Fish smoking

[Canuck]

A couple of questions for all fish smoker's out there, I've cobbled up a smoker and got alder chips to do the business, now, is it practical to fillet the fish at sea and leave in clean sea water to replace the brineing stage? Would I have to increase the salt content for this to work?
I've been thinking about this as fishing on a Sunday doesn't leave much time in the evening for fresh smoking. How long should say a mackerel fillet(s) be hot smoked for?
Any other pointers would be welcomed.

Rich.

[olly]

smoking will kill you ;d

[oldseadog]

Hot smoking mackeral fillet shouldn't take more than 20 minutes.

[kingfish]

to the best of my knowledge, for the best results with smoking fish - oak chips are the norm. once the fish has been filleted
it is better not to soak the fillets in fresh or salt water as it tends to spoil the flesh - much better results when you take more care in cleaning the fish in the first place. As for the chips you use, there are several different types of wood such as cherry, spruce as well as oak. Worth experimenting to get the best results

[wedger]

Forgive the interuption but spotted a possible NASTY........

Most of the hardwoods will give a good / varied result but IMHO avoid ALL the softwoods, many of which are resinous, including Spruce, mentioned above, some giving a quite toxic residue. There are some specialist smokers who use an inclusion of softwood, but I would advise most to avoid these as a rule. Stick to the common English hardwoods and you'll not go far wrong.
Beech is excellent and generally less tanic than oak although oak is good and most commonly used. Fruit woods such as apple, plum & cherry are great.

[ratman1]

If you are hot smoking then I would use oak. I hot smoke mackerel etc and as I intend to eat them soon after I do not bother brining. I gut and butterfly the fish and place them in the smoker. It depends on the type of smoker you have, if it is one of those that the fish is close to the heat source then it will cook quite quickly. I do mine on my gas barbeque, light one end and put it on its lowest heat setting. Soak the woodchips and place them in a foil tray above the lit end. PLace the fish as far away from the heat source as poss, ie the far end of the bbq, close the lid and leave to smoke. As the heat increases the woodchips begin to smoke and the fish slowly cooks. I usually leave mine for around an hour and a half. They come out superb.
For cold smoking you will need to brine first, I make a dry mix of sea salt flakes and brown sugar and coat the fillets for a bout three hours, you are trying to reduce the weight by around 20 %. Drain of the water that has leaked from the fish and then wash off the salt and sugar mix under a cold tap. Allow the fish to dry by hanging in a cool place. One the fish flesh beging to develop a pedicle or dry sticky feel to the flesh it is ready for cold smoking. I smoke mackerel for around 6 - 8 hours and salmon up to thirty hours. Herrings are superb done in this way, leave in brine for about an hour then smoke for 8 hours. I then cook them the next day in a little butter on a low heat.