What's your go to recipe for smoked fish? I just use canning salt, brown sugar and some spices and dry rub my fish over night rinse them, dry them and then smoke on alder or apple wood cold smoke for 5 hours or so. Then set them in the oven at 170 to cook. The only thing they have a somewhat bitter taste, Im thinking i might be smoking them to long any thoughts.

I just smoked a bunch of lakers. I do a dry brine like you. It doesnt brine for more than 3 hrs. I rinse them thoroughly then pat them dry and put them in the fridge for a few hours. I then alder smoke starting and 160 going to 180 over maybe 3-4 hrs until done. The lakers can be big. The pieces are usually 3x5” approximately. I also do a glaze that is brown sugar, honey, and apple cider vinegar. Equal parts. I then can them at 10psi for 90 minutes

I smoke whitebass filets to make fish dip out of. I have noticed it is easy to get too much smoke on them. I bet that is your problem. It only takes about three hours to smoke them at 200 degrees and I only put smoke on them for about 1 hour. Hickory chips

Only have experience smoking tuna for a fish market. We rolled the tuna pieces in non-iodized salt and let it set for 45 minutes. Slightly rinse the surface salt. Now roll in Dixie Crystal brown sugar. Let the sugar mixture set for at least an hour, then smoke the fish.

Two ingredients only/

Alder in particular and maybe other woods will give a bitter taste if the bark is left on the wood.

A better method is to find some dry, punky, dead cottonwood and use that. You will be surprised at how clean and fresh tasting the smoke flavor is.

Well yep I have left the bark on will try pulling it off next time or try cottonwood lots of that here, thanks for the tip

I smoke steelhead mostly and use to smoke lots of salmon. I use a cup of salt to a gallon of water for the brine. It's soaked for 12 hours then rinsed.
The steelhead gets gutted and headed. And cut into 3 pieces.
I smoke at 180°F for 10-12 hours making sure I never go above 180°.
Anything higher and you risk cooking not smoking

Add salt to water until a potato floats. Brine overnight. Smoke.

That's the basic starting point for salmon. Almost everyone uses some amount of brown sugar as well. Most smoke with dry alder.

Since you're already following those steps basically you should be about sorted, maybe adjust your seasonings? Or smoke longer and skip the final bake? Not sure that would change the taste though.

Personally this year I'm going to play with not using any brown sugar cause I always feel like it overpowers the taste of the fish.

In addition to my previous suggestion about punky cottonwood or barkless alder, I use a 50/50 mix of brown sugar and fine salt. I dry brine it in a Homer bucket 1/8 inch layers of salt, layers of fillets flesh side up. Put a non metal plate on top and let it juice-up for 8-12 hours.

Remove and rinse off salt. I usually let the fillets soak in fresh water for about 15 minutes in order to reduce saltyness a bit, then air-dry on racks with a fan until dry to the touch; this pre-drying is an important step.

Then smoke until you like the moisture content at about 120 degrees. I usually smoke for 10-12 hours depending on thickness of fillets.

Pick your days to smoke, it is harder to get as good of a product if it is an extremely humid day.

As counterintuitive as it seems, this works. Cottonwood smells like pee when you saw into it, but for some reason that smell doesn’t make it into the smoke

When mine has the bitter taste its from over smoking. Usually if I have too much smoke rolling or the smoke is too restricted and the same smoke is rolling over the fish multiple times before leaving smoke chamber. I try to start out with very little to no smoke at first then add light smoke for last half or so. I'm not cold smoking though, just OKJoe type.

I greatly prefer mulberry for both smoking and grilling. it gives a pleasant, sweet, smoky flavor.

Keith

I use mostly fruit wood for smoking and a little hardwood mixed in. Have never had bitter tasting smoked anything I've made.
I see a major difference in smoking with people posting is whole fish or fillets. Both these are smoked, brined and handled differently

Punky Cottonwood is my favorite wood for fish and Venison, anything really.

Second recommendation for the C wood,,, I will have to try it
Always used alder discs and chips for salmon, halibut and sturgeon….

Here we have an abundance of all kinds of wood.I have tried most for my smokehouse.I prefer apple for smoking.Gives a mellow smoke,,not overpowering like using just hickory.I use it for fish and all my hams and bacons.

I do trout fillets with skin on the brine is fine just a bit of bitter taste. Im going to try some cottonwood or apple alder again without the bark and maybe smoke it less i usually go for 5 to 6 hours and the smoke is variable as im out doing other chores and the fire often goes out.

I use a wet brine of salt and brown sugar in water instead of a dry rub.Soak in brine over night.Make sure all the fish is under water,,,not floating.Also,,I glaze the fish with a light coating of Honey right towards the end.They eat it like candy here.

I use a gallon of warm water cup of canning salt and a cup brown sugar, make sure all salt dissolves, put in tote and cover fish with brim and set at lease 12 hours, and rinse and smoke,

Dale,good setup.