Cheap Warehouse SS fish smoker tips?
~misfit~
able to help me on this one....
Back in the day I built my own cold smoker out of a drying cabinet and used
a seperate firebox with the smoke and some heat piped into the cabinet. It
was used mainly for mullet which could be netted easilly from the lake just
across the paddock and also for kahawai and now and then snapper from our
family fiching trips. Fish would be split and salted for a few hours
(usually overnight), quickly rinsed, wiped dry, rubbed with a mix of (a
little) salt, brown sugar and spices, allowed to sit in that for an hour or
so, then hung in the (fly-proof) smoker for a couple hours to dry
pre-smoking.
The smoking part was usually all day, at least eight hours, and I'd say it
got to maybe 50 deg C in there. Worked well, preserving the fish to a
certain extent and was yummy. When I fired up the smoker the neighbours all
got a treat. It held about 24 fish and wasn't worth running unless it was at
least half-full.
That was then.... I was given two kahawai yesterday and intended to have
poached fish tonight and freeze the rest. However, while in the Warehouse
buying a birthday card for dad's 80th birthday I saw they had stainless
steel (SS) hot smokers at half price, only $35. There was a big shelf with
two left on it. I still have the surfcaster and last I heard there were
still kahawai to be had at Port Waikato so I thought it might be worth while
buying one.
The manuka 'sawdust' was $10 for a kilo which I though was expensive for
what it is (I used to use manuka cut from the bush with my cold smoker,
using some foliage as well as the wood). The meths dish that comes with it
seems to hold about 350mls of meths and burns for ~20 minutes. I used a
cupful of sawdust (but the smoke stopped before the cooking did).
I just wondered if anyone else is using one of these and has any advice? I
haven't tried my fish yet, it's still hot and I'm leaving it in there to
cool, I want to make sure it's cooked. (I didn't split the fish I filleted
them and left the skin on. They wouldn't have fitted whole and I wasn't
confident that they'd cook right through.)
It's gonna be expensive on meths at that rate. I tought maybe two smaller
dishes of meths as the thing is rectagular? How long should it burn for?
Also, how much sawdust should I use? I know that it's a cooker and the smoke
is just for flavour but I'd like to get the best out of it. It might have
been half-price but, with the manuka and meths it's still a significant
investment for me. (My contents insurance premium bill just arrived, up from
$480 last year to $630 this year...) Also, I don't have the fish or the
money to experiment as much as I'd like to. That would be my first choice...
So perhaps I can get some tips from the collective wisdom of nz.general?
With the fillets (skin and scales on) I did a quick version of my old
method, quite heavy salt for an hour, rinse, pat dry and then 40/60 salt and
brown sugar for 20 minutes, pat dry and smoke. (I can't remember what spices
I used back in the day...)
Input appreciated, thanks in advance...
--
Shaun.
Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day...
Fred
"~misfit~" <sore_n...@nospamyahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:hp6g0q$d11$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
Well here's mine - if you can't eat something without smoking it first,
fish, cheese, chicken, whatever - then chuck it out and have something else.
brazen
"~misfit~" <sore_n...@nospamyahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:hp6g0q$d11$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
> able to help me on this one....
>
well I would but seeing as I dont fit the 'men' category.....
Oh alright then...
YOu can get your own manuka from the bush, either sawdust or bark. Use a
couple of handfuls of sawdust. We use bought cos we are lazy.
We split the fish (butterfly) and soak in a 1 salt to 2 brown sugar mix for
at least a couple of hours, if not overnight. Then pat dry and smoke. Dont
fillet - less waste if you smoke the whole fish cos its so yummy you eat
every morsel.
> I just wondered if anyone else is using one of these and has any advice? I
> haven't tried my fish yet, it's still hot and I'm leaving it in there to
> cool, I want to make sure it's cooked. (I didn't split the fish I filleted
> them and left the skin on. They wouldn't have fitted whole and I wasn't
> confident that they'd cook right through.)
Try it, if they dont cook through give it another go. But they only take 10
mins or so, just leave to cool in situ after that. Dont be too anal about
undercooking it as you dont want it overcooked or it will be tough. Its a
try it kinda thing.
Our old small box bit the dust last year so I bought a new one from
warehouse. Unfortunately we got a big one so it takes more meths. Our old
small one (probably the same size as yours) had 2 meths containers, just
fill them up (not brimming) and go for it. Uses less and burns better if its
out of the wind. but it needs a little bit of air sometimes, sometimes we
prop it up with a stick so it gets a good burn.
Kahawai is *the best* smoked. Happy smoking.
Gay
liberty
I don’t think you get real smoked fish compared to the old way.
If you have just the odd fish to smoke . Get a tin tube made about
25cm dia about 75cm high
Hang you fish on a bit of wire. And burn the sawdust . It will take
hrs.
But you get the real thing.
~misfit~
What a nonsensical thing to say! Did you read the bit where I said that I
was going to have it poached? Nowhere did I say that I couldn't eat it
without smoking it first. What do you mean? Is this a pet hate? You don't
like smoked food?
Thanks for your input.
~misfit~
> "~misfit~" <sore_n...@nospamyahoo.com.au> wrote in message
> news:hp6g0q$d11$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
>> Hey folks, I figure that there are a few 'outdoorsmen' here who
>> might be able to help me on this one....
>>
>
> well I would but seeing as I dont fit the 'men' category.....
You know what I mean. ;-)
I thought of getting some from 'the bush' but the closest place where I know
the landowner and they wouldn't mind would cost as much in petrol as the 1
kg bag of sawdust. (Then there's turning the wood into something that could
be used in the smoker to be taken into account. I don't have a tool for the
job...)
> We split the fish (butterfly) and soak in a 1 salt to 2 brown sugar
> mix for at least a couple of hours, if not overnight. Then pat dry
> and smoke. Dont fillet - less waste if you smoke the whole fish cos
> its so yummy you eat every morsel.
Thanks. I had two to smoke and I live by myself. filleting was a way to get
most 'bang-for-buck' from the sawdust and meths and if they were left whole
they other one would be a PITA to get in the freezer...
>> I just wondered if anyone else is using one of these and has any
>> advice? I haven't tried my fish yet, it's still hot and I'm leaving
>> it in there to cool, I want to make sure it's cooked. (I didn't
>> split the fish I filleted them and left the skin on. They wouldn't
>> have fitted whole and I wasn't confident that they'd cook right
>> through.)
>
> Try it, if they dont cook through give it another go. But they only
> take 10 mins or so, just leave to cool in situ after that. Dont be
> too anal about undercooking it as you dont want it overcooked or it
> will be tough. Its a try it kinda thing.
Yeah, figured. I just don't do this often (get fish....) so am trying to
short-cut the whole experimentation thing as much as possible.
> Our old small box bit the dust last year so I bought a new one from
> warehouse. Unfortunately we got a big one so it takes more meths. Our
> old small one (probably the same size as yours) had 2 meths
> containers, just fill them up (not brimming) and go for it. Uses less
> and burns better if its out of the wind. but it needs a little bit of
> air sometimes, sometimes we prop it up with a stick so it gets a good
> burn.
Yup, I have the small one. I was a bit annoyed that, as it heats and buckles
it makes some popping noises which didn't bother me. What *did* bother me is
that the bottom of it must have popped upwards suddenly because the fish was
all sprinkled with burnt sawdust. :-(
> Kahawai is *the best* smoked. Happy smoking.
Thanks. Yes, I like it either smoked or poached. As it's oily you want to
keep away from frying it I reckon. Great for the health, chock-full of
Omega-3...
--
Cheers,
~misfit~
No, of course you don't. It's baked fish with a smoke flavour. Completely
different to cold smoked fish. Totally different.
> If you have just the odd fish to smoke . Get a tin tube made about
> 25cm dia about 75cm high
> Hang you fish on a bit of wire. And burn the sawdust . It will take
> hrs.
> But you get the real thing.
Did you read my post? I used to cold smoke fish and it'd take a whole day
for the smoking alone. However I'm looking for tips on how to best use this
little hot smoker.
liberty
wrote:
Yes and it was a interesting post.You also said you had couple of
fish.
The new smokers work but not the same as the real thing.
bugalugs
When you're smoking them it must be a but of a problem holding the fish
and trying to lick the paper.
Katipo
"~misfit~" <sore_n...@nospamyahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:hp6g0q$d11$1...@news.eternal-september.org...
> able to help me on this one....
>
The cheapest way to smoke fish is to grind them up into fine shreds, get
some roll-your-own papers and ..well I guess you guys can figure out the
rest yourselves! :)
~misfit~
Not to mention keeping them burning! (Ya mongrel!)
Happy Easter. Racing tonight.....
~misfit~
Heh! There's one in every crowd. (Well, two in this one..)
--
Cheers,
~misfit~
> On Apr 3, 10:03 pm, "~misfit~" <sore_n_ha...@nospamyahoo.com.au>
> wrote:
>> Somewhere on teh intarwebs liberty wrote:
>>> If you have just the odd fish to smoke . Get a tin tube made about
>>> 25cm dia about 75cm high
>>> Hang you fish on a bit of wire. And burn the sawdust . It will take
>>> hrs.
>>> But you get the real thing.
>>
>> Did you read my post? I used to cold smoke fish and it'd take a
>> whole day for the smoking alone. However I'm looking for tips on how
>> to best use this little hot smoker.
>
> fish.
> The new smokers work but not the same as the real thing.
If by 'the real thing' you mean a proper salting, drying and then
cold-smoking as a method of preserving fish then no, of course they don't.
In fact you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who smokes fish that way these
days, including the commercial smoked fish you can buy which is a compromise
between cold-smoking and hot-smoking. Cold-smoking is so labour-intensive
for a preservation method when we have fridges and freezers that alomost
nobody does it now. I understand that, which is why my post was so long, I
used to do it as a youngster partly because I did large batches and partly
because I had a neighbour much older than me who was willing to teach me the
old ways (and loved 'real' smoked fish, so got a few everytime I smoked
some).
(We also used to butcher a pig a couple of times a year and get one of the
'sides' turned into bacon by a local butcher. However he didn't smoke it, he
just 'pickled' it. I'd smoke it when it was delivered.)
It would take me the best part of two full days to *preserve* a batch of
fish but when they were done you could keep them in a cool place for weeks,
no need for electric cooling, just keep the flies off them (or scrape off
the fly-blows daily). However back then most country homes had a fly-proof
'meat-safe' where the fish could be stored that had ventilation but excluded
flies. Therefore I don't see the reasoning behind you pointing it out (twice
now) when I went to lengths to explain that I knew the difference and that I
know how to cold-smoke fish. Cold-smoked fish isn't cooked per-se. The flesh
is still translucent and it's tougher as it's dehydrated three ways; By
salting, by air-drying and then in the presence of smoke (which is a
bacteriastat and seals the cut surfaces from invasion by bacteria).
What these little things do is bake the fish in the presence of smoke and
that's what I have little experience of and was asking advice about. If I
can get it to work well I might use it to also 'smoke' sausages. If I still
lived in a 'village' or extended community still I'd much rather set up a
cold-smoker again. However I no longer set a net for mullet or go fishing
much (and I believe that there's now a 'bag limit' on kahawai anyway which
would make it unfeasible to devote two days to smoking just a few. I guess
that's a part of the reason these little smoker/cookers are so popular.
liberty
You are right. We look back at them days of keeping the milk in the
nearby stream and the meat in the safe and the stale bread with warped
affection. Having a fridge /freezer at the Bach has changed things.
Does fish real smoke taste better than using a smoker cooker? After a
couple of wines who cares.
~misfit~
Actually it's been so long since I had the real thing I don't remember. I
think it might be possible that fish 'smoked' in a $35 Warehouse smoker /
cooker could actually be nicer than the old salted, dried and smoked fish.
It's certainly moister and far, far quicker to do. Often with the old-time
cold-smoked fish we'd make 'smoked fish pie' with the fish in a white sauce
as it softened it and the (more intense) smoke flavour was carried into the
sauce. I remember at the table the siblings and I vying for some meat from
the thick end of the fish as it was softer (which, as young 'uns, we
prefered). The other end was a bit like fish jerky at times (depending on
the skill of the person who smoked it and how long it had been stored). I
imagine that you could get really creative with a smoker / cooker and add
all sorts of interesting new flavours too.
> After a
> couple of wines who cares.
Indeed. It's all good. Wine *and* a Bach huh? <g>
Collector_NZ
> Hey folks, I figure that there are a few 'outdoorsmen' here who might be
> able to help me on this one....
Never tried those smokers but if you get it going,
Brown Sugar and Sweet Chilli Sauce just the best for any fish smoking
Lyndon Watson
> 'sides' turned into bacon by a local butcher. However he didn't smoke it, he
> just 'pickled' it. I'd smoke it when it was delivered.)
More likely he cured it using salt and probably sugar and saltpetre
rather than turning it into pickled pork (which is delicious).
My father had a large wooden tub (which I used to store dug potatoes
until it fell to bits) in which he cured bacon by rubbing the salt
mixture into it. We never smoked ours, but it kept for months,
hanging in a muslin bag in the washhouse.
LW
ObPedant: The curing didn't turn the meat into bacon; it already was.
Bacon is a part of the carcass - what many who don't know call "pork
belly" - whether fresh or cured. Just as ham is the fleshy part of
the upper hind leg of any animal, whether cured or fresh.
Nicolaas Hawkins
Wouldn't it be difficult to light?
[innocent look, whistling]
--
- Nicolaas
Roger Dewhurst
Years ago I built a very satisfactory smoker using a few concrete blocks
and a fibreglass insulated refrigerator. I believe most modern ones are
stuffed with polystyrene.
R
~misfit~
> On Apr 4, 11:21 am, "~misfit~" <sore_n_ha...@nospamyahoo.com.au>
> wrote:
>> (We also used to butcher a pig a couple of times a year and get one
>> of the 'sides' turned into bacon by a local butcher. However he
>> didn't smoke it, he just 'pickled' it. I'd smoke it when it was
>> delivered.)
>
> More likely he cured it using salt and probably sugar and saltpetre
> rather than turning it into pickled pork (which is delicious).
Yes, you're correct, bad choice of words on my part. I should have said
'cured' rather than 'pickled'. I too really like pickled pork.
> My father had a large wooden tub (which I used to store dug potatoes
> until it fell to bits) in which he cured bacon by rubbing the salt
> mixture into it.
I wanted to try the curing part myself but dad was adamant that the buther
do it. It didn't cost much (if anything) and he was assured of his bacon
being how he liked it and. most importantly, that it would keep.
> We never smoked ours, but it kept for months,
> hanging in a muslin bag in the washhouse.
After my father let me experiment with a piece of his precious bacon (all
his life, for at least as long as I can remember, he starts his day with a
breakfast of bacon and an egg. It's his 80th birthday on Thursday) and the
smokehouse he liked the result and from then on I smoked the bacon when we
got it back from the butcher. IMO (and obviously also in his) it improved
the flavour.
> ObPedant: The curing didn't turn the meat into bacon; it already was.
> Bacon is a part of the carcass - what many who don't know call "pork
> belly" - whether fresh or cured. Just as ham is the fleshy part of
> the upper hind leg of any animal, whether cured or fresh.
I didn't know that pork belly was properly called bacon (cured or not). You
learn something everyday. :-)
I used to spend a lot of my time with a young lady who had *excellent* hams.
They're close to my favourite part of a female's anatomy (after the brain /
mind of course). ;-)
--
Cheers,
~misfit~
> ~misfit~ wrote:
[snip]
>> Back in the day I built my own cold smoker out of a drying cabinet
>> and used a seperate firebox with the smoke and some heat piped into
>> the cabinet.
> Years ago I built a very satisfactory smoker using a few concrete
> blocks and a fibreglass insulated refrigerator. I believe most
> modern ones are stuffed with polystyrene.
Ahhh, okay. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on one of the old drying
cabinets. Fridge-sized with a full door but without the lining. (There was
what amounted to a small fan heater built into the bottom back part that I
removed.) It already had the fixtures for shelves / rails to hang or place
the fish on.
It worked really well for my purposes as I didn't want too much heat
retained in the smoking area. I was sad when it finally rusted out but by
then I'd not used it for a year.
--
Cheers,
~misfit~
Thanks for the chili idea, I just last week threw out a 3/4 full bottle of
sweet chili sauce as it had past it's 'best before' date and I didn't use it
often (I have hot chili sauce that I use more and I grow my own chilis). Now
I just need more fish.... Perhaps after Easter's over I might break out the
surfcasters and take a trip to Port Waikato before the water gets too cold.
I used to get a few kahawai and the odd trevally in the estuary if I timed
it right, fishing for the 2.5 hours before the high tide, the higher the
better and best when it occurs within the hour before dark. Any time other
than just before high tide and you might as well cast into the dunes as
you'll catch nothing in the water either.
--
Shaun.
Cheers,