Hi Folks,

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for smoking fish esp Taylor. I have a smoker that my dad gave me years ago, but have no idea of what to use in it, ie the wood chips etc.

I have seen a powered product by Hawk, but it seems very salty and I am trying to get that really nice flavour that smoked fish has rather than the salt.

Any ideas or recipes would go down well.

Hi Warren,

Traditionally the fish is soaked in a salt solution (salt and water) for about 6 hours then it is smoked. The salt helps the fish to accept the smoke flavor.

Their are many different type of wood chips that can be used. Some availably commercially through BBQ and Camping stores. These are such woods as Hickory etc.

The big commercial smoking operations usually use Victorian Ash (Tasmanian Oak) for smoking.

Thanks Rick for the info. I did not know about the soaking part.

(Edited By wahcat at 06:41:25 06/05/08)

G'Day Wahcat I regularly smoke Spanish mackeral and here's my recipe. I slice the fillet into 1/4 inch sections and then lay in a tray overnight in the fridge with chopped chilli, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. I do not use a brine when doing mackeral. I use oak chips that have been used to make home brew spirit. If you know someone you can get spent chips from it will help. I reckon a lot of the commercial stuff is too powerful. I use a small metho burner type smoker and in about ten - 15 mins the fish is cooked. I regularly serve this at BBQ's and its a hit. Hope it helps Cheers Garn71

Andrew,

Thanks for the info on the Spanish Mackerel. I did not know you could do this to SM. I will give it a go next time I manage to catch one. The used oak chips sound good.