Whitefish Brine/smoking

[Snap Shot]

As the title says i am looking for a good whitefish brine to get some whites ready for the bradly.
If anyone has one that they are willing to share & or tips on smoking whites i would be greatly appreciated. I have never smoked whites before.

Thanks for any helpful hints or suggestions.

[Mike_W]

Originally Posted by Snap Shot

As the title says i am looking for a good whitefish brine to get some whites ready for the bradly.
If anyone has one that they are willing to share & or tips on smoking whites i would be greatly appreciated. I have never smoked whites before.

Thanks for any helpful hints or suggestions.

Not being super experienced with smoking whitefish I cant comment on whether or not the pin bones dissolve in a brine. But I have found to help not have too dried out fish its good to leave the skin on if you can. You can remove the pin bones with pliers before or after smoking.

Whitefish is a great white meat with hardly any taste so I have found a simple brine is best. 3-1 plain white sugar to kosher salt maybe some granulated garlic and/or onion and some dill.

[binnzer32]

Bones dont dissolve. Soya sauce, molasses, onion powder, Montreal steak spice, brown sugar, coarse salt, worsheshire sauce, a touch of liquid smoke. Something like that will work. Leave skin on keeps fish together in smoker. Smoke to your liking dry or soft your call. Lower temps and long smoking I like best. Lost of preferences though when smoking

[Red Bullets]

I have used both brines and dry cure to smoke fish. My favorite is the traditional willow smoked whitefish using wet brine.

A good traditional brine is most basic. 1/2 cup of coarse salt for every quart of water. The option is you can add 1/4 cup of brown sugar for every quart too, if you want. Split the fish leaving the skin and scales on. Soak the fish for 4 to 6 hours. Rinse the fish and pat dry.
The dry cure is with your favorite spice like garlic, onion, pepper. Put in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours before smoking.

With either cure you can also brush the fish in the smoker with maple syrup or hot sauce for added flavour or zing.

.
Using either method, dry or wet, make sure the fish is dry going into the smoker. With either cure .. leave the fish to dry before going in the smoker 1 hour. A pellicle will form as it dries before going in the smoker.

Put in smoker with skin side to the bottom at first. When you turn over the fish an hour or two later you can put a drip tray to help keep your smoker clean.

The smoker should reach 170 degrees in temp. for an hour and then can be cooler for the remainder of smoking.

The nicest smoke for whitefish is diamond or red willow.

The bones are something you will have to pull out as you eat the fish. There is just one row of bones above the lateral line so it is easy to pull as you go.

[Prdtrgttr]

I use a dry brine for whites. Some argue why make something wetter that you are trying to dry...
Typically I make a mixture of salt, black pepper, garlic&onion powder, and brown sugar. Very simple. Let taste be your guide and don't over think it.
Coat fish, be sure you have left the skin on. Put in sealed container for 24 hrs. Rinse, pat dry, let sit for an hour. Smoke.

[Redfrog]

SIL Cans whitefish. A little vinegar and a shot of ketchup or tomato sauce. process. I don't remember any bones, but I do remember the tasty fish. I swap her some canned smoked salmon.

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

I have used both brines and dry cure to smoke fish. My favorite is the traditional willow smoked whitefish using wet brine.

A good traditional brine is most basic.
1/2 cup of coarse salt for every 3 quarts of water. The option is you can add 1/4cup of brown sugar for every quart too, if you want. Split the fish leaving the skin and scales on. Soak the fish for minimum 4 to 6 hours. Rinse the fish and pat dry.

The dry cure is with your favorite spice like garlic, onion, pepper. Put in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours before smoking.

With either cure you can also brush the fish in the smoker with maple syrup or hot sauce for added flavour or zing.

.
Using either method, dry or wet, make sure the fish is dry going into the smoker. With either cure .. leave the fish to dry before going in the smoker 1 hour. A pellicle will form as it dries before going in the smoker.

Put in smoker with skin side to the bottom at first. When you turn over the fish an hour or two later you can put a drip tray to help keep your smoker clean.

The smoker should reach 170 degrees in temp. for an hour and then can be cooler for the remainder of smoking.

The nicest smoke for whitefish is diamond or red willow.

The bones are something you will have to pull out as you eat the fish. There is just one row of bones above the lateral line so it is easy to pull as you go.

more brine info...

Here is another good recipe for wet brine.
3 quarts water
1/2 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown suger
2 tbsp. vinegar
2 tblsp. pickling spice
2 tblsp. molasses
boil brine and then cool and refrigerate.
Place fish in brine overnight keeping the brine cold.

Dry off the fish an hour to form pellicle and then smoke.

[Snap Shot]

Thanks for the advice so far going to try 2 dry & 2 wet. See which i prefer. Thanks for the advice so far. Im just getting into this smoking/ brining and enjoying so far.

Any preferred flavor of smoke to use??

[unclebuck]

Use alder cookies in your Bradley for fish. A good second choice is cherry or apple.

[Red Bullets]

Originally Posted by Snap Shot

Thanks for the advice so far going to try 2 dry & 2 wet. See which i prefer. Thanks for the advice so far. Im just getting into this smoking/ brining and enjoying so far.

Any preferred flavor of smoke to use??

Diamond willow or red willow is supreme with whitefish.

[Drewski Canuck]

Getting ready to do about 30 this weekend.

Marshall Ewasiuk, thank you for teaching me so well.

Take a gallon of HOT water, put in 2 cups brown sugar, to 3/4 cup course salt. Put in a heavy pinch of Pickling Spice, and one hot pepper. Mix until all absorbed, and let cool. You will need a 5 gallon pail, or large canner, Whites have to be filleted, skin & scales on, with the ribs out.

Stack the fillets in the brine and let sit in a cool spot overnight.

Remove the fillets and rinse off to get off scales and spices.

Take the smoker racks and wipe with cooking oil. Put fillets scales down on racks.

Put SMOKER racks with fillets in the oven, and set to about 175, leave the door open a small amount, for about 20 minutes. Pat the fillets dry a number of times. When ready, it will look "shiny". Thicker take longer and require more drying. you are not COOKING, only DRYING, so watch the heat. Take the

Finally, put fillets on smoker racks in the smoker. I use Hickory chips and always have. rotate the racks every reload so that the fillets smoke evenly. When the fillets are golden, they are done.

Best to vacuum pack the fillets or everything else in the freezer will really take on a smell.

Drewski

[BlackHeart]

This one is really quick and produces great results.

1 gal of brine for 4lbs of fish

1 gal water (3.785L)
2.25lb salt (4cups)
1lb brown sugar
2tbs cure #1
1/3 cup lemon juice
1tbs each - garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper

Disolve salt.
Dump whitefish halves in and keep submerged.
Remove after 13minutes (yeah it's quick...if you like salty...15)
Rinse fish and air dry till tacky.
Oil your racks.
Into smoker at low temp(120F)....rotate racks often.
Start skin side up and flip after 2hours.....finish skin down.
Up temp to 160F after 4 hours.
When nice and golden, finish in oven (280F) till internal is 145F
Cool and pluck raised pin bones with tweezers.

[Rig 44]

One gal water. One cup course salt. One cup brown sugar. Butterfly fish rince well cover fish with brine if you need more brine mix one more gal make sure fish are coverd let sit over night drain fish put in smoker scale side down and smoke at 170 until fish starts to crack and turns golden brown enjoy. You can addcrushed peppers etc to brine to your taste good luck i use butchers blend for saw dust