basic hot smoking brine:
2 gal water
2#8oz salt(kosher or sea, NOT table)
4 oz dark brown sugar
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
1.5 oz pickling spice
3 oz honey
Place the fish in a deep plastic or stainless container, combine brine ingredients, pour enough brine to submerge fish. Use a plate or a towel to keep them below surface. Refrigerate for 8 hours. Rinse in cold, let them soak in fresh water for 10 minutes, blot dry with paper towel. Hot smoke at 215F, internal temperature fo 145F, or about 2 hours.
Viola.
>From: Sean Grier <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Subject: Whitefish recipes requested >Date: Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:34:25 -0800 (PST) > >Ah, I love late fall - Rivers are blown out, furry dead salmon carcasses stink up the air, and the whitefish start congregating to vacuum up the eggs laid by the chums. > >Since the rivers were still pretty blown out this long weekend, I tried one of the few tailwater rivers in the area - the Sultan - it was high, but very fishable. Carefully wading VERY shallow so as not to disturb the existing redds, I drifted orange egg patterns in the slack water behind spawning dogs and picked up quite a few whities. Bonked a few of the bigger ones on the head and brought them home for the smoker. > >This is the only meat-hunting I
do for finny quarry (I'm a staunch C&R guy) so you elitists out there, please don't flame me. Anyway, I'm looking to see if anyone has a good whitefish brine recipe that I could try. I've never smoked these guys, but I hear that's about the only way to eat them (though I have to wonder why they wouldn't taste as good as trout, since they live in the same rivers and eat the same things). > >Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance. > >Sean
