Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => The Fish Kitchen => Topic started by: Apennock on August 16, 2015, 08:56:53 PM
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I'm hoping to smoke some pink salmon this year but a smoker is a little out of the budget right now. I have read a few article on cold smoking using a propane BBQ and I was wondering: has anyone on here done this? Is there a difference in quality between fish smoked on a BBQ vs. a proper smoker?
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I have hot smoked on a bbq (essentially baking in smoke) but don't know how you would cold smoke in it as it gets too hot inside. You would need a way to channel (dryer conduit works great) the smoke from the bbq to a container holding the fish (ie: small bar fridge) which allows the smoke to cool before it gets to the smoking chamber (cold smoke).
That said, hot smoking pinks on the bbq is still very tasty. I pack my fillets in brown sugar for a few hours to draw out the moisture. I then fill a foil packet with wet wood chips (soak them at least an hour so they do not burn too fast). I make the foil packet large enough to cover the entire grill so the flames never make contact with the fish itself. I heat the chips until they begin smoking, then I open the bbq to cool the chamber Down and lower the heat to minimum needed to keep chips burning. I then place the fish on wire cooling racks over a foul lined cookie sheet. Then let it smoke for about 1/2 to 1 hour. The bbq will easily get over the 80 degrees F that is the definition of cold smoking (usually around 300-400 degrees depending on the heat needed to keep the Chips burning), so it is essentially baking the salmon in the smoke.
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Make your own smoker.
It can be as simple as a hotplate and a cardboard box or a fire and a tarp.
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I used my bbq as a smoker when the burner rusted out. Very practical. Worked great and then you find that you only have room for one bbq on your deck so the old smoker gets the boot.
Take the old burner out and dump out the accumulated crap in the bottom.
Put in a hotplate - lots of holes already there for the cord to go.
Old heavy pie tin for the wood chips and you're good to go. You can place a tin foil drip cap over the chips if you wanted to but I never bothered.
Now I wish I had some fresh smoked salmon. dang it.