Smoking Kahawai on a BBQ

[Nymox]

We have a hooded BBQ, with a tempreture gauge, it also has a rack inside to the back, enough to get 2 large fish on. So I started thinking. We dont have a smoker, and usually will just breadcrumb and pan fry any fish I catch, I love smoked fish, and hope to get myself some trout this year but I wanted to build a smoker first.

What im going to do is place the fish on that rack, manuka chips on the hot plate, close the lid and hope for the best.

Fish have been salted, Ill wash that off at about 2pm, and sprinkle with brown sugar and throw them in.

Its been years since Ive seen a smoker working, so any tips or advice much appriciated before I get them in there.

[oneeyedfrog]

Hubby sez it could possibly get too hot. He watched a fishing show on Sat ( either gone fishing or ITM) and they smoked some trout on the BBQ on the boat. They put a tray with the sawdust on the BBQ then stuck a rack on the top of that. Then stuck a glass bowl over the fish. So the smoke filled the bowl but excess smoke and heat came out.

[smidey]

it should work, principal is the same as a smoker. good luck, let us know the results.

[Nymox]

Hubby sez it could possibly get too hot. He watched a fishing show on Sat ( either gone fishing or ITM) and they smoked some trout on the BBQ on the boat. They put a tray with the sawdust on the BBQ then stuck a rack on the top of that. Then stuck a glass bowl over the fish. So the smoke filled the bowl but excess smoke and heat came out.

Does he have any idea what sort of tempreture is too hot?

With one burner going, on the lowest setting, I get around 105 - 110 degrees stable. Im thinking around an 1 1/2 to 2 hours should be about right.

[Barrie]

yes it does work but....

its messy and there fore your better off getting a hot smoker at about $60 then place that over the grill area of the BBQ

I use that system at both home and the bach

Dont forget that the fish "juice" is going to drip all over the place

[Nymox]

As you can see from the state of the plates on the BBQ it hasnt been used ALL summer, hasnt been used in about 2 years lol, so fish juice isnt an issue, $60 how ever Good thing is too dirty stuff can always be cleaned.

Pre smoking, washed the salt off, patted dry with paper towel, rubbed in brown sugar.

Using Manuka chips and 3 lemonade leaves.

[Cricketman]

aaaaaaaaannnnnnnddddddd.......

The anticipation is killing me!

[Nymox]

Still in there at the moment Chris but smelling and looking very tasty, looks like the 100'c for 2 hours is about right, 1 hour to go! My tummy feels like its going to cave in im so hungry, might have to settle for a bit of snapper to get me through.

[maoripho3nix]

Ive done this plenty of times in my hooded BBQ, fish comes out exactly like in the SS smoker box I have.

As an alternative of making a mess with the woodchips on the hotplate, buy (or make) a lil woodchip box.

Theyre stainless steel, about half the size of a phone book, has holes in it, you put wood chips in it and place it over your burner. I work at mitre10 mega and they still have them, bunnings should too, cant remember how much they cost.

I usually soak my chips in water for about 30mins, keeps it moist. Place it in the box, put it over the burner, prep the fish as usual, place it on the rack as shown in the pics above, place a stiff sheet of tinfoil under the fish to catch the juices (or a foil baking tray), now sometimes i slow smoke, or quick hot smoke.

For slow smoke (1-2 hrs) i keep the gas lower than the lowest setting on the dial, but put the smoker box on the hot plate, eventually the hotplate gets hot and heats the steel on the lil chip box then chips smoke.......for quick hot smoke, i turn the gas to medium, put the lil chip box on directly on the burner, ready in 15 mins

As for the cleanup, having the tinfoil sheet/dish under the fish catches the juice (which steams eventually makes it more tastier and moist) and is easier to clean up instead of it being all over the grill.......but as for smoke, doesnt matter what you do, smoke and moisture will form black condensation in the BBQ. A good cleanup if you care, i use to just give it a scrub and wet wipe afterwards.

Moisture will always be there from the fish, and smoke is inevitable if your smoking a fish :lol:

Good luck with the smoking

[Jennifer]

I use a big roasting pan, lay down a layer of foil and then lay down manuka chips and a couple of sprigs of rosemary and sage. Then I lay down a bit of fine clean chicken wire over it. I place the fillets on the wire, skin side down, and cover the pan with foil. Then I place the pan into a medium warm BBQ. In about 2 minutes it begins to smoke and in 10 minutes the beautifully heat smoked fish is done, and no mess! Goes brilliantly well with an avocado and chilie salsa. Mmmmm

[maoripho3nix]

I use a big roasting pan, lay down a layer of foil and then lay down manuka chips and a couple of sprigs of rosemary and sage. Then I lay down a bit of fine clean chicken wire over it. I place the fillets on the wire, skin side down, and cover the pan with foil. Then I place the pan into a medium warm BBQ. In about 2 minutes it begins to smoke and in 10 minutes the beautifully heat smoked fish is done, and no mess! Goes brilliantly well with an avocado and chilie salsa. Mmmmm

[Nymox]

All done, tastes great although I can see places for improvement. Its a little dry, perhaps an 1h 15m is about right using this method, and its a lil salty, plus I should have rubbed the brown sugar in a bit more.

MMMM

Ive roasted some pine nuts and chargrilled some capsicum and fresh chilli, thrown on a musculin salad mix with lemon juice, balsamic and a lil olive oil. Unfortunetly I didnt get a chance to take a pic of that, it suddenly vanished, the only trace was a pleasant taste in my mouth and the empty salad bowl :-?

[maoripho3nix]

Mate that looks great!!

My stomach just done a 360, gonna have to catch some fish this Saturday. Yeah it can be a bit of a challenge getting the salt and brown sugar right, sometimes i just salt the fish (not a lot) tastes alright but leaves out that sweet tang.

[Nymox]

I wonder how well this would work in a hangi, Ive never had (or heard of) hangi'd fish but I love that smokey taste it gives chicken, I presume it would be pretty close to fish. Might have to get a pass to go up Mt Tarawera for some rocks.

[Cricketman]

If I wasn't hungry before I sure am now!!!

I hate you all..... :evil:

:lol:

[Nymox]

Taking half down to L.A. tomorrow......

[maoripho3nix]

People have tried hangi'd fish but the thing you gotta watch out for is how it cooks,where you put it in the hangi, and your method of having it in there.

As fish doesnt take long to cook through normally, best bet would be closer to the top of the hangi (away from the hot rocks) to stop it from over cooking or burning. But you would have to have it wrapped properly to stop juices running through the rest of the food, so everything doesnt taste like fish. If you have it wrapped properly it should be fine.

Ive seen it in foil then baking dishes, along with mussels, paua, oysters and cray.

I guess you just gotta be careful, like wild pork, the taste can go through everything.

And now I want hangi too

Luckily Im putting down 2 in the next month 8) :lol:

I wonder how well this would work in a hangi, Ive never had (or heard of) hangi'd fish but I love that smokey taste it gives chicken, I presume it would be pretty close to fish. Might have to get a pass to go up Mt Tarawera for some rocks.

My rocks are the same age as me :lol: 25 Years ago my uncle and my dad got them, from Tarawera too, luckily too because its the mountain of my Iwi.....still going good after that long.

Great looking Kaimoana and good luck with the Hangi when you get there

:bounce:

[Barrie]

and just think

20 to 25 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish) in a quick smoker would have had it done nicely

For mussels, while the mussel is still alive remove from the shell and then place back in a half shell. Pinch of salt and another of brown sugar then smoke for 15 minutes max

If you like mussels, I promise that this will be the best you have ever eaten by far

[Nymox]

Thanks Barrie, and I understand completely about having the "quick" smoker. But money is always an issue, $60 might not be alot to most people but thats about what i get a week left from bills without considering diesel, any fish needs, dog food and internet. Those mussels sound yummy, Ill have to get some for my Nan she'd kill for those.

People have tried hangi'd fish but the thing you gotta watch out for is how it cooks,where you put it in the hangi, and your method of having it in there.

As fish doesnt take long to cook through normally, best bet would be closer to the top of the hangi (away from the hot rocks) to stop it from over cooking or burning. But you would have to have it wrapped properly to stop juices running through the rest of the food, so everything doesnt taste like fish. If you have it wrapped properly it should be fine.

Ive seen it in foil then baking dishes, along with mussels, paua, oysters and cray.

I guess you just gotta be careful, like wild pork, the taste can go through everything.

And now I want hangi too

Luckily Im putting down 2 in the next month 8) :lol:

My rocks are the same age as me :lol: 25 Years ago my uncle and my dad got them, from Tarawera too, luckily too because its the mountain of my Iwi.....still going good after that long.

Great looking Kaimoana and good luck with the Hangi when you get there

:bounce:

Thanks bro, helps heaps that you mentioned the wildpork, I know exactly what to do now. I've done about 30 hangi to date, though last year at a party someone "accidently" took my rocks home. They we're about as old as me too, I remember getting them when I was about 7 yrs old, so thats a good 20 years Id had them. You must have some rellies in Kauwerau then? I grew up there and around, Dad still lives there.

[maoripho3nix]

:-? Accidently took the 50kg in total of rocks :lol:

Yeah ya just gotta be wary of adding it to the hangi, sometimes ive done a mini hangi (like enough for 10 people tops), and tried different ways of cooking things, tried putting frozen chicken pieces in foil in the hangi, came out moist, fully cooked and tasting great :lol:

Famz are from Matata, but most live in Kawerau now. Had some smoked trout last weekend, uncle caught it down Rotoma.

[Nymox]

Famz are from Matata, but most live in Kawerau now. Had some smoked trout last weekend, uncle caught it down Rotoma.

OMG! I LOVE SMOKED TROUT!!!! I havnt had it for years, pay all that money for a license then I dont catch diddly squat!

[djsurfs]

LOL, ditto that pic!!

*tries not to drool on keyboard*

mmmmm, avocado and salsa..... yer killin me!

ahhhhh mannnnnnnnnn I am suffering fishing withdrawals this year!

the old hooded BBQ is the only way I've ever smoked fish...

I'm usually too impatient after a days fishing/ cleaning so instead of brining the kahawai, I just slather on a thick marinade/mixture of brown sugar,soy sauce, chili, garlic & ginger; then smoke it as slowly as I can bear to wait (depends how hungry I am! :lol: )

foil works wonders to contain mess, & I keep meaning to try out an old bisuit tin to contain the chips ...