This is part three of a three part post. Be sure to continue to the other posts for the full process.
Continued from yesterday……
This part of the process takes the most time. Be ready for a long day to monitor the smoking process and adjust as needed.
I pull the fish out of the brine, drain and put on racks to dry for an hour or so. I do not rinse the meat like some others do. Let dry long enough for the liquid to start to form a glaze on the top.
You don’t need high heat. 110-130 is perfect if you are using a smokehouse or smoker that you can regulate the temp. I use a traeger and the average smoke temp is about 150. For me, it is perfect for a set it and forget it setup. I have not had any complaints. 🙂 Smoke for a minimum of 6-8 hours, but time can vary quite a bit depending on outside temps. During the colder winter months, I have to wrap an insulated blanket around my traeger to keep it from getting too cold on smoke mode and shutting off. There is a learning curve in determining when it is done as the fish is moist and not dry. It will usually bubble some fat up and get flaky. I know by touch. I try to put like thickness pieces together so I can take individual racks out when they are done and leave the others. I use hickory pellets in my traeger and the flavor is pretty tasty. You can use any flavor wood of your choice.
When done, remove from the smoker and let rest. At this point, it is extremely difficult for me to resist snacking. 🙂
I put the finished product in a container and refrigerate over night before vac-u-sealing and freezing.