Mountain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni) are our native whitefish, Great
akes whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) occur in some of the upper Columbia
River impoundments, apparently the result of plants in Lake Pend Oreille in
Idaho and Flathead Lake in Montana around the turn of the century. Both are
members of the Coregonidae division of the salmonid family.
The bone structure of the mountain whitefish is very nearly identical to
that of the trout but the bones are sturdier making them easier to remove at
the table.
I continue to be surprised at some of the recipes I see for smoking fish.
Most of them seem to call for brining for anywhere from eight to twenty-four
hours and some of them call for all kinds of additions ranging from Tabasco
sauce to maple syrup. Maybe that's what Joe Snagger means when he drags in
an old black boot of a salmon and says "Well, it's good enough for the
smoker". I've always felt that the flavor of the fish, a bit of salt (okay
maybe a little sugar too) and smoke was all that was necessary.
This is my favorite recipe, adapted from A. J. McClane's The
Encyclopedia of Fish Cookery (1977), it's best for small whole fish, fillets
or steaks:
Place the fish in a 70% brine solution (2 cups of non-iodized salt per
gallon of water. Use a plastic, ceramic or stainless steel container). If
the fish, fillets etc. weigh less than 12 ounces brine them for 20 minutes,
if 14 ounces or more; 30 minutes. This is a leaching brine to remove blood
and body fluids. Remove the fish from the brine and rinse
thoroughly in fresh water.
Prepare a second brine solution of 2 cups of salt and one cup of brown
sugar per gallon of water. Brine the fish per the following schedule:
wt. of fish time
10 to 12 oz. 40 min.
14 to 16 oz. 60 min.
1 1/2 to 2lb. 1 1/2 hr.
2 1/2 to 3 lb. 2 1/2 hr.
Remove the fish from the brine, rinse thoroughly in fresh water and allow to
air dry until the pellicule forms, this will be when the fish is dry and
non-sticky to the touch and may take several hours depending on the weather
(sometimes a fan helps).
In a smoker where the heat can be controlled the temperature should be
kept low (110-120F) for the first four hours. A dense smoke should then be
built up and the temperature increased to 160-180F for another four hours.
For wood, alder is the traditionalist's choice, any fruitwood such as apple
or cherry works fine and some prefer hickory or even mesquite.
In the typical electric smoker (Luhr-Jensen Little chief, etc.), just
keep the chip pan full and smoking for twelve hours. A WSU Extension
Service Bulletin of a few years ago warns that most electric smokers do not
raise the interior of the fish to a high enough temperature to insure the
safety of the finished product. They recommend putting the fish into a 200
degree oven for an hour after the smoking process is finished.
