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Greetings all,

I'm ready to give fish it's first intro to my AmeriQue, but before doing so, I would appreciate feedback from those of you, in the know. I plan on serving the fish right from the smoker, to be eaten hot---hopefully moist and deeelishus too!

Below is a post about smoked fish that ran on another food related website, and I posted my comments as JeffW. Anyway, the original poster prepared a large fillet by seasoning, and then a mustard and maple syrup glaze. She set the temp to 200º, and let it go for 90 minutes.

Within Cookshack forums, I also found a post on fish by gpalma. Within this post there was a recipe for a brine. There was also a link to a document on food safety issues when smoking fish.

My 2 questions are the following:

1) For fish filets or steaks that are to be eaten hot, is it necessary to first brine them for safety reasons? I do plan on discovering various ways to prepare fish, and no doubt I will learn about brining too. But just the same, I was hoping that I could simply season my fish (or not), pop it into the AmeriQue, and then enjoy the outcome without worries of botulism.

2) The original poster from the other forum calls for 90 minutes at 200º for the large fillet she had made. I wonder if this timing would be the same if I did a couple of 3/4 pound Salmon steaks.

Obviously anyone who feels inclined to respond to my questions, please do. The only reason why I put "AmeriQue" into the subject box, is because I've read some posts which claim that cooking in the AmeriQue is sometimes different than in the other Cookshack models.

Take care all,
Jeff

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/347955
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My wife demands that I smoke salmon every week! She absolutely loves it.

I brine the salmon in a very simple brine;
1 gallon of water
2 cups of Brown Sugar
3/4 cup of pickling salt
1/4 honey

I brine my filets for 24 hours rinse and let air dry for an hour or two. I then lightly coat with pure maple syrup. Put in smoker and smoke at 230 degrees with cherry or apple wood cook with probe to 145 degrees


I have to say, one week I did not brine the salmon and just placed the salmon in my AmeriQue. The final product was mealy and the texture was that of canned salmon/tuna. NEVER AGAIN!

I learned my lesson, always brine. The brined salmon has a tight lumpy texture. Good luck!

There are many outstanding methods and brine recipes out there.

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