Got him all cleaned up and cut into even chunks as he was a bit too long to lay across the rack, I'm using an 008.
Read to take his last swim in Brine Lake. I can't take credit for the brine. The recipe I used was posted here by forum member gpalma. This afterall was my first shot at fish so I felt better using a recipe rather than winging it on my own.
gpalma, my hat is off to you! The brine was awesome and I will for sure be using it again.
Here's the ingredients.
Using the suggestions from other forum members I used 2.6 oz Alder for my smoke.
After brining I rinsed and dried the fish, then allowed it to air dry for 4 hours. My brine time by the way was 6 hours. Here they are after brining/drying. Looks like the brine penetrated nicely.
Now were ready to smoke so in they go.
Set the theremometer with a target of 145*. Set the smoker at 200*
Were smoking. Hmmmmmmmm, no were not. Huh?
Now I read elsewhere on this forum that you should always make sure the smoker is plugged in and I know for sure that I would never forget to do that. Not me, heck no. Uh, duh, well, shoot! Now I plug it in. I'll never admit that to anybody. Heck if you guys found out you'd probably be snickering at me.
Ok, so NOW we're smoking. Much better.
2hr 10 min later the buzzer is buzzin'.
Time for my first look. Yep, I keep the door closed.
Looking pretty good I said to myself. Not bad.
I was wondering how they'll taste and I have to say they were great! Took some to a friends house yesterday and it lasted maybe 10 minutes, GONE! Couldn't of been too bad.
I want to thank all of you and in particular gpalma for the brine. Reading what you have posted out here guided me through this step by step. It couldn't have been easier.
Thanks!