How to Smoke White Fish
The mild flavor of whitefish makes it a perfect candidate for imparting subtle smokey tones using milder hardwoods, such as alder and cherry. The key to smoking whitefish is low, sustained heat with indirect charcoal cooking fires, wet wood chips that produce billowing smoke and proper soaking in a brine solution to keep the fish from drying out. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Charcoal smoker or charcoal grill with offset firebox
- 2 pounds alder wood chips
- Large bag natural lump charcoal
- Electric charcoal starter
- Five or six whitefish fillets
- 2 gallons water
- 1 cup kosher salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large plastic mixing bowls
Instructions
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Advance Prep for Fish and Wood Chips
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1
Mix 1 gallon of water, kosher salt and sugar in a large plastic bowl, then place the fish in the solution, known as the brine. Cover with plastic wrap, place in the refrigerator and allow the mixture to soak overnight.
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2
Ensure the smoker or grilling chamber and firebox are properly seasoned according to the manufacturer's directions. This will remove any factory impurities and provide a protective cooking coating on grates and the grill body.
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3
Add the second gallon of water to the large mixing bowl or bucket and soak the wood chips for at least an hour before beginning the smoking process. Wet wood burns longer and produces more smoke to enhance flavor.
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4
Thirty minutes before smoking, build a small charcoal fire in the side firebox or smoker charcoal grate using about four handfuls of lump charcoal. This fire size should be maintained throughout the smoking process.
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5
Adjust vents and/or chimneys to maintain a grilling chamber temperature between 140 and 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
Smoking the Fish
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6
Place the brined fish on the cooking grate of the grill or smoking chamber--ensuring none of the individual fillets are touching--and close the lid. A tightly sealed lid ensures more even, stable temperatures inside the smoking chamber.
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7
Add a handful of wet wood chips to the hot coals every 30 minutes to slow-season the fish or poultry with alder smoke.
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8
Add a handful of lump charcoal every 30 minutes to an hour, depending on the outside temperature and wind. The stronger the wind, the faster the charcoal will burn up.
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Tips & Warnings
Fish smoking time should last about two hours at 140 to 160 degrees, depending on size. Smoking for too long produces dried-out, tough fish.
Don't skip the brining steps, as the method helps fish and poultry lock in moisture and not dry out during the long, slow smoking process.
Always use fire-resistant cooking mitts when feeding coals or chips into the fire, and handle fish with long-handled grilling-style spatulas or tongs to avoid burns.
References
- Photo Credit MASH/Digital Vision/Getty Images
