For sure I would brine them.
HOPEFULLY you left the skins on the fillets........
Brine: (all amounts approximate)
4 quarts cold water
1/2 cup salt (any kind works)
3/4 cup of white sugar (or brown sugar, or maple syrup, but not honey)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tsp granulated garlic (or use fresh garlic, but then you will have chunks of garlic stuck to the fillets)
Mix until everything is dissolved. Put fillets into brine, skin side up, and leave in a fridge or other cool spot for an absolute minimum of 6 hours, 12 is better, 24 is about optimum, longer than that is sub-optimal because the fillets get soggy.
Take them out of the brine, lay them out on a paper towel or newspaper skin side down for an hour, then smoke.
Enjoy!
Doug
PS) I just previewed this, and see that it is centre-justified. Hopefully that is something I can fix, as it is annoying to read it that way.......
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