Does anyone know how to smoke fish over a campfire or perhaps in a pit? Fiancée and I would like to give it a try with some trout.
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How to smoke fish?
- Thread starter Terr
- Start date
depends oh how you want to do it, you can hot smoke which smokes and cooks the fish at once, or you can cold smoke which just gives the smoke flavor...
cold smoking is easy really as is hot smoking but takes longer....
to hot smoke all you need is a fire and some cordage and some sticks/branches, hazle is good for that but whatever you have really....
all you do is make a triangle frame like when you hang your pit from a chain or cord, make a lattice board to lay the fish on and attach it 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the frame, now cover the outside with spruce bows (or whatever you have, you could use an old thick sheet or denim material), this traps the smoke from the fire in the "CONE" shape at the top which smokes + cooks the fish, the advantage with this is that it can be used again and again, just place it over the fire with the fish/meat on the rack to cook and smoke.
if you want somthing more basic just let me know and i can tell you....
hope this helps...
regards.
chris.
to hot smoke all you need is a fire and some cordage and some sticks/branches, hazle is good for that but whatever you have really....
all you do is make a triangle frame like when you hang your pit from a chain or cord, make a lattice board to lay the fish on and attach it 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the frame, now cover the outside with spruce bows (or whatever you have, you could use an old thick sheet or denim material), this traps the smoke from the fire in the "CONE" shape at the top which smokes + cooks the fish, the advantage with this is that it can be used again and again, just place it over the fire with the fish/meat on the rack to cook and smoke.
if you want somthing more basic just let me know and i can tell you....
hope this helps...
regards.
chris.
A biscuit tin with a rack in it is a good place to start - sprinkle some hardwood chips in the bottom of the tin, put the rack over them, put the fish on the rack, put the lid on and place the whole thing on embers.
It's a good idea to have a way to remove the tin from the embers before you start or your fish will be a bit overdone by the time you figure something out (been there). Holes in the lid allow smoke out without allowing too much air in... holes in the bottom though, encourage too much combustion inside the tin and stuff gets a bit burnt. Too many or too hot embers and you'll char the fish, too little and there won't be any smoke Anything above about 50 degrees C will cook the fish though - it's a bit of a balancing act. You can moisten the woodchips a bit to keep them from flaring up.
Don't be tempted by softwood chips unless you're a really big fan of retsina
Cold smoking is much the same process, just without allowing the fish to get hot - usually the smoke is funneled or ducted from the firebox to a separate smokebox - temps need to be kept as close to room temperature or thereabouts to avoid the fish cooking instead of smoking.
Don't eat raw cold smoked freshwater fish as it can still harbour bacteria which would normally be killed by the cooking process.
It's a good idea to have a way to remove the tin from the embers before you start or your fish will be a bit overdone by the time you figure something out (been there). Holes in the lid allow smoke out without allowing too much air in... holes in the bottom though, encourage too much combustion inside the tin and stuff gets a bit burnt. Too many or too hot embers and you'll char the fish, too little and there won't be any smoke Anything above about 50 degrees C will cook the fish though - it's a bit of a balancing act. You can moisten the woodchips a bit to keep them from flaring up.
Don't be tempted by softwood chips unless you're a really big fan of retsina
Cold smoking is much the same process, just without allowing the fish to get hot - usually the smoke is funneled or ducted from the firebox to a separate smokebox - temps need to be kept as close to room temperature or thereabouts to avoid the fish cooking instead of smoking.
Don't eat raw cold smoked freshwater fish as it can still harbour bacteria which would normally be killed by the cooking process.
what Adze said is a really good way, and i total forgot about cooking temps so silly me...
i was thinking of bushcraftey ways though...
another way is to make a small fire reduce it to good hot embers, wrap your fish in a big doc leaf or burdock, then in layers of grass but not to tight.... put loads of moss onto the embers then put the fish on top and cover the whole lot with more moss or layers of green leaves or grass...
if you have enough moss you can just put the moss down onto the fire about 6-8 inches thick, put the fish straight on the moss then another lot on top, of course make sure the fish is hot enough, 63 deg C is ideal for eating and being safe....just make sure its solid and white the whole way through, if your not sure put your pinkey on or in it, if you yelp after a few seconds its done..
good luck and forget the piceys......
chris.
i was thinking of bushcraftey ways though...
another way is to make a small fire reduce it to good hot embers, wrap your fish in a big doc leaf or burdock, then in layers of grass but not to tight.... put loads of moss onto the embers then put the fish on top and cover the whole lot with more moss or layers of green leaves or grass...
if you have enough moss you can just put the moss down onto the fire about 6-8 inches thick, put the fish straight on the moss then another lot on top, of course make sure the fish is hot enough, 63 deg C is ideal for eating and being safe....just make sure its solid and white the whole way through, if your not sure put your pinkey on or in it, if you yelp after a few seconds its done..
good luck and forget the piceys......
chris.
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i was thinking of bushcraftey ways though...
Bushcraft? Ah... err... it was a wild biscuit tin that I harvested myself! I was going to use an ammo crate, but I couldn't catch one
On a slightly more serious note - one of the things I've always wanted to try is panassing a fish over an open fire - if it's just had a couple of handfuls of shaving dumped on it then it would probably qualify as hot smoking too.
greensurfingbear
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Bushcraft? Ah... err... it was a wild biscuit tin that I harvested myself! I was going to use an ammo crate, but I couldn't catch one
On a slightly more serious note - one of the things I've always wanted to try is panassing a fish over an open fire - if it's just had a couple of handfuls of shaving dumped on it then it would probably qualify as hot smoking too.
LMFAO.......
the mortar crates are the worst, they bite you know......
id just like to be able to afford fresh fish, im not much good at catching them, and people always take a dim view at fishing with grenades....
Set up fire. Let go to coals. Build tripod. Butterfly fish. Attach to uprights. Add green alder or maple to fire-you may even want to soak it in water first. Wrap tripod in canvas tarp. Be sure your tripod is well out beyond the edge of the firepit. Watch closely.
the way do it is as follows:
put the fish in a oven dish with 2 and a half cups of sugar and 2 a and a half cups of salt, making sure every bit of the fish is covered, pouring sugar and aslt in the belly as well and rubbing it into the flesh gently. then leave overnight. get a fire going, and put a hotpan over the top of it with the flames licking the bottom. on this hotpan (could be an old bakign tray, piece of steel, anything!) place your desired flavour of sawdust. my favourite is cherry, but any fruitwood sucha as apple or pear, or oak, can be used. a couple of handfulls usually does the job for 2 fish. over the top of this sawdust place a griddle, and on this griddle place your fish. then get a metal bucket or other large metal container (i use an old school canteen container) and place it upside down so that it covers fish and griddle. you can also use a similar method to this but instead of a griddle, drill holes in the bottom of a metal bucket, and put frame hanging hooks through them and simply hang the fish above the sawdust. time varies but i usually leave it for about half a day with a low fire, or until the trout have turned golden all over.
put the fish in a oven dish with 2 and a half cups of sugar and 2 a and a half cups of salt, making sure every bit of the fish is covered, pouring sugar and aslt in the belly as well and rubbing it into the flesh gently. then leave overnight. get a fire going, and put a hotpan over the top of it with the flames licking the bottom. on this hotpan (could be an old bakign tray, piece of steel, anything!) place your desired flavour of sawdust. my favourite is cherry, but any fruitwood sucha as apple or pear, or oak, can be used. a couple of handfulls usually does the job for 2 fish. over the top of this sawdust place a griddle, and on this griddle place your fish. then get a metal bucket or other large metal container (i use an old school canteen container) and place it upside down so that it covers fish and griddle. you can also use a similar method to this but instead of a griddle, drill holes in the bottom of a metal bucket, and put frame hanging hooks through them and simply hang the fish above the sawdust. time varies but i usually leave it for about half a day with a low fire, or until the trout have turned golden all over.
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