Northwest Fishing Reports

Edit: Waaaaa! I just have too much going on at once to try and smoke food. Thanks for your replies Spindog etc.
I'll just stay up late smoking fish. See what we get.

Hey Quad, I wouldnt worry about the outside temp, I'd go ahead and start smok'n.
It'll be fine.

Toni wrote:Did you rinse the dry brine off?

Yes Toni, I rinsed. I wondered if I rinsed to well though, because I wasn't sure if I was seeing that glaze thing that forms?
I just see a couple of dry fillets.

Personally I prefer a cold smoked product as opposed to hot smoked/bar-b-qued/kippered fish. The cure you put on the fish should keep all the nasties at bay and the rest is just drying the fish while adding some smoke color and flavor. Cold smoking is done at 80 to 90 degrees for a longer time, heck it can take days. The key to it is maintaining a steady dry air flow over the fish, this can be achieved through convection or by the use of a fan.

Depending on how heavily you dry cured your fish it sounds like it may be fully cured now and only need a bit of color and flavoring. Cut a test sample and give it a taste. Also, once it is done to your liking get a feel for how firm it is. Once it goes translucent and feels a bit tough, its good to go.

When properly cured the flavor of the brine and spices will have made it into the meat so a thorough rinsing should not effect the flavor.