Good Smoker Suggestion?

[Toad37]

Thanks KTK. I saw those pictures of yours on Photobucket where you use the Food Saver.
When you take it out of the freezer do you reheat it or just let it thaw in the fridge and eat it cold on crackers or something?
I will go grab one of those. Now just make sure you don't give me a tough time when I start keeping some of the fish I catch. :-)
I can't wait to get this thing!!

[kevinb]

Does a smoker work well with white fish...Cod,halibut?
I'm not trying to sound retarded but I know very little about them. In fact all I know is from this thread#-o

[A9]

Does a smoker work well with white fish...Cod,halibut?
I'm not trying to sound retarded but I know very little about them. In fact all I know is from this thread#-o

That meat deserves to be freshly cooked on the BBQ...

Good question though, and the answer is yes, it works. Some people like smoked Hali, but most prefer it fresh on the table after a little run in with the BBQ

[HillbillyGeek]

I am also looking for a smoker. What do you guys think of these bad boys? The customer reviews are mostly positive.

Char-Griller Smokin Pro


Char-Broil Silver Smoker

[Coastfishin]

Does a smoker work well with white fish...Cod,halibut?
I'm not trying to sound retarded but I know very little about them. In fact all I know is from this thread#-o

kevinb,

You can smoke any thing you want. I prefer some fish smoked some not. Example, I prefer King Salmon smoked, but prefer to cook Silvers. About the only way you can eat a Chum is if you smoke it. The same for trout, the small white meat trout are best smoked but some of the pink meat trout are fine cooked.
I have found that just about any fish tastes good smoked.
When you get a smoker you will need to experiment with different brines and recipes to find the ones that suit you best.
Hope this helps you. If you have anymore questions I can try to answer them

[A9]

Hillbilly:
Get a traeger if your looking at something like that....
You'll love it...

[HillbillyGeek]

Hillbilly:
Get a traeger if your looking at something like that....
You'll love it...

Those Traegers look awesome, but prices start at $700 and go up from there! That's a little too much for my budget...

[northfork]

Toad37- I concur with KTK on the Food Saver bags. He's right on about letting the fish cool first. After smoking throw them in a ziplok and put them in the fridge overnight, they will actually absorb more of the smoke flavor this way. Then just vacuum pack.
I have held them in the fridge for 8 months with no problem and never did freeze them.

Hillbilly- That's not a smoker, it's a BBQ with a firebox. What are you going to start doing half pigs and cows in that thing?

[kevinb]

Does a smoker work well with white fish...Cod,halibut?
I'm not trying to sound retarded but I know very little about them. In fact all I know is from this thread#-o

kevinb,

You can smoke any thing you want. I prefer some fish smoked some not. Example, I prefer King Salmon smoked, but prefer to cook Silvers. About the only way you can eat a Chum is if you smoke it. The same for trout, the small white meat trout are best smoked but some of the pink meat trout are fine cooked.
I have found that just about any fish tastes good smoked.
When you get a smoker you will need to experiment with different brines and recipes to find the ones that suit you best.
Hope this helps you. If you have anymore questions I can try to answer them

SWEET:chef:
I should have asked does white fish taste good when smoked?
Thanks for the info. I can't wait to start some up:cheers:

[kutthroatkilla]

Thanks KTK. I saw those pictures of yours on Photobucket where you use the Food Saver.
When you take it out of the freezer do you reheat it or just let it thaw in the fridge and eat it cold on crackers or something?
I will go grab one of those. Now just make sure you don't give me a tough time when I start keeping some of the fish I catch. :-)
I can't wait to get this thing!!

Toad37 -- When I take it out of the freezer I do so the night before I'm ready to eat the fish. I let it thaw slowly in my fridge. DO NOT heat it up in the microwave, especially with it still vaccum packed. Once it is thawed out, I take it out of the vaccum package and eat it with some crackers and your choice of a beverage (I've heard whiskey goes down well with smoked trout)...I don't drink, so I couldn't tell ya...lol. Crackers and smoked trout are golden...and, keep away capt! The best fish smoked are the ones that are over 15" so you can fillet them out and smoke them from there. Keep what you need to smoke - no problem! I've found smoked trout to taste very, very good. The Food Saver from Fred Meyer is relatively cheap, and you'll have the choice of the size bags you want or if you want to use rolls. I personally like the rolls. Food Saver brand (light green branding) really makes a nice cheap, quality vaccum packer.

Depending on the size of the fillets I let them brine in a combo of salt and brown sugar for about 1-2 hours depending on thickness. The one mistake I made once was to brine them (the fillets) for about 5 hours -- way too salty...you can always add a pinch of salt later on...if you need brining instructions, it's real real easy with the ratio of brown sugar to salt...I forgot what I do, but I can find it later. You can google it and it will help you out some. Right after you smoke it and it's still moist and warm do not vaccum pack right away...let cool in fridge, then vaccum pack from there. Hope this helps a bit. I'm going to do a batch of cutthroat next week and I will post pictures of the process from start to finish...

KTK

[Gringo Pescador]

Kevinb - It really isn't as hard as you might think. I got a Little Chief for my birthday back when I was in the 6th grade. I was making jerky and smoking trout and selling it to the other kids at recess

I am also looking to get another smoker, but I was thinking about going gas. Haven't heard anybody talk much about the gas smokers. Anybody have any experience with them?

[HillbillyGeek]

Kevinb - It really isn't as hard as you might think. I got a Little Chief for my birthday back when I was in the 6th grade. I was making jerky and smoking trout and selling it to the other kids at recess

I am also looking to get another smoker, but I was thinking about going gas. Haven't heard anybody talk much about the gas smokers. Anybody have any experience with them?

Good question! Wouldn't it be easier to keep a constant temperature with gas? For smoke, just put moist wood chips in a pan above the burner.

[A9]

Hillbilly- That's not a smoker, it's a BBQ with a firebox. What are you going to start doing half pigs and cows in that thing?

Most of them aren't that big. Not much bigger then the size of an average bbq....

They are actually auger fed, pellet fired grills....Anything comes out GREAT off them....

We just picked up one of those Big Green egg bbq/smokers. I look forward to doing a lot of fish and meats on it this summer on the beach!

[Gringo Pescador]

Kevinb - It really isn't as hard as you might think. I got a Little Chief for my birthday back when I was in the 6th grade. I was making jerky and smoking trout and selling it to the other kids at recess

I am also looking to get another smoker, but I was thinking about going gas. Haven't heard anybody talk much about the gas smokers. Anybody have any experience with them?

Good question! Wouldn't it be easier to keep a constant temperature with gas? For smoke, just put moist wood chips in a pan above the burner.

That was my thinking, plus I have 4 or 5 propane bottles sitting in my shed, I would just use one of em instead of running electrical cords. I would guess the burner would last longer too.

[Coastfishin]

With the price of propane these days it might make for some very expensive fish.
I just got a bottle for the BBQ filled. $26.00#-o

[Gringo Pescador]

With the price of propane these days it might make for some very expensive fish.
I just got a bottle for the BBQ filled. $26.00#-o

Ouch! How many gallons?? I fill all mine at once, so I have not needed to fill em for quite awhile. I am getting down to my last bottle now, so I will need to make a run soon.

[Coastfishin]

It is just the regular 5 gal. size. I had to do the tank exchange thing because nobody around here fills them anymore.

[fishing collector]

Try Craigs list.... .

[fishing collector]

Of course one draw back on smokin' fish is they are hard to light and keep lit and you have to roll your own, cause they don't make tailor mades.

[fishunt83]

I agree with the garage sales. I picked up two smokers last year for $50. Perfect condition as well. Or do the craigslist bit. Seems to work with things!!!!

Oh and buy some alder chips, soak the chips for 24 hours in jack daniels then use just a basic brown sugar, salt and water brine. INCREDIBLE!!!!