Big Bend Florida Sportsman Guide

Smoked Fish & Brines

 Smoked Mullet Recipe

Author Clint 

Split the mullet with some pork sausage seasoning on them, smoked over pecan at 180 degrees for about 3 hours with a pan of apple juice or white wine is pretty good. I've found that if you brine mullet you'll just seal the surface of the meat and you won't get the smoke flavor to penetrate the flesh...you'll have to keep an eye on the mullet so as to not dry it out too much.

 If you wanna cure the fish, such as tuna, marlin, sailfish, salmon or AJ's, try a brine of 3 parts sugar, 1 part coarse salt and fresh dill. Pack the fish in the dry brine solution with the dill and wrap it in plastic wrap...use a tooth pick to poke holes in the plastic so the liquid drawn from the fishs' flesh will drain and cure the fish in the fridge for about 5 days..flip it every 24 hours and pour off the liquid...after 5 days unwrap it and wash the fish...chill and slice very thin with a ceramic knife..or a really sharp thin blade...you've made LOX.

Smoked Amberjack

Author Clint

 Now if you wanna to really taste some good fish, catch a barely legal AJ...fillet, skin it and debone...1 part fresh orange juice, 2 parts water, 3 parts sugar, 1 part salt...fresh taragon chopped 2 tblspns...marinade for 4-6 hrs....remove and wash it off...dust it with the "sausage seasoning"...cool smoke it at 120 degrees for about 4 hrs.....or until it releases itself from the grill....make sure you have a pan of water or white wine in the smoker...

Smoked Salmon

Author pinksnappa

 I've been making some pretty good smoked salmon lately using my Brinkman charcoal and water smoker. 4 lbs. of salmon costs me $13 at Sam's Club. Not to mention that you can purchase (2) 24 lb. bags of charcoal there for $10. I just use chunks of oak from my firewood pile out back that I soak for a few hours. Salmon gets soaked in a brine made from some sugar and salt, with a few bay leaves and cracked pepper added. Then I just let it smoke for about 4 hours. This method is very cost effective and tasty.

 Addition by jcbed

 I have been smoking and eating salmon for the past 30 years. I am originally from Michigan and caught a lot of salmon up there. My favorate recipe for the brine mix is: 1/2 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and one cup of kosher salt to  approximately 2 1/2 gallons of water.

 For the smoke flavor I like to use apple wood with a small amount of hickory. Really gives a good flavor. 

Also, when smoked, flake the fish in a bowl, mix with mayo and put on crackers. You won't want to quit eating.

Brine recipe for Smoked Fish

Author Big Bend Brian

 Here’s a Brine recipe for Smoked Fish that has seen many revisions over the years. This recipe is good for any oily fish like kingfish, spanish macs, mullet, or blues. For those people who think blues aren’t fit for eating this recipe will make them realize what they are missing. 

The volume of this recipe will be enough to cover one 30 inch king (around 15 lbs.) While marinating, make sure you keep the fish under the brine. Sometimes I use a bowl on top of the fillets to keep them below the marinade. The longer you marinate the more salt the fish will pick up. I’ve found marinating 4 hours suits my palate.

Smoked Fish Brine

                              2 quarts of water

                              3/4 cup salt (NON-iodine)

                              1 cup brown sugar

                              3 tbsp. Worchester sauce

                              3 tbsp. Yoshidas Gourmet sauce

                              ½ cup white vinegar

                              3 tbsp. Whole peppercorns (crushed)

                              1 tbsp. Chili powder

                              2 bay leaves

 ix everything in a deep plastic container. For the peppercorns, I put the peppercorns in a plastic baggie and crack them using a mallet. Before you place the fish in the marinade stir well. Marinade 4 hours.

 After marinating I strain the marinade and smear the fish surface and sides with the pepper from the marinade. I then place the fillets (skin side down) on newspaper and use a small fan to air dry the fish surface. This helps to get a golden top on the fillet after cooking.

 Smoke the fish with the skin side down. On my round charcoal Webber it takes around 1 hour and 45 minutes for the fish to be done. Don’t over cook as it will dry out. Best served warm. Make sure you set aside a piece or two for yourself cause the remaining fish will go fast!