How to Smoke FishHow Do I Smoke Fish or Meat

That main principle is that meat or fish is suspended over wood dust or chips which only smoulder gently in the Fish Smoker. This happens when there is little oxygen present. When this happens there is little oxygen present. The production of this smoke infuses prepared fish or meat and also aids in preservation.

There are principally two ways to smoke, the cold method (10 to 25 ° c) where the food is first salted or "cured" and the method of hot (40 ° C to 110 ° c). As a general rule Cold smoked food can be kept longer.
The technique of smoking:

Heat the oven, allow it to get nice and hot (clean burning) the cover should only half cover the oven, and the ash/fire pit about 50% open

Attach your prepared Fish or meat to the tenter hooks and hang in the Fish Smoker oven - remember, some fish such as mullet are delicate and may fall apart when smoking - use some extra wire or string to hold them together. Eels, salmon, trout and Mackerel are fine - as is most meat.

In order to start smoking, the fire must be almost out, in order to do this, throw some wood dust on to the glowing logs/wood - however, not too much that it smothers the fire and instantly goes out. The idea is to keep the fire smouldering. To control the oven, simply use the lid and the ash tray to regulate the smoke and heat as you would a BBQ. If the tray is closed there will be less draw and will become cooler - open the drawer and there will be more flames and heat. The lid can also be used to help regulate the amount of heat and smoke.

Ensure any meat is fully cooked and hot inside when hot smoking, if cold smoking a temperature of below 25 degrees C is required to ensure the food stays safe.

You can use many types of Wood Chips and Wood Dust to smoke with. Generally speaking beech and oak are used. But, you can experiment with others such as apple, Hickory, Alder, Walnut and many others!!!

Beech penetrates well into the fish and produces a wonderful colour. Oak has a distinct aroma and burns well too. Wood from Fruit trees smells good too. It is very important for you to experiment with different wood types.

PLEASE do-not use:

  • Wood with an unknown origin
  • Chemical treated wood
  • Wood with any Paint or creosote
Extra flavour can be introduced into the smoke by adding a variety of flavours into your meat or fish when curing or salting such as - juniper berries, nuts, dried lemon, mint, thyme and so on - Remember, the majority of the flavour will come from the smoking process in the fish smoker itself.

Good luck and have fun with smoking.

Please call us if you have any questions relating to smoking.

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