What kind of fish do you smoke, thickness, temp, kinds of wood, etc?
801,
I live in S. Florida so Kingfish is readily available and one of my favorites. Kingfish is part of the mackerel family and is oily and stands up to smoking.
Here's how I prepare it. First, I use a steak that is at least 1 inch thick, preferably even more. I use a very simple brine. Per quart of water use 2 rounded tablespoons of sea salt, and 1 teaspoon each of garlic and onion powder. Let it stand for 5 minutes so everything gets dissolved and use it as a brine for the fish. Either put in in a glass dish, or even better a plastic bag and let it marinate for at least 3 hours and preferably overnight in the refrigerator.
When you're ready to smoke it, take it from the brine and rinse it briefly in fresh water, then dry it with a paper towel. I coat the steak with a thin coating of EVO and a simple rub, applied SPARINGLY, of kosher salt and pepper. I use 2 medium chunks of maple as my wood and substitute hickory when I can't find maple. I put the cold plate in the SI #2 with the drip pan on top of it filled to the brim with ice cubes.
Set the Auber PID to come on at 200° for 18 minutes (.3 setting) which is enough to ignite the wood. Turn off the heat and just let the smoke permeate the cold fish for about 20-25 minutes. Then, turn the heat back on for .2 (12 minutes) to reignite the wood, shut the heat off for another 20-25 minutes. Open the smoker and remove the cold plate and drip pan, close it back up and raise the temperature to 225° and cook the Kingfish until it's internal temperature is 140°.
Remove the fish from the smoker and let it cool for about 15 minutes. Remove the skin and flake and debone the fish into a bowl. I then add a stick or two of finely chopped celery and about 2 tablespoons of well chopped red onion. Add 1/3 cup of Hellman's Mayonaise (adjust the mayo for how moist you want the fish salad) and mix well. You should NOT need any additional salt or seasoning, but certainly taste and correct any seasoning you think it may need. In my experience it has plenty of taste without any additional salt or pepper. Put it back in the refrigerator for storage. In a good container it will last at least two weeks. (The salt acts as a preservative.)
Good luck, and enjoy!