smoked rock fish?

I got a Luhr-Jensen electric "mini-chief' smoker for ~$60 @ mel cottons in san jose.
good price even compared to online.
Also got a packet of 'alder' chips and chunks (there is a packet of hickory included).

I just tested it on a few rockfish filets, like from one big rockfish and one little rockfish.
no attempt made to filet the most meat possible, more focus on boneless best part of fish.

I used the super basic brine recipe and the filets were less than 1/2" thick so it didn't take long.

brine: 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup salt (non iodized), 16 oz of water. mix, dissolve, etc.

put the fish in the brine in the fridge for 3 hours. turn it a few times.

take the fish out, rinse it off in cold water, pat dry.

Here's the part I'm not clear on. One is supposed to let the fish 'dry' a bit before it goes in the smoker
and you should see a tacky glaze form on the surface of the fish.
the glaze is called the 'pellicle' according to the instruction
booklet, but it doesn't say how to store the fish during this part.
On a rack in the fridge?

anyway, after that, I put it in the electric smoker with just one half filled pan of alder and smoked it
for about 2.5 hours. the alder burns off in about 30 minutes, the rest of the time is just cooking/drying
time.

It tastes like kippers, smoked herring, but better, a bit on the salty side.  My boys declared it
delicious, so that's enough to declare success.

I do a lot of the cooking in our household but I have zero training and I'm no gourmet just a bit picky about what I want,
and I have to say that the electric smoker is easy and the results are pretty darn good if you like smoked stuff
with a minimum of effort.

J

Leave the fish at room temp to get the pellicle.

Some will say fridge, but they are just paranoid and you will get the pellicle faster at room temp.

MolBasser

JM,

I do what the mole says.

A couple brining pointers:

1.  Try to glass, ceramic, plastic (though it does absorb the smell) but not Aluminum.  Supposedly it doesn't turn out as well if you use aluminum.  Not sure if this an old wives tale as I haven't used metal (alum or SS). 

2.  Before you add fillets, its better to pre make your brine so its already cold in the fridge

3.  Try increasing the sugar to salt ratio.  I now use about 2:1, sugar:salt.  You'll be surprised.  It turns out salty tasting, not at all sweet.  Most recipes call for the 1:1 you used.  I was first skeptical about 2:1, thinking it would be sweet.  Now, I find that's the perfect ratio.

You can also increase the water and make a lighter brine.  You'll just have to brine it longer.  IMO, it turns out more consistent (thick and thin pieces).

Smoked fish doesn't last long in any household.  You're probably all out, so that's a good excuse to go fishing again   Good strategic planning.

Stuart

True, it is gone,  . time to go fishing again,  .

thanks for the pellicle and brine tips Stu and Mol, I'll put them into play on the next pile of rockfish.

my understanding is that salt can react with the metal, I think it is more than an old wives tale.

I did use glass/porcelain as the smoker directions suggest.

J

Salt will quickly react with many metals when dissolved in water.  Or more precisely, the chlorine will. This is why you want to add salt only to boiling water if you are making pasta etc. If you chuck it in when the water is cold you'll pit your nice expensive SS pan.  Hot water will drive the excess chlorine  off before it can react (this is thereason  bleach is only an effective sterilizing agent in cold water).

Anything acidic and aluminum don't mix either - you'll leach off some of the aluminum oxide coating the surface and you'll get off flavors. Weird stuff happens to colors of acidic foods as well. Tomatoes cooked in an aluminum pan will turn a muddy orange brown and get an "off" "flat" taste but in SS they will stay red and "fresher" tasting.

Both are reasons plastic / glass are the preferred vessel for brining.

A gentle fan will quickly promote the pellicle, which is a must for good smoked fish - so it doesn't turn mushy. It also gives the smoke something to adhere to.  When smoking (bbq-ing) meats it is preferred to add them cold to a smoker in order to allow the smoke to penetrate the flesh before the surface reaches the cooking temp of protein. This is how you get the pink "smoke ring" in ribs or brisket. Fish cooks too fast for the smoke ring to form or even for the smoke to penetrate as much, which is why you want a good pellicle instead.

Try applewood or cherry for smoking fish as well as alder - both are tasty.

And don't worry about visible smoke - a very slow smolder is all you want. Too much smoke can cause creosote to deposit on the smoked meat, which has a very noticeable flavor which tends to mask all the other subtle flavors of the smoke and marinade. Not necessarily bad, but once you have tasted low and slow smoked food you'll know the difference.

Good eats!

Chris.

ps. yes, food used to be my business many moons ago.

Here is a quick and cheap smoker you can build.

CHEERS!

chris, thanks for that explanation. I was wondering what happened to my rice cooker, 

J

Here is a quick and cheap smoker you can build.

CHEERS!

At my last brewclub meeting, asside from the awesome meads that we were sampling, we dined upon some most excellent smoked tri tip that my friend had smoked in a tericotta pot.

Same concept, but a electric element in the bottom with a pan for wood.

MolBasser

Chris,
Thanks for that write up.  Alton Brown would be proud!

Stuart

stu, since salt is the preservative and sugar is for flavor, it's possible that the 4:1 mixture would not keep
as long. not that it lasts that long before some body eats it anyways.

But I could see doing two batches, a long-life batch and a eat it quick batch, the long-life has more salt.

J

if it does come out a little on the salty side, slice into small bits, put on bagel with cream cheese.

yum.

I've got about one hour left before I pull my rockfish out of the my smoker. I gave it a little taste a minute ago and it was a little salty, but GOOOOOOD!

I'll add a photo in a little while. I did baste them with maple syrup when I stuck them in the smoker.

CHEERS!

Looks like they're done!

CHEERS!

Looks good.

Temperature controll (detection) is critical in salmon smoking.  Smoke the fish 1-2 degrees to short or too long and is virtually ruined.

How is it with rockfish?

MolBasser

I'll let you decide. I'll bring some smoked rickfish to the Elk Tournament that I'm going to win. (Ha Ha). I use a dry brine of 3:1 brown sugar to salt, with a bunch of garlic powder. I let it sit for about 18 hours in the fridge and then it's into the smoker.

I just got done cutting four pig stakes into jerky strips (the pig I shot this year (first time hunting in my life). I just used the same dry brine of 3:1 brown sugar and salt with garlic, but I added soy sauce (I didn't have any Worcestershire sauce because my wife didn't buy any) (she's not blonde, but she can act that way). Anyway.....I hope the jerky turns out too. If it does, I'll bring some to the tournament and display it on my new kayak that I'm going to win.

CHEERS!