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Title: Smoked White Sturgeon
Yield: 1 Serving

Ingredients

      1    whole white sturgeon
  1 1/2 lb kiln dried medium salt

Instructions

Preparation: If you've got the whole fish, hang it up by the tail, dress
it, remove the spines with a cleaver, put a bucket under the head and let
it bleed for 2-3 days. Remove the head, take the fish to the cutting table,
carefully cut a ring around the smallest circumference (just before the
tail) and break the tail loose. Pull on the tail, the spinal cord will
emerge, keep pulling until it comes all the way out - this tubular membrane
is very elastic and may require two or three pulls to get it. After it's
out, pinch the cord between your thumb and index finger at the tail and
squeeze forward to remove the clear marble-like nodules inside - they will
pop out the open end. Cut the tail off, take the cord and hang it over a
rafter in your garage or in the smokehouse to dry. When it's wet it will be
about 6-8', dry about 4-5' and they make the best boot laces you can get.
Filet the fish, trim the belly up to the rib cartilage and trim all of the
cartilage away - leaving one long clean filet (sturgeon have no bones, only
the rib cartilage and spinal cartilage). Cut the filet into pieces that
can be handled. I use a wooden apple or peach box and cut the pieces about
as long as the boxes. Lay the fish in the box or tray and salt it by hand,
using enough salt to cover the entire surface. It should resemble something
like new fallen snow - over the thickest part of the filet the salt will
be white, on the thinner areas near the edges and towards the tail where
less salt is used, the covering will be more clear or translucent. Let sit
in a cool place overnight (on average about 12-16 hours for 2" thick
filet). The fish will slowly draw salt and the salt will draw some moisture
from the fish. Wash the remaining salt off with cold water and firmly
squeegee the surface moisture with your hand. With a sharp knife, cut
across the filet making 2" wide pieces and lay them skin down on the smoke
rack, making sure that the pieces don't touch each other.

The smokehouse should be warm (80-90F) with good smoke when the racks are
loaded. Leave the doors cracked open for about 2-3 hours or until the
surface is shiny and dry to the touch. Close the door/s and slowly bring
the temp up to about 120-130F and keep it there for about 6-8 hours. Bring
the temp up slowly for the last time until it reaches 150F and hold for
2-3 hours. Remove the racks, let it cool to room temp. and peel the skin
off. If your like me, I'm munchin' down while it's still hot in the
smokehouse. The smoking takes a full day - if you start at 7-8 in the morn
you should have a pretty good snack just about bedtime. It will keep for
quite a while in the fridge - couple of weeks- you could also freeze or
can. I also use this method for smoked salmon and smoked tuna. Alder (IMHO)
is best for fish, but cherry and other fruitwood work good too.

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Contributor: Dan Sawyer

Preparation Time: 0:00

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