Smoked Fish Spread Adapted From Ted Peters Famous Smoked Fish Recipes

Steps:

• Combine the cream cheese, jalapeno, celery, onion, Worcestershire and hot sauce in a food processor and mix until smooth. Break up the fish into the processor and process again until just mixed but not mushy. Thin the mixture with sour cream to a spreading consistency.
• Chill for 1 hour before serving. Serve with crackers or fresh raw vegetables.

Steps:

• Flake the fish into pieces.
• Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together in a medium bowl.
• Gently mix the fish into the sauce and combine well to make an even spread.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Transfer to a serving dish or ramekin and fluff fish with fork.

Steps:

• Mix all brine ingredients thoroughly.
• Cut fish in 1-2" pieces, leaving skin on.
• If fish is fresh, soak for 1-1/2 hours; if it has been frozen, soak for 45-60 minutes.
• Remove fish from marinade and place on smoker-racks skin-side down.
• Allow to glaze at room temperature for at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight.
• I usually set a fan to blow across the fish and help them get dry to the touch and look very glazed.
• Cold-smoke (at 120-140 degrees F) for 8-12 hours to obtain desired flavor.
• Then hot smoke (at 180-200 degrees F) for 1-2 hours or finish in a 300 degree F oven for 30-45 minutes to get desired texture.
• I do not like a mushy fish, so I cook it until it firms up, though it's hard to tell, though, until after it has cooled down.
• Cool to room temperature, freeze on cookie sheets, package, and store in freezer.
• Best with stronger flavored, oily fish such as salmon, tuna, or swordfish; in general, mild fish smoke poorly.
• Notes: I use a Brinkmann Smok’n Pit water-smoker.
• The water helps to keep the temperature low, and the steam in the smoke keeps meat more moist during long cooking.
• My smoker is intended for charcoal smoking, but for fish, I place soaked wood chips in a metal (not foil, foil will burn through, use real metal) sitting on top of a cheap hot plate (with a rheostat control, not just an on-off switch), which sits on a brick so the pan is up under the bottom of the smoker, where the charcoal pan normally sets.
• Adjust temperature by adjusting hot plate up or down (usually somewhere between low and medium), and throw another handful of wet wood chips into the pie plate every 30-40 minutes, when the smoke stops generating.
• Depending on my mood, and what kind of wood chips are available, I usually smoke fish with alder, cherry, oak, maple, orange or lemon wood (on the rare occasion I can find orange or lemon) Alder and cherry are usually the easiest to find, and they both work beautifully for fish.
• Do not use hickory or mesquite; they are just too strong and completely overwhelm fish!
• I usually double or triple this recipe; I have rigged my double-size smoker to take up to 4 racks to handle the larger amounts.
• Since this whole process takes a lot of time, the little extra effort is worth while, and the smoked fish freezes well, lasting a couple years with only a little deterioration in flavor or texture.
• SAFETY NOTE: Needless to say, DO THIS OUTDOORS!
• Cabon monoxide KILLS!

Steps:

• In a food processor or blender, add smoked fish, cream cheese, lemon peel and juice; cover and blend until almost smooth.
• Transfer fish to a serving container; stir in parsley, dill, shallot, black pepper and salt; cover and chill mixture in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
• To serve, let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes; garnish with additional dill and serve with suggested accompaniants.