- Aug 1, 2008
- 8
- 10
I am new to smoking (6 cooks total on my WSM so far) and especially to smoking fish. I just picked up some nice-looking trout and want to try smoking them. Everything I've read here starts with brining the fish. Why brine fish before smoking?
And then there is the pellicle--what purpose does it serve and if I don't brine the fish, do I need to have a pellicle form?
And, is it possible to smoke trout and not have them turn out leathery? I have whole fish and didn't plan on filleting them. Fillets seem more likely to get like fish jerky, which is NOT what I want.
Or maybe, if I don't want fish with that pliable texture, I should just grill them and forget the smoking?
thanks for any help or suggestions!
And then there is the pellicle--what purpose does it serve and if I don't brine the fish, do I need to have a pellicle form?
And, is it possible to smoke trout and not have them turn out leathery? I have whole fish and didn't plan on filleting them. Fillets seem more likely to get like fish jerky, which is NOT what I want.
Or maybe, if I don't want fish with that pliable texture, I should just grill them and forget the smoking?
thanks for any help or suggestions!