One of the best woods for smoking salmon and other seafood is alder.
Wood for smoking fish nz.
You can use whole fish or parts but fillets with the skin still on are better than other cuts.
Smoking wood plays a role in the flavor and the color of the meat.
Almond give a nutty sweet flavor that is good with all meats.
In general mild woods are good for fish and poultry medium fruit woods are best for poultry or pork and strong woods hold up against dark red meat flavors.
Cedar wood chips are not the same as cooking salmon fillets on specially prepared cedar planks.
Cedar wood chips are one of the best wood chips for smoking fish especially fatty salmon.
Indigenous to the northwestern united states it is the traditional wood for smoking salmon.
The only fish worth buying and smoking in my view is salmon as it can be bought for 25 to 30 per kilo while cold smoked salmon sells for 100 a kilo and hot smoked is not much cheaper.
It also forms a bark or crust on the meat.
Some woods aren t suitable for smoking and could be harmful eg pine fir spruce redwood cedar cypress elm eucalyptus sassafras sycamore liquid amber and redwood.
The wood often comes as wood chunks wood chips or pellets wood chunks allow a steady slow release of smoke while wood chips and pellets are quicker to smoke.
So with knowhow and a bit of work you can have a luxury food treat at a fairly affordable price.
Alder has a light flavor that works well with fish and poultry.
Orchard trees or nuts are fine.
However fattier fish will absorb more smoke flavor so fish such as salmon and trout are perfect for smoking.
Almond is similar to pecan.
Cooking salmon on soaked cedar planks allows the salmon fillets to absorb some of the flavors of cedar directly from the salmon planks.
Maple burns hot and quick which is good for smoking fish as they tend to smoke for shorter times.
Use a fish smoker or set up a gas barbecue for hot smoking as follows.
Generally you re ok with trees you eat fruit or nuts from.
Alder produces a very mild smoke flavor and doesn t burn too hot which is ideal for salmon.
Once the chips start to produce some smoke put the fish in the barbecue turn the heat to low so the chips don t catch fire and close the lid.