How to smoke a whole snapper

1kg fish, serves 4 

Brining and drying time: 4 hours 

Prep time: 10 min 

Cooking time: 1 hour 

  • 1 whole snapper scaled, gilled, gutted and scored 
  • Brine 
  • litre water 
  • 100g sea salt 
  • 100g sugar 
  • 100ml soy sauce 
  • BCF Offset Smoker 
  • Heat beads 
  • 2 cups mesquite chips soaked in water 

Tartare sauce ingredients:

  • ½ cup egg mayonnaise 
  • 2tbs lime or lemon juice 
  • 2 diced sour gherkins 
  • 1tbs chopped capers 
  • 1tsp chopped parsley 
  • Salt and black pepper to taste 

Combine. Will keep for 14 days in the fridge. 

Method:

For brine, heat all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to the boil then cool in the fridge. 

Immerse snapper in the brine for at least 3 hours. A shallow tray works well. Turn often. 

Remove fish and pat dry with a paper towel. Return to the fridge for 1 hour, uncovered, to dry. 

Meanwhile, light your smoker and bring temperature to 150C. 

Place fish in the smoker, standing upright and close the lid. Keep heat at 150C. 

Add soaked woodchips to the fire box and smoke fish for about 1 hour till fish is cooked. 

Serve hot or cold with a nice salad and homemade tartare sauce.

For more BCF products, including this smoker, head to their website here.  

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