New smoker, recipies anyone?

We just received our smoker from cabelas and still have some whole trout, striper, abalone and I think one more ling baggie in the freezer, want to smoke and eat. Any recipes? I'm doing the Indian candy first.
Also, Ive always cooked trout whole, never butterflied it. How is that done? Or de-boning a 14 inch trout? Or do you just smoke it whole and deal with the bones then?
Thanx, Maestro's!

Smoking is the best method to use up frozen fish! Have fun with your new smoker!

The basic brine recipes they give you are usually pretty salty.  It depends on how long you brine it and how thick the pieces are.  Each batch will vary so it takes some trial and error. 

If your smoked salmon gets too salty,  you can use my sushi recipe and mix regular cooked fish with smoked fish to get it just right to your taste.  You can sweeten it up by adding Yoshida sauce to it too.


I used the Indian Candy recipe on my last batch I got at this website... it's pretty good:

http://www.salmonuniversity.com/rs_htss01_index.html

It wasn't as sweet as I expected and would add more sugar.  I'll also try the recipe in this forum next time.

FYI,  I made Smoked salmon sushi and gave some to Joel.  It was a mix of smoked salmon,  cedar planked salmon, mayo and bit of Yoshida sauce.  I mixed up in a bowl with a fork and placed it my sushi making device with rice.

I bought this plastic sushi making box at Mitsuwa with slots to cut up into rectangle sushi.  It is really good for making Spam musubi too!!! IT makes sushi making easy.

Dave

The next time you decide to bar-b-que something, throw it (meat) into the smoker for about 20 minutes with a half pan of chips before you throw it on the grill. Mmmm Mmmm good!

CHEERS!

Both sound goood, thanx!
I just put the trout on the smoker after a brine of 1/2 cup salt ,1 pd dk brn sugar, 1/2 cup maple syrup using a food-saver vacume jar. See how the candy goes on Bon Tempe trout.
We're going to have some smokey treats for mendo!

Smoking...

Bon Tempe trout...

Indian candy style.

looks great Ben....especially with a side dish of garlic fried rice....ooouuuhhh yeeeahhh  ...that's how I roll 

Great shots...looks good!!

Not only can he fish he can cook it up too  Looks great  save some for CSBA it will be great with a glass of Oaky Chard. . I'll bring some  for Joel to eat with his rice.

Here's one of my favorites.

Equal parts soy sauce and mirin.  Some garlic and ginger.  Marinate overnight.  Smoke as desired.  I've used this recipe for tuna as well as salmon.  Yum yum.

-Allen

And another that I use for salmon.

ROCK FISH'S Smoked Candy

1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup salt
2 tbsp garlic powder
2 tbsp onion powder
2 tbsp pepper

Cut fish into no bigger than 6"x4"

Mix all ingredance into bowl .Place fish into mix coating all .Place fish skin side down in a 2nd glass bowl (the bigger the better).Layering the fish till done.

The fish will start to emulsify so don’t fill to the top. Cover with plastic wrap and put in frig for 2 days rotating fish from top to bottom after 1 day. After 2 days rinse the fish slightly and shake off water put on smoker rack. Let sit for 1/2hr. Preheat smoker then place fish in for 6 to8+ hr depending on thickness using HICKORY or your preferred smoking chips. Fish should look caramel in color when done.

OMG, that fish rocks! Im taking all the rest of our fish out of the freezer for smoking and bringing up to CSBA. Restock with fresh large winning striped bass.

Smoked Fish recipe

Brine fish with either the Basic Brine solution or the Rum Brine solution:

Basic Brine:
1/2 cup non-iodized salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 quart water

Mix and stir until completely dissolved. Place fish in the solution, being careful to ensure that the fish is completely covered with the brine; place in refrigerator. Thick
chunks 1 inch or more should be in brine 8 to 12 hours. Thin chunks less than 1-inch should be in brine 6 to 8 hours.

Rum Brine:
1 quart water
1/2 cup non-iodized salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 ounces rum
1 ounce lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons pickling spice
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
3 bay leaves

Mix and stir until completely dissolved. Place fish in the solution, being careful to ensure that the fish is completely covered with the brine; place in refrigerator. Thick chunks 1 inch or more should be in brine 8 to 12 hours. Thin chunks less than 1-inch should be in brine 6 to 8 hours.

After brining, remove fish from brine and lightly rinse each piece under cold water. Gently pat dry and lay pieces on paper towel to air dry for one hour. (After one hour the fish will have a glazed film on it. This is a normal result of the fish soaking in the brine.)

If using an electric smoker, preheat for 15 minutes. Load fish into smoker. Add your favorite wood chips to chip pan, I recommend mesquite if you can find it here. Add wood chips about every other hour for 5 or 6 hours (depending on how much smoke taste you want. Thick chunks 1 inch or more should take between 8 and 12 hours. Thin chunks should take between 6 and 8 hours. To cut down on smoking time, remove skin from fish before putting in brine, then put in cheese cloth after the brine process. This helps get rid of fish oils faster and cuts smoking time by about 1/4.

The key is to keep the smoke temp between 140-160

Serve with Killer Wine!

Sometimes the biggest difference is what wood you choose to smoke with. I really like the milder taste of alder. That's what they use up in Alaska alot. It grows like a weed up there, and has a great mild taste that goes great with fish and poultry.