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Some of you know this already, but my husband (Marshall) is an avid fisherman. I haven’t ever asked his mother, but I think his first word may have been “fish.” He makes fishing lures that work really well for catching a variety of types of fish, and we often get to have fish dinner. This time, it was smoked fish!
When we lived in North Carolina, my favorite fish to eat was either red drum, flounder, or grouper. Everyone’s favorite is grouper, right?! Here in Minnesota, what he brings home most often is either walleye or white bass. White bass is my favorite, especially when we make it on the smoker. It’s a quick easy recipe that I wanted to share with you.
A lot of people don’t like white bass because they are apparently kind of hard to clean due to bones, but Marshall did a quick video to show how he cleans them.
How We Make Smoked Fish
The way we make this smoked fish was loosely inspired by the Skinnytaste recipe Flounder Piccata – though we don’t bread ours and it’s cooked on the smoker, the flavor profiles are similar.
A couple of special ingredients we use in this recipe include Penzeys Florida Pepper and Calolea Meyer Lemon Oil. Other brands of lemon pepper seasoning and lemon oil would work too, or if you only have plain olive oil you could use it with some lemon juice (see recipe below.)
Please note this recipe is for a dense white meat fish, Marshall says white bass is comparable to tilefish or red drum. If you try to use this method on a flaky fish like flounder or walleye, it will fall apart and you will get really frustrated.
A Few Smoker Tips
We have a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker, so the temperature and time listed below are based upon how our smoker works. Just like grills, all smokers seem to vary somewhat, so please just keep that in mind.
Also, make sure the grates on your smoker (or grill) aren’t too wide. If they are, you might opt for using a grilling plank or mat. If you have grilled or smoked fish before, you know what I’m talking about. I am the first to admit that I always try to flip it too early and/or too often. I usually end up with a big, horrible, flaky mess. Marshall can do it perfectly, and I just wrote about it. I guess that’s what they call a good team!
FYI, we shared another super easy recipe a few years back for our Pineapple Preserves Hot Sauce. It’s great for dipping fried fish, check it out!
Easy Smoked Fish
Equipment
- Smoker of your choice
Ingredients
- 2 pounds white bass, tilefish, red drum or similar dense white filet
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp lemon olive oil (can use regular olive oil + lemon juice)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp Penzeys Florida Pepper (or lemon pepper seasoning of your choice)
- 1 Tbsp capers
- 4 fresh lemon slices, optional
Instructions
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the seasoned fish filets on the smoker grate(s). Cook for 10 minutes, gently flip fillets and cook for an additional 10 minutes. (Ours is an electric Masterbuilt smoker, time to cook may vary depending on your smoker.) Fish will be soft and flaky when done - you are striving for it to be just done, not dry like what you normally think of when you hear smoked fish. Top fish with capers when plating, and a fresh lemon slice if you wish.
- When we made this most recently, we also took a couple of fresh garden tomatoes and cut them into thick slices and placed them on the smoker for a few minutes. We served it with Garlic, Parmesan & Spinach Orzo.
- If you don't have a smoker, you could also do this on the grill with an indirect heat method.
Notes
Pingback: Smoked fish in masterbuilt electric smoker - Taunt On Water
We have a master built too, which shelf is the best?
Hi Brin! We usually put it on the top shelf.