URGENT!! NEED ADVICE QUICK. PLEASE REPLY!

I just purchased a smoker "Big Chief" and I am doing it for my first time today. My brine is complete and I took the fish out 45 minutes ago. The directions say to use 2-3 panfuls of chips. Do I use the 2-3 panfuls right at the beginning of the smoking process or spread the smoke out during the 5-8 hours or so? If I do so at the beginning, do I take the pan out for the duration of the "drying time?" Need advice quick>>>>>>>
thanks so much
justin

When it says use 2-3 pans it means over the duration. Basically, start up first pan, once it buuns out, add second ppan, hence, if you decide to use a third pan, once tha second pan burns ouut add th third. DON'T OVER SMOKE!!! You can add to much. I rarely add more then 2 pans, maybe 1 1/2 for trout, then ful 2-3 for salmon steelhead. Then, once tha last pan burns ouu, you let it run on it'sown heat until fish is at texture you wannt. If it's chum, you have a good 8-11 hoours of smoking to go. LOL

I'm doin a load in the Big Chief too right now. I'll do 2 panfulls in a row and leave it. 8-9 hrs or so depending on thickness of chunks is all I do. CARDBOARD BOX wrapped around as much of the smoker as possible is the best thing you can take from this reply, gets it done faster and more evenly!!!!!!!!

I agree with the info in the previous posts. Using the box your smoker came in will help maintain even temp in colder weather. I used a oven thermometer that could be hung near the smoke hole. Then, you can monitor temp throughout the smoke/cooking process. You'll need a flashlight to read the thermometer.

Don't I have to worry about the box catching fire?

I made a box out of the 3/4" rigid foam insulation to slip over the smoker when it's cold outside. The box works ok, but I like to store it in the box and the smoke saturated box would smell too much where I have to store it.

If you don't have some sort of insulation, the Little Chief doesn't have the horsepower to maintain a warm enough temperature at the top of the smoker.

I usually use 4 - 5 pan fulls of Alder or 3 - 4 if I decide to use Hickory. Maybe I like a little heavier smoke. I let it stay in the smoker for about 7-8 hours.

Then I transfer the fish to a baking pan and put it in a pre-eated 300 degree oven for 20 minutes. It seems to finish it off nicely, gets the oils flowing and dries it out a little more for an even texture.

The oven shot allows you to cap the time involvement to less than 8 hours and turns out a very respectable product. We like it anyway.

Before you smoke your fish put a couple of pans of chips though the smoker to season it.. When smoking youre fish keep you're smoker away from the house or anything that might catch fire .. Mine went up in flames while smoking fish luckly it was not next to the house..

[ 01-13-2002: Message edited by: fiishawk ]

You are soaking your chips arent you? You HAVE to!

The box thing works great....But BEWARE!!!!

Last year a friend of mind used that little old box trick. It was wet and cold outside that day so he took it into his stable/shed to help dry it out and smoke faster.

Well it worked great! But he aldo burned down his shed, which was also his pump house, and where he also keep his freezer, (full of elk meat)saddles and all the other rideing gear.

He not only had smoked fish that night, he also had hundreds of pounds of elk fresly cooked elk to eat.

Beware of the old box "on-fire-trick" guys! It's also happen to many others.

Cowlitzfisherman

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????

While on patrol one night about 3am I stopped to wake up a guy to put out his woodpile and smoker fire. Luckily he had set the smoker away from his house! I stay around the house when I smoke fish, that way you can get the fish perfect without drying it out too much and put out a possiable smoker fire.

Medium sized box simply set over the top has VERY little chance of fireand does the trick just fine, recycling the heat and smoke . Keep all cardboard away from the bottom where the burner is......duh. I burned a hole in my deck once because I didn't set it on bricks or a NON-flammible surface. And by all means set it away from the house or garages as the smoke really stains.Keep on smokin'

Steelheaddude do you soak the chips that you buy in the bags? If so tell me your secret.

Yes, soak the store bought chips to bring out the flavor of the chips. And to also keep the fish moist. I like to use some fresh alder chunks which have more scent and burns longer. Good luck with your batch. :p

3 pans, one right after the other

Keep your smoker in the cardboard box when its cold out. Spray paint the bottom to help it last.

You do NOT need to soak the chips

Try making your own chips out of vine maple BEST, or mix alser and chery or alder and apple. Do not use hickory for fish.

To make your fish extra pretty, rub a pinch of brown sugar on each piece befroe drying the pelicle, Makes it really look good, doens't affedct the tast.

USe a fan to help it dry

Spray your racks with Pam.

Rip,,, I soak all and any chips I use,, Keeps the fish moist and They last the whole process,, 2 or 3 pans that is,, try it,,

I have an old blanket that I lay over my big chief smoker and it works just great. I am always careful to make sure that the smoker is out and away from the house. I never soak the wood chips altho I don't doubt that it helps keep things moist. Also, personally I found that 2 or 3 pans of chips is way too much smoke for my personal taste. I always use just one slightly heaping pan at the beginning and then let the fish dry. Have fun!

RM

I've been using a cardboard box over the smoker for the past 20 years without a problem. I make sure the cardboard box is about 8 inches shorter than the smoker so it doesn't interfere with the chip pan hole. I don't moisten my chips...the whole idea behind smoking is to remove excess moisture. I generally use 2 pans of chips in the first 3 hours of smoking. I finish my batches in about 4-6 hours depending on meat thickness. Even an entire filet side from an 8 lb fish only takes me 6 hours. I found that when my bayches lingered on for 10-14 hours that the temp was to low and the fish developed large cracks without the inside being done. I believe a smoker should operate in the 160 degree range for hot smoking. Cardboard shouldn't burn until around 450 degrees as long as you keep it far enough from the pan of embers.

I found this on the Luhr Jensen link "Flavor smoke is NOT needed for the entire curing cycle. Two or three pans full usually are sufficient. Empty the pan, place it back on the element and just use heat to finish the curing process.

It is important that you understand the difference between the smoking and drying portions of the processing cycle. In many cases, a particular recipe calls for a total drying time of 6 to 12 hours or more, while at the same time saying to use only two pans full of flavor fuel. This means your smokehouse will only be "smoking" for about two hours, but the food will need more drying time to complete the curing process".

I also avoid overfilling the chip pan so I don't spill chips that can cause a fire.

I also have my smoker setting on ceramic tiles to lessen fire danger.

[ 01-13-2002: Message edited by: R Ridgeway ]

Thanks R Ridgeway, I always smoked my fish with chips until done, guess I was wasting alot of unnessary chips. Guess I should of read the box. I'll try soaking some chips just to see if there is a differance, can't hurt? Pam on the racks? Great suggestion FishBait.

when soaking chips, chunks,etc....
I always soakem about a half hour longer then what was told to me when I first started out (I was told a 1/2 hr to 45mins.)after trial and error I found that the tatse pleases me
oh and 1 other thing if you buy store bought chunks bigger is not always better they end up catching fire no matter how long you soakem

A recently learned trick-
I use a smokehouse bar-b-que for fish. The bottom pan is filled half way with charcoal and lit. I then place a large stainless steel mixing bowl full of chips (1 or 2 pounds) on top of the burning briquettes. I then place the fish on the racks above. One load like this does the trick for about 15 pounds of fish and seems to be a nice even heat. I use the lid to regulate the heat because it can be placed askew and has a thermometer. Try it you'll like it.