Holy Mackerel

[Phat termite]

I know most of you are starting to wonder when winter will be over, but in South Florida we had one of those Chamber of Commerce days today. So, about noon I grabbed my shorts, tee shirt, flip flops & a couple of rods & jumped on the boat for an afternoon of fishing... The Mackerel were as thick as they could be... I grabbed enough to fill up the #4 so I could give it a test with a full load.... The fish are cleaned & swimming in the brine pool, will pull them from the brine tomorrow & dry them in the fridge overnight.... Hope to get some time Friday to load em up.... Fresh smoked fish and fish dip makes a great Christmas Gift....
Picts to follow.

 

[DONF]

sounds good ----------smoked fish dip love it

 

[Phat termite]

Out of the pool, rinsed off and laid out on sheet pans, spending the night in the fridge uncovered  and hopefully going in the smoker tomorrow... Anyone got any ideas on the temperature difference I should expect from the top rack to the bottom rack? I'm guessing I will need to use 4 or 5 racks...

Mike

 

[NDKoze]

Looks really good. I am guessing you're going to want to rotate your racks front to back and top to bottom midway through the cycle.

I would try to smoke them pretty slow and low, like 150-175 or so.

If you have a Jerky Dryer, you will probably want to use it. If you don't have a jerky dryer, this would be one of those times especially after the bulk of the smoking portion is done to periodically open the door and let as much of that steam out of the smoker.

I still do all of my fish in my Big Chief, because I don't want to risk my Smokin-It getting fishy smelling. So, I don't have direct experience with smoking fish in the Smokin-It smokers. But, based on the results from my jerky and snack stix smokes, I think you are going to have a lot of moisture in there and you don't really want to steam the fish. I know many others smoke fish and say the smell doesn't stick. I just haven't been brave enough yet. Plus my Big Chief does a good job at low and slow and I have a lot of saw dust that I need to use up yet that won't be used in the #3.

Maybe the more experienced fish smokers will correct me if I am off-base here.

 

[Pork Belly]

If you have any cooling racks of if your smoker racks fit in the fridge you would be able to get airflow and drying on all sides of those filets.

 

[Phat termite]

Gregg,
I am going to run them at 180 to the finish line (I hope), I'm guessing 3-4 hours, I'll check them after 2, great idea rotating racks, wish I had a jerky dryer, may need to add one to my Christmas list....
As for the fishy smell in the smoker.. This will certainly be the test, I have smoked a salmon 8 or 10 times with no problem, however the mackerel is as strong as it gets & there are a lot of them, I'm sure it will be ok (positive thinking ). I will be smoking 8 or 10 racks of pork on Tuesday for Christmas presents, I would hate for them to taste like the Smoked Macks... I'll keep you posted.

Brian,
My fridge is the same size as a full size sheet pan so I got it going there & I left the skin on the fish and lined the pans with newspaper....

Thank you both for the tips and ideas, should be able to post results and picts tonight...

Mike

 

[NDKoze]

I think you'll be fine with the fish smell. But I will be looking for your feedback for confirmation.

 

[Phat termite]

In the smoker! got it all on 4 racks

 

[Walt]

Mike,

What was the brine used?  If making smoked fish dip, I would be interested in your method / recipe.  Looks good.

 

[Phat termite]

Walt,
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup yoshidas marinade
1 tablespoon pepper
1-2 (depends on how much spice you like, I use 2) tablespoon Old Bay, I've also used Tony Chachere's
10 or 20 whole (I like to break them up just a bit) peppercorns
and anything else you like....
I brine it for 10-20 hours (I don't think it really matters)
very lightly rinse it off
lay newspaper out on a sheet pan put fish on paper skin side down & pat it dry with paper towels
Through it in the fridge for at least a couple hours, I try to let it go overnight
Then put it on your smoker til it drys out around the edges... Presto! Smoked fish!
I ordered a jerky dryer today, I think that's the answer to getting all the moister outta the smoker, so, next time I'll try it. When it gets here, I'll have an excuse to go catch more Macks!

As for the dip, I've gone full circle, started with a mayo base, then went to sour cream with cream cheese, tried the yogurts... Now I'm back to the Mayo, Hellmans Real Mayonnaise with chopped up celery and either scallions or onions.... Thats it, if I need to add more flavor I do it with Old Bay or Tony Chachere's. Hope that helps.
Mike

 

[Phat termite]

Here come the little guys.... These were on the bottom shelf, they don't have the crusty brown shell I usually get from fish on the egg but hopefully the jerky dryer will fix that next time. Taste is SPOT_ON!

 

[NDKoze]

Here is the brine and fish dip recipe that I use:
http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=2061.0

I have used this brine and dip recipe for many different types of fish with great results.

You will definitely get a dryer crust/outside with the Jerky Dryer. It is just so moist in there without the dryer.

 

[puddle jumper]

Mike
That's awsome, , I love spanish macks, even more then Kings..I've done this with catfish but I like to add some cream cheese to the dip when I'm done.
Thanks for sharing..
PJ

 

[Phat termite]

Thanks Gregg & john, I will try the variations this week when I make dip.

See final picts of the last of the fish below, all in all it came out great; can't wait to get the jerky dryer (hopefully early next week) to give it another try. Happy Holidays to ALL.

Mike