Smoked Fish Aboard?

[SweetSurrender]

We love to fish and smoke our catch. We have an electric smoker, but that is probably not wise to bring aboard a fiberglass sailboat in a marina. Our boat will have the standard a BBQ, an oven, stove, and microwave.

Have one of you brilliant salts figured out a repeatable method to smoke your catch on a boat?

[Bash]

...you'll still need to freeze or at least refrigerate your fish once you've smoked it. That's probably the limiting factor on most boats, especially if you're catching fish in the 15+ pound range. It once again comes down to storage space.

[SweetSurrender]

Agreed, but what if you actually do have some space? How would you actually accomplish smoking fish on board?

I'm not a very culinary gifted individual, so this is why I'm asking because I can't think of how it would be done. Bottom line, I'm trying to figure out the best method for the actual fish smoking on a fiberglass boat.

Has anyone here actually done it?

[martinworswick]

i smoke fish on the bbq by putting my shavings in tinfoil with slits in the top and putting the fish on a wire tray above the smoke for the desired time.

[Stillraining]

I know Martins system will work...because I have owned both a Little chief electric smoker and my current dedicated charcoal smoker.

The little chief takes 6 plus hours the charcoal 1+ hours...same texture same flavour..I would think the regulator on a gas BBQ would have to have a good low heat setting..and flair ups would have to be controlled with a good shield..Is that true Martin?

[martinworswick]

yes it can be done that way, but a chef told me(i hope i get this correct) that its better to get the woodchips really smoking on high and get the desired amount of smokiness into the fish(or meat or whatever you like) then remove the chips and keep the bbq on low until cooked through. i have a hotplate with a wire shelf above it which works good and prevents flare ups.

i'm assuming we are talking about hot smoking rather than cold, i wouldn't be able to keep the heat low enough to cold smoke in my bbq.

hope you can follow what i'm trying to say here, not sure i've explained it well enough?

[Stillraining]

Im with ya...Some have complained their BBQ's are blow torches is why I mentioned it.

[Greenman]

LIKE THIS?



or

[Lancerbye]

Love the above cartoon, but the barbeque method works well. I like sockeye salmon hot smoke on the BBQ. Marinate it in the fridge overnight after having sprinkled a heavy amount of corse salt sugar mix (ratio varies with taste). Place the fillet of salmon( skin on and on the bottom side) on an elevated grill. Place a small pan of comercially sold smoking chips (Pan is small heavy foil chinese food take out pan) placed on the grill that is normally used for steaks. The fillet should have been washed and dried first and allowed to set up for a half hour.Cook and smoke (usually three pans worth) until nice medium to dark brown glaze is formed on top. Allow to cool or eat hot. mmmm

[cabo_sailor]

If I might suggest ... look into the Cameron stovetop smoker. Two sizes (I have both) and they work very well. Plus the smoker can be put to use for other cooking chores.

Camerons Professional Cookware

Rich

[David M]

Its a good thing for the fish that they dont have lungs.

[Guzzi]

Dooood, where do ya get papers that size?

[S/V Antares]

We fish in the Queen Charlottes and have always brought home a lot of fish. For smoking smaller fish I use our BBQ grill with wood chips and one of the little heating elements used to heat up a cup of coffee. It keeps the chips hot enough to smolder jusy spritz them down with water if the get too hot and light off. . We hot smoke after brining and baste with real maple syrup. Take a slab to a dock party and you will have people begging.

"Smoke um if you got um men"

[SweetSurrender]

Originally Posted by martinworswick

yes it can be done that way, but a chef told me(i hope i get this correct) that its better to get the woodchips really smoking on high and get the desired amount of smokiness into the fish(or meat or whatever you like) then remove the chips and keep the bbq on low until cooked through. i have a hotplate with a wire shelf above it which works good and prevents flare ups.

i'm assuming we are talking about hot smoking rather than cold, i wouldn't be able to keep the heat low enough to cold smoke in my bbq.

hope you can follow what i'm trying to say here, not sure i've explained it well enough?

It makes sense, thank you. Do you have any advice for making salmon jerky on board? I'm thinking that would be yummy too.

Another one I was thinking about was if it would be possible to consider canning fish as well, but what system is best used on a boat? I'd think that all those glass jars would be an issue, but I'd like to hear if someone might have done this successfully.

[gitarwmn]

The is great advice. I'm wondering if anyone has every tried canning fish? I found a recipe online for canning salmon. It looks really simple but how is it on a boat?

gitarwmn