smoked foods

You are free to use whatever meat you want here: Pork, beef, venison, wild boar, bear -- even duck or turkey. Traditional would be 80 percent pork and 20 percent beef. Go easy on all the spices except the garlic. You should be able to taste garlic in these links. My recipe does that, so make it as-is the first time, then adjust to your liking. A lot of Poles I know prefer to smoked their meats over cherry wood, so use that if you have it. Other choices would be oak, maple, beech, or walnut. You'll need the curing salt No. 1, which you can buy online.&nbsp;

Polska Kielbasa

pork, (wild pig, bear, venison, etc)

pork fat ((fatback

kosher salt, (about 2 tablespoons)

Instacure No. 1, (about 1 teaspoon)

ground black pepper, (about 2 teaspoons)

dried marjoram, (about 2 teaspoons)

sugar, (about 2 teaspoons)

garlic cloves, (minced)

water

Hog casings

Chill the meat and fat until they is almost frozen by putting it in the freezer for an hour or so. Take out some hog casings — you’ll need about 3 to 4 standard lengths, about 10 feet — and set in a bowl of very warm water to rehydrate.

Chop meat and fat into 1-inch pieces. Combine the salt, instacure, sugar, garlic, marjoram and pepper and mix it into the meat and fat with your hands. Let this rest in the fridge for about an hour.

Grind through your meat grinder (you can use a food processor in a pinch, but you will not get a fine texture) using the fine die. If your room is warmer than 65°F, set the bowl for the ground meat into another bowl of ice to keep it cold. Put the meat mixture back in the freezer while you clean up.

Add the ice water to the meat mix, then mix thoroughly either using a Kitchenaid on low for 90 seconds or with your (very clean) hands. This is important to get the sausage to bind properly. Once it is mixed well, put it back in the fridge while you clean up again.

Stuff the sausage into the casings. Kielbasa is normally made into long links tied at both ends to form a loop. Stuff about 2 feet of sausage, then pinch off the trailing end and pull off at least 6 inches of casing from the stuffing tube. Cut the casing with a knife and immediately pull out another 6 inches or so of casing to form the loose end for the next long loop of sausage. This ensures that you will have enough casing to tie off the links. Leave the links untied for now.

Check each long link of kielbasa for air pockets. You will probably have some. Use a sterilized needle (get the point glowing in the stove burner for a second or so to do this) and pierce the casing all around any air pockets. Gently compress the meat in the link from either end. Don't force it or the casing will burst. When you see no more air pockets, tie off the casings at either end.

Hang the sausages in a cool place. If it is warm out, hang for one hour. If you have a place where the temperature will not go higher than 38°F, you can hang them as long as overnight.

Get your smoker going. Smoke the links for at least 4 hours, and as many as 8. I prefer a lighter smoke, so you can still taste the meat and spices. You are looking to get the internal temperature of the links to 155°F. When the kielbasa is smoked, shock the links in ice water to cool quickly.

Hang them to dry for at least 1 hour before eating, and if you have a cool place (55°F or cooler) you can hang for up to 4 days.

If you are not familiar with making sausages at home, I wrote a basic tutorial on how to make sausage on my friend Elise's website, Simply Recipes. If you are smoking these sausages, you'll need the curing salt No. 1, which you can buy online.&nbsp;

Cajun Andouille Sausage

onion, (diced)

lard or peanut oil

beef

pork

kosher salt, (about 3 tablespoons)

Instacure No. 1, (about a heaping teaspoon)

dry milk, (about 1/3 cup (optional))

garlic

cayenne

sweet paprika

clove

allspice

thyme

mustard

red wine

Heat the lard or peanut oil in a small saute pan and cook the onions over medium heat until they are soft, translucent and slightly browned on the edges. Remove from the pan and let cool.

While the onions are cooking, take about 10 to 15 feet of casings (typically three lengths) and submerge them in warm water.

Make sure you remove as much silverskin as possible from your meat. Cut the meat and fat into 1 to 2 inch chunks and toss with the salt, Instacure, dry milk, garlic, cayenne, paprika, clove, allspice, thyme and powdered mustard. You need the Instacure No. 1 as a safety measure when you smoke the links; if you don't plan on smoking them, you need not use this. You need the dry milk to help the links hold onto their moisture: If you skip this, they will still taste good, but they will shrivel up when you chill them. Put everything in a container and freeze for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until the mixture is 35°F or colder.

Grind the onions, meat and fat through the coarse die. (If you are using the KitchenAid Food Grinder set the mixer on the No. 4 speed) Andouille is most typically a country-style, coarse sausage. If you want, you can even hand-mince the meat yourself. TIP: Hand-mince 1/4 of the meat and fat mixture to get a more interesting texture for your sausage.

Make sure the mixture is very cold, about 30°F; you will probably need to freeze it again for a while. When it's cold enough, take it out and add the chilled red wine or beer to the bowl and mix on the lowest setting for 90 seconds to 2 minutes, or with your very clean hands for 2 minutes. This turns what was essentially flavored ground meat into a cohesive sausage. The look of the meat will change as it binds to itself, and will look more like thick batter than ground meat and fat.

If you are making patties, you're done. Store each patty between pieces of wax paper and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then foil, before freezing. If you are making links, load up a sausage stuffer with the meat and fat. Rinse the casings by running warm water through them: You want to flush some salt and check for any holes in the casings. Thread an entire casing onto the stuffer and fill it slowly. Coil the filled casing as you go. Fill all the casings before making individual links.

To make individual links, tie off one end of a casing. Compress the sausage inside it to fill that end link. Pinch off a length of link with one hand, and another link with the other to create a second link next to the end sausage. Flip this second link over to create the sausage. Gently compress the meat in both the end link and this second one. Flip the second link over several times to tighten it. Move down the coil and create two more links. This time, flip the link back toward you to tighten it. Repeat this process down the coil until you get to the end. Tie off the end link. Repeat with all the other casings.

Hang your sausages to dry for an hour or more. Hang for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature, or up to overnight where your temperatures are below 45°F. I use a standard clothes drying rack to hang my links. When the sausages are hanging, use a large needle to pierce any spots on the links where there is air trapped underneath. Sterilize the needle in the flames of a gas burner or with a lighter until it glows. You need to pierce any trapped air or your links could burst when you cook them.

Once the sausages have hung, smoke them for at least 3 to 4 hours. If you hot-smoke your links, pull them when they reach an internal temperature of 155°F. If your links don't get to that temperature in time, you can either smoke them longer, or you can finish the cooking in an oven set at 200°F. Once they're fully cooked, let them cool before freezing.

Note that my salmon cure is very simple. Feel free to add things if you like. I've added bay leaves, chiles, thyme, garlic and minced onion. All are fine, but subtle. And since I often use smoked salmon as a base for another dish, I want mine to remain simple and clean-tasting.

Smoked Salmon

salmon, (trout

Birch or maple syrup

brown sugar

Cure the Fish.

Mix together the brine ingredients and place your fish in a non-reactive container (plastic or glass), cover and put in the refrigerator. This curing process eliminates some of the moisture from the inside of the fish while at the same time infusing it with salt, which will help preserve the salmon.

You will need to cure your salmon at least 4 hours, even for thin fillets from trout or pink salmon. In my experience, large trout or char, as well as pink, sockeye and silver salmon need 8 hours. A really thick piece of king salmon might need as much as 36 hours in the brine. Never go more than 48 hours, however, or your fish will be too salty. Double the brine if it's not enough to cover the fish.

Dry the Fish.

Take your fish out of the brine and pat it dry. Set the fillets on  your cooling rack, skin side down. Ideally you&#039;d do this right under a ceiling fan set on high, or outside in a cool, breezy place. By &quot;cool&quot; I mean 60°F or cooler. Let the fish dry for 2 to 4 hours (or up to overnight in the fridge). You want the surface of the fish to develop a shiny skin called a pellicle. This is one step many beginning smokers fail to do, but drying your cured, brined fish in a cool, breezy place is vital to properly smoking it. The pellicle, which is a thin, lacquer-like layer on top of the fish, seals it and offers a sticky surface for the smoke to adhere to. Don&#039;t worry, the salt in the brine will protect your fish from spoilage. Once you have your pellicle, you can refrigerate your fish for a few hours and smoke it later if you&#039;d like.

Smoke your fish.

Start by slicking the skin of your fish with some oil, so it won&#039;t stick to the smoker rack. Know that even though this is hot smoking, you still do not want high temperatures. Start with a small fire and work your way up as you go. It is important to bring the temperature up gradually or you will get that white albumin &quot;bleed&quot; on the meat. I can control my heat with my smoker, so I start the process between 140°F and 150°F for up to an hour, then finish at 175°F for a final hour or two. NOTE: What my smoker is set at is not necessarily what the actual temperature is. Smoking is an art, not a science. To keep temperatures mild, always put water in your drip pan to keep the temperature down. If your smoker is very hot, like a Traeger can get, put ice in the tray.

Baste the Fish.

After an hour in the smoker, baste the fish with birch or maple syrup, or honey; do this every hour. This is a good way to brush away any albumin that might form. In most cases, you will get a little. You just don&#039;t want a ton of it. Even if you can&#039;t control your temperature this precisely, you get the general idea. You goal should be an internal temperature of about 130°F to 140°F. (Incidentally, yes, I keep the smoke on the whole time. I don&#039;t find this to be too much smoke, but if you want a lighter smoke, finish the salmon without smoke or in a 200°F oven.)

You must be careful about your heat.  Other than failing to dry your salmon long enough, the single biggest problem in smoking salmon is too high heat. If you&#039;ve ever seen salmon &quot;bleed&quot; a white, creamy substance, that&#039;s a protein called albumin. If you see lots of it, you&#039;ve screwed up; a little is normal. Here&#039;s what happens: If you cook a piece of salmon at too high a heat, the muscle fibers in the meat contract so violently that they extrude albumin, which immediately congeals on the surface of the fish. It&#039;s ugly, and it also means your salmon will be drier than it could have been. You prevent this with a solidly formed pellicle, and by keeping your heat gentle. If you let your heat get away from you and you do get a white mess on your salmon, all is not lost. Just flake it out and make salmon salad with it: The mayonnaise in the salad will mask any dryness.

Cool and Store the Fish.

Once your fish is smoked, let it rest on the cooling rack for an hour before you put it in the fridge. Once refrigerated and wrapped in plastic, smoked fish will keep for 10 days. If you vacuum-seal it, the fish will keep for up to 3 weeks. Or freeze your fish for up to a year.

This is traditionally done with salmon in Alaska, usually chinook, coho, sockeye or chum salmon. But any salmon will work for this recipe, as will fish like mackinaw (lake trout), Dolly Varden, big rainbows or cutthroats, char or really any large, fatty fish you can cut into strips. I bet tuna belly would be good for this.

Smoked Salmon Candy

salmon pieces,

salt

maple syrup or birch syrup

Mix the salt and brown sugar together. Find a lidded container large enough to hold the salmon; a big tupperware works well. Lay down a layer of the salt/sugar mixture about 1/4 inch deep. Put a layer of salmon down on this, skin side up. Cover the salmon with more salt/sugar mixture. If you need a second layer of salmon, make sure the layer of salt and sugar between them is thick enough so that the pieces of salmon are not touching. Basically you are burying the salmon in salt and sugar. Cover and let cure in the fridge at least 30 minutes, and up to 3 hours. The longer the cure the saltier it will be; I cure for 2 hours.

Remove the salmon from the cure, which will get wet, and briefly rinse the fish under cold water. Pat dry with a paper towel and set the salmon on a drying rack skin side down. Let this dry in a breezy place for 2 hours, or in the fridge, uncovered, overnight. I put the racks under a ceiling fan near an open window with another fan blowing at the fish from the side. You are doing this to form a pellicle on the salmon, which helps it smoke properly. Don't skip this step!

Traditionally salmon candy is cold smoked for several days. If you can do this, go for it. Regardless, you want to bring the temperature up gradually over the course of an hour or so and let it sit at around 165°F to 200°F for at least 3 hours, and up to 6 hours if you like your salmon candy harder and smokier.

Every 90 minutes to 2 hours, paint the salmon with the maple syrup. This also helps to remove any albumen -- the icky white stuff -- that can form between the fish flakes if your smoker gets a little too hot too fast.

When the salmon looks good and lacquered, typically about 3 to 4 hours, remove it to the drying racks again and paint it one last time with the maple syrup. Allow to cool to room temperature before storing. Salmon candy will last a week in the fridge, longer if vacuum sealed. It freezes well, too.

This is an easy way to make smoked oysters, where you make your own brine while prepping them. You can of course shuck all your oysters raw and use the liquor to brine them, but it's a bit harder and I don't like the end product quite so much. But either way works.

Smoked Oysters

oysters

dry vermouth

Make sure all the oysters are clean by running them under cold water. Bring the vermouth and water to a boil and add some oysters in a single layer. Cover and steam until they are open, which should take between a minute and 3 minutes. Move opened oysters to a bowl or baking sheet and add more fresh ones until you've steamed them all open.

Strain the cooking liquid through a paper towel or cheesecloth (to remove all the debris) into a bowl. Set aside.

Use a small, sharp knife to remove the oysters from the shells, trying your best to get the little "scallop" muscle that holds the oyster in its shell -- it's tasty! When it's done, drop each oyster into the strained broth. Make sure all the oysters soak for at least 20 minutes.

Fire up the smoker. I use alder or cherry wood, and I like the temperature to be around 145°F. Keep in mind oysters are small, so you will need a fine grate to prevent them from falling through. I use dehydrator mats. Smoke the oysters for 90 minutes to 2 hours -- you don't need a whole lot of time here, just enough to get a smoky flavor without overcooking them. Don't let the smoker get too hot!

When they are done, toss the oysters in the oil and eat, or store in a glass jar in the fridge for up to a week. Freeze what you don't eat.

This method will work with the backstrap (loin) of an red meat animal, from deer, elk, pronghorn, moose and caribou, to sheep, goats, nilgai... and yes, cows. Once made, it will keep a week in the fridge.

Smoked Venison Backstrap

venison loin, (in one piece)

Salt ((See headnotes))

Weigh the meat in grams. Weigh out 1.5% of that weight in salt; you can go as high as 2%. Massage the salt into the meat well. Vacuum seal the meat and set it in the fridge for 2 days, longer if you are using elk or moose or something else thick. You cannot leave this too long -- it won&#039;t get too salty, so you can leave the meat in the fridge a week if you wanted to.

Get your smoker going; wood choice is yours. Try to keep it below 200°F. When it&#039;s ready, rinse the meat, then pat it dry with paper towels. If you have a probe thermometer, insert it into the thickest part of the backstrap. Smoke until it reaches about 135°F, which should take between 2 and 4 hours. Slice and eat.

This is a hot-smoking method, essentially a really slow, smoky barbecue. You must use plucked pheasants for this recipe. It will not work with skinned birds, as they will get too dry. If you are not a hunter but want to make this, you can use a high-quality domestic chicken (regular supermarket ones are too soft and flabby) or you can buy a whole pheasant online or in some supermarkets.

Smoked Pheasant

pheasants

kosher salt, (about 2 1/4 ounces)

maple syrup, (boiled down to 1 cup)

Dissolve the salt and sugar in the water. Find a lidded container just about large enough to hold both pheasants. Cover them with the brine and let this sit in the fridge for at least 12 hours and up to 18 hours.

OPTIONAL: Weigh the pheasant and the water you intend to brine it in; you'll have to guess, so err on more water. Now dissolve 2 percent of that total weight -- pheasant + water -- in kosher salt in the water, then brine. This method allows you to brine the bird for days without it getting too salty.

Take the pheasants out of the brine. Set on a cooling rack under a ceiling fan or in a breezy place and let them dry for an hour or so. You can also put the birds in a container uncovered in the fridge overnight. This drying process is an important step. You want the bird damp and tacky on the outside, not soaking wet.&nbsp;

Smoke the pheasants over the wood of your choice – I prefer apple, hickory or pecan – for at least 3 hours, and up to 5 hours. You want a relatively warm smoke, between 200°F and 250°F. Let the pheasants smoke for 1 hour before painting on the maple syrup, then baste with the syrup every 30 minutes afterward.

When the pheasants reach an internal temperature of 160°F in the thigh meat, take them out of the smoker. Put them on a cooling rack and baste them with maple syrup one more time. Wait at least 20 minutes before eating. They are excellent cold, too.

Obviously this is a recipe for jalapenos, but any pepper that you can get the skin off will work, too. If you don't want spicy, do it will bell peppers. I've done this with red peppers and it's awesome. Serranos work, too, but they're fiddly. Poblanos, Hatch and Anaheims are good alternatives.

Smoked, Roasted and Preserved Jalapenos

jalapenos

Olive oil to coat them, (plus more to fill jars)

Salt

cider vinegar

Coat the jalapenos in some olive oil and grill them over very high heat until the skins blister and char. Alternately, you can do this over the burners of a gas stove. When the skins are charred, put the jalapenos in a paper bag or large bowl and cover it. You want the jalapenos to steam for 30 minutes.

Put on rubber gloves if you have them. I am largely immune to the effects of chile oil on my hands, but dealing with so many chiles affected even me. So my advice is to wear gloves. Rub the skins off the jalapenos near the sink. Don't rinse the chiles, as this removes a lot of flavor. Just rinse your gloved hand from time to time to get stray bits of chile skin off them. When you're done, remove the stems and seeds from the jalapenos.

Arrange the jalapenos on the grate of your smoker. Start with the smoker cold, and bring the temperature up gradually to between 200°F and 225°F, for a total time of 1 to 3 hours, depending on how smoky you want them. I smoke for 2 hours, with the last hour being around 200°F. Once this step is done, the jalapenos can be kept in a jar in the fridge for 2 weeks or so.

To preserve them longer, pour the vinegar into a rimmed baking sheet and lay the jalapenos inside to coat them. Leave them there for 5 minutes. Set another baking sheet out and move the jalapenos to it. Sprinkle the chiles with salt.

Pour a little olive oil into a clean Mason jar. Pack the jalapenos into the jar, covering them with more olive oil. Leave no air pockets. I find that using a chopstick to poke around releases any trapped air bubbles. Cover the jalapenos with 1/2 inch of olive oil and close the lid. They will keep in the fridge for a solid 6 months, and I've used them after a year and they were OK.

While there are lots of ways to smoke a duck or goose, this is what I prefer. This recipe is designed for wild ducks or geese, but it does work with domestic birds as well. Once your birds have been smoked, they will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. What to do with the leftover carcasses? Make this smoked duck soup. You will not be sorry!

Smoked Duck or Goose

duck goose

maple syrup

Salt the duck well inside the cavity, then paint the outside of the bird with the maple syrup. Salt the outside well.

Set the bird in your smoker with a drip pan underneath. Smoke between 200 and 225 degrees over apple wood for 4 hours. Baste the ducks with the maple syrup every hour. When smoked, allow to cool completely, then carve. Serve cool or at room temperature as a cold cut or appetizer, or carve the breast whole and sear in a pan. Slice and serve with lentils.

I always skip recipe intos- except this one. Thank Hank for the knowledge he dropped in this one. Ready for Christmas dinner this year y’all. ?

THANK YOU FOR THE SM0KE DUCK RECIPE WILL BE MAKING THIS RECIPE FOR EASTER. YUM, YUM YUMMIE||||

Two questions:  We raise our own muscovys and are going to process some next week.  First question- we always rest them inside of bags on ice for 3+ days after processing.  I know some people brine and rest at the same time, I was thinking of doing that and then smoking them.  So basically freshly processed birds brined in salt, sugar (I always put sugar in my brines) and instacure (since I want to smoke on the cooler side) for 3 days and then smoked.  Good idea or no?  Second question- if I don’t feel like making soup with all of the smoked leg quarters would they be good frozen and then made into a sous vide confit at a later time?  And I would probably reduce the sous vide time for those since they’re partly cooked right?

I’m a big fan of tea smoked Duck that I first encountered while working in Taiwan.  That said, this Maple-salt-smoke combination is spot on delicious.  I’m glad you mentioned wood types, I use a competition blend pellets in my recteq that work really good.  It’s a strange thing about mesquite.  I love grilling meats and fish over mesquite coals, but mesquite smoked foods are very acrid tasting to me.  This is definitely a keeper!

There's a certain jazz involved with this soup. I use rice, but any grain you'd like to eat will do. Only be sure to cook the grain separately in the broth -- if you cook it in the soup, the grains will turn the pretty clear broth cloudy. Button mushrooms are easy to get and are very close to the mushrooms that grow in our duck hunting grounds, but any mushroom will do. I roast them in the oven first and then add them to the soup. Doing this will give you a better texture. Finally, you want a pungent green thing. Mustard is my choice, but arugula, watercress or turnip greens are all good alternatives. Finish the dish with a squeeze of lemon juice at the table.

Duck Soup

duck

mushrooms,

duck oil

rice

Salt and black pepper

mustard greens, (chopped small)

chives

lemons

Start by making the broth. Heat up the premade broth or water to the steaming point, then add the chopped up smoked duck carcasses. If you are using water, feel free to add a chopped up onion, carrot and celery if you have them lying around. Let this steep at the steaming point -- don't let the broth simmer or boil -- for 4 hours. Then strain the broth. Put a sieve over a large bowl. Set a piece of paper towel in the sieve, then ladle the broth through this into the bowl. Keep the strained broth warm.

While the stock is cooking, preheat the oven to 375°F. Toss the mushrooms with the melted duck fat or oil and salt them well. Set them in a roasting pan and grind some black pepper over them. Roast for 15 minutes and then turn off the heat. Let the mushrooms continue to roast as you do other things. They can sit in the oven for up to 3 hours.

About 30 minutes before the broth is ready, pour off 2 cups and put that in a small pot. Add the rice and another cup of water and bring it to a boil. Cover the pot, lower the heat to its lowest setting and cook the rice. When the rice has absorbed all the water, about 15 minutes, turn off the heat but leave the lid on the pot.

While the rice is cooking, fish out the legs and carcasses of the ducks and pick off as much meat as you can.

To finish the soup, add the chopped mustard greens to the strained broth and let them cook until wilted, about 5 minutes. Put some shredded duck meat, rice and mushrooms in individual bowls and ladle over some of the broth and greens. Sprinkle chives on top and add lemon juice and black pepper to taste.

This is my favorite way to prepare duck now. It's easy to make and compliments, rather than hides the taste of the duck. Everyone I had over for dinner loved it.

Hi there, Hank!

I just wanted to say thank you for sharing this wealth of recipes and stories. I really appreciate your approach to cooking and gathering ingredients--great stuff! When it comes to foraging, I'm still a novice, but this website has definitely inspired me to go further down that path, so to speak. 

So far, I've only cracked into two recipes: the smoked duck (twice), which led to this duck soup--both just lovely. I'm certainly looking forward to the next!

Cheers,

Sean from Vancouver, Canada

Made this recipe after using the leftovers from this recipe: https://www.wenthere8this.com/sous-vide-whole-duck Be sure to read the comments from BobInAZ that is me and that is how I do it. Anyway, for two people there is usually a leg and part of a breast left over.   Since I quarter the duck and cook the dark and light meat separately, the backbone and back ribs, neck, and ends of the wings are already butchered out before cooking, and I toss those in a stockpot that simmers overnight at 194 degrees, with celery, onions, garlic, carrots and herbs and then strain that through cheese cloth in the morning.  This yields 4 quarts of awesome duck broth. The skin not needed for roasting on the legs and breast I render into duck fat (simmer on low with 3/4 cup water for 1 hr and strain through paper towel, easy) 

So, I used the leg and quarter of a breast leftover and used this recipe.   Had duck fat for the mushrooms. The duck is not smoked, it is sous vide, the stock is simmered and reduced overnight, and I use leftover duck meat, not the duck meat from the stock bones, which I discard.   Like the author said... it's jazz.  Rataricious, you dig?

That was a beautiful way to use up some roast duck leftovers. The mushrooms cooked in the rendered duck fat were delicious. I used aragula/rocket and cooked the rice as described. Very rich and smokey. Would definitely cook again.

Very tasty. The mushrooms are a great touch. I deglazed the mushroom pan with some of the broth, and put the result back into the broth. And on a whim, I crushed a few cloves of garlic and zested the lemon a bit, and added all that into the broth toward the end, and I didn't regret it. Chives might have been better, but I had scallions, and it worked for out. Very nice alternative to the usual carrots and celery chicken soup I often do with leftover poultry.

This is a lovely recipe. I used a roasted ruck carcass and added liquid smoke for supplement. Used foraged wood blewits and honey mushrooms and added thyme and wild nettle. Might be one of my favorite soup recipes now. Thank you for sharing! 

-Sara

Phenomenal soup, make a pot with smoked goose wings every two or three weeks during the season

Smoked two ducks and used the carcasses to make this soup. The broth was phenomenal. I liked the soup but used much less rice than the recipe called for- cooked 1 cup and used less than half of it. Would highly recommend this although it's a bit of work.

First time eating duck was yesterday when I smoked one that I raised. I used the leftovers for this recipe today. I used freshly picked  radish greens and it gave that pungency you’re talking about. Had to use store bought mushrooms, and was really missing the citrus. Awesome recipe thanks so much, can’t wait to do it again.

This was an awesome use of the left over smoked duck.  One of my favorite dishes!

Made this when the in-laws were in town and they loved it.  It elevated the wild duck to a whole new level.  Will make again.

Just did this with the leftovers from my thanksgiving duck. So good!

Easy to make and it comes out excellent!  I made a few minor changes, as I couldn't find a couple ingredients, but it was great.  Arugula, and I had found chanterelles that morning so used them, and some bits of black trumpet and bok choy.  If you already have the broth, it is REALLY easy.  Try this!

Consider this a master recipe for smoking small birds. Doves, pigeons, teal, snipe, rails or quail will all work with this recipe. The sauce is something I like a lot, but you can use whatever sauce you&#x27;d like.

Smoked Doves with Guajillo Sauce

salt ((I use Diamond Crystal))

Instacure No. 1 ((optional))

guajillo peppers, (stems and seeds removed)

tomato paste

white onion, (quartered)

garlic,

dried Mexican oregano

coriander

chiles,

Salt and lime juice

Dissolve the salt and curing salt into the water and submerge the doves in it. Set this in the fridge for no less than 4 hours, and no more than 24 hours; I prefer 12 hours. Remove, rinse briefly and pat dry.

Get your smoker going to about 170F to 200F. Use whatever wood you like, but I prefer mesquite or oak. Smoke your doves for 2 hours, with smoke going the whole time.

Meanwhile, make the sauce. Pour boiling water over the dried chiles to rehydrate them. While this is happening, char the onion and garlic in a hot, dry skillet until you get some nice blackening. Peel the garlic and put it in a blender. Roughly chop the onion and put that in there, too.

Put the guajillo chiles and all the remaining ingredients into the blender and puree. Thin the sauce with some of the chile soaking water, lager beer or water. Adjust the seasoning with salt and lime.

You can either paint the doves with this sauce in the last hour of cooking, or you can remove the birds from the smoked, cut then in half with kitchen shears or a knife, and then bathe them in the sauce. Serve with plenty of napkins and a bone bowl. Watch out for birdshot!

This is a dry cure approach to smoking fish, which I like a little better than the brine option: It seems to draw out excess moisture faster. The spices I use are what I like, but you can feel free to alter to your taste. Don't change the salt and sugar, though. If you can't use alcohol, skip that step and just dry the fish without the coating of booze. This method will work with any sort of fish you can cut into blocks: tuna, salmon, white seabass, big redfish or catfish, tilefish, swordfish, shark, marlin, albacore, etc.

Smoked Sturgeon

sugar

mace

garlic powder

Brandy salmon

Trim the sturgeon of any fat or dark meat. Cut the pieces into regular blocks, like rectangles. Mix the salt, sugar and spices together, then coat the fish with it. Put into a covered, non-reactive container (plastic, ceramic, stainless steel) and set in the fridge to cure for as many hours as each block of sturgeon weighs, i.e., if you cut 1 pound blocks, they should be salted for only about 1 hour.

Remove the sturgeon from the cure and rinse. Pat dry with paper towels, then brush brandy or whisky all over the sturgeon. Set on a rack in the fridge uncovered until the next day.

Smoke over very low heat -- about 160°F -- until it's smoked the way you like it. I go for 4 hours.

Allow to cool fully before vacuum sealing and storing. It will keep for a week in the fridge or 6 months in the freezer if it has been vacuum sealed.

Been using this recipe for years on lake sturgeon in Wisconsin.  Very good, and love the simplicity of the cure.  Have been adding a sweetness on the outside as it smokes.  Trying a honey glaze this year.   Candy sturgeon!

Amazing sturgeon recipe.  Doing another batch today/tomorrow
It’s all in the timing as for how long to brine, rinse.   Leave it too long, or have smaller pieces of fish will díctate salty the fish will be.   It was a huge hit yesterday!  Thanks for sharing

I use this recipe for Albacore loins. Ignore the negative comments, just don't brine the fish too long. Super good!

Hank, 
  You were right. This is the best smoked fish I've ever made and may ever have. West coast white sturgeon smoked with white oak. I love your recipes. Corned Venison is one of my faves and makes my work lunches a treat for much of the year. I hope to keep a steady supply of honest food around to utilize them.
Carry on.

This is as close as I've gotten to that classic Jewish deli style "smoked sable" recipe. Basically it's a dry cure and a light smoke, with the addition of some honey for sweetness and then that paprika that's so distinctive. Fresh or frozen sablefish (black cod) fillets are becoming more and more available. My local Whole Foods carries them frozen, and I've even seen whole black cod sold fresh. If you can't get sablefish, other fish you might try this recipe on would be bluefish and mackerel, especially Spanish mackerel. The meat will be quite different, but this method responds well to oily fish like these.

Smoked Sablefish or Black Cod

sablefish fillets, (skin on)

Honey for glazing the fish

Sweet paprika

Mix the salt, sugar and garlic powder in a bowl. Pour on a healthy layer of the mix into a lidded plastic tub that will hold the fish. I cut the fillets into pieces I imagine I will want to serve, so about 2 to 3 per side of a large sablefish, probably just two pieces per side with a typically sized black cod. Set the fish skin side down on the salt. Now use the remaining salt mix to massage into the meat of the fish. You want it covered with as much salt as the fish can hold. Cover the container and set in the fridge for however many hours as the fish weighs.

Remove the sablefish and rinse it briefly under cool water. Pat it dry. Set it back in the fridge, this time uncovered, overnight.

The next day, get your smoker ready. I prefer alder wood for fish, but any mild wood will do. Oak is nice, as is beech or maple or a fruit wood. Smoke the sablefish at about 160ºF for 2 to 3 hours. You want the fish cooked through, but just barely.

After the first hour of smoking, paint the fish with honey. Repeat this every hour.

When the sablefish is ready, move it to a cooling rack and paint it with the honey one last time. Let it cool at room temperature for about an hour. When it has cooled, use tweezers to pull out all the pin bones running down the center of the fish. They should slide out easily. Now dust the top of the sablefish with the paprika. Let this sink in for about 30 minutes, then put the fish in the fridge. You can serve it now, or when chilled. If you want to package it up to store it long-term, wait a day before vacuum sealing it -- this will let the paprika set on the fish.

Followed directions, made on my Ninja with PitBoss apple blend pellets. This was amazingly delicious.  Texture was perfect at 145°.

sable at the local Jewish deli is prohibitively expenses. I eyed some black cod at Costco and found this recipe. It came out every bit as good as the deli. I am making a second batch. I am using my gas grill that has 4 burners. I turned on one burner on the far side on low. Perfectly heated at 160 degrees. I place my wood chip box on the burner and the fish on the other side - 2 hours total. Thank you for this recipe. Smoked sable is right up there with my favorite foods.

The smoked sablefish recipe is spot on.  If you like what you get at Zabar's, but don't live on the upper east side this will make you very happy. I live in Boulder County, CO and there's not a decent deli for miles. When I found out Whole Foods often carried sablefish (albeit frozen) I went on a mission that ended with this recipe.  Thanks so much!  My husband,  a nice Jewish guy from New York, send compliments as well.
PS  I use a Traeger smoker.  If you like heat- using hot paprika adds a nice touch

This dish doesn't exist in Vietnam, so far as I can tell, but it definitely has the flavors we all look for in that fantastic cuisine. Sweet, sour, salty, meaty, and spicy... and to this I add smoky. Any sort of flaked fish, smoked or not, will work here.&nbsp;

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Top 15 smoked foods recipes from across the web

The most viewed smoked foods recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Polska Kielbasa

Cajun Andouille Sausage

Smoked Salmon

Smoked Salmon Candy

Smoked Oysters

Smoked Venison Backstrap

Smoked Pheasant

Smoked, Roasted and Preserved Jalap...

Smoked Duck or Goose

Duck Soup

Smoked Doves with Guajillo Sauce

Smoked Sturgeon

Smoked Sablefish or Black Cod

Vietnamese Smoked Fish Salad

Smoked Trout or Kokanee

The most viewed smoked foods recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine