Dad’s Tips for Smoked Fish (in his words):

I’ve been smoking fish since I was 15, so 50 years of experience helps l.o.l.  Basically I use just fruit tree wood that I cut or gather myself.  But every smoker has a different feel for it and depending on how the weather is outside it can determine how long you keep the fish in.  It’ll burn hotter on a warm day and it depends how thick your pieces of fish are, you just get a feel for it.  The basic brine recipe is 1 cup of canning salt to every quart of water and I always add a cup of brown sugar.  Then depending on how thick the pieces of fish are you can actually thin the brine down or brine it less time.  Basic is 6 hours in the brine, but I adjust it to the thickness of pieces, and I smoke it around 3 hours but that depends on the temperature outside and the sizes of the pieces.  Your individual smokers are all different and it depends on the dryness of your wood.  I soak some wood in water for 6 hours.  I start my fire with 20 to 25 charcoal on a shovel and burn  until white, then I put them on a couple of pieces of dry wood to start fire and put the wood you were soaking criss-cross on top (after you shake the water off).  Then cover the smoker.  Check the smoker to add more soaked wood every 45 minutes and/or to stir fire.  Should be around 200 degrees.  I know it was a long answer but it’s like all other cooking, you get a feel for it.  This particular batch of fish I only soaked in the brine for 5 hours cuz I cut him a little thinner and the fire was hotter because of the warm temperatures outside and they were done in 2 hour and 15 minutes.  I can just tell by looking at them, you want them done but not dried out and the juice inside should be the oil from the fish but not dried out where the oil is gone.  I guess I can tell the way it shrinks up and the bones are just starting to stick out a little bit.  I have a Weber charcoal smoker, you only use charcoal to get the apple wood or cherry wood going.

In short:

• Basic brine recipe is 1 cup of canning salt to every quart of water, he adds 1 cup of brown sugar as well.
• Soak fish in brine for about 6 hours.
• If your pieces of fish are a little thinner than usual, you can thin the brine down or brine less time.
• Dad uses a Weber charcoal smoker (it uses charcoal just to get the wood going).
• For wood he uses fruit tree wood that he gathers or cuts himself (usually apple wood or cherry wood).
• He soaks the wood in water for 6 hours.
• He starts his fire on a shovel with 20-25 charcoal and lets them burn until white.  Then he puts the charcoal on a couple pieces of dry wood to start a fire.  He shakes off the wood he was soaking and puts it on top crisscross.    Temperature should be about 200 degrees.
• Cover your smoker and check every 45 minutes to add more wood and/or stir the fire.
• He smokes the fish for about 3 hours, but that can vary depending on how thick your pieces of fish are and how warm it is outside.
• Fish should still be moist from the oil, not dried out.  You can tell it is done by the way that the fish shrinks up and the bones are just starting to stick out a little bit.
• Individual smokers can vary.