Smoking Fish? - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Baja_Traveler · 08-03-2015, 03:04 PM

Did somebody say "Smoked Tuna"??

Maple Smoked Tuna

Here's the Brine:

2 cups apple cider
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup soy (I used dark soy)
2 Tbs Molasses
1 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 1/2 Tsp Onion Powder
And here is the secret ingredient: 3 cans Vernor's Ginger Ale

Why Vernor's - This Ginger Ale not only gives a nice ginger hint to the meat, but since the syrup is aged in oak barrels for years before canning, it has a beautiful sharp oaky flavor that simply works. Only Vernor's is made this way, so no substitutions will do...

I heated up the brine solution in a sauce pan to dissolve the ingredients, let them cool - then added the 3 pre-chilled cans of Vernor's. The Yellowfin tuna loins were sliced up into 1 1/2" thick pieces and brined for 6 hours. Then put on racks to form a pellicle. I used a fan to help speed up the process.

I fired up the smoker to 200* - no water pan, but a large tray of play sand is in place as a heat sink. The AMNPS was stoked up with Maple pellets, and the yellowfin went in for a 4 hour smoke to an internal temp of 140*.

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08-03-2015, 03:04 PM	#7
Baja_Traveler Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Table 17, Bay Park Fish Co. Posts: 943	Did somebody say "Smoked Tuna"?? Maple Smoked Tuna Here's the Brine: 2 cups apple cider 1 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup kosher salt 1/2 cup honey 1/2 cup soy (I used dark soy) 2 Tbs Molasses 1 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder 1 1/2 Tsp Onion Powder And here is the secret ingredient: 3 cans Vernor's Ginger Ale Why Vernor's - This Ginger Ale not only gives a nice ginger hint to the meat, but since the syrup is aged in oak barrels for years before canning, it has a beautiful sharp oaky flavor that simply works. Only Vernor's is made this way, so no substitutions will do... I heated up the brine solution in a sauce pan to dissolve the ingredients, let them cool - then added the 3 pre-chilled cans of Vernor's. The Yellowfin tuna loins were sliced up into 1 1/2" thick pieces and brined for 6 hours. Then put on racks to form a pellicle. I used a fan to help speed up the process. I fired up the smoker to 200* - no water pan, but a large tray of play sand is in place as a heat sink. The AMNPS was stoked up with Maple pellets, and the yellowfin went in for a 4 hour smoke to an internal temp of 140*.