How to Smoke Fish

Learn how to smoke fish at home with this delicious, smoky, melt-in-your-mouth smoked fish recipe. Smoking fish was never easier!

During the summer months, I catch and smoke a lot of fish up here in North Dakota. It starts with paddlefish snagging season near Williston on May 1. Then I'll stay closer our home in Fargo and target walleye, crappie, catfish, and freshwater drum. In August, I'll head west again to Lake Sakakawea to try and catch salmon.

And nothing brings out all the natural flavors of fish like some time in a good smoker. This hot smoked fish recipe requires some extra effort but it's definitely worth your time.

Best Fish For Smoking

Here you'll learn how to choose the best fish for smoking and how to get the perfect cook.

The texture of the fish is extremely important when smoking. You want to choose a fish with firm, dense flesh that can withstand smoking without falling apart. Smoking fish with higher oil content produce a richer and more flavorful end result. Some great choices I've personally experimented with include salmon, trout, bass, catfish, and paddlefish (I used for this recipe).

Thin pieces of fish usually cook too quickly and dry out, while very thick pieces might take too long to smoke evenly. Choose fish portions that have a consistent thickness for even smoking. I like to go with a fillet that is about 1-inch to 1 ½-inches thick.

This smoked fish recipe will work with as little as 8 ounces of fish, all the way up to 4 pounds of fish.

Smoked Fish Brine

This smoked fish recipe is for hot smoking, so you need to brine it first. The kosher salt used in this brine works its magic and draws out the moisture from the fish which helps intensify the flavor and season the fish all at the same time. Don't be tempted to use regular iodized table salt, as it contains iodide and anti-caking agents that will give your fish an unpleasant flavor.

This smoked fish brine recipe is designed to infuse the fish with a little bit of the sweetness from the brown sugar. It is amazingly tasty for how simple it is. 

Here’s what you need to make this smoked fish brine:

- 4 cups cool water

- ⅓ cup Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt

- ¾ cup brown sugar

How to Smoke Fish

1. In a medium bowl, make the brine by whisking together the water, kosher salt, and brown sugar. Place your fish in the bowl with the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.

2. Take your fish out of the brine, rinse it under cool running water, and pat it dry with paper towels. Set the fish fillets, skin side down, on a cooling rack on top of a rimmed baking sheet. Place the fish in the refrigerator, uncovered, for at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). You want the fish to dry out in order to form a sticky layer on the outside, called a pellicle. This will help the smoke cling to the fish.

3. Preheat your smoker to 150 degrees F. Don't try to rush the process and set the temperature any higher! If you've ever smoked or baked fish at a higher temperature, you may have had it "bleed" an unpleasant looking white, creamy substance, that congeals on the top of the fillet. This is NOT good. The pellicle that just formed from drying the fish in the refrigerator, as well as smoking at a low temperature, will prevent this from happening. The low and slow smoking process allows the fish to absorb the smoky flavor while retaining moisture and tenderness.

4. Add your choice of wood chips to the smoker. Popular wood chips include alder, hickory, apple, cherry, and oak. Most folks don't appreciate the strong flavor of mesquite, but my wife and I are huge fans, so I used mesquite wood chips when making this recipe. Don't be afraid to experiment with whatever wood chips you prefer.

5. Remove the fish from the refrigerator and brush the fish with some olive oil so it won't stick to the smoker rack. Place the fish, skin side down on the smoker rack for one hour, then finish at 180 degrees F for the last hour or two. 

6. After an hour in the smoker, baste the fish with honey or maple syrup. North Dakota is the No. 1 honey-producing state in the nation, so I prefer using some of the locally sourced honey we get from friends every year. Baste the fish with honey about every 45 minutes until the fish is done.

7. Once your fish is smoked for a total of about 3 to 4 hours and reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees F, let it rest on a cooling rack at room temperature for 30 minutes. Enjoy warm or chilled.

How to Store Smoked Fish

To store smoked fish, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil to minimize exposure to air.

Then, place it in an airtight container or Ziploc bag and store it in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

For extended storage, you can vacuum seal and freeze smoked fish for up to 3 months. You might find other smoked fish recipes that tell you it's ok to freeze your smoked fish for up to a year, but I've experimented with 3 months, 6 months, all the way up to one year, and the quality just isn't the same after 3 months.

More of Our Favorite Fish Recipes

Fish is one of my wife's favorite dishes for me to prepare for her when she comes home from work to join me for lunch. If you’re looking for another delicious fish recipe from Wild Game & Fish, check out some of our favorites below:

• Mediterranean Fish Salad
• Coconut Crusted Fish
• Lahori Fish
• Lemon Butter Baked Fish
• Fish Pozole
• Pickled Northern Pike

Come to North Dakota to Catch Fish

If you would like to visit North Dakota and catch some fish, check out details at the North Dakota Game & Fish Department website.

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