Here's a dandy for trout/salmon/catfish/bullhead/white bass/chunked northern/cisco/etc.

Follow this recipe to the letter and you will impress even the most finicky smoked fish palates.

Smoking_Brine.zip (30 Kb, 294 downloads) Fish Brine PDF

Since a lot of people won't download (security concerns) how about typing the recipe for all to see?

How about it is a pdf file in zip form. If they open it and don't see a pdf, they can delete it. Unzipping a file is no security problem.

I opened it no problem...Thanks gpalma

I've tried to open it several times with no luck..maybe I need a certain program or something??..I would really like this recipe..quick if possible..we just caugh a 20 lb. northern this afternoon.also, what wood you use, if it isn't on the recipe.

Smoking Brine (smoked fish to die for)

2 Quarts of water
1 cup of brown sugar
1 cup of apple juice
½ cup of non-iodized salt
1 cup of soy sauce
¾ level teaspoon of fresh black pepper
¼ teaspoon of onion salt
¼ teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of Lawry’s seasoning salt
4-5 heavy glurps of Tabasco sauce

Brine fish for 6-8 hours (thin chunks or average filets) and 10-12 hours or maybe even more for whole fish while in the refridgerator. Remove the fish from the brine and place on your smoking racks with air circulating around them. You want the fish to glaze over if at all possible.

This brine makes enough to cure 12-15 three pound trout or salmon.

Always smoke the fillets skin side down and leave adequate room between fish pieces to allow air to circulate in the smoker.

Suggest smoking with a sweet apple wood or Alder wood for best flavor (no bark). Do not over-smoke and the smoking should actually be done in the first hour or less. Set your smoker at 200 degrees and try 2 hours smoking time initially so that the internal temperature of the fish reaches a minimum of 160 degrees for 30 minutes to kill off any nasty parasites.

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/pnw/pnw238.pdf has some good info regarding the proper smoking of fish to insure safety for human consumption.

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thank you for sharing..turned out great..even on northern..I think it would be excellent on salmon or trout.my first try at fish..also used the rest of the brine on chicken..liked that also

Glad you liked it Marge. The first time that I used this I was living out in Montana near Canyon Ferry lake. We were catching all sorts of 3-4# rainbows and it worked superb on them. Have since tried it on northern, white bass, cisco, trout, cats, bullheads and salmon. (bullheads are particularly good using this brine as are cisco).

A fellow out there gave me the recipe. One of the very best smoking brines that I have ever tasted.

That does look like a super brine! I'll be trying it out. Mind if I share it with my friends? If so, whom do I credit?

gpalma, I need to thank you.

I used your recipe for brine this past weekend on a 3 1/4# steelhead and I have to say it was awesome. Defintely will be using that again.

Thanks.
Jim...

Here's a link to a post I made with the fish and your brine.
http://forum.cookshack.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7091028883/m/4391063444

Would you rinse the brine from the fish before smoking, or put it straight from brine to the smoker ?

Any time you brine (dry or wet) you want to rinse it, then let it sit our until the Pellicle Forms. The idea is that this helps the meat retain moisture better while it's smoking.

For a salmon filet, after it is brined, and rinsed, how long would you let it sit and dry to form the pellicle before it goes in the smoker ?

Instead of being slippery, shiny and wet/damp, the pellicle is somewhat dull looking and tacky.. no longer wet looking. Almost, I say almost, as if you placed a piece of saran wrap over it.. cept a bit duller looking. I know it's not a wordsmith definition.. but the word tacky is pretty prime here.

Glad to hear that some of you folks have enjoyed this recipe. Wish I could claim that I stumbled upon the brine concoction myself, but I cannot. The man that gave it to me is long dead and to be quite honest, I cannot remember the man's name.

There are a couple of really, really good smoke houses along Lake Michigan here (Fiali's, Smith Bros and the Wharf) and this brine will compare favorably to any of their recipe's in a smoke-off.

Will post any other good recipe's that I lay my hands on, but I rarely visit the forum here. It is simply the nature of the beast. Rest assured that when I do post any recipe's they will be prize-winners I'm a pretty picky guy about my eats....

gpalma, this sounds good! I just got done cleaning 12 Tullibes (Cisco's) and want to try it. However, after clicking on the Oregon State link you provided, I am wondering about the amount of salt you used and what the article says about, "bring fish to 160 degrees for a full 30 minutes", where your pics showed you smoked to 145 degrees? Gotta check a little more. Write if you read this and let me know if I'm paranoid or just trying to be safe. Thanks, Roy.