Smoking Fish

I have recently bought a little chief smoker and it does a wonderful job smoking the meat and the cure I use does a great job also. My question is does anyone have mild smoke mix of wood to use. I tried just hickory and that was too strong. I tried 50 /50 apple and cherry but still a little strong. Is there a better mix. My friend says oak is the mildest, do you agree? Or can I just use 1 pan of chips instead of 2 per session. My cooker takes about 6 to 7 hours to get the meat just right. Any tips? thanks FF

My father and I always tried to use fruit wood, mostly apple ( when we could find it). It seems someone is always trimming an apple tree. But even if the wood you are using is green it still has to be soaked in water, or there will be too much smoke. Doing it this way seemed to have a mild and sweeter taste. Good Luck

I have smoked fish and sausage for years, and found that maple (hard) is the smoothest and mildest taste. I also use apple wood on small game to cover some of the wild taste.

Fish should be brined a little less than red meat. I use this formula:

3 gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket

use canning salt and sure cure, enough to float an egg

3 cups of brown sugar

Leave in brine over night (8-10 hrs), and wash with clear water

and smoke.

this formula is for larger fish 5 lbs and up…..if you are smoking smaller fish, adjust accordingly.

I smoke mostly salmon, lake trout, and large suckers.

I have to say that hickory is the best. I even throw a few shavings on the coals of my grill from my firewood when I make chicken and pork chops. You might have just used too much wood when you did it the first time. Hickory burns hotter than all the other woods too. You’ll have to experiment.

Edited by Beaver on 11/25/01 12:54 PM.