Smoked Fish

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. 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.