Lake Stevens Past and Present

[rseas]

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These fish were swimming in Lake Stevens Saturday morning and came out of the smoker about 11:30 Monday night. The fish were smoked using my back to basics brine recipe but with a twist, I increased the amount of pepper, bay leaves and ginger.

2 gallon warm fresh water
4 cups brown sugar
2 cups pure (non-iodized or pickling & canning) salt
2-3 Tbsp coarse ground black pepper (increased to 4 Tbsp)
6 whole Bay leaves crumbled (increased to 8 bay leaves)
1 Tablespoon Garlic powder
2 tsp powdered ginger (increased to 4 tsp)

The trout were nice and firm with broad shoulders and thick fillets. Being a little thicker I left the portioned fillets in the brine for about 16 hours but 8-10 hours should do the job for most trout or kokanee. The smoking process varies widely depending on personal preference and type of fish but here is the general process I use for my Master Digital Smoker (similar to the Bradley). I use an equal mix of apple and alder chips, loading the wood chip chamber on my smoker before I start the smoking cycle. I use a phased temperature process. After the fish dried and formed the pellicle I load it on racks in the smoker with the thicker pieces on the bottom and thinner pieces towards the top. I start with 130 degrees for 1 ½ hours, then go to 140 degrees for 3 hours and finally 175 degrees (for food safety) 1 to 2 hours. I check the fish occasionally to assure that it is not drying out. At the start of the 175 degree cycle I reload the wood chip chamber. I left the smoker vent open to assure a more delicate smoke flavor in the final product.

[rseas]

Hmmm, I have pictures but my "Attach" button is missing.

[timber bliss]

i was wondering about last weekend, saw several boats on the lake,what was the water temp? last year at this time maybe a little later, my buddy and i fished dick nites just under surface caught some of the biggest FATTEST koke's of the year. i live 3 minutes from wyatt ramp, will try on wed. or thurs. p.s. will try your smoke brine

[Mike Carey]

those look sooo good.

[MotoBoat]

those look sooo good.

I agree, does look tasty. It looks like the fatty deposits that form on the surface of the smoked fish, has been reabsorbed? Or does the pellicle normally keep that fatty substance from leaching out during smoking?

I have toyed with air drying at room temp for 2-6 hours to achieve pellicle, tried a fan method. As well as various lengths of time in a refrigerator for pellicle formation. All methods do not stop the fatty deposit from forming during smoking. Is that common? With one exception, leaving fish in fridge over night or longer, will create some serious pellicle, and the appearance is professional looking. Only, after this extended time frame of pellicle formation, did fatty deposit not form on the surface while smoking. But fish had a rubbery texture after smoking. Was good to eat. But what is the process you use for pellicle formation? And, does the fatty liquid leach out and reabsorb during smoking? Or not leach out at all?

I have done a fair amount of reading on the subject. But pellicle formation is mentioned but not any great detail was discussed.....frustrating! There was no mention of the fatty deposit during smoking or a absorption process. I am using a Luhr Jensen big chief smoker. Do not like dry fish. So, the tendency is to pull the fish out as soon as the flesh is cooked throughout. At that point of the smoking process there is fatty deposits on the fish surface. Looking for a little help. You mention checking for dryness during smoking, what is done if that is experienced?

[rseas]

I have also struggled with the drying step before smoking and pellicle formation is a critical element of both attractive and tasty smoked fish. After a lot of trial and error my process is as follows:

Split a large plastic yard waste bag up the sided so that you have a long piece of plastic. Lay the smoker racks on the plastic on the kitchen counter. Spray racks with cooking spray.

Remove the fish from the brine, rinse and lay out on the smoker racks skin down. Using a wadded up paper towel, gently pat up excess water from the fish.

Allow the fish to dry at room temperature until the pellicle formation is complete. The time will depend on a number of factors but it could be 2-8 hours. It is ready when you can lightly touch the fish and your finger does not stick or come away moist. It will look like you sprayed a layer of varnish on it.

I also use a phased temperature cycle; 130 for 1 ½ hours, 140 for 3-6 hours and 170 for 1-2 hours. The 170 is a food safety step recommended by Extension Office to assure that any bacteria are goners.

[Augwen]

IMO...rseas is doing it right. After brining, rinsing and patting dry I spray my racks and put the fish on them. That allows air flow all around them. If it is cold outside I use a fan blowing across (lightly) to help the pellicles form faster. The pellicles will actually help hold the smoke and thus the flavor. I started smoking with the Little/Big Chief smokers and they were very frustrating. I could not get the heat controlled right depending on the time of year (gets cold in Spokane). I finally sold them at a garage sale and ponied up for a good smoker. I use a Smokin' Tex (the Smokin' Its are identical but less money). I now smoke year round with no problems. The difference in smokers can also be the difference in how your fish come out along with the brine, flavoring and type of wood. Try Pecan sometime. It is what I use for all my fish.

[MotoBoat]

Okay, thanks for the pellicle formation clarification procedure. I like the keep it easy to clean up method, of using a make shift tarp for spraying of the racks. The McGiver or McGruber in me, can appreciate making the cleanup more efficient.
Now, how about tackling the fatty deposit that puddles on the surface of the fish during smoking. Is this common during smoking and is this normally reabsorbed into the fish before the smoking process is complete? Or does correct pellicle formation eliminate this?

Here is another question. Is fish that has been vacuum packed and frozen, in the fridge for up to a year. Going to be a substandard product for smoking? Even if it BBQ up nice and tasty.

I hear you about a quality smoker. I have had great results and some less than happy with that result. Because of this, I am not certain if it's the smoker, me, or freshness of the fish. Until now, my pellicle stage was reached when the fish surface was tacky to the touch, and glossy in appearance. But from what I understand, I need to wait longer. Until no longer tacky to the touch or moisture when touched.

Randy, I have noticed your always smoking fresh fish.

[Augwen]

I generally do not leave fish in the freezer longer than 3 or 4 months. BUT I have friends that have been known to do that. I look at their fish after being thawed and depending on what it looks like, I will use a different brine (sweeter, teriyaki etc) or if I use a standard brine (dry or wet) I will spice it with lemon pepper or garlic pepper. I really prefer going lighter as I prefer tasting the fish itself but if the fish is old sometimes it will come out too fishy. There is no sense in throwing it away unless it is freezer burned real bad. A lot of folks like the "Candied" smoke fish and that is a good thing to do with older fish. Smoking fresh fish is always preferred but circumstance's do not always allow that.

[MotoBoat]

I generally do not leave fish in the freezer longer than 3 or 4 months. BUT I have friends that have been known to do that. I look at their fish after being thawed and depending on what it looks like, I will use a different brine (sweeter, teriyaki etc) or if I use a standard brine (dry or wet) I will spice it with lemon pepper or garlic pepper. I really prefer going lighter as I prefer tasting the fish itself but if the fish is old sometimes it will come out too fishy. There is no sense in throwing it away unless it is freezer burned real bad. A lot of folks like the "Candied" smoke fish and that is a good thing to do with older fish. Smoking fresh fish is always preferred but circumstance's do not always allow that.

Appreciate the replies. What is the procedure for the candied variety of smoked fish. It seems to me, i once added something like brown sugar or maple syrup. To the fish, after the pellicle stage and ended up with what I would call a candied type of smoked fish.

Have you ever encountered having trouble reaching proper pellicle, with that older fish?

[Augwen]

There is a current thread going on the forum under the "Culinary Delights" that was originally posted by natetreat called smoked Salmon that has a lot of different brine recipes that you should check out. The ones that call for more brown sugar and/or honey are what I call the "Candied" brines. Some of these, after reading the ingredients, you can see why they will mask the flavor of the old fish. I think having formed a good pellicle is important for the retainage of the smoke flavor. With the smoker I use, I will be using 8 ounces or less for a complete smoke of 3 to 4 hours. If I let the fish dry after brining long enough to form that good pellicle, I will end up with a good smoky flavor that still imparts the subtle flavor of fish such as trout. With a salmon the flavor is stronger and you might be able to use more smoke. It all depends on your likes and dislikes. The good part in experimenting is you get to eat all that fish. Take notes and go for it.

[racfish]

Lake Stevens is where I had a memorable sinking on my 8' Livingston . I went out for Kokefest. Its was an anual event some of us used to do. I took my 8 footer with my 7.5 1985 Honda ,5 gallon gas tank,Ice chest with drinks and food for 1.5 days,fishing / trolling gear,and two of us. One of us was 260 the other 165 lbs. From 6:00 till 10 fishing was great. we had 5 kokes in the boat. We were only 2" above the waterline.It was calm ,no fast boats,all was cool. Then came the waterskiers. Im half way down the lake when a waterskier boat left me a wake. I turned into the wake and it came over the boat. Swamped us,and with that motor on it sank boat motor and us. Here we are rowing to shore 8"under the water. Only our uppet torsos were aboyve water. We both had on our PFD's so we were very fortunate. It was a sight to see. We had people come by who had watched us and we all shared a good laugh. Cept the motor cost 300.00 buck to fix .