Smoking Black Cod / Sable Fish

[Striper Sniper]

A buddy called me up yesterday and told me he had a bunch of Black Cod for me if I was willing to smoke 3 or 4 for him. I can't think of anything I haven't smoked except for Black Cod......... I have had some and enjoyed it allot however it is one of the harder things to acquire it seems.

I was thinking my usual brine of sugar and salt smoked with Alder or Maple in the Bradley, just not sure of what I should be adding, if anything, in the way of spice. Planning on firing up the Bradley on Tues.

Thanks in advance.

SS

 

[Dogbreath]

I did a little and a light touch is all you need.

The Bradley Fish Forum might have some additional info.

 

[eaglemaniac]

I would suggest using demerera sugar as well as a cup of white wine or pineapple juice, 1/4 cup dark soy sauce, 1/2 tsp. garlic granules (not garlic salt), 1/2 tsp onion flakes, 1 tsp grated ginger root, 1/2 tsp. black pepper. This will give the fish a nice colour and flavour. eman

 

[TheBigGuy]

You can use my Indian Candy recipe, posted in this forum that works quite well on Sablefish. Usually they color up the Sablefish with dye to give it an orangy color on the outside when they smoke it commercially. I am brining some up now as we speak. I am trying something a little different this time to try and color up some white spring and the sablefish for smoking.

I am using a pre-soak with darker ingredients to give a red color to the white fleshed fish. Here's the ingredients I used below to color and sweeten the fish before a full dry brining.

2 bottles red wine (homemade)
2 (1kg) bags dark brown sugar
1 bottle red Ketchup
Red food coloring
Sweet garlic chili sauce
1 bottle dark beer
4 ounces dark rum
1 large fresh ginger root grated
Onion powder
Freshly ground Pepper
Ground Cayenne pepper
Hot red sauce (Franks or other)
One zest of orange grated, juice of orange squeezed into sauce.
Juice of one lime squeezed into sauce
1 small bottle soya sauce (for a little bit of salt content)
Liquid smoke
Fresh garlic or garlic powder
Molasses
BBQ sauce
Juice from preserved cherries
Preserved Apricot jam


Once the pre-soak ( for a day or two) is completed I will proceed with the usual dry brining. I will cut the salt back to 2/3 cup of salt to 1 kg brown sugar ratio because of the salt content in the soya sauce. I really enjoy Smoked Black Alaska Cod and have done it with the dry brine quite a few times, and it has always turned out well. I just thought I would try something a little different before the dry brine this time.

 

[Bod]

You can just give it to me and I'll do it. Keeping my share of course.
Just kidding. It is an easy fish to smoke. Almost any recipe you like will do. Like TBG said the color is just something they add for plate appeal. Don't worry about the color. It all tastes great. Enjoy.

 

[Striper Sniper]

Well guys, picked them up today and Holly crap am I looking forward to this. The fish are glazed so I will thaw them slowly in a fridge then brine them like Eaglemaniac suggested for the first batch and like TBG suggested for the second go around (excluding the food die) and posts some pictures if things turn out great. I want to keep a few for the saute pan as well..............
Thanks again guys.

SS

 

[TheBigGuy]

Hi Striper Sniper.

I you want to keep some to eat that aren't smoked look for a recipe with a Miso glaze. Japanese eat it this way, and I hear it very good from the people that have tried it that way. The people that try Sablefish fried are often not very complimentary as it is already a very oily fish to begin with. I only use it for the smoker, because I think it is awesome that way. I hear they pay more for Sablefish in Japan than for what are considered the premium fish like Salmon & Halibut here.

 

[eaglemaniac]

Hey SS: Just wondering how the Smoked Sablefish turned out. Have you tried both of the recipe suggestions? Hope it worked out well for you. eman

 

[Striper Sniper]

Hey EM, I did your version and it turned out very good! I am going to try the second recipe later this week. I tried to post pictures however I just upgraded my PC and I haven't figured things out just yet. Maybe I will try again later today, thanks for a great recipe!

SS

 

[Striper Sniper]

Well, lets see if this works. Warm this stuff up in warm milk and wow..........

SS

 

[eaglemaniac]

That sure got my salivary glands working, it sure looks fantastic. They seem like nice sized chunks, that was a major score indeed. Glad you enjoyed the recipe. You can also adjust it to your personal tastes. Good luck with your next round. eman

 

[TheBigGuy]

I did up a batch of the black cod and white spring in the dark colored pre-soak first. Then I brined it with the dry brine for a couple of days. Both turned out a nice dark color fairly similar to the red meat coho-spring-sockeye I smoked. My son said he preferred the white spring the best of all the Salmon I did. I spiced the white spring up a little with an extra soak in BBQ sauce, sweet Thai garlic Chili sauce, Cayenne and crushed red chili peppers (before dry brining) for a little extra zing. All turned out very well.

If the color of the finished product really doesn't matter to you, skip all the hassle of the pre-soak and simply dry brine the fish. The dry brine method will darken up a white fleshed fish considerably anyways (as long as you cut into small pieces).

 

[eaglemaniac]

Hey Big Guy... I must say I certainly admire your adventerous approach to smoking fish. I like your choices for flavor enhancers, I've never taken it out quite that far, I guess I'm a little more of a tradionalist with a twist or two. But I do like what your doing though. eman

 

[Striper Sniper]

A major score indeed EM, each fish was around 6 to 10 pounds with the head off and instantly froze and glazed at sea. I plan on doing four more using TBG's recipe and a half dozen or so nicely trimmed, frozen then vacuum sealed. I also love it with a spice coating, sauteed in a skillet for a couple of minutes then finished in a preheated oven at 400C for a few more minutes.

SS

 

[spring fever]

Man that looks good-all everyone seems to be doing is smoking fish, making sausage and probably eating. All will need larger boats to stay afloat in the spring!!!

 

[Striper Sniper]

Hey Mike, I have a 20 lb. sausage stuffer and commercial meat grinder that I have to get out of the crawl space.............. then look out! Neighbours are always welcome for a "sampler"......... I used to have a 300 lb. commercial smoker in Alberta so screwing around with a Bradley is a challenge but I believe there will be a big as_ smoker on site by next year...............

SS

 

[tortuga]

SS
If I had some it would not make it to the smoker. Make sure you try some just as is.
They have so much flavour you don't need to add much to it.
Your smoked stuff looks great tho.

 

[spring fever]

SS
we will have to get together and compare recipes. I need to get a better grinder, the rest , stuffer and mixer is commercial. Have to get you together with some of the guys and we will get you off WH this year. I have lots of bits and pieces for a big smoker-racks etc-might be able to help.

 

[Striper Sniper]

Mike, perhaps we should do another breakfast at the Early Bird.......... I didn't want to pay the cost of moving my smoker to the Island but it is just a matter of time before I purchase another large unit.......... lots and lots of toys related to smoking, curing, etc............... pm me.

SS

 

[spring fever]

Sounds good PM sent