In article , PeeWee
wrote:

Also plenty of Mullet in the Mersey just on the turn of the tide,but, alas
they are tricky buggers to catch.

But great fun.

Derek, you mentioned a smoker, been after one for quite a while now, any
recommendations?

TBH the best ones are generally home made. There are some small portable
hot smokers that you can take to the beach and use to make a snack on the
spot (Not really smoking as usually done. Just cooking in smoke, which is
different.) For medium quantities a barbecue with a lid is as good as
anything. If you just want enough for one meal you can get by with a lidded
wok on the stove at a pinch as long as you keep the kitchen window open.

All you need is a gentle heat source toasting hardwood chips (NO softwood,
trust me.) and a grid to keep the fish off the direct heat. The lid is not
strictly necessary but without it you'll waste an awful lot of smoke.

The really important part of the process is the brining - get that right and
you are unlikely to go wrong. Fillet your fish into brine asap. We've even
gone so far as to prepare a bucket of brine on the boat and fillet the fish
into it as they're caught. You only need half the salt that way as you mix
with seawater too. Brine strength is right if it'll float an egg. The
fillets should come out of the brine smaller than they went in.

After half an hour or so brining depending on the recipie and the size of
the fillets you -must- dry them, Air dry them so the surface glazes and
then just stick them in hardwood smoke to taste.

Once the fish is brined you have loads of time in hand, it won't deteriorate
unless you are careless. You can leave the smoking for a couple of days if
you like.

Cold smoking is a bit trickier but you can start with the same brine.

A starter brine recipie - adjust to suit, everyone has their own secret
variation:

Equal parts cooking salt and dark brown sugar. Add plenty of black pepper
and (optional) I always smash a clove of garlic into it. Bag this, it'll
keep forever.
Put as much seawater (use extra salt if using freshwater) as required in
bucket and stir in mixture until aforementioned egg floats.
Add secret ingredients ;-)

You can put several batches through the same brine so if you are doing a lot
of fish check the strength of the brine every now and then and add more mix
if needed.

Cheerio,

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