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Campfire Kahuna
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Originally Posted by billy336
Personally, I don't like the skin in my fish dip. If I was making a jerky type fish I'll leave it on


And we do it exactly opposite... skin stays on for kippered fish and off for jerky.


Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Pike is much better pickled

I do dry brines and throw in some dill, chili flakes, cracked pepper


I do a lot of salmon, white fish, marlin, trout, tuna.

just smoked some black cod and halibut and it was quite good

I leave skin on. Cherry alder or apple wood for me.

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Black cod, whole fish headed and gutted, is available here at Costco for $6.99 a pound... the best deal on extreme high quality protein going!

We used to get more than that for black cod in the round 30 years ago! Smoked it is beyond incredible.


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black cod is my fav smoked fish. really good taste and texture

Just caught a bunch out of westport WA. Most guys think they are trash fish. Guys on the boat gave me their cod

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Trash? Surely you are kidding? And I have never seen or heard of a black cod being caught on a WA charter... or other for that matter. They are very different from other cod...


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I hear of guys trying to sport fish for black cod. A long way down to 900-1200ft though.


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I got one in under 250ft once, although they are definitely usually a LOT deeper.

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Campfire Kahuna
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There area few places I know of where they can be caught in shallow water, even on the surface. But they are always smaller fish, maybe 5-6 pounds tops. But no limit and when you get into them it can get ridiculous!


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Those boards are 12" for reference. We had another spot where we would longline and get them every once in a while, about the same size as that one. Up until a pacific sleeper shark moved in and started eating them all off of the longline. We caught that sucker, talk about ugly! That was down on the east side of Baranof.

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Back to smoking pike ;-) I just did a batch last Tuesday. Brined frozen fillets overnite, and it was a bit long - fish came out a bit salty. I have patted fish dry, blown them dry, but have never gotten northern to form a pellicle, and have given up. Skin on, skin off, not much difference, but it is easier to fillet the skin off than to remove it afterward. I cold smoke, and am using apple these days. I spray my racks with pam or equivalent so meat sticks less. 2 hrs of smoke is enough. 3 is a bit smokier, but not enough to bother with. To solve the cooking and preservation problem, I cut pieces and put them into pint canning jars. Can them at 11 psi for 90 minutes. The fork bones go away - which yields more meat from the over abundant hammer handles. The only problem i have with these is when a jar falls open the contents seem to evaporate regardless of the temperature, humidity or number of people around. Give it a try - it will turn a waste fish into gold!

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Like I have said repeatedly, if a recipe says to brine for more than 90 minutes they are freaking clueless... The over-salting does not exist and the texture is completely different.

Properly smoked the skin is a complete non-issue.

I have smoked a lot of pike and many other white fish and never had a problem getting a pellicle. Set up a fan and you will not have a problem either. It is the single most important step in the smoking process.


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Art, I brine about twice as long but with about 1/2 the density. Next batch I will try the 90min time with your density. A time saving is a good thing.


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I think my smoke generator works. Still too hot inside the box though with it sealed up, it is over 80 degrees outside today though and it is sitting directly on concrete in full sun, so I am sure that is heating it up. I filled that little box up about 1/3 of the way full to see how long it will run.

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I've put a ton of fish in the smoker and honestly, its tough to screw up.

1. Just realize that everyone likes something different so take advice with a scoop of salt! Some like fish that's hard, dry, & salty, while others like moist & mild. Thickness of the fillets or fish should be kept in mind. If you've got an assortment of fillet thicknesses, then you'll have something for everyone so don't worry about it. You can let those thin pieces get over-salted in the brine or dry out in the smoker, and let the other thicker pieces be the opposite. You'll get the hang of it. Experiment until you get what YOU want.

2. I use a dry brine. I've done it overnight, and 24 hours. Nobody has been able to tell a difference. A wet brine would be a different story since you can't control it as well. A dry brine lets you sort the fillets and apply lighter amounts of the mix on the thinner pieces and heavier amounts on the thicker pieces. Flip once during the brine.

3. What I think makes a bigger difference than brine time, is amount of brown sugar. I started with more brown, and have substituted with white sugar. Too much brown sugar for too long seems to affect the flavor, to me.

4. I use Kosher salt, white sugar, and brown sugar. Sprinkle on fillets that are sorted by thickness. Some like to test the flesh after brining but before smoking... its basically lox (talking salmon here).

5. Definitely let the pellicle form! This is what keeps the fats, juices, & oils in the fish and the reason why you need to do this crucial step.

6. Start low and slow, and raise temp as you go. Pull pieces as needed. I use alder and apple for fish, but I don't think you can go wrong here.

Jason

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Originally Posted by 4th_point
I've put a ton of fish in the smoker and honestly, its tough to screw up.

1. Just realize that everyone likes something different so take advice with a scoop of salt! Some like fish that's hard, dry, & salty, while others like moist & mild. Thickness of the fillets or fish should be kept in mind. If you've got an assortment of fillet thicknesses, then you'll have something for everyone so don't worry about it. You can let those thin pieces get over-salted in the brine or dry out in the smoker, and let the other thicker pieces be the opposite. You'll get the hang of it. Experiment until you get what YOU want.

2. I use a dry brine. I've done it overnight, and 24 hours. Nobody has been able to tell a difference. A wet brine would be a different story since you can't control it as well. A dry brine lets you sort the fillets and apply lighter amounts of the mix on the thinner pieces and heavier amounts on the thicker pieces. Flip once during the brine.

3. What I think makes a bigger difference than brine time, is amount of brown sugar. I started with more brown, and have substituted with white sugar. Too much brown sugar for too long seems to affect the flavor, to me.

4. I use Kosher salt, white sugar, and brown sugar. Sprinkle on fillets that are sorted by thickness. Some like to test the flesh after brining but before smoking... its basically lox (talking salmon here).

5. Definitely let the pellicle form! This is what keeps the fats, juices, & oils in the fish and the reason why you need to do this crucial step.

6. Start low and slow, and raise temp as you go. Pull pieces as needed. I use alder and apple for fish, but I don't think you can go wrong here.

Jason


Sorry, but I have to say that is the worst advice I have seen in quite some time on smoking fish.

You have different degrees of salinity because you have no control over the system and brine too long.

You expect people to poke around in the fish tasting different pieces until they find one they like?

Shaking my head...


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I have tried a fan, but according to my notes it was mid-80's and very high humidity. I allowed it two hours to go, but no pellicle. How long do you let it go?

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I use 2 2 X 6 on ends with fans blowing each direction about 6 hrs around 50 f and get a very good pellicle. Dry to touch. But not much humidity here. I usually wait till it cools in the fall to smoke fish, prefer to freeze salmon first to kill things.


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I smoke carp with pressure treated framing lumber shavings and sawdust, with chunks of RR ties, thrown in.
Brine in left over pickle juice. But NEVER for more than 2 days.
Then I sell the carp to Costco……………………….

In Anchorage…………………..they think it is cod.

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Now that is funny!



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Yes,
Everthing getting kinda serious.

On another note . Do you get to partake in the Copper River Reds. harvest?
Best,
Chuck

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