The fish-smoking process has been utilized since the beginning of recorded history as a way to preserve fish for longer periods of time. With the modern advent of refrigeration, however, smoking fish is now a matter of taste rather than necessity. There are two ways to smoke fish, hot smoking and cold smoking, with the cold-smoking process generally taking a considerably larger amount of time.

Pre-Smoking Preparation

The best smoked fish will be that which is freshly caught, and which has been stored on ice in the interim. Ideally, the fish should be smoked within 24 to 48 hours of being caught, and stored on ice. After scaling and gutting the fish, cut the side flanks of larger fish into pieces around 1.5 inches wide and 2 inches thick to ensure even and deep smoking into the meat (smaller fish, cut into halves, can be smoked as is). An integral part of the smoking process comes next: the brining process. Creating one's own brine is easy, and involves mixing and dissolving 3.5 cups of salt into 1 gallon of cold water, and then adding pickling spices such as brown sugar, black pepper and bay leaves. Every 4 lbs. of fish will require 1 gallon of brining solution. Make sure the fish stay submerged in the brine--by weighting them down, if necessary--for 8 hours.

Cold Smoking

Before the cold-smoking process takes place, the fish should be removed from the brine and given a quick rinse under cold water to remove spice debris, such as peppercorns or bay leaves. Find a place in the shade to lay the fish, which should be laid on metal racks sprayed with vegetable or olive oil, and aim a fan at the fish for the next 3 hours to dry. A thin, shiny film will eventually form. After drying, the fish should be placed in a home smoker unit, which can be purchased from outdoor hunting and camping stores, as well as kitchen appliance stores (smokers range in price from $100 for smaller models--perfect for smoking enough food for two or three people--to $600 for larger units designed for larger families). For cold smoking, the smoker temperature should be set at 80°F. Thoroughly smoked fish will have turned uniformly brown, and the smoking time will fall between 1 and 5 days, depending on the size of the fish.

Hot Smoking

As with cold smoking, the fish will need to be briefly rinsed under cold water after brining, and dried in a shaded area for two to three hours with a fan pointed at them. Unsurprisingly, the main difference between the cold-smoking and the hot-smoking processes will be the temperatures at which your smoker is set. The first 2 hours of hot smoking requires a temperature at, but not exceeding, 90°F. When two hours has passed, the temperature of the smoker should be raised to 150°F, and the fish should be smoked for 4 to 8 hours longer, depending on the fish thickness (thicker pieces require longer smoking time).

Source:

3 Men: The 3 Men's Fish Smoking Process

Coquinaria: How To Smoke Fish Technique

Bobberstop: How To Smoke Fish

More Information:

Cabela's: Smokers And Accessories

Bradley Smoker: Bradley Smokers