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Smokeing Salmon

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Rocky Johnson

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My brother and I caught three Kings out of South
Haven Michigan, bigest was 16 lbs. I brined them in a Gal. of water with a cup of salt a cup of brown sugar. Six hours in my water smoker with wild cherry. They turned out great. Rocky /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
We do the same with Redhorse and Suckers here in Northern Wisconsin. One cup of salt per gallon of water and one half cup brown sugar per gallon of water. After they brine for two days, into the smoker they go until they are dried (I hate oily fish)and as you say, they are fantastic.
 
cayugad do you Fillet them? Skin on or off?Score or not? Thinking about trying it with Carp. :shocking: Ok don't start.We usally Can or just Fry them.

oneshot
 
Thinking about trying it with Carp. :shocking: Ok don't start.
oneshot

Nope. No way. Carp must be insulted - it's the law.

Gack! I've tried carp every way to Sunday. A local radio station used to hold an annual "Carpie Derby" (a take-off from our more famous "Crappie Derby in the winter). Pickled is about the only palletable method - because then it tastes only like a pickle. Love to catch them - hate to eat them. A few of us hereabouts use nymphs on size 9 fly rods - Susquehanna Bonefish. They are STRONG!

You want a unique taste in a smoker? Try duck. The oils soaked up the smoke so well it tasted like creosote.

Best I ever managed was when my neighbor returned from a charter and gave us three fresh 15 lb bluefish and I put two in the smoker. Mmmmmmm.
 
I've done it with carp as well. All I do is take a large knife gut them and cut them down the middle. Leave the skin right on them. Then take the two halves, wash them in clean water (some of the fish have a slim on them) and then brine them.

While they are smoking (skin side down), the skin holds everything together and keeps the one side from burning or drying out too much. After they are smoked, you can peel that skin right off and all you have is the fish. Then the bones come right out of the fish easy.

I do chop the head off of course, and you can chunk the fish if they are too big. The main thing with carp is look along the back bone and you will see a "mud line." It is a sometimes black looking vein (not always there if the fish is not running the bottoms or the water is moving fast) that runs along the back bone. Put your thumb nail or a spoon in that and scrap that out real clean or it will effect the taste of the fish. You can also brine them and then cook them on a Weber Grill and they are excellent.
 
Hello,

Sorry for the late reply, but I just found and registered with this site today ::

I don't know what kind of smoker you have, but I've tried the method in the link below for salmon in my Weber Smokey Mountain smoker, and it was OUTSTANDING !

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/salmon1.html

Never tried carp by the way .....
 
i tried smokin fish one time,but gave it upbecause they were too hard to lite :crackup: :crackup: :crackup: :crackup:
:redface:sorry...i couldn't resist
 
Here's how I smoke the large Rainbow trout at my cabin in British Columbia, Canada. I also do the same with salmon.
For large fish, split them down the backbone from the inside, so they lie flat and the skin will be on the rack.
Do NOT remove the skin. It keeps the flesh from sticking to the rack.
For thick salmon, cut them into chunks about 6 X 6 inches.
For small fish, like Brook trout, perch and crappie, there's no need to split down the back. Leave the skin on one side and peel it off the other. If it's too much trouble to remove one side of the skin, leave it on and soak it in the salt mixture a little longer.
I've smoked crappie, trout, salmon, whitefish, squawfish (excellent if under 14 inches, any larger and they get a musty taste to them), bass, perch, bluegill and snu.
What's snu? Not much, what's snu with you? ::

Combine:
1 pound regular table salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons Liquid Smoke

Mix well, until you have a light tan, dry product.
Sprinkle a bit of it in the bottom of a large, plastic or stainless steel tub. Add a trout or chunk of salmon, skin side down, and sprinkle more on top of the flesh.
Ensure that you have a good, even coat of the mixture on the fish, but don't overdo it. Use just enough to put about a 1/8-inch layer on the flesh.
Now, add another trout or salmon chunk to the top of the piece you just sprinkled --- and sprinkle more mixture on this second piece.
Continue doing so until you have a stack of sprinkled trout or salmon.
Allow the stack of salted fish to sit for about 45 minutes. You'll know it's worked its magic when the flesh feels a little leathery to the touch. I wouldn't allow the fish to sit more than an hour, or it will be too salty.
After 45 minutes or so, rinse the fish under the tap, removing all of the salt mixture.
Now, pop into the smoker. Heck, I don't even pat-dry the fish after I've rinsed them. There's no need.
Load the thinnest pieces near the smoke source (usually the bottom of the smoker) and the largest pieces at the top.
Check after four hours of smoking. The smaller or thinner pieces at the bottom may be done but the larger or thicker ones at the top will likely require more time.
How can you tell it's smoked?
Press into the flesh with your finger. If it feels firm, and springs back to finger pressure, it's probably done. If the flesh feels mushy beneath the surface, and an imprint of your finger pressure is seen, smoke it some more.
Oh, almost forgot! Do this check on the thickest part of each piece. The thinner parts will be done first.
Now, here's a 20th century secret:
What if the thicker parts aren't quite done, but the thinner parts of the same piece are getting hard because they've been in there so long?
Wellllllll, remove the troublesome thick pieces and pop them in the microwave. This will finish cooking the thick flesh from the inside out, without affecting flavor.
You probably won't use all of the salt preparation at once. I put it into a large, plastic screwtop jar and save it for my next batch of smoked fish.
You may also smoke oysters with this salt. Drop the raw oysters into a pot of boiling water and blanche them for a minute, to firm them. Then sprinkle with the mixture and let sit for 30 minutes. Rinse, oil the racks, and place the oyster on the rack.
Smoking time is not nearly as long with fish, so check the oysters hourly.
Unlike canned smoked oysters, there's no oil to aggravating drip from the cracker onto your new shirt.
Forget smoking shrimp. With the shell on, the smoke never reaches the meat. Take the shell off and the shrimp dry to nubbins hard as gristle.
I don't know if the same may be said of crab or lobster, but I suspect so.
You can also buy bacon from the store and stick it in the smoker --- unsalted --- for an hour or two for a little extra smoky flavor.
Liquid Smoke is found in the condiment section of your store, generally near the barbecue sauce and marinades. It's made by drawing hickory or mesquite smoke through water, then bottling the water.
Liquid Smoke is great stuff. Add a bit to chili con carne, chowders, gravy, soups (particularly good in cheese and cream soups), fondues or au jus sauce. I like to put a Tablespoon or so in the boiling water for packaged cheese macaroni. Mmmmmm .. gives macaroni a slightly smoky flavor.
Anyway, enjoy the fish smoking recipe. It's easy, quick and makes incredible smoked fish.
One more thing: Smoked fish makes a marvelous Christmas gift to friends. Everyone gets a bottle of wine or candy at Christmas, but for a real hit give them fish you smoked yourself. You'll have everyone at the party amazed at your abilities!
 
I always use a dry cure on my salmon. I use about a one to one ratio of kosher salt to brown sugar and then add pepper and spices as I wish. The fish will turn out great with just the salt and brown sugar, but the spices will add alot of flavor. I will put in molasses sometimes and make a very sticky paste and will be harder to use buth that too it will make the fish very dark, but also very sweet, Way too much for me. But experiment and don't be afraid to try. Put the cure on for about 20 hours more or less depending on the thickness of the fish. You will get a bunch of waterly liquid when your done. The fish will be as stiff as a board too. You will need to wash the cure off and pat them dry and let them stand in a cool dry place to develope a peticule, once that is done they are ready to smoke. We like to smoke them to an internal temp of 135 degrees F. Use a thermometer with a probe and you can get great results each time.


Also I greatly prefer a mix of woods, apple and hickory for the actual smoking. Maple is also very good and makes a lot of smoke for a long time.


:imo:
 
Rocky J

Technutz and I smoke salmon the same way even though we have different types of smokers. We both use a dry cure as he has described above. My wife and I put cure on both sides, wrap it in plastic and then foil. We use large cookie sheets for the fillets on both the top and bottom and use a can of something on the top cookie sheet for weight. Flip the fish over half way through the curing process and replace the weight.

My wife and I cure the fish for 24 hours (for fillets of about 3-4 lbs) and flip them over at 12 hours. I smoke them at 155 degrees until internal temp reaches 136 degrees by probe. Resist the temptation to eat it all coming out of the smoker, wrap them in foil or plastic while warm and refrigerate. The inside of the package forms condensation and returns additional moisture to the fish. When cold, the fish is succulent and very tasty. It will last a long time in the fridge. I prefer the lighter, sweeter smoke flavor of apple wood but Technutz makes some great smoked with various woods.

We just put some in the smoker a few minutes ago for a party this weekend. There won't be any left, but if there were, it will be good for another couple of weeks when kept refrigerated. :thumbsup: :peace:
 
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