Raye Minor
05-14-2005, 05:29 PM
<CENTER>http://www.susanminor.org/images/smokers/sunsepa.gif</CENTER><CENTER>Fish Brine</CENTER><CENTER> From JJC
http://www.susanminor.org/images/smokers/sunsepa.gif </CENTER>
Here's a brine recipe that I have used for 15+ years that is fabulous for salmon, steelhead trout, and bluefish. It should work on other fish as well. It's an odd collection of ingredients, but it really works. It's also incredibly forgiving in many ways . . .
Ingredients:
1 quart water
1/2 cup non-iodized salt (scant for table salt, rounded for Kosher)
1/2 cup white sugar
4 oz. cheap scotch (rum or bourbon can be readily substituted)
3 oz. lemon juice
5 sections minced garlic (about 1/8 cup of minced garlic from a jar)
1/4 cup pickling spice
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
5 bay leaves
1) In a glass or plastic (NOT metal) container, mix all ingredients well.
2) Add fish to brine and refrigerate for 4-24 hours depending on thickness of fillets and personal taste.
3) Rinse lightly in cool water; remove excess water with newspaper or paper towels.
4) Air dry for 3 hours plus or minus to allow a pellicle to form; at this point the fish can be stored in the refrigerator for at least a couple weeks before smoking.
5) Smoke using apple, alder, oak, or cherry (my favorites are oak or a combo of apple and cherry). I can't give BS parameters yet, and the times with the bullet smoker were incredibly variable because I had little control over the temp. Of course, the times will vary a lot in the BS depending on the thickness of the fillets.
As I said, this is a very forgiving recipe. Some of the forgiveness is mentioned above, but I've occasionally left out the lemon pepper or bay leaves and it's still terrific. I've also varied the salt/sugar ratio for friends who liked a sweeter smoke (a bit less salt and a bit more sugar).
http://www.susanminor.org/images/smokers/sunsepa.gif </CENTER>
Here's a brine recipe that I have used for 15+ years that is fabulous for salmon, steelhead trout, and bluefish. It should work on other fish as well. It's an odd collection of ingredients, but it really works. It's also incredibly forgiving in many ways . . .
Ingredients:
1 quart water
1/2 cup non-iodized salt (scant for table salt, rounded for Kosher)
1/2 cup white sugar
4 oz. cheap scotch (rum or bourbon can be readily substituted)
3 oz. lemon juice
5 sections minced garlic (about 1/8 cup of minced garlic from a jar)
1/4 cup pickling spice
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper
5 bay leaves
1) In a glass or plastic (NOT metal) container, mix all ingredients well.
2) Add fish to brine and refrigerate for 4-24 hours depending on thickness of fillets and personal taste.
3) Rinse lightly in cool water; remove excess water with newspaper or paper towels.
4) Air dry for 3 hours plus or minus to allow a pellicle to form; at this point the fish can be stored in the refrigerator for at least a couple weeks before smoking.
5) Smoke using apple, alder, oak, or cherry (my favorites are oak or a combo of apple and cherry). I can't give BS parameters yet, and the times with the bullet smoker were incredibly variable because I had little control over the temp. Of course, the times will vary a lot in the BS depending on the thickness of the fillets.
As I said, this is a very forgiving recipe. Some of the forgiveness is mentioned above, but I've occasionally left out the lemon pepper or bay leaves and it's still terrific. I've also varied the salt/sugar ratio for friends who liked a sweeter smoke (a bit less salt and a bit more sugar).