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Going to be smoking some whitefish fillets for the first time this week and wanted to gather some input on brine ingredients and the ideal length to have the fillets soaking. I’ve heard brown sugar or maple syrup for sweetness and kosher salt. Anything else you like to put in? Thanks in advance.
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I have been putting what ever spices you like and also put spices on and wait 4 to 6 hours having the fillets on cardboard box so catches all the water coming out of the fish dry pad and dry and ready to smoke.
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I smoke a lot of fish so here my step by step.
Brown sugar to salt ratio is 4 to 1 for my taste buds. So there is no confusion 1 cup of brown sugar for 1/4 cup salt. You can mix what ever else you like for flavour in that mixture. You can dissolve the mixture in water if you like for a wet brine. I prefer to use it as a dry brine. Light coating in a deep dish. Lay your fillets flat skin side down on the light coating. Then completely cover your fillets with the rest of the dry brine. Leave in the refrigerator for 24 hours. When you remove the fillets after 24 hours rinse under cold water to remove any stuck on brine. Lay fillets on paper towel skin side down, dry completely with paper towel. Transfer your fillets to cookie sheets. Do not cover your fillets and place them in the refrigerator for 12 hours or until the surface is Tacky. The surface of the fillet should have a sheen to it. This process is called pelting and helps smoke flavour and anything else you add stick to the fish. I like to smoke mine at 165 for about 3 to 4 hours, depending on the thickness of fillets. I also glaze the fish every 30 minutes or so. Glaze the fish very lightly and build it up over several applications. Don’t try to get too much on at once.
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Member No.: 19120
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QUOTE (Disco @ Feb 07, 2023 - 07:07 pm)
I smoke a lot of fish so here my step by step.
Brown sugar to salt ratio is 4 to 1 for my taste buds. So there is no confusion 1 cup of brown sugar for 1/4 cup salt. You can mix what ever else you like for flavour in that mixture. You can dissolve the mixture in water if you like for a wet brine. I prefer to use it as a dry brine. Light coating in a deep dish. Lay your fillets flat skin side down on the light coating. Then completely cover your fillets with the rest of the dry brine. Leave in the refrigerator for 24 hours. When you remove the fillets after 24 hours rinse under cold water to remove any stuck on brine. Lay fillets on paper towel skin side down, dry completely with paper towel. Transfer your fillets to cookie sheets. Do not cover your fillets and place them in the refrigerator for 12 hours or until the surface is Tacky. The surface of the fillet should have a sheen to it. This process is called pelting and helps smoke flavour and anything else you add stick to the fish. I like to smoke mine at 165 for about 3 to 4 hours, depending on the thickness of fillets. I also glaze the fish every 30 minutes or so. Glaze the fish very lightly and build it up over several applications. Don’t try to get too much on at once.
Thanks for the detailed response Disco, I think I’ll be incorporating elements of several recipes and methods.
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Whitefish Brine, Prepping for hot smoke
