Want to try smoking a broofish

[Scrubby]

I have been hearing that blue fish are delicious smoked. I want to put a couple of cocktail blues in the smoker.. any suggestions for a good brine?

[shrimpman steve]

In a new clean five gallon bucket. 1/3 filled with water. Add enough kosher salt to float an egg (in the shell) off the bottom. Keep track of the amount of salt. if it takes two cups match that amount with brownn sugar. Add a little onion and garlic powder. Soak for a few hours. Next step is important. Pat dry the fillets, put on a rack and place in the fridge. They will develop a sticky surface. This is what the smoke adheres to. When brining in the bucket, place another bucket filled with ice on top of fillets. This will keep them submerged and cold while soaking. Do this in a cool place.

These Come out great when smoked

[SaltLife1980]

Another good one is. . Get fresh blue fish and cut the red meat out. Soak in milk with lemon and old bay season. Get a cedar plank and put meat on top of it. Cook over a fire for 10 mins. Then scrape the blue fish off and eat the plank:D;)

[NJ Dave]

Like shrimpy said. I leave the skin on

[RussH]

That sounds like a tasty cedar plank!

[Rocky]

Smoked bluefish is delicious done properly. Shrimpmans recipe is a good one to follow.
Using a soft smoke wood like alder is perfect for smoking fish.
One of the biggest failures that happens when people smoke fish is that they do not let the fillets form a pellicle.
A pellicle is a skin or coating of proteins on the surface of meat, fish or poultry, which allow smoke to better adhere the surface of the meat during the smoking process. Useful in all smoking applications and with any kind of animal protein, it is best used with fish where the flesh of, say, salmon, forms a pellicle, the surface that will attract more smoke to adhere to it than would be the case if it had not been used. Without a pellicle the fish would be inedibly dry from enough smoking to produce a tasty finished product. It is the pellicle which permits the transformation creating delectable smoked salmon.

Good luck!

[Snooker81]

I just bought a Charbroil smoker today. Would you use the same brine for Blackfish rib meat? Is pellicle as important for white meat fish like a BF?

Thanks!

[tropics]

I just bought a Charbroil smoker today. Would you use the same brine for Blackfish rib meat? Is pellicle as important for white meat fish like a BF?

Thanks!

http://www.njfishing.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76160

[Snooker81]

Cool, thanks Tropics! Looks amazing.

[AndyS]

You can mix and match your brine, more pepper or even add pancake syrup, the possibilities are endless. Bluefish in the smoker is awesome.

[Pennsy Guy]

Here's a brine I've used for 25+ yrs:
2 qts. water
2 cups kosher salt
3/4-1 cup brown sugar
3/4-1 cup dark molasses
1/2-3/4 cup lemon or lime juice(I like Key Lime lime juice)
3-4 tbsp. garlic juice
3-4 tbsp. onion juice
1-2 tbsp. hot sauce or to taste

I use this for Boston Macks, tuna chunks and bluefish chunks. With the blues, I cut dark meat out, then cut filets into 2" pieces, keep submerged in pot in the fridge 24 hrs., macks & tuna overnight in fridge submerged.
With all the fish I did I microwaved 'em for 6-7 minutes, patted dry, then placed in smoker for 1-2 hrs. used alder, apple, cherry or a combination for one plates worth of smoke.
I didn't/couldn't wait for them to smoke/get done for eight hours, ergo the micro...
After marinating I strain it into a plastic container and freeze it 'til next time, sometimes it's 10 months and it's still good, just add a bit more molasses, sugar, juices & tabasco to replace what was used previously.
Agree with Rocky and Shrimpy, they're right on...