Smoking Yellowfin Tuna

RobLobster

I am in need of helpful hints on how to smoke tuna in the BGE. I will be smoking tuna loins, not tuna steaks from the local grocery store. I am hoping to produce authentic smoked tuna like found a specialty stores. Any help or resources would be appreciated...

Mike Oelrich

RobLobster,[p] Haven't seen much on the forum about smoking tuna -- I usually get the tuna steaks and just sear them. Is the tuna you're lookin' to do hot or cold smoked?[p]MikeO

RobLobster

MikeO, I would imagine that it would be a cold smoke, at a low temp for the most flavor and firmness....

KennyG

RobLobster,[p]Cold smoking is not the Eggs forte since it's difficult to maintain temps below 180* or so. The link below should provide some inspiration however.[p]Good luck,[p]K~G[p]
[ul][li]Smoked fish recipes[/ul]

Mike Oelrich

RobLobster,[p] Cold smoking is possible on the BGE, but not too easy when the weather is warm. I managed to do it to some salmon in the winter a couple years ago. Made a really small fire and left the bottom vent shut most of the time. Really, all you're trying to do is flavor the fish with the smoke. You can dry it our in the fridge afterward. Normal procedure with salmon is to brine first, then smoke and dry it out. Cold smoking temp should be no higher than 90F! Try doing some web searched, you might find something a bit more useful . . .[p]MikeO

Unknown

MikeO,[p]Yes, we routinely smoke salmon steaks for 8 to 9 hours, find it easy to hold the BGE steady at approximately 125' (lower temp would be more difficult). The bottom vent is barely open, but the fire stays lit at a very low level. Important not to let the temp get higher at the start, a very small amount of lump is burning. The steaks, thick as possible, come out very moist, best smoked salmon we've ever tasted. We marinate overnight first in pineapple juice, a lot of chili, hot pepper flakes to taste, soy, garlic salt, and quite a lot of ground black pepper. [p]Yesterday, after a ten hour smoke, I found the lump largely unused. My wife' uncle, visiting, looked at all that unburned lump and said, "You should tell **** Cheney about this, for his energy policy planning."[p] -- km

RobLobster

KenM,
Now that we know that we can cold smoke, how about the otherside of the spectrum. Have you attempted hot smoking?
I appreciate you help with cold smoking, I hope that you have an answer for the hot smoking on the BGE too..[p]Thanks

Unknown

RobLobster,[p]I'm no expert on any of this, I'm afraid, though I'm very familiar with smoked salmon, from Nova (years in NYC) to smoked fillets (Massachusetts and Maine seacoast). From what MikeO wrote, it sounds as if our 8-10 hour smoking at 125' may not count as cold smoking, and indeed the salmon comes out somewhere in between cold and hot smoked -- not as wet as Nova, not nearly as dry as the smoked salmon fillets of high quality on the market. It is very delicate and good, hot, cold, or scrambled into eggs.[p]The only hot smoking we've done are slow cooks of brisket, 22+ hours at 200', as thoroughly and well described on the forum. I guess that's hot smoking, not sure.[p]We will try the low temperature smoking with tuna, it must be wonderful. -- km

char buddy

RobLobster,[p]if you absolutely, positively have to do a smoke at 100* you might try putting an electric hot plate at the bottom of an empty egg (firebox with no lump). it will take a few hours, but you can get a nice steady temp of 100* for hours on end. Just set up a two-tier grid. Put a pan of wood chips (alder) on the lower grid and you tuna or salmon on the top. It takes forever (8 hours+), but it comes out like a good deli-quality smoked fish. [p]I wrote up a description and discussion in December/January. Check the archives.