Smoking Panfish Whole, You’ve Been Missing Out!

Proper smoking technique and foundational things you must know to get started ASAP.

Smoking fish has been done for generations. It has been used to preserve food, by curing it with smoke before refrigeration was around. It has since gone from a way of preserving food, to a rich delicate dining experience that will make you come back begging for more. There are two different ways to smoke fish: Hot smoking or cold smoking. Each is delicious but take time. Hot smoking fish can be done with any smoker and almost any grill. Cold smoking requires more precise tools and technique.  

 

Smoking fish the right way takes time, don’t be impatient. When hot smoking whole fish, put the whole (descaled) fish into the simple salt and brine for about 12 hours or salt for about 2-3 hours. Doing this will cure the meat. I prefer putting the fish in the brine for 12 hours. Once that is done, rinse the salt or brine off the fish, dry by dabbing it, and let set in a dry-cool area (the refrigerator) for a while until the fish starts to get tacky and sticky on the outside of the meat, so the smoke has the ideal surface for its adhesion. Now you are ready to smoke the fish. Keep the smoker between 150F and 160. Lay the fish flat on the rack or hang from the roof depending on what kind of smoker you have. Smoke for about an hour with this low temp, so the fish has more time to absorb the smoky flavor. Next, turn the smoker to about 200F, and finish it off for another 1.5 to 2 hours.

What is Hot Smoking?

Hot smoking is a fast and delicious way to cure meat. To be considered hot smoking, you want the temperature of your smoker to be between 150F and 225F. Any hotter would be grilling your meat. Which is still amazing just not what we are looking for. Hot smoking time varies between the size of your meat. Fish typically takes 2-4 hours. You also want the fish to have an internal temp between 140F- 160F to be safe.

Great Smoked Salmon Recipe.

Ingredients:

2 Salmon fillets

½ cup kosher salt

½ cup brown sugar

Instructions:

1. Mix salt and brown sugar into about a gallon of water. Heat to dissolve sugar and salt, submerge fish inside the brine, cover, and put in the refrigerator for 2-8 hours.
2. Remove fish, discard brine, and pat dry with paper towels. Once complete set out to dry in a breezy cool place for a few hours (or the fridge overnight).
3. Heat smoker to about 160F, place fish inside for one hour. Next, turn up the heat to around 200F-215F, and let the fish finish off for 1-2 hours.

What is Cold Smoking?

Cold smoking fish takes longer to do and isn’t the safest for bacterial reason. The fish sits at the danger zone (40-140F) long enough for bacteria to grow rapidly. I recommend hot smoking for this reason only, but if the right precautions are taken to prevent bacterial growth the outcome is wonderous. The range for your fish is between 68-86F and for about 6-12 hours, that will give you a good textural outcome. The process loses moisture making the fish outside denser, while also keeping the fish really soft, unlike hot smoking fish. First cure the meat with salt and herbs or your choice, by rubbing into the fish. Let sit in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Remove any liquids off the top with a paper towel. Put into the smoker at the correct temperature and leave for 6-8 hours. This is a general layout for cold smoking your fish. To keep bacterial growth down to a minimum don’t let fish be exposed to warm areas and keep in a safe cool place away from airflow.

 

What kind of Fish is best?

The best types of fish to smoke are your fatty/oily fish: tuna, salmon, trout, mackerel and surprisingly eel. Any other fish can be smoked just fine, but the fattier the fish the better results you will have. They also have a ton of health benefits as well. The fish you choose should depend on what you want to make or do with your smoked fish. For example, smoked salmon is excellent on crackers or as a salmon steak and smoked salmon is one of the most common types of smoked fish, because of that.

 

What kind of wood is best?

For smoking fish, you want a hard mild to medium wood. Since fish is such light meat the smoke would overpower the fish. Using a mild wood will give the fish a nice smoky layer while still keeping the fish’s unique flavor.  Use wood chips for best results. Alder, pecan, cherry, apple, peach, and maple are the best woods to use for in my opinion. Just keep in mind that a little smoke goes a really long way. Don’t make to much smoke or it will ruin your fish turning it bitter. You can mix light and dark woods as well if you want, like applewood and hickory. As you smoke fish more and more try different woods to see which you like best.

 

Uses for smoked fish.

Obviously eating it alone is amazing and that’s why people have smoked fish for so long. Oily fish such as salmon and trout are great as a spread too. Use your smoked fish for fish tacos. Add it to your salads: potato or traditional, and serve it to your friends with some crackers. Just don’t be afraid to use it with anything. It goes really well with almost anything you pair it with.

 

Salmon Spread.

Ingredients:

6-8 Ounces Smoked Salmon

1 Package Cream Cheese

¼ Cup Heavy Cream

1 Pinch Pepper

1 Pinch Salt

1 Squeeze Lemon

1 Teaspoon Dried Dill

1 ½  Tablespoon Green Onions

½ Teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

( A couple of dashes of hot sauce, Jalapenos, or cooked bacon can be added if wanted)

Instructions:

1. Whip the cheese in a blender until softened completely.
2. Add Salmon, cream, pepper, salt, lemon, dill, green onions, and Worcestershire inside the blender. if you want to add bacon or hot sauce as well, this is the time.
3. Blend together all the ingredients until smooth and creamy; spread on anything you’d like.

 

Can You Make Fish Jerky in a Smoker?

Yes, you can. Consistent low heat and airflow will dehydrate your fish enough for jerky. First, either marinate, salt and pepper, or season your fish ahead of time. Cut your fish into about one-inch strips and spread out on you smoker rack. You want your smoker to be around 150F. It will take roughly 3-5 hours for your fish to be done. To make sure your fish is done, Taste it, is it chewy? If so then it’s definitely done. You don’t want your fish to be floppy, limp, or crunchy. Test it to see if its floppy, put it back in the smoker. Try it again, if it’s limp or crunchy then it’s overdone, and sadly a lost cause. If you choose to marinate your fish though, keep in mind that you need to dab up any marinate on the surface of your fish before it enters the smoker or it won’t be able to dehydrate properly, because there are too many liquids to evaporate.