Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

There are other threads here about smokeing trout, thourt I would share how I do it


Now I use a Weber grill - I used to smoke a lot of stuff in a big oven with my old man when I was a teenager.

First I prepare the fish, when it's fresh like the one I smoked today I just add salt and let it "dry" in the sun for a hour or two.

When frosen I would dump the fish into a salt solution of 100 gram salt, 10 gram sugar and 1 Liter of water and let the fish defrost in this over night, minimum 6 hours! (1 liter to 1 kg fish)



I mainly use Birch tree for smokeing as I love the strong flavor it gives, apple and pear tree is also very nice. Oak will give a much smoother flavor, not nearly as "smoked" as Birch.

I chop some small peices of seasoned wood, that have been dryed for a few years. Some of it I turn into wood chips with a plane tool, takes me 5 min give or take. I enjoy it and it's cheaper, then buying sawdust for smokeing.


You will need:

A weber or another closed grill or smoke oven.

Trouth



Some beers - THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - it's not the same if you don't drink a few cold once!


Birch tree - wood chips and sticks


5 heat beats - when they are all gray, they are ready. Don't rush this, sit down and drink one of the beers


When the heatbeats are fully lit, I cloes the bottom vent in the Weber and place a good handfull chips and another good handfull sticks over the heatbeats. Place the lit with closed vents on the grill, to kill the flames from the chips.

Put the grill and fish into the weber


Open the vent in the lit and let it smoke


Now open another beer and sit down and enjoy your work, depending on the size of your fish and how thirsty you are. This step will last 1-2 beers (or 30-60 minutes) I like a good smoked flavor, so I gave this 740 gram trout 60 minutes.

After about 30 min, I add more wood chips n' sticks and opens another cold beer!


1 hour in the weber and it's done



5 min later


Toast with smoked trout, organic mayo and red onions, salt and pepper!




There is no need for tin foil and stuff like that, not when your smokeing like this. The tinfoil is normaly used to "block" the heat from the heat beats, but I do it the old school way so tinfoil is not needed. The flavor from real wood is much better, compared to useing charcoal or heatbeats - atleas I think so

It's very easy just take your time, relax and have a few cold once while you smoke you fish. Don't leave and forget it, as you will need to check on it and keep the smoke comeing and kille the flames if there should come too much oxygen to the "fire".

Looks good Pali

I am guessing I could smoke fish in my weber Q. Run the outside burner and turn off the middle one. Put a sheet of foil over the middle and put fish on roasting rack on the foil. Then put one or two foil bags of wood chips over the outside burner.
Might buy a fish and give it a go this weekend

could this be done with sawdust, say in a tray sitting on top of the webber beads perhaps?

@gnash06 Thanx - It tastes good too


@mantis Give it a try - I have no expiriance with gas grills, I don't know if the butane flame will burn the wood chips too fast or not. Maybe you can just turn the burner off after the wood is ignited, it's all about controlling the oxygen flow to the "fire" and keep it smouldering.


@coopa Forshure you can use sawdust.
I would line the sawdust in the tray and just light the sawdust inside the tray, no need for heat beats. Add a lit og rubbing alch to one end of the sawdust and light it, then it will burn slowly from one end to the other.

Sry for my english, I hope you understand my meaning of line the sawdust. If you make a pile, it will easy burn to quick. It might take a few try's to get the right amount, but sawdust is a good option for smokeing.

When you say birch which birch do you mean?

Being from a science background I'd love a species name rather than a common name.

@Stuart Chignell Awsome question

I use Betula pendula (Silver Birch) as it's very common here and often used as a nusing tree, so it's very accessible and pretty cheap to buy compared to it's good quality as fire wood. Also commonly used for landscapeing in gardens and parks, because it's fast growing and a very pretty tree - if you don't have pollen allergies that is.

Tho I don't belive the flavor from the smokeing will change significant from one type of birch to another, it's a good question and I should have mentioned it as it's a AUS forum and im in Europe.

I've got about 10 500mm x 35mm x 2500mm slabs from a silver birch. Saved a bunch of the off cuts for fire wood so I'll put some aside for smoking.

Silver birch is very common down our way Pali. They are not drought tolerent it has been found out in the last 12 years
I am sure I could find one that has been dead for a couple of years and snap a branch off
Dunno why but some folks leave them in their gardens even though they are long dead. Still look good with the white bark for a while I suppose

Thanks for the useful info Pali

regards

Matt

If they are of any reasonable size and solid they are a great looking timber to have milled. Full of really interesting figure and a real mix of pale colours with dark highlights.

Bought a trout and tried the weber Q and it worked a treat.
Set it up with the rack on some silver foil like doing a roast. Made two foil pouches and put some hickory pellets in them
Turned on both burners on high till the wood started smoking, then added fish and turned off middle burner and outer one to low
420g trout done in 30min

nice one

Hey during the smoking process, is there suppose to be visible smoke coming out from the sides of the weber??

Yep ! You need the smoke to be constantly moving or your product turns out bitter. So if it's coming out, that means it's moving well !