I find that my smoked trout tastes better than smoked salmon.

 

All the best.

[argyll]

Smoked stockies can have an 'off' flavour, so always soak your fish in a simple brine of sugar, salt and water before smoking them. It'll improve the flavour no end. there are other more complex brines that you can use if you fancy something more exotic. Google should find you a few, but heres a useful website

 

http://www.3men.com/smoked.htm

 

incidentally whilst most of the recipes on that website are for salmon they all work just as well with trout. Just stick to the cooking times that came with your smoker instructions.

 

Use meths for fuel by all means, if you buy a big bottle you won't have to bother buying wine

[Tog]

should'nt Jeepster be the man to ask about 'spirits'??

[mickp169]

thanks for that, youve answered all my questions ans some.

[Alan Taylor]

When Albert smokes Mackerel he takes the gills out, evidently they are a bit bitter other wise. Don't know if it is the same with Trout but could be worth trying one or two.

[Roland Rahal]

I usually fillet my fish and cure them before for at least 24 hrs then dry them before smoking.

 

I do however alternate between a wet and a dry cure.

[Adz]

If you're hot smoking instead of cold smoking a dry cure will probably be a bit salty for most palates.

 

I was once told it's the fat under the skin of freshly stocked pellet fed fish that causes the unpleasant taste - it's certainly a lot less if you fillet the fish and skin the fillet, removing as much fat as you can in the process.

 

I always cut the gills out of fish - since they're the equivalent of lungs in air breathing animals they contain a lot of blood and this is the most likely place for bacteria. Since there's so few bacteria forms which affect humans in salt water you're generally safer with sea fish - since it only takes a few seconds to remove them it's still worth the effort.

 

Re the above - if you're cold smoking freshwater fish, it's always a good idea to cook the smoked fish before eating it for precisely the same reason - freshwater trout sushi isn't really a good idea from a food hygiene point of view.

 

Cheers,

[jeepster]

i am indeed your man for spirits

 

but i do know a bit about smoking too.....

you have to brine (or salt) anything before you smoke it, not just to cure it, but for the simple reason that the salt gives the smoke something to hang on to.

 

pellet fed (or stockie) fish are best avoided full stop, do you really want to eat chemically altered triploids?

 

cold smoking does mean you dont need to cook the fish, thats actually the whole point of it, brine it for long enough and the action of the salt will

kill anything you might be worried about, if you're that worried, get your fish somewhere else!

[Adz]

Granted, if you leave it in the salt long enough it will kill most bacteria - it will also taste very salty!

 

I'll stick with cooking mine and recomending that people don't eat raw freshwater fish ;-)

 

Cheers,