Smoking fish and meat

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Dana Snow
5 years ago
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I made a research in the net and found out that warm smoking of mackerel is a good way of preserving it for a week or so. If I would want to preserve it for a longer period, I need to cold smoke.

1 Smoking fish and meat As fishing season is over us, I get more mackerel than the family and the neighbours can eat fresh. It is difficult to freeze mackerel so I am trying to find new ways of conservation. I made a research in the net and found out that warm smoking of mackerel is a good way of preserving it for a week or so. If I would want to preserve it for a longer period, I need to cold smoke. I need to have a smoker. It is always possible to buy one but it is more fun to produce one from scratch. Cold Smoker Here is a smoker that I built from parts I found at a recycling station nearby. I got the ideas for the technology from Bill Gipps in Canada. Thanks Bill. I found an old dishwasher to build the smoking chamber. I stripped it of all plastic and electric parts and ended up with a good sized stainless steel chamber. Here is the smoking chamber. There are a couple of unwanted holes in the cabinet, which I will have to seal off using some stainless steel plates. First I considered welding the plates but then I found out that it is easier just to drill some holes and screw the plates onto the cabinet. The next thing I needed was the smoke generator. I found an old student s oven and started to experiment with it.

at the side to get the smoke out. The first test.

At about 250C it starts to smoke nicely.

2 Here is the smoke generator. I made a hole of 60 mm dia. at the side to get the smoke out. The first test. I put some sawdust in the oven and heated up. At about 250C it starts to smoke nicely. The temperature of the smoke is about 135C. Now I need to assemble the whole thing. The smoking chamber needs to be higher than the smoke generator. I put the chamber on a Euro pallet. At the back, there is space left for the smoke generator.

3 The smoker is beginning to come together. Here are the front and rear views. Finally I need to connect these two. I used 6m of standard aluminium flexible ventilation pipe of 100 mm dia. for a price of USD 40.

The temperature of smoke has about 1C rise above ambient. Here are some detail pictures of the smoker.

Corrective action on the smoke generator When I did my first cold smoking process, I found out that the wood starts to glow and the temperature gets

To solve these problems, I replaced the glass with a stainless steel plate.

4 The temperature of smoke has about 1C rise above ambient. Here are some detail pictures of the smoker. Smoke outlet from the generator and inlet to the chamber. Steel wire to hang the fish and meat during smoking. Corrective action on the smoke generator When I did my first cold smoking process, I found out that the wood starts to glow and the temperature gets way over the 250C that the thermostat was set to. The glass of the oven broke and the thermostat was destroyed. To solve these problems, I replaced the glass with a stainless steel plate. I replaced the thermostat with another oven s and I pulled the temperature feeler halfway out of the oven. This way the temperature measurement becomes wrong but the thermostat can take higher temperatures. I set the thermostat to a low temperature and I know that in reality the oven is much hotter. I get the feeling when smoke starts to come out.

5 I made one more improvement. I built the aluminium pipe inside rather than having them outside the support. This way the whole beast looks a bit prettier and it protects the thin aluminium walls of the pipe. The total length of the pipe is now 8 metres. I put wheels at the bottom so it is easier to drag around. Hot smoker The same chamber was used for hot smoking also. According to info I got from the net, the temperature of the chamber should go up to 100C for a period of at least ½ hour. The fish or meat would then have an inner temperature of roughly 60C. Picture taken from University of Alaska s document on smoking fish.

In order to achieve this, I dismantled one of the cooking plates of the oven and put it inside the chamber.

This way the heat is generated directly inside the chamber and is sufficient to achieve the necessary temperature.

Process of smoking Here is the information I found at the net about smoking. I will update this information as I get more experience.

6 In order to achieve this, I dismantled one of the cooking plates of the oven and put it inside the chamber. I put the wood directly on the plate in an old casserole. This way the heat is generated directly inside the chamber and is sufficient to achieve the necessary temperature. The total cost of the smoker was about USD 50 and enjoyable hours of work. Process of smoking Here is the information I found at the net about smoking. I will update this information as I get more experience. The four main phases of smoking are: Freezing Brining Drying Smoking Freezing They say that for cold smoking, it is a good idea to freeze the fish to 20C ( 4F) for 7 days to kill parasites. This is especially important for cold smoking. The problem is that home freezers do not reach this temperature.

7 Brining It is mentioned in that Dry salting fish, or curing them in a saturated salt brine, for 5 7 days before pickling will kill nematodes and tapeworms. I will trust this one and skip freezing my fish. Recipes for brine I guess there are as many recipes out there as there are smokers. I need to experiment. After checking out the web, I settle for the following recipe for each litre of water: 200 g salt (preferably sea salt) 30 g sugar (preferably cane sugar) ½ lemon juice with peels (peels to be taken out before brining) Garlic Black pepper 3 litres of brine per kg fish. Brine will be chilled and the whole brining will be done in a refrigerator. Brining for 5 7 days. Drying After brining, the fish is dried for 30 minutes to 3 hours to get a shiny surface, a pellicle. Smoking process Cold smoked fish is said to last for several months. The fish will be smoked 5 to 7 days. Preparing fish for smoking The total smoking process is defined in the document from University of California as such: Use only freshly caught fish that have been kept clean and cold. Fish that have been handled carelessly or stored under improper conditions will not produce a satisfactory finished product. Do not use bruised, broken, or otherwise damaged flesh. If you catch your fish, clean and pack them in ice before starting home. When you get home, store the fish in the refrigerator until you are ready to prepare them for smoking. Different fish species generally require specific preparation methods. Salmon are split (backbone removed); bottom fish filleted; herring headed and gutted, and smelt dressed. The following preparation steps can be applied to any fish: 1. Remove scales by scraping against the grain with the dull edge of a knife. 2. Remove head, fins, tail, viscera. 3. Wash body cavity with running cold water to remove all traces of blood and kidney tissue (dark red mass along the backbone). 4. Split the fish by cutting through the rib bones along the length of one side of the backbone. 5. For large fish, remove the backbone by cutting along the other side of the backbone to produce two fillets or boneless sides. For small fish, the backbone can be left attached to one of the sides.

8 6. Cut the sides of large fish into uniform pieces about 1½ inches thick and 2 inches wide. Small fish halves can be brined and smoked in one piece. Smoking 1. To cold-smoke fish, follow steps 1-6 above "Preparing Fish for Smoking." 2. Brine 1½-inch-thick fillets for 1½ hour; 1-inch-thick fillets for 1 hour; and 2-inchthick fillets for 2 hours. Brining times can be lengthened if the cold-smoked fish are to be preserved for long periods of time. 3. After brining, rinse the fish briefly in cold running water. 4. Place the fish skin-side down on greased racks in a cool shady, breezy place to dry. The fish should dry for 2 to 3 hours or until a shiny skin or pellicle has formed on the surface. A fan will speed pellicle formation. 5. Place the fish in a homemade or commercial smoker. The temperature of the smoker should be kept at about 27C, and should never exceed 32C. If a thermometer is not available, the temperature may be tested by hand. If the air in the smoke-house feels distinctly warm, the temperature is too high. 6. Smoke the fish until its surface is an even brown. Small fish that are to be kept 2 weeks or less may be ready in 24 hours. Salmon and other large fish will require 3 to 4 days and nights of steady smoking. To store longer than 2 weeks, smoke all fish a minimum of five days; for larger fish, at least a week or longer. 7. The smoker should not produce a lot of smoke during the first 8 to 12 hours if the total curing time is 24 hours, or for the first 24 hours if the curing time is longer. When the first part of the smoking ends, build up a dense smoke and maintain it for the balance of the cure. 8. If cold-smoked fish has been brined for at least 2 hours and smoked for at least 5 days, it will keep in the refrigerator for several months. Smoke Woods Extract from South Australia s fishsa.com: Hickory and Oak are by far the most popular woods. They are well suited for smoking red meats, foul and fish. The following is a list of type of woods that are suitable for smoking. Alder (Norw: Or) - Very delicate with a hint of sweetness. Good with fish, pork, poultry, and light-meat game birds. Almond - A nutty and sweet smoke flavor, light ash, very much like pecan. Good with all meats. Apple - Very mild with a subtle fruity flavor, slightly sweet. Good with poultry (turns skin dark brown), pork and fish. Ash (Norw: ask) - Fast burner, light but distinctive flavor. Good with fish and red meats. Black Walnut - Very heavy smoke flavor, usually mixed with lighter wood like hickory or mesquite. Can be bitter if used alone. Good with red meats and game. Cherry - Mild and fruity. Good with poultry, pork, fish and beef (turns skin brown). Grapevines - Tart. Provides a lot of smoke. Rich and fruity. Good with poultry, red meats, game and lamb.

9 Hickory - Most commonly used wood for smoking. Sweet to strong, heavy bacon flavor. Good with pork, ham and beef. Lilac - Very light, subtle with a hint of floral. Good with seafood and lamb. Maple - Smoky, mellow and slightly sweet. Good with pork, poultry, cheese, and small game birds. Mesquite - Strong earthy flavor. Good with beef, fish, chicken, and game. One of the hottest burning. Oak (eik) - Heavy smoke flavor. Red oak is good on ribs, white oak makes the best coals for longer burning. Good with red meat, fish and heavy game. Orange and Lemon - Light and citrusy. Good with pork and game birds. Pear - A nice subtle flavor. Much like apple. Excellent with chicken and pork. Pecan - A cool burner. Nutty and sweet. Tasty with a subtle character. Good with steaks and racks of meat. Sweet Fruit Woods (Apricot, Plum, Peach) - Great on most white or pink meats, including chicken, turkey, pork, fish. The flavour is milder and sweeter than hickory. Another trick you may want to try is smoking with herbs. Next time you are smoking, try draping some rosemary across the flames or coals. There are actually a number of herbs and spices well suited to smoking. Do some experimenting with this. You will find it worth your while.

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