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Home » Fish

Published: Aug 19, 2021 · Modified: Sep 2, 2021 by Kathy

Smoked Kokanee

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Smoked fish piled on a wire rack.

Brined and smoked kokanee is a delicious way to use and preserve your catch! A light wood smoke adds delicious flavor to this fish.

It's time to get fishing and then get smoking!

Smoked fish piled on a rack.

Why make this recipe

If you love to fish, then you probably (or hopefully) have an abundance of fish to use. This smoked fish recipe is for kokanee, but it also works for trout or other small fish.

Kokanee is a landlocked sockeye salmon that can be found in the inland northwest and a few other freshwater lakes. We fish for kokanee quite often and our daily limit is 15 per person per day.

Kokanee are a smaller fish. Most of our kokanee right now are 10-14 inches in length. We also catch the occasional rainbow trout when fishing for kokanee. When that happens, we just add it to the batch and smoke it too.

One of our favorite ways to use kokanee is smoking it! This recipe is easy to make and really enhances the natural flavors of the kokanee. We love to eat the smoked fish as an appetizer and add it to this smoked salmon dip.

Smoked salmon is also perfect for adding to smoked salmon pasta.

Fresh or frozen

Use fresh or frozen fish in this recipe. We often freeze our catch when we return home and then when we are ready to make a batch, we pull it out of the freezer and let it thaw. Then we brine and smoke it.

Using frozen allows us to accumulate enough fish to make a batch and allows us to smoke when we have the time. We usually smoke between 30-45 fish at time.

Key ingredients

Ingredients for making smoked fish.
  • Fish - we use kokanee or trout
  • Sugar - granulated sugar and brown sugar
  • Salt - use pickling salt or kosher salt. Those salts do not contain iodine or any anticaking agents
  • Garlic powder
  • Water - we use water from our well. If you have strong-tasting tap water, use filtered water.
Cleaned kokanee fish on a baking sheet.

Preparing the fish

Good preparation for smoked fish begins right after you catch the fish.

  • Keep the freshly caught fish in a cooler with ice or in a live well
  • Clean your fish shortly after catching. Make certain you remove all entrails and the cavity is well rinsed. Make certain cleaned fish stays very cold!
  • Remove the head or leave it on, the choice is yours. We tend to leave our heads on until after the fish is smoked. However, we often fish with friends who like to remove the heads while cleaning the fish. Either way is fine. You will see we have both ways used in this recipe.
  • Use fresh fish within 1-2 days of catching or freeze fish in an airtight zip-top freezer bag right away
  • Keep fish chilled at all times
  • If using frozen fish, allow fish to fully thaw before preparing to smoke
  • Rinse fish one final time before adding to brine. This just double check to make certain nothing was overlooked in the cleaning process

Making the brine

  • Mix water in a large container along with brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper
  • Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved
  • Add fish and refrigerate for 12 hours
  • If you don't have a large container, the fish can be placed in zip top bags and the brine poured over the fish
  • Stir the fish or rotate the bags at least once to make certain all fish has been in contact with the brine.
Brine for making smoked fish.
Fish in a brine in a large container.

Smoke the fish

  • Rinse each fish individually to remove excess brine
  • Place fish on a baking sheet and allow water to drain off fish
  • Place fish belly side down on a smoking rack. Make certain rack has been sprayed with a nonstick spray prior to adding fish
  • Spread cavity of fish apart so the inside of the fish is open
Fish on a tray in a smoker.
Rows of fish inside a smoker.
  • Turn on heat on smoker and let heat for one hour to help dry the fish. Many electric smokers only have one setting, but if you have a temperature control setting, set to 160°.
  • After one hour, add one pan of wood chips. Use apple wood chips or alder chips.
  • Keep smoking until smoke dissipates (45 minutes - 1 hour)
  • Empty smoke pan and refill with another pan of chips and smoke again
Wood chips added to a smoker.
Smoke coming out of the top of a smoker.

Recipe tips

  • Use fish that has been cleaned and stored properly
  • Be certain rinse your fish well after brining otherwise your fish will be way too salty
  • For this recipe, we used a Big Chief Smoker. However, almost any type of smoker will work. When doing larger batches, we will often use a homemade smoker that will hold up to 100 fish. The process is the same.
  • If your smoker is too hot, place a tray of water or even ice cubes in a tray in the bottom. You don't want your smoker going over 200°
  • Use 2-3 pans of smoke - if you like a heavier smoke, use 3 pans!
  • Actual smoking time will vary depending on your smoker, the size of your fish and the external temperature and humidity
  • Internal temperature of fish should reach 145°
  • Allow fish to cool and then refrigerate or freeze

Recipe Faqs

How long will smoked fish last?

Refrigerated fish will last up to 5 days. Frozen fish will last up to one year if frozen in a vacuum seal bag. The vacuum seal bag will help prevent the fish from drying out.

You can freeze the fish whole with the skin and bones or freeze just the smoked meat. For ease, freeze in portions that you will use.

Smoked fish can also be canned using a pressure canner. Canning Smoked Fish

Smoked fish on a wooden board with cheese and crackers.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop

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Smoked fish piled on a rack.

Smoked Kokanee

Kathy Berget
Brined and smoked fish using kokanee, trout or other small fish.
5 from 33 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Saved!
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 3 hours hrs
Brining Time 12 hours hrs
Total Time 15 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Course Preserving Food
Cuisine American
Servings 30 Fish
Calories 170 kcal

Equipment

  • Measuring Cups
  • Measuring Spoons
  • Large Container - 6 Quart
  • Smoker
  • Wood Chips (apple or alder wood)
Prevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients
 
 

  • 30 kokanee fish
  • 3 quarts water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup canning salt (no iodine )
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper

Instructions
 

Brine

  • Combine water, sugars, salt, garlic powder and pepper in a large container. Mix until the sugar and salt have dissolved.
    3 quarts water, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup canning salt, 1 tablespoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • Add fish. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours. If you don't have a large enough container, divide fish and brine into two large zip top bags. Stir the fish or rotate bags at least once during the 12 hours to make certain all the fish is covered with the brine.
    30 kokanee fish
  • Remove fish from brine and rinse each fish well with fresh water. Discard brine.

Smoking

  • Spray smoking racks with a nonstick spray
  • Place each fish on the rack bellyside down. Make certain the belly is spread apart so the cavity of the fish is open.
  • Heat smoker to 160° for one hour. Do not use any smoke during this time, just a plain dry heat.
  • Add one pan of wood chips to the bottom of your smoker. Continue smoking until all smoke dissipates. Remove pan of wood chips and discard. Refill pan and smoke. You may need to add a 3rd pan if fish hasn't reached temperature.
  • Continue cooking until internal temperature of fish reaches 145°
  • Remove fish from smoker and allow to cool before refrigerating or freezing

Notes

  • Use fish that has been cleaned and stored properly
  • Be certain rinse your fish well after brining otherwise your fish will be way too salty
  • For this recipe, we used a Big Chief Smoker. However, almost any type of smoker will work. When doing larger batches, we will often use a homemade smoker that will hold up to 100 fish. The process is the same.
  • If your smoker is too hot, place a tray of water or even ice cubes in a tray in the bottom. You don't want your smoker going over 200°
  • Use 2-3 pans of smoke - if you like a heavier smoke, use 3 pans!
  • Actual smoking time will vary depending on your smoker, the size of your fish and the external temperature and humidity
  • Internal temperature of fish should reach 145°
  • Allow fish to cool and then refrigerate or freeze
 

Nutritional Disclaimer:

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition

Serving: 1fishCalories: 170kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 39gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 98mgSodium: 280mgPotassium: 632mgSugar: 1gCalcium: 4mgIron: 1mg
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rod Bashaw says

    October 03, 2023 at 10:39 am

    Kathy, is okay to leave the fish in the brine longer than 12 hours? thanks

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      October 03, 2023 at 1:09 pm

      Hi Rod,
      Yes, you can leave it in longer. I wouldn't go longer than 24 hours or the fish may become too salty! 🙂
      Kathy

      Reply
  2. Jordan says

    February 10, 2023 at 2:13 pm

    Hi, I'm a novice at smoking fish. Is it possible to smoke previously frozen cod, haddock or basa filets with your recipe? Any advice would be appreciated. Love your recipe and canning instructions!

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      February 10, 2023 at 2:44 pm

      Hi Jordan,
      We have smoked frozen fish several times. However not those particular kinds you've mentioned. We have smoked frozen mackerel which turns a bit mushy when it thaws, but once smoked it turned out perfectly. I don't think you'll have any issues. Allow your fish to fully thaw, then brine and then smoke.
      Let me know how it turns out!
      Enjoy,
      Kathy

      Reply
  3. Valentina says

    August 20, 2021 at 12:35 pm

    Looks absolutely delicious, Kathy. That Big Chief smoker looks like fun. I've never used a smoker, and this seems like a really great cooking project with super tasty results! I'm bookmarking it for when I get a smoker. 🙂 Valentina

    Reply
  4. David @ Spiced says

    August 20, 2021 at 4:17 am

    5 stars
    Interesting! I love smoking anything and everything, but I've never smoked trout (or kokanee). I'm intrigued! This would be a delicious way to amp up salads or really anything - a good smoked fish is high on my list. Thanks for the inspiration here, Kathy!

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      August 20, 2021 at 5:38 am

      Thanks, David!!! My Grandpa always smoked kokanee and trout. He had an old wooden smokehouse that he hung all the fish inside. That was many, many years ago, but I still remember it! 🙂

      Reply
5 from 33 votes (32 ratings without comment)

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I'm Kathy, and I love to create delicious recipes from scratch utilizing many ingredients that we grow and raise. I'm a recipe creator, food photographer, and cookbook author!

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