Mmmmmm... trout.

[NM_Shooter]

Just pulled three racks of trout fillets out of my smoker.  Found a great brine recipe, then applewood smoke for 3 hours.

I'd like to take a brief moment to thank my mom and dad for including taste buds in my genetic map.

[glenn kangiser]

Sounds good.  I haven't had smoked trout in years.  Sometimes I smoke cook it and that is great.

What'd you do for a smoker?

[NM_Shooter]

Well, I had big plans... I started out shopping for sheet metal and angle iron to build my own.  I gave that up when I priced out the materials at $100 for everything plus grills, vents, handles, hinges, and that did not include the burner.

Then I started looking for a box I could use.  I tried to negotiate my way into grabbing my wife's old upright filing cabinet.  I had plans to turn the drawers into sliding grill surfaces.  She did not acquiesce. 

So I said to heck with it and bought this one from Lowe's. 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_274668-53719-GS-2001_4294857758_4294937087?productId=1078331&pl=1&currentURL=/pl_Smokers_4294857758_4294937087_?cm_cr=Grills and Outdoor Cooking-_-Web Activity-_-Grills and Outdoor Cooking_A1_Activity-_-SC_Grills  Outdoor Cooking_Area1-_-17658_4

Works great... I have the same thermometer problem as everybody else though... it reads 50 deg too high.  It does a good job of maintaining temperature, although I am looking for a way to make it a double door so I can add wood and water without opening up the top. 

I have a plan to make a mini-smoker for my cabin out of an old PC chassis

[glenn kangiser]

Cool.  I every so often think about putting a smoker over the stack area where the stove pipe exits from the underground cabin.  It could work great as the pipe exits through the ground and the smoke is already pretty cool.

On second thought  there is a lot of creosote collected there, but I guess the meat wouldn't be there for the full duration of the heating season, eh? 

[NM_Shooter]

In case anybody cares...

Here's a recipe I used for the brine. It is pretty close to many that you can find on the internet. It was not too salty.

Mix together:
3C water
2 TBS coarse salt like sea salt
1.5 TBS cajun seasoning, Tony Chachere's or similar
2 TBS of brown sugar

This will cover 4lbs or so of fish.

I had a bunch of trout that I caught this summer 1 to 2lb live weight, and when I cleaned them I left the skin on and split them down the middle. I'm not talented enough to fillet out the bones on small trout, so they stayed in. I think this recipe would be great for whitefish, Tilapia or Salmon. The more consistent the meat thickness the better, but you gotta work with what you have.

I soaked the fish in the brine solution overnight. Pat dry with paper towels, and place on lightly oiled rack skin side down. Smoker fired up with very low heat... only 150 degrees for the first hour to set the top of the flesh. Then 90 minutes at ~225 deg, and rotate your racks halfway through to keep the cooking as even as possible. The tails will get dried out a little, but it has a texture like jerky and is still good!

I really like the applewood best, as it is a light flavor. Make sure you soak it good before using!