Making smoked fish jerky on a SS Performer

[jaycee213]

Just got back from a fishing trip and loaded up on some California Yellowtail and decided to try making fish jerky. I tried smoking fish before but couldn't get the temps down low enough in my SS Performer to achieve that real dried jerky. What I ended up with instead was smoked fish which is awesome but not what I was after. So what I did instead is I loaded the charcoal in the ash pan and opened the bottom sweeps fully and I was able to achieve a steady 160-175 temp throughout the cooking process. The best part of having the coals in the ash pan was, if you needed to tend to the fire all you had to do was pull the ash pan off do whatever you need to do and never have to open the lid once. Also the inside temps of your cooker stays constant by doing it this way. I used the minion method and loaded the ash pan full of charcoal and dug out the middle and threw about 20 hot coal on top with a couple chunks of Apple wood. The fish came out perfect just like beef jerky and it only took about 5 hours.

Here you can see the glow from the coals in the ashpan.


Here's a shot of my catch. I went 3 for 6 on these brutes. All fish were over 20# and if you ever fished Yellowtail these guys pull hard and go straight for structure the first moment of danger.

[MrHoss]

Right on. Read where someone did this before. Maintaining that low temp is impressive.

[austin87]

Very nice! Great haul from the fishing trip. I might give this a try with some beef soon.

[Jason]

The fishing has been outstanding so far this year! Great job on those hard pulling YT. We just went 3 for 4 on the Yellowfin, 10 miles straight out of Mission Bay! There were several whales in the area and the tuna were just stuffed full of krill 

I saw your other thread, with the smoked fish, and the color and texture looked very tasty. Care to share the recipe? You also said it was more smoked, as opposed to the jerkey, you were shooting for. Was the flavor profile still what you were hoping for? I have some very fresh Yellowtail and Yellowfin I would like to try for the first time on the smoker.

[jaycee213]

The fishing has been outstanding so far this year! Great job on those hard pulling YT. We just went 3 for 4 on the Yellowfin, 10 miles straight out of Mission Bay! There were several whales in the area and the tuna were just stuffed full of krill 

I saw your other thread, with the smoked fish, and the color and texture looked very tasty. Care to share the recipe? You also said it was more smoked, as opposed to the jerkey, you were shooting for. Was the flavor profile still what you were hoping for? I have some very fresh Yellowtail and Yellowfin I would like to try for the first time on the smoker.

Great job on going 3 for 4. As far as your question about going for more of a smoked fish rather then a jerky. Yes I was shooting for smoked fish and what I mean by this is the fish still has a bit of moisture and not dried out like jerky so you are still able to make fish sandwiches or toss it in a salad.This batch is where I cut the fish into strips about 1.5'" x 1" thick pieces to achieve the jerky style. I've noticed when going the smoked fish route the fish still has a strong fishy aftertaste like canned tuna but a little milder, but when I made this batch of jerky and kept temps at 160-175 by using the coals in the ashpan technique I was able to achieve the real jerky texture and it was way less fishy tasting.

As far as the recipe goes I got it from here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bK6UXe7m1o.

I actually have a batch of tuna drying right now but this time I changed the way I brined it.

[WNC]

Hmm...
Do you think something like this will work for cold smoking?
I'm thinking of the thinly slice salmon you can get it.

[jaycee213]

Hmm...
Do you think something like this will work for cold smoking?
I'm thinking of the thinly slice salmon you can get it.

Cold smoking should work but I believe cold smoking is more for making Lox type smoked fish. The fish will look raw but preserved through the smoking process, and it takes a very long time to do this.