FAVORITE RECIPES

   Here's my favorite fish brine. This works great with Salmon and Trout of any kind. I start off with a 5 gallon container something like a clean bucket that came from a catering company or one from your local Sub Shop. It helps if you can get the plastic lid with it. A ceramic pickling crock works just as well. Some can be purchased with a wooden lid. I recommend keeping the lid on the fish that is being brined.

 Start with one gallon of water and one gallon of Apple Juice. I have substituted the Apple Juice with White Zinfendale Wine at times. It all depends on your taste.  Add 2 cups of non- iodized pickling salt and seven cups of brown sugar. Add a quarter cup of ground cinnamin and a quarter cup of ground cloves. You can even use whole cloves and stick some of them right in the flesh of the fish. Dice up a sweet onion about the size of a peach and add this to the brine. Add some dried or fresh diced chives, about one quarter cup. Add a quarter cup of Malt Vinegar. Stir all this very well until the salt and sugar have disolved. If you're using Apple Juice you can add a quarter cup of Malt Vinegar to the brine. This adds a good flavor.

 From here I have taken my fish fillets already cut into Hand Size pieces and rinse them under cold water. I usually leave the skin on the fillets so they don't stick to the racks when placing them in the smoker.  I put the fillets into the brine and soak them for a minimum of 24 hours in 40 degree temperature or a bit colder. If you can fit the bucket or crock into the fridge this will be perfect. Sometimes I have soaked them for up to 2 days. Stir the brine occasionally about every 6 to 8 hours to keep the brine mixed well. You can leave the fillets in there while doing this. 

 I like to prepare my wood chips for the smoker while my fish is brining. I usually use fruit wood when smoking for best results. Apple or Cherry or Pear are my favorites. I sometimes use Alder for fish even though it's not a fruit wood. If you are using a charcoal or gas powered smoker then soak your wood chips in water for about a whole day. If you are using an electric smoker then I recommend you use them dry.

 Before you smoke the fish rinse them off lightly under cold water and let them air dry on a rack for 4 to 6 hours. This is a part of the pre-smoking process that should not be skipped. When rack drying like this, a sticky coating called a Pelical is formed and necessary to smoke cure the fish properly. Sometimes I use a small fan on a low setting to blow air across the top of the fillets to help with this process. After this step you can now smoke the fish in a smoker. Lay the fish fillets skin down on the smoker racks. Add a handfull of wood chips to the charcoal or gas smoker about every 45 minutes to one hour during the smoking process.  A good temperature for smoking salmon and trout is about 125 to 150 degrees. You can complete this in three to four hours at this temp. If the smoker temp is below this, just let it go longer. Electric smokers take longer than charcoal or gas smokers because of the lower temps produced but the fish comes out more moist. I use both electric and charcoal smokers and enjoy the results from both. I hope you do too.  To store your fish after smoking, a vacuum sealer will keep the fish very fresh in the fridge for many weeks. The problem with this is my smoked fish never seems to last that long. There's just too many fish lovers in my house. 

 If you have any questions feel free to E-mail me and I'll try to answer what I can.  info@floatmaster.net    

Smoked Fish Spread   

 Here's a smoked fish spread I like to make with the smoked fish recipe from above. After the fish has been refridgerated for a few days I remove the skin and all the bones and dice it real fine until I gather about 1 1/2 cups of fish. Then I mix this with one cup of sour cream and one cup of whipped cream cheese. You can purchase the whipped cream cheese at the grocery store. I then mix in one tablespoon of finely diced fresh garlic and a half cup of diced chives. Sometimes I include a half cup of finely dices celery. Mix this all together very well, chill and serve with you favorite crackers.

Pineapple - Cucumber Salsa

1 cup of diced pineapple    1/2 cup of peeled & diced cucumber   2 tblsp diced red onion

2 tblsp diced sweet bell pepper   1 tblsp roasted jalapeno pepper   2 tblsp chopped cilantro

juice from 1/2 lime   pinch of sugar   2 tblsp olive oil   salt & pepper   mix all together