Smoking Amberjack

[junior]

Anybody have some advice on smoking up some AJ??

Never smoked much fish before, but figured I'd give it a try since I've got a few pounds of AJ. I know you brine it and then smoke it, but a few details would be helpful:cool:

[dlock]

use a bong...it's much easier to keep it lit that way:p

[richhermes]

My father makes a bad ass smoked fish dip out of AJ and I think he marinates the AJ in Italian dressing and then throws it on the smoker for 2-3 hrs.
Soak the wood chips over night for maximum smokeage!

[kitefisherman]

I usually prepare a brine with kosher or other uniodized salt. Mix as much salt into the water as it will absorb in a cooler. Then let the fish sit in it for at least a few hours or overnight (if the fish is frozen, let it thaw in the brine). Remove the fish from the brine (and let it air dry - recommended but I never have that much patience). Spray the grates on your smoker with Pam or vegetable oil and place fish skin side down on grates (do not turn the fish). Smoke 3-4 hours or so (assuming fillets are .75 to 1 inch thick) depending on the thickness of the fillets. Remove from smoker. Vacuum seal any fish that you are not going to eat the next couple of days while it is still warm - that will seal in moisture. It will last up to a year in the freezer.

Make fish dip by flaking fish and adding mayonaise until you get the right consistency. Taste before adding anything else (pepper, lemon juice, hot sauce, etc). Usually I don't add anything (I personally think that it detracts from the outstanding flavor of the fish) but may put the other stuff on the side when I serve it with crackers.

You can't go wrong!

[Dive4Blood]

Rich I think you're a great guy , but if you ever get near me with Italian dressing I'm kicking your ass:D !

AJ Suarez

[richhermes]

Originally posted by Dive4Blood
Rich I think you're a great guy , but if you ever get near me with Italian dressing I'm kicking your ass:D !

AJ Suarez

Sick Bastard!:D

[junior]

AJ is about done and looking damn good.

dlock...I saved an ounce or so for the bong and it tastes like shit:p Especially with the italian dressing bong water:D

[dlock]

:D 10-4 on that!! On a more serious note; a lot of times if you don't rinse your brine before you smoke the fish it may be a bit too salty if you soaked it overnight. The old rule of thumb my dad used was enough salt to make a potato float was the correct brine mixture. Good luck!!

[kitefisherman]

dlock: I like the potato idea. I use my smoked fish primarily for dip so the saltiness is mellowed by the addition of the mayonaise. If I am going to eat the smoked fish as a meal, I usually use a less dense brine, a shorter brining period and/or don't smoke it quite as long. Lots of salt and smoking time remove substantial moisture from the fish thus acting as a preservative. This is good for long term freezer storage. The moisture is restored to the fish with the introduction of mayonaise when you make the dip.

[junior]

It's good, but a bit salty. I used a recipe I found in the FS book "Hook To Table". The brine was two cups salt and two cups brown sugar in a quart of water. Brined it for about five hours, rinsed and let it sit out for about an hour and then smoked it for about four hours in a kettle smoker with hickory chips and charcoal. Beside the salt, it was damn good.

Maybe a little less brining time and a little shorter smoking period with a higher heat would knock the salt down a notch.

Guess I gotta go back out and slay another AJ so I can work on the recipe :D

[dlock]

true smoking uses VERY LITTLE heat, the smoke does the cooking as well as the salt helps in the curing. Heat will most definitely dry out the fillets. Just cut down your soaking time and keep the smoke 'a rollin'! Smoked fish is a great dive snack we bring it often. Aj's are the best next to king's and spanish but nothin' beats good ole MULLET!!!!I was raised on that shit !!!

[Stringer]

Not my recipe, I got this from a book, but it's dynamite! Worth the extra effort! Got a great recipe for smoked fish spread to, if you want it.

Smoked Fish Recipe


Smoked fish brine:

1 gal water
1 cup non-iodized salt
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbls black pepper
2 tbls lemon juice
2 tbls liquid smoke
1 small bottle pickling spices
1 large onion diced

Soak fish in brine for 24 hours, rinse in clear water, pat dry with paper towels. Allow to air dri\y at room temperature for 2 hours or until a glaze forms on the flesh. Smoke 2 to 3 hours.

Soak wood chunks in water for an hour or so before putting them into the fire to flavor the fish.

This recipe can be halved for smaller batches. I usually use half this recipe for 3 to 4 lbs of fish.

[subdude]

Originally posted by Stringer
Got a great recipe for smoked fish spread to, if you want it.



I want it!!

subdude

[greyface]

I'm not knockin' it, but the only thing I brine is bait! :D

[jeffe]

Originally posted by dlock
use a bong...it's much easier to keep it lit that way:p
I think the trick to smoking fish in a bong is all in how ya' pack it in the bowl.
If it don't draw right ya' may have it packed a little tight.
The problem I always have is cleanin' the screen in the botom of the bowl afterwards, one good fish and the residue is BAAaad.
My personal favorite is a big ol' fish "Doobie" rolled in pages from the Bible.
Man, now, that draws sweet, runs a little hot, and some residue in my mustache though.:D

[sharkbait]

Stringer:
You got the receipe man. Been using a similar one for years, that's the ticket. As far as bonging fish, not a good idea. But I'd be happy to lend you mine to confirm that notion! :-)
Sharkbait

[junior]

Damn, the fish smokers are coming out of the woodwork.

[Bob3]

mmmmm... smoked fish.
Here's a good write up on making your own smoker (has brine recipe too): http://www.angelfire.com/ca/divers3/food.html

[Steel Shootin']

I'm going to smoke some amberjack tomorrow using Stringer's recipe. One question: What temperature should the brine be? Is it supposed to be ice cold, soaked in a cooler, to keep the meat fresh?

[Marcus]

I was very happy with the recipe I tried recently. Simple and good.

Marinate the fillet minus the skin in Worsteshire shauce :) for at least 2 hours. Take out and rub with Brown sugar and a some salt. Then smoke whilst partaking in an cool refreshing adult beverage. Came out pretty rockin'!

[Steel Shootin']

Here is what happened with my AJ:

Financial Advis told me to not worry about adding extra ingrediants to the brine. All you need is water, brown sugar, and salt.

I had a lot of amberjack, and my goal was to make a huge batch of fish spread for neighbors, business contacts, and family. I used a giant pot that I used to use in college for breweing beer. I had about a gallon of water, 1.5 cups of salt, and probably three cups of brown sugar. I was not really following any recipe, just using the 3 magical ingredients in the approximate portions that FA described.

I then rearragned my fridge to fit the giant pot in there, and allowed the fish to soak in the brine for 24 hours.

I have a green egg smoker, which I will never part with. Anyway, I had soaked Hickory Chips over night, and used real lump coal for my fire. I got the temp down to a consistent 260 degrees, added the wood chips, and did the fish for 3.5 hours.

One thing unorxadox: I had a total brain fart and when I had cleaned the fish, I skinned it too. You normally leave the skin on fish you will smoke, and place it skin side down on the grill.

Result: This is the best smoked fish of any kind I have ever had. Next time, I will keep it to one cup of salt, as it was slightly too salty. However, after I made a batch of spread, the salt was reduced enough to allow the great smokey flavor to come through more. I added some finely chopped onions. When I give it away , I will give salt free crackers, also.

I'm telling you, this spread is so good I said "to hell with the crackers" and was eating it by the spoonful.

I still want to try Stringers recipe, but this worked out well as I had everything on hand.

[Stringer]

Any way you like it is good! I leave mine in the brine in the refrig overnight, then rinse off the brine and let it air dry until it glazes over before smoking.

Here's the recipe for fish spread I use:

Smoked Fish Spread Recipe

1 ½ lb smoked fish
2 ts minced onion
2 ts finely chopped celery
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 tb sweet pickle relish drained
1 ½ cup mayonnaise (I use no fat)
1 tb prepared mustard
1 dash Worcestershire ( I use a few dashes)
2 tb chopped fresh parsley


Put it on saltines, celery or your tongue! It's the shit!:p

[Marcus]

One thing unorxadox: I had a total brain fart and when I had cleaned the fish, I skinned it too. You normally leave the skin on fish you will smoke, and place it skin side down on the grill.

I normally remove all the dark meat on the AJ to get rid of the real fishy stuff. This entails skinning it. AJ is such a firm meat that it stays together real well on the smoker anyhow. Mullet is a different story, the high fat content underneath the skin is what makes it soooo good.

[Steel Shootin']

The smoker will be fired up again tonight, as i couldn't fit it all in one batch last night. But, you're right, no problems by skinning first. I cut the bloody-mushy part out, too.

Looks good, stringer.

[joel mcqueen]

brine in salt water that egg floats in prepare soy brown sugar worchestershire juice of real lemon fresh heat on stove till brown sugar is disolved brush on aj while in smoker twice once when first in once before you take them out this works on any fish melt in your mouth

[MarkD]

Damn you guys, making me hungry reading this. :) Smoked kingfish is great, but AJ is even better. Smoked fish dip, crackers, a little Crystal hot sauce, and a cooler full of longnecks. Now that is livin'.

Mark

[Vin]

epicurious.com

has an answer to any question....

Vin

[from the sea]

have any of you used botton wood chips to smoke with? it is kick ass i useually smoke a lot of fish at one time, like 30-40 ld and it takes all day at a temp of 150-160 degrese and it is nice

[subdude]

I marinate my AJ or mackeral in lime juice only overnight and then sprinkle with tony chacheres creole seasoning on both sides and smoke for a couple of hours at 150 - 200 using oak and pecan wood.

Below is my recipe for dip, it looks very similar to the others. I use cilantro instead of parsley.

2 C.smoked fish
1 C. mayonnaise or more to desired consistency
2 T. finely minced onion
2 T. celery finely minced
2 T. fresh parsley, chopped
2 T. pickle relish
1-2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 T. prepared mustard
dash of white Worcestershire sauce

Mix well and refrigerate for at least two hours for the flavors to marry

subdude

[munitionfishin]

Scott, what was your portioning and ingredients on the spread??...How much mayo, onion etc....?

[Quetzal]

Bump!

[Bulit7]

Tequila and Montreal, then smoke.

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Holy thread from the dead!

[seacrecher]

Fish Brine is pretty simple. Salt sugar and spices. As for quantities, I use a formula I found in a book on smoking. It was 2 cups of Kosher Salt for every 1 gallon of water. I use the same ratio for the brown sugar. Some of my favorite herbs to add are fresh rosemary and basil (chopped) along with some course ground black pepper.

After soaking for several hours, the fish need to air dry. Place the steaks or fillets on a rack and allow them to dry until they are dry to the touch and there is a light glaze (from the sugar) on them. Then place them in the smoker. I like to hot smoke my fish(200-225*), as it takes less time. I also prefer the fish a bit dry, when smoked.

[diverlb]

Smoked some aj using Marcus's brine and rub and it was a hit this weekend. Used Stringers fish spread recipe for the rest and had them fighting over it ! Thanks for the recipes.:beer:

[kjflyfish]

For big fish (25+), the best meat is on the ribs and cheeks and is amazing smoked.