Brining vs. Not Brining

Borders · May 2004

Friday I did a post about cooking a fish called Cobia. Yesterday I smoked about a pound with maple and pecan @ 200-275 dome temp til it was 150 degrees internally. It was great. Flakey, white and moist. Folks at a party said it was the best smoked fish they'd ever tasted. The only seasoning was terryaki, kosher salt and ground black pepper.[p]I have more and I'm wondering if I should try to brine, when it was so good to start with. I don't want to mess up a good thing, but I dont want to miss an opportunity with this fish that is a rareity(SP) to me. The flesh is very firm, if that matters.

RayS · May 2004

Borders,[p]My preference is with the brine. It draws flavor in to the meat. Just remember to allow the fish to dry after brining and before smoking, or else you will end up with a mushy piece of fish.[p]RayS[p]

Borders · May 2004

RayS, thanks

Unknown · May 2004

If I am going to cold smoke salmon we always brine of course. When I do a hot smoke (225-250) we never brine. Ryan won the anything but competition in Seattle using salmon doing this method and it works for us. Garlic salt, lemon slices, some fresh baby dill and a few pats of butter under and over the fish. We usually put it on aluminum foil to make removal easy. We use alder for wood because we have it, but apple or cherry are nice also.

Borders · May 2004

duck, cool. Thanks

Brining vs. Not Brining

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