1st Fish Smoking attempt a success.

[Lancair]

Hi,
I just thought I'd share my success at smoking some Spanish Mackerel.

Id tried smoked mackerel done by my mate a few times. Last weekend I caught one and decided to give it a go.
I kept the skinny tail fillets, belly flaps and frame for smoking. I took the fillets off the frame leaving some meat on them to smoke.
My brine/marinade was inspired by other marinades I use for red meat and partly on what my mate had used previously.

2 cups light soy, 1 cup dark soy, 5 Tbsp Chinese cooking wine, knob of finely grated ginger, 6-8 cloves garlic, crushed, 2 Tbsp of Honey and a Tbsp or two of extra salt.

I left the pieces in the mix for about 6 hours. Smoking was done on a Jarvis walker smoker $52 from BigW using Blue Gum chips. About 20-25 mins for the fillet and thin pieces on the top rack, while the frame pieces on the bottom rack, got left in for about 45-50mins.
SENSATIONAL.
Quite a strong flavour so may not be to everyones liking. Fillet pieces are soft and just yum on their own or on bikkies with a sharp vintage cheese or mixed with other anti-pasto type foods, like I had for dinner last night. The frame pieces are like a soft jerky, spectacular with a cold beer or three.

[Nicko_Cairns]

thanks Lancair.

I do a basic brine for my fish and works a treat with a spice rub after as long as the rub contains brown sugar (glazing goodness).

Also chicken smokes very well, as does a lot of things. Smoked sausages are surprisingly good imo.

To minimise the smoky flavour use less woodchips, or a softer flavour woodchip.

I have a stainles steel knipper kipper so it can be used anywhere, even on the beach without rusting, it's gold! The burner is rusting and the racks are rusting (I cover them with foil), but the actual smoker frame is great after over ten years.

Also use a sheet of foil to encase the woodchips, makes cleaning up afterwards much quicker.

Cheers.

[Lancair]

Some good tips there Nicko, esp putting chips in foil to make cleanup easier.

Not trying to brag here, but I guess I am.
Ive given pieces of the smoked mackerel to a few friends, incl 2 chefs. ALL (except one mate who just said it was ok) have raved about the fish. One of the chef's was wishing I could do it in quantity for his boutique cafe.
Give my receipe a go, I dare you.

[lbger]

i just smoked some spanish two weekends ago and it was awesome!! I didnt brine it at all and used hickory chips over a low heat.. the kids went nuts over it.. Im a chef also and will give your recipie a go mate.. now i just need to catch another spanish lol

[Greg001]

Hi Guys Just a Question, do you have to use sugar? The wife and mother in law is diabetic . Can I smoke fish chicken Etc without using the sugar if any ideas how would be appreiciated?
Greg

[Horse]

You don't need the sugar for the smoking process to work. It gets used to balance the salt flavour in most cases. A sugar substitute may work if its stable at smoker temperatures