# Smoked Kokanee



## Teal101 (Mar 13, 2020)

Well the Fiancee had a Friday off and went with a co-worker to do a little Kokanee fishing, she ended up bringing 18 of them the little guys home!  Perfect opportunity to try smoking fish for the first time.  After cleaning all the slimy buggers they got dropped in a marinade of Lawrys Teriyaki Pineapple sauce, brown sugar, maple syrup, and water that had been heated to mix then cooled down.  Fish went in overnight (around 12hrs) before smoking.  Dug out a Little Chief I had lying around and had never used before.  Surprisingly it worked so I loaded the pan up with Hickory chips and put the fish in.  It was cold and the wind kept the temps from rising to where I wanted.  After 4hrs we were sitting at 90*.  I let them go another 2hrs and still only got to 110* so off they came and into the oven for a quick bake to get them up to temp.  First batch I ran 4 pots of chips.  Second batch went in with 3 pots of chips for exactly 4hrs then off to the oven for the bake.  They are fantastic!  Huge hit with my fishing friends and the Fiancee even liked them.  We picked a couple fillets clean before we even got to sealing them up!


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## dirtsailor2003 (Mar 13, 2020)

Looks tasty! Back in the day we'd camp for a week at one of our local lakes. Three of us would catch our limit usually by noon. Back to camp to smoke, and then can them up. We'd always leave with a boat load of canned smoked Kokanee. 

Hmm Two Towns, Luhr Jensen, Kokanee you must be in the PNW.


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## 39Buick (Mar 13, 2020)

Looking mighty fine! Nice Job!!


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## Teal101 (Mar 13, 2020)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Looks tasty! Back in the day we'd camp for a week at one of our local lakes. Three of us would catch our limit usually by noon. Back to camp to smoke, and then can them up. We'd always leave with a boat load of canned smoked Kokanee.
> 
> Hmm Two Towns, Luhr Jensen, Kokanee you must be in the PNW.


I will try canning the next batch, if we get more.  We're bass fisherman so Kokes arent usually a normal catch for us!  Yes we are in Washington, love it up here.


39Buick said:


> Looking mighty fine! Nice Job!!


Thanks!


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## sawhorseray (Mar 13, 2020)

A woman that can fish will keep you from starving to death, get that ring on her finger! I smoked salmon on a Big Chief over 40 years ago, they do a great job. Big Like! RAY


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## Bearcarver (Mar 13, 2020)

Oh Yeah!!
That's some Good Lookin' Salmon!!
Nice Job!!
Like.

Bear


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## cmayna (Mar 13, 2020)

Good job on that fish.   Sometime you are bored and want to tinker with the little chief which you were planning to keep, consider replacing the stock heating element with an adjustable element off of a kitchen hot plate such as a Proctor Silex who's wattage is 1000w.   Nice winter project.


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## Teal101 (Mar 13, 2020)

sawhorseray said:


> A woman that can fish will keep you from starving to death, get that ring on her finger! I smoked salmon on a Big Chief over 40 years ago, they do a great job. Big Like! RAY


Yup shes my tournament partner for bass fishing too!  Shes a keeper.


Bearcarver said:


> Oh Yeah!!
> That's some Good Lookin' Salmon!!
> Nice Job!!
> Like.
> ...


Thanks!


cmayna said:


> Good job on that fish.   Sometime you are bored and want to tinker with the little chief which you were planning to keep, consider replacing the stock heating element with an adjustable element off of a kitchen hot plate such as a Proctor Silex who's wattage is 1000w.   Nice winter project.


I actually thought about replacing the element to try and get a bit more heat, sounds like a perfect project!


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## randyrayd (Mar 13, 2020)

Looks yummy, Teal101.  And appropriate on a Friday during Lent for some of us!.



Bearcarver said:


> Oh Yeah!!
> That's some Good Lookin' Salmon!!
> Nice Job!!
> Like.
> ...


Thanks, Bear.  You kept my from Googling "Kokanee".


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## Teal101 (Mar 13, 2020)

randyrayd said:


> Looks yummy, Teal101.  And appropriate on a Friday during Lent for some of us!.
> 
> 
> Thanks, Bear.  You kept my from Googling "Kokanee".


They're landlocked Sockeye.  Dont get very big, but very oily and smoke up well.


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## sawhorseray (Mar 13, 2020)

Just wondering if you fiancée was fishing Lake Roosevelt for those kokes? My wife and I are koke-heads, (joke) and fish Flaming Gorge every year for them, it's bucket list kokanee fishing. I've heard great things about Roosevelt, don't know if the size of the kokes is worth the drive. Of course now Washington isn't exactly a ideal travel destination, but I  a can go quite some time and distance without needing any interaction with others. RAY


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## Teal101 (Mar 13, 2020)

sawhorseray said:


> Just wondering if you fiancée was fishing Lake Roosevelt for those kokes? My wife and I are koke-heads, (joke) and fish Flaming Gorge every year for them, it's bucket list kokanee fishing. I've heard great things about Roosevelt, don't know if the size of the kokes is worth the drive. Of course now Washington isn't exactly a ideal travel destination, but I  a can go quite some time and distance without needing any interaction with others. RAY
> View attachment 435794
> View attachment 435795


Chelan actually. We're about an hour from Chelan so its close. Roosevelt is on fire this year and has been kicking out some big ones. Chelan is full of tiny ones, 14" is big. Nice setup! We do the same with aslidein for bass tournaments.


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## sawhorseray (Mar 13, 2020)

I'm a meat hunter and not much on angling for runts, I've heard great things about Roosevelt. With Washington being a disease hotspot we'll just stay home for the time being and protect the fort, we're pretty well set for the long haul. I've never been much of a bass guy, always trolled the ocean, rivers, and lakes for salmon and trout. Now that I live in AZ I might have to change my ways a bit. A SMF buddy tells me of 2-3 pound crappie a couple of hours away, fried white fish fillets always make me happy. Hey, congrats on the carousel ride! Take care, stay safe. RAY


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## SmokinEdge (Mar 13, 2020)

I grew up on the Gunnison River. Crystal, Morrow Point, and Blue Mesa dams. Kokanee are a fall staple.
to can Kokanee:
fill a quart jar with fish pieces, add water to more than half jar, add 1 cap full lemon juice, 1Tbs Thousand Island dressing, and 1 bay leaf.


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## flatbroke (Mar 14, 2020)

You are lucky the coworker takes your fiancé fishing. They scored big.


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## Teal101 (Mar 14, 2020)

sawhorseray said:


> I'm a meat hunter and not much on angling for runts, I've heard great things about Roosevelt. With Washington being a disease hotspot we'll just stay home for the time being and protect the fort, we're pretty well set for the long haul. I've never been much of a bass guy, always trolled the ocean, rivers, and lakes for salmon and trout. Now that I live in AZ I might have to change my ways a bit. A SMF buddy tells me of 2-3 pound crappie a couple of hours away, fried white fish fillets always make me happy. Hey, congrats on the carousel ride! Take care, stay safe. RAY


Crappie are fantastic. We have them 1-2lbs up here in some lakes and they are delicious fried up. Thanks!


SmokinEdge said:


> I grew up on the Gunnison River. Crystal, Morrow Point, and Blue Mesa dams. Kokanee are a fall staple.
> to can Kokanee:
> fill a quart jar with fish pieces, add water to more than half jar, add 1 cap full lemon juice, 1Tbs Thousand Island dressing, and 1 bay leaf.


Thanks, I'll give that a go next time!


flatbroke said:


> You are lucky the coworker takes your fiancé fishing. They scored big.


Hes also the dad of a good bass fishing buddy so that helps hahaha!


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## Smokin' in AZ (Mar 14, 2020)

I am the SMF buddy Ray was referring to.

How about some live fish pics!







And here they are soon to be dead at the cleaning station - running water and nice tables to fillet them on.







And here is my rig.






And my wife is also my 1st mate and constant fishing partner.

Small world, I remember when we first started fishing together 18 years ago there were very few women anglers, but now I see them all the time! I think it's great to see a couple out on the lake fishing together.

Nice job on the Kok's!

LIKE!

I am more a white fish fillet kinda guy though.

John


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## Teal101 (Mar 14, 2020)

Nice setup! I myself prefer white fillets too. We eat a lot of Walleye tacos as they're a frequent bycatch for us. A few pics of ours and our setup. Its just starting to get warm here, the time is upon us! My Fiancee is my tournament partner andloves the boat!


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## Smokin' in AZ (Mar 14, 2020)

Wow nice largemouths....don't eat those either but I would love some perch.

I remember catching those and my absolute favorite fish (walleye) in Lake Erie when I was younger.

Brings back memories.

John


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## kit s (Mar 14, 2020)

Teal101 said:


> Well the Fiancee had a Friday off and went with a co-worker to do a little Kokanee fishing, she ended up bringing 18 of them the little guys home!  Perfect opportunity to try smoking fish for the first time.  After cleaning all the slimy buggers they got dropped in a marinade of Lawrys Teriyaki Pineapple sauce, brown sugar, maple syrup, and water that had been heated to mix then cooled down.  Fish went in overnight (around 12hrs) before smoking.  Dug out a Little Chief I had lying around and had never used before.  Surprisingly it worked so I loaded the pan up with Hickory chips and put the fish in.  It was cold and the wind kept the temps from rising to where I wanted.  After 4hrs we were sitting at 90*.  I let them go another 2hrs and still only got to 110* so off they came and into the oven for a quick bake to get them up to temp.  First batch I ran 4 pots of chips.  Second batch went in with 3 pots of chips for exactly 4hrs then off to the oven for the bake.  They are fantastic!  Huge hit with my fishing friends and the Fiancee even liked them.  We picked a couple fillets clean before we even got to sealing them up!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yum
I usually skin my fish, but I see a lot of folks who don't....so wonder how many do and how many don't skin. 
Reason for me is it retains more oil which makes fish stronger tasting.
kit


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## Teal101 (Mar 14, 2020)

Smokin' in AZ said:


> Wow nice largemouths....don't eat those either but I would love some perch.
> 
> I remember catching those and my absolute favorite fish (walleye) in Lake Erie when I was younger.
> 
> ...


We dont eat the largemouth either, they all get thrown back! Love perch and walleye tacos!


kit s said:


> Yum
> I usually skin my fish, but I see a lot of folks who don't....so wonder how many do and how many don't skin.
> Reason for me is it retains more oil which makes fish stronger tasting.
> kit


For this I left the skin on to help hold the meat together. Otherwise we always skin our fish.


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