If you take trout from a frozen state, thaw them, put them in your smoker, and seal each piece in seal a meal bags, is it wise to refreeze them?..Or, can you just put them in a cool place without them spoiling?
They are great right off the smoker and for a few days thereafter. In Alaska, I understand that they keep smoked fish for a long time.
I have a good smoke recipe and I was wondering about the shelf life of thawed, smoked fish?
Hey, your talking my launguage. I will vacuum pack a days catch and freeze them. Then pull them out when I’m ready to smoke. Then I will re-vacuum pack them into smaller bags and refreeze some and put what I will use in a week in the fridge to make sandwiches, bagles or whatever. I like to use what I keep in the fridge within a week. If you vacuum pack it really slows down freezer burn and I can’t tell from the taste that it has been refrozen. I am going to cut up some cherry wood later today to get ready for the ice fishing season. I prefer to smoke fish with cherry, or apple wood on a charcoal wet smoker. What’s your preferance?
Hey Thanks, That’s good info.
I use apple from my trees, and cut some chips from a limb using my planer…I only use one heaping pan of chips…I don’t like too much smoke taste…I have never tried cherry.
The brine recipe is: 3 cups water…1/2 cup soy sauce…1/2 cup white cooking wine…1/4 cup non iodized salt…2/3 cup brown sugar…2 tablespoons pickling spice…and about 4 shakes of green tobasco.
As you are probably aware, smoking alone does not “cure” the fish and extend the “expiration date”. That takes a combination of salt, sugar and drying, in addition to the smoke.
**There are a bajillion “best” smoking recipes. The BEST one is the one you like most. Not all tastes are the same. Some like more salt and spice. Others like a milder end product. **
If you smoke fish in small batches, you can keep it in a sealed plastic container in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. If you are a serious lover of smoked fish…or have family and friends who raid your stash…it will not last long enough to go bad.
Vacuum sealing prior to refreezing is a good idea. It eliminates the air which is the primary cause of freezer burn. And, it IS safe to refreeze fish after thawing and smoking. In fact, a lot of smokologists prefer to freeze their fish before brining and smoking. The freezing process breaks down some of the tissue cells and opens them up to take on more of the salt, spices and smoky flavoring. However, trout are fish with a delicate flesh and sometimes do better if they are smoked as fresh as possible.
Just wounding what end do you put in you’re mouth when you light them???[;)]
The BASS end
Yes but very hard to light…[sly][crazy]
YOU JUST NEED A BIG TOURCH A BIG FLAVORED PAPER AND ON HELL OF A SET OF LUNG’S LMAO.
I like to smoke em and then put the extra I won’t eat right away in a pressure cooker bottled in small jam jars. They last a couple of years. I think I got that idea on this forum a couple of years ago.
Just chimin in my 0.02-----
Like TD said, it’s the brine not the smoke that cure’s your meat. My favorite Brine for fish is Morton’s sugar Cure, it’s a mix of salt, brownsugar and some other spices the good folks at mortons put out for those of us who like to cure our own meat. It is meant for curing ham and bacon, but i have found it’s great for smoking fish. I also use it in a couple of my Jerky recipes. This will help it keep longer in the fridge, but anything over a couple weeks may still become suspicious to eat. The resealing and freezing is a great idea, good way to make sure you have some to take on your next trip..
Now, with my kids i can’t keep smoked fish around for more than a couple days, they eat up whole fillets like they are candy bars.
I found a website that has some good information…It even has a discussion on Scottish smoking, from smoke make from old whiskey barrels…Interesting Site.
http://www.gourmetfoodstore.com/...ng-smoked-salmon.asp
By the way, Where do you get the Morton Cure product and how do you mix it to make the brine you use?..I would like to experiment with this.
I usually pick up the mortons sugar cure at stop-n-shop here in ogden, but have seen it at albertson’s and couple other places.
It’s usually by the mortons salt and the spice racks. Good stuff. I mix it one cup cure and 1 tsp of the spice mix that it comes with to 1 gallon of water and brine my fish for about 6 hours in that. Then rinse lighly and pat dry, smoke till flakey… mmmmmm.
That’s the nice thing with a good cure, ya dont have to jerky it :P.
Also kewl site, added it to faves to browse through it a lil more. May have to try out a couple recipes from there for my steelhead.
And I’m just hoping you’ll bring some of that steelhead to work so I can try some! mmmmm!