Food & Cooking Recipes Breakfast & Brunch Recipes How to Smoke Fish 3.7 (30) 1 Review With our easy technique, you'll be smoking trout, arctic char, and other fish using your charcoal grill—no special equipment needed. By Martha Stewart Martha Stewart Martha Stewart is a bestselling author, entrepreneur, and lifestyle expert who has taught millions of people through generations the joy of entertaining, cooking, gardening, collecting, crafting, and home renovating via her eponymous magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Emmy-winning television shows, and 99 books (and counting). Based in Katonah, N.Y., where she helms her 156-acre Bedford Farm, Martha is America's first self-made female billionaire. Editorial Guidelines Updated on July 28, 2023 Rate PRINT Share Close Photo: Grant Webster Prep Time: 15 mins Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Servings: 8 Where there's smoke, there's flavor. Smoking fish at home may sound too complicated or intimidating, but it’s as simple as grilling. In fact, it’s not even necessary to buy any expensive, bulky specialized equipment—all you need is a charcoal grill and aromatic wood chips. (This recipe calls for apple wood, but you can also use alder, pecan, hickory, maple, oak, cherry, or peach woods, according to availability and your tastes.) Our instructions for how to smoke fish guide you every step of the way, from brining to setting up the charcoal grill, preparing the wood chips, and finally smoking the fish. We also provide a guide on how long to smoke a fish, depending on the variety and the cut. Grilling Wood Is the Secret to Flavorful Smoked Food—Here's How to Use It What Is Smoking? Smoking is a method for using fire and hardwood smoke to cook, preserve, and flavor foods including meat and fish. There are many different approaches to smoking that use varying kinds of equipment, temperatures, and seasoning methods. Smoking at higher temperatures (above 145 degrees Fahrenheit) is known as hot smoking, and smoking at lower temperatures (below 86 degrees) is called cold smoking. How to Smoke Fish at Home The method is surprisingly simple. You don’t even need a smoker, just a regular charcoal grill. All you need to do is set up the grill for indirect heat, cover the coals with soaked aromatic wood chips, lay the fish on the grates, then let the fragrant, flavorful smoke do its work. How Long to Smoke a Fish You might be surprised at how quick the smoking process is. Smaller fillets only need 12 to 15 minutes, and larger, thicker cuts of fish 20 to 30 minutes. Though we love the flavor of smoke, longer isn’t always better. In this case, the delicate fish can dry out if left in the hot grill for too long, and its mild flavor absorbs plenty of tasty smoke in a short amount of time. Types of Fish That Are Best for Smoking Our recipe gives you instructions for smoking trout fillets, whole trout, and a side of arctic char. You can also use this recipe as a guide for other types of fish that are great for smoking, including salmon, whitefish, whiting, herring, sturgeon, haddock, mackerel, tuna, and any other varieties of fatty fish. Storing Smoked Fish The salt in the brine combined with the hot, dry smoke helps preserve the fish for longer than other cooking methods, but it should still be handled with the same caution as any other kind of raw or cooked fish. Never leave it at room temperature! It should always be kept cold, either in the refrigerator below 38 degrees Fahrenheit or in the freezer at 0 degrees. Smoked fish should be tightly wrapped in plastic film and then stored in an airtight container such as a zip-top bag. It can be preserved even longer if you vacuum seal it. When sealed tightly, smoked fish should keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. To preserve it for longer, keep it in the freezer, where it should be good for up to one year. Ingredients For the Brine 2 cups water 1 cup muscovado sugar or packed dark-brown sugar Coarse salt For Trout Fillets 2 skin-on trout fillets (8 ounces each), boned For Whole Trout 1 whole trout (1 ¼ pounds), backbone and pin bones removed For Side of Arctic Char 1 side skin-on arctic char (1 ¼ pounds) For Smoking Wood trimmings or apple wood chips (1 cup for trout fillets or 2 cups for whole trout or char) Vegetable oil, for grill basket Directions Grant Webster Make the brine: Combine water, sugar, and 1/2 cup salt. Grant Webster Cover fish with brine: Place fish in a nonreactive dish; cover with brine. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Grant Webster Fish can be brined overnight for a deeper flavor. Prepare the grill: Heat charcoal grill to medium, piling coals on one side to set up direct and indirect heat zones. Set a drip pan under the grill grate in the indirect heat zone. Grant Webster Soak wood chips: Soak wood trimmings in water for 30 minutes. Grant Webster Drain: Drain (if smoking whole trout or char, leave 1/2 cup wood in water); add to coals. Grant Webster Smoke fish: Once smoke develops, place fish in a lightly oiled grill basket. Transfer to grill rack, and set over drip pan. Open lid vent, and position over fish. (This will direct smoke to impart maximum smokiness.)For the trout fillets: Smoke fish until cooked through but not dry, 12 to 15 minutes.For the whole trout: Smoke for 10 minutes. Flip basket. Drain remaining 1/2 cup wood; add to coals. Smoke fish until cooked through but not dry, 8 to 10 minutes more.For the side of arctic char: Smoke for 10 minutes. Drain remaining 1/2 cup wood; add to coals. Smoke fish until cooked through but not dry, 13 to 15 minutes more. Grant Webster Grilled Fish for Tacos What to Serve With Smoked Fish: Grant Webster Set up a classic delicatessen spread with pickled onions, tomatoes, capers, sour cream, and cream cheese. Don’t forget the fresh bagels! Smoked fish is also delicious in dips such as Smoked Salmon Dip with Bagel Chips and Smoked-Trout Pate with Pita Crisps, or on a salad like Smoked-Salmon Cobb Salad. Lox, Smoked Salmon, Nova, and Gravlax: Here's What Makes These Bagel Companions Different Frequently Asked Questions: Do you need to brine or soak fish before smoking? The brining step is important for texture, flavor, and preservation. Soaking the fish in a liquid solution helps it stay moist during smoking. The salt and sugar in the brine act as preservatives, and also give the fish a delicious, complex flavor along with other seasonings such as herbs, spices, and aromatics. What temperature do you smoke fish at? In the method outlined in this recipe a charcoal grill set up for indirect heat, with its lid closed, will reach about 225 degrees Fahrenheit. With specialized smoking equipment, it is possible to control and monitor the temperature more closely. Is smoked fish raw fish? This recipe is for hot-smoked fish. This means that the fish is fully cooked, thanks to the heat of the coals. There are also techniques for cold-smoked fish, in which the smoke is allowed to flavor the fish without heating it up. Originally appeared: Martha Stewart Living, July 2010 Rate It PRINT Updated by Jennifer Anderson Jennifer Anderson Jennifer is a freelance writer for MarthaStewart.com.