Yes, this is our man, "Squid", a strapping young man who does a lot of work up at Bluefox Camp. I must however give credit to Lisa and Brad as
well. The camp would not function properly without them.
Just to let you know I have been trying to pick his brain for his smoked fish recipe ever since my first bite into some smoked rainbow trout.
After, several tries and several beer, I managed to coax him into telling me everything but the "secret " ingredients.
"Squid's Smoked Fish Recipe"
The first thing you have to do is catch fish. That is the hard part (funny guy, right!). Squid prefers his fillets to be about 16" to 18" long
and about 1/2" to 3/4" thick, preferably skinless.
Once, you have the fish filleted the next step is to place them in the dry brine. This dry brine consists of :
- 50% coarse salt
- 40% brown sugar
- garlic powder
- spices (these are secret ingredients, given out only on the penalty of death)
Note: In order to properly brine the fish, you must take your pot, pour in some brine, lay in some fish,then pour in more brine and then lay
in some fish and so on until the last piece is just covered.
Now you have to let them sit in the brine for 1 to 2 hours. Part of the secret to good smoked fish is the percentage of the coarse salt. You
want the salt to draw out almost all the water from the fish. If you don't do it right you will end up with a "jerky" type exterior and a "mushy"
interior.
The next step is to rinse, pat dry with paper towels and air dry overnight.
Your smoking time is about 5 hours @ 140' F. Remember, Squid is smoking fish up at Bluefox Camp, so he is just using an old fridge, a hot
plate, a thermometer and wood chips (hickory, cherry, etc.). Eventually the meat will turn red but will go a golden brown after basting.
You want to baste the meat with maple syrup about 2 to 3 times in the last hour of smoking. Just a reminder now to replace your wood chips
about once an hour.
That's It Folks! Simple enough don't you think. Now its your turn. Happy Smoking.
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