Smoking Tilapia questions

[stout]

i'd like to surprise my wife sometime with some smoked tilapia
both fillets and whole fish,

i don't plan to smoke them both at the same time

the whole fish i could put on the normal racks

the fillets i would like to put on a thin baking sheet we have..

tilapia fish are pretty small the fillets are even smaller and thin.

anyone smoked these before? how long should i shoot for. i figure set the temp around 160? similar to salmon but the time i would think would be much shorter

i don't really want to put anything on them.. just the fish and the smoke (maple)

since the fillets will cook very fast should i wait to put them in till there is smoke being made

any help pointers and tips would be greatly appreciated

 

[Pork Belly]

If you enter Smoked Fish" into the search feature it will give you four pages of information.

 

[Mr.Ed]

Last week I did the whole fish Tilapia. Sams has 6 lbs individually frozen fish for 12.99.  I didn't want some old salty smoked fish you get at the smokehouse, I was after a dinner serving of moist smoked Tilapia. I took all 9 fish, heads and all (these are pre-cleaned and scaled) and soaked in two gallons of water with two cups of salt for only two hours. No sugar and no overnight brine.

Now this is a twist using alder or apple would be too delicate for a fast high-temperature smoke, I used 3 oz. of OAK. I know,  no one uses oak for fish right? 

I attached the temperature probe to my 3D and set to 140 Degrees. The smoker set to 220.  It took about 40 minutes to hit the set internal temperature.  When I removed the Tilapia I was a little worried about the amount of smoke on the outer skin. Maybe I should have gone with 2oz.?  I tested the oddball 9th fish and was amazed at the flavor, smoke density in the flesh, moisture, and just a hint of salt in the background. 

Four guests at the table that all said they were qualified to eat a whole fish on the bone without a trip to the ER with a stuck bone.
The skin peeled off perfectly and I never heard more compliments from all the guest, each asked for a second helping. (I was the one who snuck in three)
Would I change anything if I did this again, YES, buy enough for three fish each! I noticed eyes on the empty serving tray.

Served with cheese grits and light garlic bread.



 

 

 

[stout]

Last week I did the whole fish Tilapia. Sams has 6 lbs individually frozen fish for 12.99.  I didn't want some old salty smoked fish you get at the smokehouse, I was after a dinner serving of moist smoked Tilapia. I took all 9 fish, heads and all (these are pre-cleaned and scaled) and soaked in two gallons of water with two cups of salt for only two hours. No sugar and no overnight brine.

Now this is a twist using alder or apple would be too delicate for a fast high-temperature smoke, I used 3 oz. of OAK. I know,  no one uses oak for fish right? 

I attached the temperature probe to my 3D and set to 140 Degrees. The smoker set to 220.  It took about 40 minutes to hit the set internal temperature.  When I removed the Tilapia I was a little worried about the amount of smoke on the outer skin. Maybe I should have gone with 2oz.?  I tested the oddball 9th fish and was amazed at the flavor, smoke density in the flesh, moisture, and just a hint of salt in the background. 

Four guests at the table that all said they were qualified to eat a whole fish on the bone without a trip to the ER with a stuck bone.
The skin peeled off perfectly and I never heard more compliments from all the guest, each asked for a second helping. (I was the one who snuck in three)
Would I change anything if I did this again, YES, buy enough for three fish each! I noticed eyes on the empty serving tray.

Served with cheese grits and light garlic bread.



 

thank you Mr.Ed this is exactly what i was looking for, and straight from the horses mouth (sorry couldn't help myself)  i'll be doing this soon my wife will be overjoyed.. she prefers her fish whole rather than fillets so this is perfect