Soak chips or not for electric smoker?

I have a Masterbuilt Electric smoker and did up some Rainbow trout, Coho, and Steelhead today. Overall it turned out pretty good. I smoked it at 140 degrees for about 7 hours using Hickory wood. I used a very simple dry brine that the fish sat over night in for about 10 hours before I took it out to dry. My question is this...Should I be soaking my chips or putting them in dry? I opted for the dry approach out of sheer apathy but the final product today was a very bold smokey flavor and not as sweet/smokey as I wanted. I'm guessing that maybe soaking the chips and using a bit colder of a temp may help? Also I dried the fish after the brine for about 2.5 hours before smoking. Should I dry longer? I've heard of people drying the fish out for almost a day until it is transparent before smoking.

Thank you,

Drew

Sounds like you needed lower temps, maybe less time and chips as well. I let mine dry overnight before throwing into the smoker so it's pretty tough/tacky on the outside. Oh, and I don't soak the chips. You want the smoke from them, not steam.

There's a lot of variables in smoking and a ton of techniques. First of all I would say that trout is very different than coho and to do both at the same time in the same manner is a tough choice to pull off. How soon you plan on eating the stuff up plays a big part in the salting (brining) time as well. For a quick smoke-and-eat you can sprinkle rock salt and brown sugar directly on the fish and throw in the smoker. Knock off the rock salt when she comes out and your good to go......for trout I recommend this as it tends to dry out quickly, but it won't keep very long. For coho and steelhead you can use the same technique, but let the salt sit on the fillets overnight and then rinse thoroughly. Pat dry and dump the brown sugar on the fillets and let it melt and drip off..usually about two hours or so. Then throw in smoker and remove when firm to touch of finger. Will keep for about a week and half with refridgeration, and is excellent. You can baste with syrup while smoking if you want to try a little something different. I like this, but too much will cause dripping which may or may not be a problem, depending on your set up. I scrape off the drip tray mid way through the smoking process to keep the drippage from smoking too much.

Bottom line...experiment until you come up with something you like. I use alder exclusively any more and cut my own into chunks. It's free and smokes slowly and I like the flavor. I never add water to the wood...after all, you're trying to dry the fish.

Don't need to soak the chips,leave them dry.Ditch the hickory chips and when it comes to smoking fish and stick with Alder/Cherry & Apple some times.After years of smoking fish I pretty much only use alder and cherry.Alder for a more bold smokey taste and cherry for a more redish color with a milder taste.Good luck,
SZ

One of the most basic and yet favorite brines for salmon & steehead is dark brown sugar and kosher salt dry brine.
2lbs dark brown sugar / half cup of kosher salt blend well.

Yep, I'm with SZ, get ridda those Hickory chips, save em for Pork or Beef.

I always use chunks not chips. Chips are like flash paper. And a water pan. Hickory should add a sweetness to the meat. Often times meats don't produce their true smoked flavor until the next day after being wrapped and put in the fridge overnight. It's also a good way to rehydrate fish that is a bit dry. And agree...a basic dry rub brine for fish is 1 part kosher salt to 4 parts dark brown sugar....I also add fresh garlic, black, white and lemon pepper.

If the wood is still green, there is no need to soak the wood, but it won't hurt anything if you do. But if the wood is dry (such as anything you buy at the store), I normally soak it for a few hours. I find the soaked wood smokes better and longer, particularly if you're using wood chips. But in either case, it doesn't make a huge difference.

My favorite smoking wood for fish is apple, by far. It gives the fish a golden coloration and slightly sweet flavor. Second favorite is alder. Most fruit or nut woods are fine (cherry, pecan, pear, hickory, hazelnut). Just don't ever use mesquite.....

Air drying the fish is a key step and most often overlooked.

In words and pics, I laid out my ol' tried and true process and I know it will work for you!

Good luck!

dry alder chips works best IMO.

My wet brine: It's a goodie!!!! Been using 40+ years...have tried others but come right back to this....

1. quart of water
2. 2/3 cup sugar....tried them all, white...brown...dark brown....I prefer dark brown.

3. 1/2 cup salt...non iodized or sea salt is best....error on the side of "less salt".

4. 3 Tablespoon of Johnny's Sea Food or Seasoning Salt....I have used both...taste about the same.

5. 1 Tablespoon Garlic power

6. Marinate 8 - 12 hours......have gone a full day....no biggie!!!!

7. Drain fast rinse.....then let "air dry" 2 or 3 hours.....I have been using a fan to help "glaze it over"

8. Alder wood, for me,......I used a big Chief Smoker.....2 pans of chips or rounds that I cut from a downed alder tree....Take the bark off the wood.

9. Thick piece's on bottom......Older I get, the more moist I like my smoked fish.....

10. Depending on amount of fish, temperture.....6 to 10 hours

Also, I like to finish my fish in the oven. I smoke for about 4-6 hours (depending on thickness), then finish them at 170 for about 45 minutes in the oven just to bring the internal temp up. This provides moister end product that has reached safe consumption temps.

don't soak the chips, you're not trying to steam the fish.
Alder/Apple/Cedar
Dry brine like SZ said.
Air dry like TJN said.

2 maybe 3 pans of chips is all you need as well.

Were you putting chips in the whole time?

The subject of smoking fish is like fishing in general. A zillion different methods work, each feels theirs is the best and somewhere there's a woman behind it. "Tastes really good" .
Like the guy who wears goofy clothes....he's got a gal who thinks he looks sexy in that get up.

Haha. That's funny right there. Thanks for everyone's replies. I just realized I may have been a bit vague at first so here is some more info. For my dry brine I used 4 cups of dark brown sugar, 1 cup of canning salt, and a table spoon of Garlic Salt. I went through two pans of chips. I did open the smoker door a couple times to check the fish which caused the chips to flash up a bit so that may have contributed to the bold smokey taste. After my initial post last night I decided to try and make it sweeter with glaze in the oven and it worked great. I made a glaze out of butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup, brushed it on the smoked fish and cooked it at 170 in the oven for about 20 minutes. The smoke flavor is now just about perfect and it is definitely sweeter.

Thanks everybody,

Drew

Just read through the process and it looks pretty straight forward. I'll probably give it a shot next time. What sort of flavor are you getting as an end result? I'm looking to make more of a salmon candy type smoked fish.

Thank you,

Drew

Try just straight honey for a glaze too, it is awesome. I usually glaze with honey then sprinkled cracked black peppercorn all over the fish. The honey glaze holds the pepper on nicely! If you haven't tried it, add cracked pepper to the fish before you throw it in the smoker/during the drying time on the counter. If you like the taste of pepper you will never smoke without it again! haha

I like Johnny Cohos recipe for a dry brine.
John's Guide Service Recipes
Don't soak your chips unless using a BBQ.
I use temp settings per Bradley smoker, start at 110 for an hour or two, then 140 for two or three, finish at 170. Also do the honey and pepper per previous post which you should try if you like indian candy style.

Not to hijack the thread, but why do most folks have the drying step? I dislike the pedicle that forms and go from dry brine to smoker with an oven finish. I understand that drying is important for safety and the focus of the brine in the first place, but I think it makes for a more jerky-like product. Just askin . . .

Gotta have the temp to 160 min, or it's not pasteurized. This kills most, but not all bacteria....140 could add bacteria...not good.

Oven finish if you have to to get the temps up.

The salt curing process also helps to kill bacteria. I still finish in the oven to be safe.