How to Smoke Fish

Where there's smoke, there's flavor. Smoking fish at home may sound too complicated or intimidating, but it’s as simple as grilling. In fact, it’s not even necessary to buy any expensive, bulky specialized equipment—all you need is a charcoal grill and aromatic wood chips. (This recipe calls for apple wood, but you can also use alder, pecan, hickory, maple, oak, cherry, or peach woods, according to availability and your tastes.)

Our instructions for how to smoke fish guide you every step of the way, from brining to setting up the charcoal grill, preparing the wood chips, and finally smoking the fish. We also provide a step-by-step on how long to smoke a fish, depending on the variety and the cut.

What Is Smoking?

Smoking uses fire and hardwood smoke to cook, preserve, and flavor foods including meat and fish. Different approaches to smoking use varying kinds of equipment, temperatures, and seasoning methods.

Smoking at higher temperatures (above 145 degrees Fahrenheit) is known as hot smoking and imparts a more pronounced smokey flavor while thoroughly cooking the fish—that's what happening in this recipe. Smoking at lower temperatures (below 86 degrees) is called cold smoking, which produces a fresher end result with the flavor of the fish more center. Since a lower temperature is used, the fish is not "cooked" in the same way it is with hot smoking.

How to Smoke Fish at Home

The method is surprisingly simple. You don’t even need a smoker, just a regular charcoal grill. All you need to do is set up the grill for indirect heat, cover the coals with soaked aromatic wood chips, lay the fish on the grates, and then let the fragrant, flavorful smoke do its work.

How Long to Smoke Fish

You might be surprised at how quick the smoking process is. Smaller fillets only need 12 to 15 minutes, and larger, thicker cuts of fish 20 to 30 minutes. Though we love the flavor of smoke, longer isn’t always better. In this case, the delicate fish can dry out if left on the hot grill for too long, and its mild flavor absorbs plenty of tasty smoke in a short amount of time.

The Best Types of Wood for Smoking Fish

When it comes to smoking, the type of wood you choose can impact flavor of the finished result. For seafood, we recommend a fruit wood like apple or peach or a mild wood like alder, which will impart a subtle smokiness while still allowing the taste of the fish to shine through. While you can certainly use other woods like hickory and mesquite—which are often used for smoking pork and beef—do note that they'll produce a more intense smoke that can overpower the fish's delicate flavor.

Types of Fish That Are Best for Smoking

Fattier fish tend to be best for smoking as they retain smoke flavor well and stay moist throughout the process. Our recipe gives you instructions for smoking trout fillets, whole trout, and a side of arctic char. You can also use this recipe as a guide for other types of fish that are great for smoking, including salmon, herring, sturgeon, mackerel, tuna, and any other varieties of fatty fish.

Storing Smoked Fish

The salt in the brine combined with the hot, dry smoke helps preserve the fish for longer than other cooking methods, but it should still be handled with the same caution as any other kind of raw or cooked fish. Never leave it at room temperature! It should always be kept cold, either in the refrigerator below 38 degrees Fahrenheit or in the freezer at 0 degrees.

How to Wrap Smoked Fish to Store—and How Long It Lasts

Smoked fish should be tightly wrapped in plastic film and then stored in an airtight container such as a zip-top bag. It can be preserved even longer if you vacuum seal it.

When sealed tightly, smoked fish can be kept in the refrigerator for one to two weeks. To preserve it for longer, keep it in the freezer, where it should be good for up to one year.