COOL SMOKE  - how to dry cure fish

This is a Masterclass in how to DRY CURE FISH for those that have never cured and cold smoked fish.  Its designed to give you an understanding of the process and give you all you need to know to get you curing your fish with  consistent results, and the confidence to try variations and the endless possibilities of curing and smoke flavours.   This process applies to fish, meat and game and is for enthusiasts and chefs.

Curing the fish, is the critical first step prior to cold or hot smoking.   We recommend DRY CURE for consistent results and this guide will give you everything you need to know to dry cure your fish, and also explain cold and hot smoking process.  For a step by step guide to COLD SMOKING, see our next masterclass on cold smoking, which explains this process in detail.

We are self obsessed fishing and cold smoking and cooking freaks! We love it, and there is no better sense of satisfaction than sharing something you have caught, lovingly cured and smoked, then used in an amazing meal to share with mates or family!

1.Explanation of cold smoking and hot smoking

2. The benefits of cold smoking 

2. Curing

3. Cold smoking

4. Step by step guide to dry curing fish

5. Step by step guide to cold smoking fish

6. Other information resources

COLD & HOT SMOKING EXPLAINED

Before refrigeration and freezing, salt curing, drying and smoking was an essential way of preserving, fish and meat.  Salt was so important to preserving food it was worth more than its weight in gold!  Thankfully curing, drying and smoking techniques can be used to not only preserve meat, but to transform it into an endless array of culinary products.   Even with the advent of vacuum packaging and freezing, you will find that cured and cold smoked fish will store frozen for many many months without any loss of quality due to its exceptionally low moisture content.

Similar to making wine or bread, there are endless approaches, which can be confusing and overwhelming.  The techniques here will give you consistent and exceptional results, and the confidence to develop your techniques further and further.  Think of it like making a Cabernet Savion, or a merlot or a champagne, or Chardonay, the process differs, but they are all fantastic in their own right.

Hot Smoking - Both Hot and Cold smoking involve first salt curing the fish.   Hot smoking involves smoking fish, or meat whilst also cooking it with heat.  Anything over about 30 C/86 F and usually around 150°F (66°C) to 170°F (77°C), and hotter for beef.   Hot smoked fish is smoked for a shorter time to optimise the cooking time. Hot smoking can yield some fantastic results with fish (and other meats), and can be done in any BBQ, 44 gallon drum, converted beer keg……. Just about anything that will handle the heat and contain the smoke!  Your COOL SMOKE generator is the perfect companion to attach to your hot smoker such as BBQ.  You will achieve fantastic hot smoke results using the same dry cure technique as for the cold smoke explained below.    

Cold Smoking is most often at temperatures below 15C/59F, but ideally around 4C/39F.  Particularly in warm climates such as Australia, where ambient temperatures may be well over 30C, there are significant food safety and quality control advantages to smoking in a temperature controlled environment such as a working fridge.   In the cold smoking process the curing process provides most of the preservation, whilst the cold smoke stage provides an amazing aromatic smoke flavour, and some additional preservation.   Cold smoking allows for a longer smoke time, often 24 hours or longer which can really impart beautiful and complex Smokey aromas, whilst the fish retains a silky smooth texture.  Hot smoking is usually shorter which can limit the ability to get smoke flavours into your fish (and meats) Curing and cold smoking is a similar process to traditional ham, and of course cold smoked salmon!  

Benefits of cold smoking: Without a doubt, cold smoked fish and meat is a premium value added product, that offers an exceptional alternative to give you some variety to your fresh fish.   

Another benefit is that cold smoking elevates pelagic species (considered by some as not premium) into exceptional eating alternatives to your snapper, red emperor, trout and fingermark!   Spanish and spotted mackerel, kingfish and Amberjack, yellowfin and bluefin tuna (any tuna!), cobia, trevally, queen fish, Marlin and wahoo!!!

Cold smoked fish can be used in ceviche, in pasta, on a sourdough bruschetta, in a smoked fish pate, as a Capaccio or just on its own ideally with a couple of icy cold beers!  The COOL SMOKE members area has some inspiring recipes that will make you the talk of any back yard barbie or dinner party!......... “What???  So you caught, smoked and cooked this incredible fish???”

Salt! The cure is a critical part of the smoking process.  Curing fish (or meat) involves using salt (either dry or as a brine) to remove moisture from the fish, enhance the flavour, and firm up the flesh.  You’ll be surprised how much liquid comes out of the fish during the curing process, and this greatly increases its shelf life. 

Curing can be either ‘wet’ in a brine solution or ‘dry’ in a mix of salt and sugar.  Both approaches work, but I have found the dry approach more consistent, and less likely to result in too salty fish.  

Properly cured and vacuum sealed fish will last a month in the fridge and over 9 months in the freezer, although I only leave my cured fish a couple of days in the fridge and freeze for longer storage to maintain absolute optimum quality.  

We recommend you vacuum seal your cured cold smoked fish to optimise the quality and greatly extend the preservation time.  We have two quality vacume sealers available, both with best in class vacuum pressures of – 95 Kpa, double seal, moisture trap (important for fish) 

>>>>> SHOP VACUME SEALERS <<<<<<

The curing process involves salt, as well as an infinite combination of herbs, spices, flavours:  Brown sugar, agar, maple syrup, honey, tequilla, gin, dill, coriander, beetroot, pepper, chillie, lemon and orange zest, soy sauce, miso.  Traditional Scandanavian gravlax salmon is cured salmon often with gin, dill, beetroot, salt, brown sugar, and Lox is a cured and cold smoked salmon.   Cured fish, such as mackerel, tuna, bonito, marlin, kingfish can be eaten or used in recipes just cured, or, cold smoked for extra flavour.

As well as curing the fish, as mentioned above, the curing stage can be used to impart an infinite range of flavours into your fish.  Scandinavian Gravlax and Lox use the curing process to cure and flavour the salmon and the fish is eaten cured.  Herbs, spices, aromatics, alcohol all work well ………. Your imagination can really run wild to infuse some incredible flavour into your cured fish.   

Good article on Gravlax and Lox: 

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/gravlax-vs-lox-explained

TIP:  I strongly recommend following our simple 50/50 salt brown sugar cure mix first, getting the process dialled in, then playing with cure recipes.  This will allow you to really perfect the cure with different types and sized fish and cure times with minimal variables. .   You can still add flavours when you use your cold smoked fish in recipes.  The members area has some exceptional dry cure recipes when you are feeling inspired.

The other big benefit to curing and cold smoking fish is its easier than processing fresh fish!  Getting home from a day on the water, usually with a pre dawn start, Im exhausted. Processing fish into portions and vacuum packaging everything takes a lot of time and energy.   Surprisingly, knocking the fillets off and into a tub, sprinkled with sugar/salt is so much easier!  Then its in the fridge for 24 to 36 hours.  Ill then shake and wash the salt off, and leave it in the fridge for another day or two while its cold smokes till I get time to process it.  This gives me time to portion it down anytime I get a sec in the next few days, rather than when Im busted from a days fishing!  

The fish fillets can sit in the fridge for a day or two before adding the salt/sugar cure (although this only literally takes a couple of minutes, and I do it immediately), the cure then takes 24/36/48 hours depending on the fillet size (this process is somewhat forgiving and if you go half a day over, its usually ok), then the fillets can sit in the fridge another few days while yu do a 6, 12 or 24 hour cold smoke (depending on flavour preference)

This is the other big benefit of setting up a fridge cold smoker:  The cure and the smoking all happen in the fridge, at a cool 4C!  

STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO DRY CURE FISH

Equipment:

Fridge:  See our guide to setting up a fridge cold smoker.  Working old fridge from marketplace, should cost you about $50 to $80!  I usually take the vege trays out, and remove some of the shelves as required.   I made up a wire rack for the very top shelf, and I can hang fillets for smoking later.   I like the fridges with the freezer underneath as the fridge is a bit higher so you aren’t bending down.  And, you can use the bottom freezer for extra fish storage, for making ice or chilling beer!

Cure tubs:  Measure the inside of your fridge, and buy 2 – 4 plastic stacking tubs that fit nicely in your fridge.  Kmart and Bunnings have heaps to choose from.  I drill a couple of 10mm holes in the tubs. Leave the bottom one without a hole, and its just to catch all the water that drains out.  The tubs mean your fish is dry curing, and not sitting in a heavy brine solution, causing it to become too salty, specially the thinner parts of the fillet.

Cooking Salt, Brown Sugar, stainless steel meat hooks

>>>>>>> AD TO CART  <<<<<<<<<<<<

Dry Cure fish – step by step

Brain spike, bleed and ice slurry your fish immediately upon capture.  Fillet your fish.  I always gut at sea, being careful not to puncture the gut or bile (to optimise quality and minimise any bacteria), and wash in iced salt water. I use quality 316 stainless steel kitchen sheers to ensure I never puncture the gut cavity, which helps to preserve the fish at optimum quality, and minimize any bacteria. 

>>>>>>> AD TO CART  <<<<<<<<<<<<

TIP.  NEVER, EVER, EVER wet or wash your filets.  This will greatly reduce the quality of your fish, speed up spoilage and cause minute ice crystals when freezing, and negatively impact cooking as oil and water don’t mix.   

1. Fish 1 to 7 kg just leave the fillet whole. Fish 10kg plus cut the central bone/blood line out (splitting the fillet from head to tail into two.  Don’t worry about skinning or taking the ribs out at this stage.  Just quick and easy!  See cure times table below!

2. Rub the skin with a bit of salt, then place in in your cure tub onto a bed of 5 - 10mm salt.  

3. Rub the flesh with brown sugar and cover it with about 1cm thick of the 50/50 salt brown sugar mix.  Make sure the thick parts of the fillet have lots of mixture, and the edges and towards the tail don’t have much.  As the moisture seeps out and runs down the flesh, these bits will still get cured, but not get too salty!  Rub a bit of mix on the flesh were you cut the fillet lengthways too.

4. You can stack several layers of fillets or 1 layer per plastic tub and just stack the tubs inside each other.

5. Grab a icy cold beer, sit down, you’ve earnt it mate!  

6. Shake the salt off, and give each fillet a 20 second spray under the tap or hose.  Pat each fillet dry with paper towel, and hang/place on a rack in the fridge.  I don’t place it in a tub as the bottom/skin can stay moist, and you are trying to dry the fish at this point.  

7. Dry it for an hour or a few days.  If its going to be more than half a day, I put a tea towel over the fish to stop the edges too dry and allowing it to dry evenly.  Ideally the fish creates a ‘penicile’, which is a tacky glazed coating on the fish.  This helps the smoke flavours attach and infuse into the fish. Ensure the fish doesn’t dry out too much on the edges

   
   

NEXT……….  See our  Masterclass on cold smoking fish