Preserving various meats is something our ancestors did as a matter of course, but modern people have forgotten how to do it because of all the comforts that come with living in a specialized society. It is not that difficult to relearn these almost lost arts. Ironically, the Internet and other modern technologies such as mass production have made it available to all specialized devices adapted to the art of smoking. These devices are inexpensive and well worth it, as building one can be problematic if you are not the practical type. Additionally, the manufactured devices and add-ons to the backyard grill are much more precise in the way they control temperature and smoke volume.
You can use gas smoker grills, a built-in grill with an additional smoker, or gas grills with a built-in smoker to make full flavor smoked salmon or other smoked fish. It takes time and energy, but the heavenly and nourishing finish is well worth all the preparation and work. Smoking in this manner will elevate cooking on gas grills to new heights.
In this world of processed and chemical-laden foods, it would be exhilarating to travel to another time when small native settlements smoked their food over a smoky fire or in a smoke-filled smokehouse so it could be preserved to protect it over time Best Fish Smokers winter. This is in our blood. Most cultures throughout history had some form of smoking as food preservation before modern science and refrigeration were discovered. I won’t fight refrigeration, but I think substances in food can lead to unhealthy or nutritional shortages. While smoking food creates some naturally formed substances that you wouldn’t want to ingest exclusively or every day, reasonable frequency is fine, as evidenced by the fact that people have been doing it for years minus any distinguishable chronic or unavoidable effects.
Let’s smoke some fish.
High-quality fish is the best. You can eat fresh saltwater fish like salmon and raw tuna. Does anyone want sushi? If you eat raw fish, you just have to catch it. As well as just fresh, not cooked as described, or grilled, you can also freeze it to preserve for later. Canning is good too, but you may need to learn about safe canning methods first. Smoking is yet another method of protecting fish. I enjoy vacuum refrigerated smoked salmon from the supermarket and have sometimes enjoyed canned smoked sprats from Latvia which were very lovely and tasty on rye bread.
You want to protect yourself from microbes and parasites, so I recommend soaking the fish in a brine (salt) solution first. You can use electric, charcoal, wood or gas grills for work.
Buy the fish. Clean them and cut their heads, cut them into fillets and blocks. Leave the skin on. Lay the skin down over the grates so if they stick, you lose the skin and it doesn’t matter. If you were to try this with fish fillets, the meat would stick to the grates and get in the way. All that would be left would be a hodgepodge and a lot of irritation, and wasted fish.
Dip the fish in a brine solution of sugar, spices and salt. You can use a preservative, but I say you don’t need things you can’t spell. Use your own intelligence.
Prepare the fish with this basic brine solution:
1/2 cup non-iodized salt (kosher is fine)
1/2 cup of sugar
1 liter of water
Stir until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved.
Place the fish in the solution, taking care that it is completely covered with the brine, and place it in the refrigerator.