Taking up smoking

[10 brownie points]

No not the cigarettes,

Has any out there got plans for a small fish smoker as I would love to give it a go.

 

[ 10. February 2004, 09:09 AM: Message edited by: 10 brownie points ]

[jeepster]

i have a smoker, its great, cold smoked fish, shellfish (scallops and oysters are best) chicken, garlic, sausage are all delicious. check out www.coldsmoker.com for a small one, but their prices for wood dust are extortionate

[Alan Taylor]

10 brownie points:

No not the cigarettes,

Has any out there got plans for a small fish smoker as I would love to give it a go.

Shame you are so far away, I have a big smoker that has only been used a couple of times. Funny thing is that a mate of mine swapped some Cod fillets last night for 2 nice big smoked trout

 

Alan(nl)

[Norrie]

Alan,My freezer is full of nice large Swanswater Rainbow trout for you...bring the smoker over in May....

I also know a couple of joiners who can get almost any type of wood shavings...

 

[ 10. February 2004, 03:15 PM: Message edited by: Norrie ]

[phil dean]

I would love a smoker and if you can build one yourself the details would be greatly appreciated

[Gillies]

My mate built his own one - and has used for many many years now, it's really really good.

 

When I fish competitions where the main catch is Pollack, and Coalfish - I give every fish I catch to him, in return he smokes most of them, and gives me a few nice big fillets of smoked Pollack (very nice) and smoked Coalie (surprisingly very nice!!!!) - also since over the past few years in the summer months we get more Haddock than needed, I give him a load of them also (lovely) - oh and then theirs the Herring (Kippers - mmmmmmm).

 

Anyway, I'm getting very hungry typing this. Basically the way his smoker is made is as follows:

 

An old big Freezer (if you have one lying around), these long one piece ones with the door ontop, he's somehow converted one of them - stands it upright on it's end, and has holes in it to take in the smoke.

 

One of the holes is pretty large to accomodate the a pipe about 15cm diameter, that is bent over to go into a small steel home-made stove which the wood shavings go into, and burn away.

 

Im sure it's not that simple, but that's basically what it is, and from memory - I have only seen it twice, but lost count of how many smoked fish I have had from it.

 

"Picturing a nice pate of Kippers just now, some boilded potatoes and a pint of milk just now" - sure would be good just now !!!!!!

 

I'll try and make a point over the next week in talking to him, and getting a more detailed plan of it.

 

Hope this gives some ideas.

 

Gillies

 

[ 10. February 2004, 04:21 PM: Message edited by: Gillies ]

[Salar]

10 brownie points:

No not the cigarettes,

Has any out there got plans for a small fish smoker as I would love to give it a go.

Very simple - and works a treat. Obtain a clean tin with a lid - a stout biscuit tin is fine, but make sure its not painted on the inside. Obtain some oak sawdust or similar (you can buy smoke dust in bags for a couple of quid, you don't need much) You also need a grill rack that fits inside the tin. All you have to do is spread two tablespoons of sawdust in the tin on the bottom, put your fish/sausage/chicken on the rack and put the lid on tight. Put the whole lot over a camping stove on very low, or a meths spirit burner of the type used for fondus and cook for 10-20 minutes depending on what you are cooking. The dust inside will cahr and impart the smoke flavour/colour, the heat will cook the fish. (I usually do 10 mackeral fillets for 15 mins). It will smoke a lot so best to do this outside!

 

To prepare the fish before smoking its a good idea to soak in a brine solution (tablespoon of salt to a pint of water) - fillets for 30 mins, whole fish for longer. Dry them off on paper towels before smoking. Some people put more herbs and spices in the brine, others put herbs in the sawdust. Experiment! You can smoke any fish, and virtually any meat, even hard boiled eggs. Remember that this is HOT smoking and the results should be refrigerated and eaten within a couple of days. Cold smoking cures fish and takes longer at a lower temperature. Info on that is in "River Cottage Cook Book" by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall (as on Channel 4). You can also buy vast selections of hot and cxold smoking stuff, including seasoning and cures from the German tackle supplier Askari by mail order from the UK, they are very cheap and can be ordered from the UK office. I have smoked fish like this for 12 + years and not poisoned myself yet...

[jeepster]

the hot smoker you describe salar is good but no where near a cold smoker, cold smoking preserves the food and gives a much better taste and texture

 

the easiest way is to use two old metal dusbins, one upside down with holes punched in the bottom (now the top if you see what i mean), and a smaller one on top with the bottom knocked out, have that one the right way up but with the lid on. hang the fish or whatever right at the top of the top bin, using wire coathangers or whatever seems appropriate. use an old baking tin or similar on the ground and burn your dust in there, its very important that the fish never gets warm, if it does it'll spoil.

i've got loads of stuff on this, so let me have a look and i'll scan what i can and post it tomorrow

[Salar]

jeepster:

the hot smoker you describe salar is  good but no where near a cold smoker, cold smoking preserves the food and gives a much better taste and texture

I agree, but cold smoking takes a lot more setting up, and more can go wrong. Better to start with hot smoking with a very simple, low cost set-up and if you think its fun (and like the results) then make the effort and try cold smoking, but watch the temperature/timing. You can buy thermostat controlled cold smokers for easy smoking but that's not really the point of this thread. Hugh F-W cold smokes in his chimney but from reading the book, it involved a lot of trial and an awful lot of error first...

[jeepster]

true salar, i still cock things up with my cold smoker, i havent indulged in a fancy thermostat device, not sure where it would plug into my old dustbins! the temp is easy to control if you put a cold water baffle inbetween the two bins. god this sounds complicated now, but it isnt i promise, i'll draw some pics and that should explain things!