Smoking Pompano
written by Frosty

(click images to view a larger version in a new window)

I have received quite a few e-mails asking how to smoke pompano. As you remember in my post on cleaning them, I included a nice pic of a freshly smoked fish. To say the least, it was delicious. The smoked fish dip was even better yet.

To smoke fish, you really don't need much in the way of fancy equipment. My favorite is the good ol' Weber kettle grill...the charcoal model. To be perfectly honest, you can't get the flavor or range of temperatures needed with a gas grill....YUCK! Best thing to do with a gas grill is to convert it to charcoal.

Prepping the fish...

If you are going to smoke fish, leave the scales and skin on.
There are a few schools of thought on how to prepare fish for smoking. One is to brine them and the other is not. There are two brining methods (actually three) sugar, salt or a combination of the two. Various spices can be added to enhance the flavor. Personally, with such a flavorful fish, you really don't need spices to help flavor it.

You can also just use salt and pepper on your fish. I do this a lot sometimes. Especially when I don't have the time to brine them. However, the brining method usually results in a more tasty fish.

To brine them I use 1 cup of Pickling salt to 10 cups of water. Use pure water and make sure all salt is dissolved. DO NOT USE A METAL CONTAINER. Stainless steel is out here. The salt will react with the metal and cause an unpleasant taste. You can add brown sugar to this brine (start out at about 1/4 cup) and spices. If the salt is not dissolving, then put it in a pot and heat on the stove until it does. Transfer brine back into a glass bowl and allow to cool completely before adding fish.

I brine my fish for about 4-6 hours depending on how thick the fillets are. Pompano need around 4 hours. Remove fish from the brine and wash gently under cold water. Pat fish dry with a paper towel and place on a wire rack. I place the fish in front of a small fan and let them air dry...about 60 minutes is ideal. If you have any wet spots on the fish, the soot will adhere to it and cause a bitter taste.

If using salt and pepper, rinse your fish, pat dry and then season with salt and pepper. Then dry them.

Prepping the smoker:

My grill has the "one touch" method of controlling the draft. As you can see in the pic, I used two pieces of aluminum foil to close-up two holes leaving one open. For those who have the three drafts on the bottom of your grill, just close two of them.

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