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For a very long time, people have dried, salted and then smoked fish to preserve it. Today this technique has created a taste that we appreciate, let's look at the technique needed to achieve this. We will see how to smoke fish "cold" meaning at a temperature of 79°F for several days, and how to hot smoke at a temperature of about 200°F for a few hours.

Salting the Fish

The first step will be to let the fish marinate in a salt water bath. Allow 15 minutes of marinating for 500g of fish. The proportion is as follows: 2 and a half tablespoons of salt for 250ml of water. You can also add herbs, spices and peppers to flavor the fish as you wish, you can also replace some water with white wine. You can also add sugar.

What Fish to Smoke?

You can choose any fish for smoking. However, know that fatty fish (like salmon) absorb smoke better. You can smoke the whole fish, but I prefer to use fillets with the skin which are easier to work with and eat.

What Wood to Choose?

To smoke fish you can use different types of wood. Preferably avoid wood mixtures, meaning if you use oak, don't mix it with beech or pine, as the combustion is not the same. I recommend: alder or fruit tree wood such as apple which is widely used in the USA. Alder is also one of the most used woods in the USA. It's a tradition from the Pacific Northwest of the USA where they have always used alder to smoke their fish. Don't forget oak and any other wood you enjoy. A nice touch is to add a few green branches of thyme or rosemary to flavor the fish.

Fish Smoking

Regarding temperature, it must be well controlled, the best is to make a lot of coals. During the first 2 hours we will smoke at low temperature, around 150°F. This way the fish will take on the smoke flavor well. Then during the last 2 hours increase the temperature to around 195°F. If you can't control the temperature correctly, your fish must be smoked at a minimum temperature of 150°F.

Once finished you can use your smoked fish as an appetizer, enjoying it with hot sauces but also as an ingredient to make other recipes. For example mix smoked trout with cream, garlic, salt and pepper then enjoy on toasted bread, a pure delight.