# Flounder...



## SonnyE (Mar 8, 2018)

Pacific Wild Caught...
What I call my Plastic Fish, because it is processed and flash frozen on the ship. Skinless, once you remove the plastic vacuum bag. 
Anyway, thought I'd try some after my cod disaster.
So I have it in now for a two hour test smoke.
Rather thin, small pieces, but fine for my experimenting. Just 3 little pieces.
May become Flounder Jerky... :confused:

Pellical formed...







In Ya Go....






I'll check back with Ya... :)


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## normonster (Mar 8, 2018)

lol @ flounder jerky.  haha. I want some. Spicy please.  :)


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## SonnyE (Mar 8, 2018)

normonster said:


> lol @ flounder jerky.  haha. I want some. Spicy please.  :)



Well, after what I did to that sack of Cod, I'm stickin my nose in more this time.
I just want smoky, and I'll Sous Vide it afterwards.
So far, so good... :( :eek:


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## SonnyE (Mar 8, 2018)

And after 2 1/2 hours, I pulled it. Still moist.
Letting it rest for now.







Step one. :rolleyes:


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## Bearcarver (Mar 8, 2018)

Looks good so far---Be Back for the Grand Finale!:cool:

Bear


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## SmokinAl (Mar 9, 2018)

It will make great smoked fish dip!
Al


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## SonnyE (Mar 9, 2018)

SmokinAl said:


> It will make great smoked fish dip!
> Al



Great Idea, Al!
I've done that with smoked Salmon and it was delish.
May try it with this. The pieces are rather meager as they come out of the package, and thin.
My initial taste test was disappointing though. :(
I got this to work with, I reckon there is more work to do. ;)


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## cmayna (Mar 9, 2018)

SonnyE,
I guess my question is what type of smoked fish dish were you making? and more importantly, expecting?  An  entrée which would be pretty moist? Finger food which is pretty smoked for a long time like Salmon candy or nuggets?  Per your pics, looks nice filets to serve as an entrée.  To me, most white fish (Halibut, Sturgeon, Rock and Ling Cod) is pretty moist unless you smoke it in small pieces and over a long period.  Agree with Al that what we see would make wonderful fish dip.


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## SonnyE (Mar 9, 2018)

cmayna said:


> SonnyE,
> I guess my question is what type of smoked fish dish were you making? and more importantly, expecting?  An  entrée which would be pretty moist? Finger food which is pretty smoked for a long time like Salmon candy or nuggets?  Per your pics, looks nice filets to serve as an entrée.  To me, most white fish (Halibut, Sturgeon, Rock and Ling Cod) is pretty moist unless you smoke it in small pieces and over a long period.  Agree with Al that what we see would make wonderful fish dip.



My thoughts was to Sous Vide it after smoking. But not real happy with the first 3. Too dry. But they could make a fish dip. I've made smoked Salmon dip before and it was loved by fish liking friends.

These are rather tiny. I counted today when getting 3 more for a cold smoke tonight, there are _*14*_ in a 3 pound bag. You might say, floundering in Flounder. And my intent was to experiment with them and find my way.

I did a cold smoke test run today with my smoker to see how things would go. It went well, very well.
So I thawed 3 more, did a dry brine for 5 hours, and have them pellical forming right now for a cold smoke overnight with Hickory and Alder. My aim is smoked, soft, fish. At price point below Salmon.

I'm wondering if I should put water in the bowl. There won't be any heat. But maybe water could hold the moisture up.
Our humidity right now is 41%. I've never added water to any smoker before.

If I was trying to make fish jerky, this stuff would be ready. It's sliced that thin. Flounder babies...


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## SonnyE (Mar 10, 2018)

Alright, we are getting somewhere now.
So after nurse-maiding a load of fuel that wouldn't stay lit for 2 hours, I dumped it in my pan. Then loaded what I knew would be dry and would stay lit.
Then put some Hickory on top of that and torched it. Put it together, and went to bed, it was 11 PM.
This morning woke up to 3 pieces of moist, well smoked Flounder. And still TBS coming off the stack. I did put drinking water in my pan, although as cold as things were, I don't think it made any difference.
I did take a finger taste and I think it's good. Has a sprinkle of my home made rub on it.
But success. Now to Sous Vide some for the Coup de Grau!

Looks like this:





	

		
			
		

		
	
 (The left piece is actually in a bag)

The bounty...





	

		
			
		

		
	
 (Size reference, 1 gallon Ziploc bag)
Into the Fridge to rest.

Oh, and the particulars,
Dry brined in 1 to 4 Sea Salt/Brown Sugar for 4-5 hours. Turned and swished about 2 hours in.
Rinsed in cold running water, and patted dry with paper towels.
Racked on a oiled smoker mat on a rack and fan pelicallized in 50 degree night air (41% RH).
After 2 hours, sprinkled with my home made rub (for flavor), and in for a long slow cold smoke overnight. Total smoke time was 10 hours.
And it is still soft and moist.

I might get the hang of this yet. :rolleyes:


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## red sled (Mar 11, 2018)

looks yummy. May I ask if you are happy with the Flounder in general, or not ?  Would you consider it a good choice for a main dish ?  I really like fish... especially from the smoker.


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## SonnyE (Mar 11, 2018)

red sled said:


> looks yummy. May I ask if you are happy with the Flounder in general, or not ?  Would you consider it a good choice for a main dish ?  I really like fish... especially from the smoker.



So far Yes. It was 1/2 the price of Salmon, so cheap enough for me to experiment with. $12.49 for 3 pounds (14 pcs in my bag)
I just wrecked the first 3, which aren't entirely wrecked. Just a bit too dry to use as they are.
My goal is to get the smoky Yum. Then finish Sous Vide.

My wife hates fish, she had a tragic introduction at 7 YO. So she doesn't tolerate much "fish smell" in the house. 
Sous Vide (new to me) is great! By the time you smell it, it smells wonderful and you are enjoying it. So it's perfect for our home.

I used Bear's Recipe for my last Salmon batch and OH! *So* GOOD! I added a pinch of Dill and a very light dampening of Lemon Juice and Vacuum bagged.
Yesterday and the day before I had Salmon for my dinner. (The Mrs. is again dieting.) Rice with Butter and Honey.
But the Bear's Recipe Salmon was SO good Sous Vide to 170°!
I have it up my sleeve to make a batch of Bear's Brine, jar it, and use it in my small batches. Bear thought I probably could.
Craig pointed me to another brine to try as well. One he and his wife enjoy.
I just have a very hard time pouring excess brine down the drain, so I'd like to jar it, then dole it out for my small batch ways. If possible...

I had to back up to my old tried and true dry brine, cut the time in brine, then cold smoked over night to get the flesh to stay soft. I did a finger touch taste test and liked what I tasted so far.
The dry brine mixture I like is a 1 to 4. 1 part salt, 4 parts Brown Sugar. For my small batch I did 1/2 cup sugar/ 1/8 cup (2 TBS) Sea Salt. I try and get a less salty taste, and work with my Dr. orders. It was plenty for my small batch.
But these Flounder pieces are thin and delicate. Not 'manly' portions at all. I would suggest probably two fillets per plate. (They average ~ 3.48 Oz. each, in my example.)
Or maybe a single for those less crazy about fish.

I have to buy my fish. So I tend to rely on the flash frozen packaged fish. It seems very good to me. And more consistent over slabs of "fresh" fillet. I believe Fresh takes well to liquid brining, and frozen like I tend to buy takes better to dry brining, but my jury is still out. Every day is a new day to experiment.
The 'Plastic Fish', as I laughingly refer to vacuum packaged frozen individual portioned meats, is very convenient to me. Drag it home, keep in our deep freezer, use at my leisure.

As you can probably tell, I'm very much a 'Mad Scientist' with this stuff.

SMF was like throwing gasoline on my Smokin Ways....


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