[Sca-cooks] preparing foods at tourney side over braziers-OT

Sun Aug 6 11:52:15 PDT 2006

Some information on smoking fish 
Dan in Auburn

Parasites In Fish
Freshwater and marine fish naturally contain many parasites. These parasites
are killed during the hot-smoking process, if the temperature reaches 140°F.
Use commercially frozen fish for cold-smoked fish and lox, or freeze the
fish to -10°F for at least 7 days to kill any parasites that may be present.
Freezing to -10°F is not possible in most home freezers.

Smoking Tips
Any fish can be smoked, but species high in fat (oil) such as salmon and
trout are recommended because they absorb smoke faster and have better
texture than lean fish, which tend to be dry and tough after smoking.

Use seasoned non-resinous woods: hickory, oak, apple, maple, birch, beech,
or alder. Avoid: pine, fir, spruce, etc. or green woods. If heavier smoke
flavor is desired, add moist sawdust to the heat source throughout the
smoking process.

Control heat by adjusting air flow.

Control temperature:

    * Hot-smoking--90°F for the first 2 hours; 150°F for remaining smoking
time
    * Cold-smoking--80-90°F for 1-5 days or more
    * Lox--70-80°F for 1-3 days 

Preparing Fish For Smoking
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.
   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. 

Preparing Brine
Prepare a brine of 3½ cups table salt in 1 gallon of cold water in a
plastic, stainless steel, or crockery container. Red or white wine can be
substituted for a portion or all of the water, if desired. Stir the salt
until a saturated solution is formed.

Spices such as black pepper, bay leaves, seafood seasoning, or garlic, as
well as brown sugar, may be added to the brine depending on your preference.

Use 1 gallon of brine for every 4 pounds of fish. Brine fish in the
refrigerator, if possible.

Keep the fish covered with brine throughout the brining period. A heavy bowl
can be floated on the brine to keep the fish submersed, but do not pack the
fish so tightly that the brine cannot circulate around each piece.

Cold-Smoking

   1. To cold-smoke fish, follow steps 1-6 under "Preparing Fish for
Smoking."
   2. Brine ½-inch-thick fillets for ½ hour; 1-inch-thick fillets for 1
hour; and 1½-inch-thick 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 80°F, and should never exceed 90°F. 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. 

Lox
Lox is similar to cold-smoked salmon, but is moist, lightly salted and
lightly smoked. Much practice and experience are needed to prepare
satisfactory lox. The appropriate length of brining and smoking to produce
lox that suit one's taste is determined mainly through trial. Lox can be
prepared following the instructions for cold-smoking with the following
modifications:

    * Smoke at 70-80°F for 1 to 3 days (temperatures above 80°F will cook
the fish).
    * To give a sheen to the surface of lox, rub with vegetable oil after
the smoking is completed.
    * In the refrigerator, lox will keep for 1 to 2 weeks. It will keep
longer, if frozen. 

Hot-Smoking

   1. To hot-smoke fish, follow steps 1-6 under "Preparing Fish for
Smoking."
   2. Brine ½-inch-thick fillets for about 15 minutes, 1-inch-thick pieces
about 30 minutes, and 1½-inch-thick pieces about 1 hour. Brining times can
be adjusted to give the fish a lighter or heavier cure.
   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 forms on the surface. The pellicle seals the surface and
prevents loss of natural juices during smoking. A fan will speed pellicle
formation.
   5. Place the fish in a homemade or commercial smoker. For the first 2
hours, the temperature should not exceed 90°F. This completes the pellicle
formation and develops brown coloring.
   6. After the initial 2-hour period, raise the temperature to 150°F and
smoke the fish for an additional 4 to 8 hours. The length of time will
depend on the thickness of the fish, and on your preference for dry or moist
smoked fish. Generally, ½-inch-thick pieces are smoked for 4 hours,
1-inch-thick pieces for 6 hours, and 1½-inch-thick pieces for 8 hours.
   7. Store hot-smoked fish in the refrigerator. Freeze hot-smoked fish if
it will be stored longer than a few days. 

The authors are Robert J. Price, Ph.D., Extension Seafood Technology
Specialist and Pamela Tom, M.Sc., Staff Research Associate Department of
Food Science & Technology, University of California, Davis, California
95616-8598
Honey-Cured Smoked Salmon

    *
    * 1 quart water
    * 1/2 cup salt
    * 3/4 cup honey
    * 1/4 cup golden rum
    * 1/4 cup lemon juice
    * 10 cloves
    * 10 allspice berries
    * 1 bay leaf
      1 large fillet of salmon 

Combine all the ingredients besides the salmon to make the brine.
Place the salmon, skin side up, in a non-reactive dish and cover with
brining liquid. Allow fish to brine for 2 hours.
Rinse the salmon in fresh water and pat dry with paper towels.
Place salmon on a drying rack (or grill rack that you will use to smoke the
salmon on) and allow to air dry for about 1 hour.
Smoke salmon skin side down for about 1 1/2 hours, keeping temperature at
160 degrees Fahrenheit.

-----Original Message-----
From: sca-cooks-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org
[mailto:sca-cooks-bounces at lists.ansteorra.org] On Behalf Of Huette von
Ahrens
Sent: Sunday, August 06, 2006 11:35 AM
To: Cooks within the SCA
Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] preparing foods at tourney side over braziers-OT

I haven't done fish yet, but I do know that a whole duck takes about 6
hours.
I know how to do duck in my sleep.  I did smoked duck for 300, years ago...

Huette, who has a smoker and who has some salmon.  Want to cover over and
learn?

--- Susan Fox <selene at earthlink.net> wrote:
> 
> How long does it take to smoke a trout this way?  I think I want one of
> those smokers.  'Cuz I would do terrible, horrible things for a taste of
> smoked fishies.  
> 
> Selene
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Sca-cooks mailing list
> Sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
> http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org
> 

Remember that while money talks, chocolate sings.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 
_______________________________________________
Sca-cooks mailing list
Sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org
http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/sca-cooks-ansteorra.org