Smoken

[stevej]

WOW just finished some smoked halibut. It's taken a bit of practice but thinking i just about have it nailed.

Brine
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
7 to 1 water to salt mix (total of 3 cups)
2 lbs fat (1 1/2 thick) halibut filets cut into 3x6 strips

Brine for two hours in foodsaver vacuum container. Rinse lightly (I like it a little salty rinse more to remove additional salt)
Smoke in bradley smoker with alder for 2 hours at 180 degrees

Stays very moist and is sooo good. The cheeks are incredible

With halibut being so lean the end result is a bit more of a table fair/dinner item than a beer and cracker munchy like smoked salmon.
It's easy to over cook halibut and end up with a dry as a cracker product due to the lack of fat. Some of my early attempts ended up as halibut leather. Did discover that this drier halibut when run through a food processer and mixed with mayo makes a heck of a "tuna sandwich"

Still in the smoker is what has become become my one of my favorites ..... Sablefish. Same brine and smoked at least four hours at 180 degrees it has a butter like quality due to the soft texture and high omega 3 oil content (second only to spring chinook).

Time to pour a beer and enjoy....
stevej

[CAVU]

stevej,
That sounds mighty tasty. I have never had sablefish. Is that what some call black cod? Do you target sablefish or is it just an incidental catch?

[stevej]

Ken your guess is right Sablefish and black cod are one in the same. We catch em while halibut fishing and while not specifically targeted I won't move out of an area to avoid catching them. Not very sporting as they tend to just follow the line up to the boat.

One mans trash is another mans treasure type of fish. Most folks think they are barely fit for crab bait. They are so oily (loads of omega 3) and the cooked flesh is very soft, not a good combo for most people.
When the charter boats come in I will wander around the cleaning station and have had folks give me their sablefish just for the asking.

Smoked they are the best ....

stevej

[Byrdman]

Thanks for the recepit... always looking for other ways...especially since I obtained a Big Green Egg smoker... They are really nice and so easy to control the temp...just adjust the air flow and peg the temp where you want. I'll attempt this with some Red Snapper...just for the change.
Byrdman

[stevej]

Snapper works well just keep the temp around 180 and don't over cook. I would think an hour would do for filets under an inch thick.

Here's good link on fish smoking http://eesc.oregonstate.edu/agcomwebfile/edmat/PNW238.pdf

Been experimenting with using the 7 to 1 salt water mix on frozen fish to replace the water lost by freezing and thawing. Really makes a difference in how moist the fish is after cooking. If you rinse well there is no added salt taste to the filets either.

Enjoy

stevej

[CAVU]

stevej,
I read the link from Oregon State. I have always smoked my fish at a lower temp 130-140F for longer times. Never had a problem but it sounds like I have been lucky? I would be interested in how your experiments work on brining frozen fish. Halibut always loses a lot of moisture quickly. A seven to one salt brine sounds very strong. How long in the brine have you been using?

[Redƒox]

[stevej]

CAVU, I brine the fish for an hour then rinse well. Still experimenting with with it a bit but does seem to put moisture back into the fish. Like you said halibut looses a lot of water.

RedFox you got to try some smoked sable. Seems that they are a deep water fish around here. Spent a lot of time bottom fishing in 150 to 200 feet of water and do not remember ever getting one but hook into them at the chicken ranch in 600 feet feet of water.

stevej

[gljjr]

Here are a couple interesting pages on the Sablefish. http://atn-riae.agr.ca/seafood/sablefish-e.htm and http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/race/behavioral/sablefish_fbe.htm

Steve, that brine recipe looks wonderful. I might have to try it on some halibut my daughter caught that I have sitting in the freezer.