It's time to take up smoking

My brother, Randy & his 18lb yellowtail Sept. 2011

Apparently my brother has some "deep sea" skills and on a recent trip out of San Diego, he reeled in an 18 lb yellowtail and a 12 lb tuna.  I was the happy beneficiary of his catch and I decided to get serious about smoking.  I've been doing quite a bit of research since I smoked that pork shoulder (see earlier post) on my old charcoal smoker and many people actually say that an electric smoker gives better, more consistent results.  I was worried about the flavor difference, but as soon as I heard that you don't have to check temperature, wood and water every hour, I was sold!

You had me at "hello"

Besides the fact that it took me 2 hours to assemble, I love my new electric smoker!  In my defense, I didn't start the assembly process until 10:00pm after a long day at work and I may also have had a teeny little glass of wine.
   
Gettin' Schooled
I decided to make this a real learning experience by utilizing 3 different methods.
1) Jerky - winner!
2) Brined - much better than "cured", but don't brine for more than 6-8 hours
3) Cured - too dry, too salty!

Jerky was the clear winner and by far my favorite result from this initial attempt.  The recipe I found online stated that it could be made using a regular oven (which I tried, but would not suggest).  It was so much more flavorful in the smoker.  I made several changes to the original online recipe to suit my taste.  My version is below.

Island Fish Jerky

Island Fish Jerky

2 lb. fish filets (tuna worked beautifully)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 Tbsp palm sugar (can substitute brown)
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely minced
1 tsp Maldon sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground peppecorns

1 dash red pepper flakes

(1) Cut the fish into 1/4-inch thick strips, 1 inch wide and 3 to 6 inches long. Combine the remaining ingredients in a zip-lock bag and marinate in the refrigerator, for at least eight hours, or preferably overnight. Discard the marinade and dry the fish strips well with paper towels to remove any excess marinade.

(2) Oil the grates in your smoker. Put a cookie sheet on the bottom rack to collect any drippings. Place the fish on the rack and set the oven to 140º degrees. (If your oven won’t go this low, set the oven to its minimum temperature and crack the oven door.)  I used a mixture of apple wood chunks, whisky barrel wood chips and a small amount of hickory chips

(3) After two hours, reduce the heat to 130 degrees or open the door wider. The drying time will vary. When done, the fish jerky will be dry but not brittle, so that the pieces crack but don’t break when bent, with a dark brown glaze. Allow the jerky to cool and keep it refrigerated, in a sealed container, until you’re ready to eat it.