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Thread: Smoked fish dip, and brining recommendations?

  1. #1
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    Default Smoked fish dip, and brining recommendations?

    Made some smoked fish dip for the first time yesterday and overall was pretty happy with it. Will likely tweak it some next time mostly by trying to make it less salty and a little lighter on the amount of mayo. Any input/recommendations welcome!
    I used 1lb (cooked weight) of fresh dolphin mahi dorado that I caught last weekend.
    -Brined the fish for maybe 1 hour in a solution that was 1TBS of kosher salt per one cup of water.in my opinion it made it too salty but this is maybe the third time I have ever brined anything. Last time I brined pork chops and prior to that, duck breasts. I found those to be too salty as well.

    -pulled fish from brine and seasoned with old bay, placed on kamodo smoked with cherry chunks at 225-240 for a little over an hour (which was too long but I was going by guidelines of other recipes). I should have checked fish temp earlier than when I did. It dried it out, but since it was going in a dip I guess that was okay. Internal temp was 180 on the only piece I tested prior to immediately pulling it all off.
    Dip contained roughly:
    -1 cup dukes mayo
    -1 cup cream cheese
    -2tbs dijon mustard
    -2tbs fresh parsley
    -4TSP horseradish
    -1tbs texas pete
    -1tsp worcestershire
    -1/2 TSP old bay

    Shredded/cut the fish and added it to the mix. It was a little bit wetter than I wanted initially but it did set up/firm up ok overnight. Smoky flavor definitely spread throughout the dip as well. Overall it came out pretty good.
    Anyone have any other recipe ideas or tips on dip and especially brining?



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  2. #2
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    Mine is fairly similar to yours.. or the last one I made. I like a little lemon is there, and I didn't use cream cheese. I just had enough fish in the mix. Sour cream is another that I've seen added. It's not like I loathe cream cheese, it's just I think you can get away with not using it. If it's thick enough, it'll set up a tad in the fridge.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Highstrung View Post
    Mine is fairly similar to yours.. or the last one I made. I like a little lemon is there, and I didn't use cream cheese. I just had enough fish in the mix. Sour cream is another that I've seen added. It's not like I loathe cream cheese, it's just I think you can get away with not using it. If it's thick enough, it'll set up a tad in the fridge.
    The recipe I was following called for lemon, I just didn’t have any laying around. All the recipes I looked at were variations of just mayo, mayo/cream chz/ sourcream mix. I wasn’t completely set on any of them and just tried the mayo/cream cheese mix on this one. I do think you could probably just use mayo and in my opinion I don’t think sour cream would add much flavor but maybe just more “white sauce” for volume.


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    If you're ever looking at doing a healthier substitute for mayo, I've used low fat greek yogurt in some of my dips. Just throwing another option out there.

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    Quote Originally Posted by SCmudder7071 View Post
    If you're ever looking at doing a healthier substitute for mayo, I've used low fat greek yogurt in some of my dips. Just throwing another option out there.
    I have been trying to watch what I am eating in general and wasn’t thrilled about eating a ton of mayo but it seemed like the only way to make the dip like I have eaten in the past from seafood stores and restaurants.

    May give the yogurt a go in the future.
    Thanks for the input!


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    Duke's is king, watch what you eat with different things.. besides there's nothing terrible for you in real mayonnaise. I don't like cleaning extra things so I'll shred this fish with my hands, no blenders, that's kinda who I omitted the cream cheese for the first time. In my opinion it's just a filler and thickener.. I'd save it for bagels and pepper jelly.

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    Look up smoked trout dip on the Treagar website. I follow it mostly. Brine for a few hours and then let the fillets sit on a cookie rack in the fridge overnight. Will form a pellicle on the filets whichcthe smile will adhere to better. Other than that I use a lot of fresh dill. I also shred fillets by hand.

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    Smoke will adhere to* Cant type on this phone

  9. #9
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    i wouldnt brine it at all. its gonna dry out....that's kinda the point when you hot smoke.

    and you most certainly just pick the meat by hand.

    capers are good.
    Ugh. Stupid people piss me off.

  10. #10
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    and I know i'm a know it all but who uses a "recipe" for stuff like this?

    maybe as a template....but i just throw stuff in a bowl and stir it up.
    Ugh. Stupid people piss me off.

  11. #11
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    ok...now i read your post.
    i wouldnt even go near my thermometer. just cook it till done. shred it. i dont think I like the idea of the horseradish in that dip. who knows. maybe try without one time.

    if you catch enough fish, you can experiment with all kinds of "fillers" (mayo, cream cheese, sour cream, greek yogurt).

    i tend to make dip out of leftover broiled fish (if there ever is any). i like the smoke flavor of what you made, though.
    Ugh. Stupid people piss me off.

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    I love capers

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    Quote Originally Posted by 2thDoc View Post
    ok...now i read your post.
    i wouldnt even go near my thermometer. just cook it till done. shred it. i dont think I like the idea of the horseradish in that dip. who knows. maybe try without one time.

    if you catch enough fish, you can experiment with all kinds of "fillers" (mayo, cream cheese, sour cream, greek yogurt).

    i tend to make dip out of leftover broiled fish (if there ever is any). i like the smoke flavor of what you made, though.
    Yeah the fish looked done to me before I ever temped it but was my first time smoking it and some of the times I read on other sites were crazy long smoke times. Now that I have read up on it and done it one time I wont need to follow a recipe but was just looking for guidance on my first batch.

    It has firmed up a lot now and the smoky flavor has infused throughout the dip. Its pretty damn good.
    I mostly hand shredded the meat but lightly cut some so the tougher skin would stick with meat and not just be a crust with no meat attached bc the flaky meat wanted to pull from the crust.
    Overall, I taste smoky fish and prob some mayo. I dont know that there is enough of any of the other ingredients to taste them or not. BUT it has some serious smoky flavor that is the dominant taste by far.

    I appreciate yalls input. Going to try to go again sunday or monday and will probably make more!


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    I have made it with onion ,Marzetti's ranch veggie dip and sharp cheddar. heat it just till the cheese melts.

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    Anyone have any input on brine ratio and time for different meats?


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    Quote Originally Posted by Highstrung View Post
    I love capers
    I saw them referenced in a few recipes. I am sure I have had them but cannot tell you what they taste like. Might have to get some to try it out.


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    If I was going the caper route, I'd omit the old bay. Maybe go with some dill.

    They're kinda almost like little salty crisp lemony olives. It's hard to describe. I've thrown them in fish dips "salads" and such, mostly with smoked salmon.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Islandguy85 View Post
    Anyone have any input on brine ratio and time for different meats?


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    You mentioned that everything that you have brined turns out too salty. Are you rinsing the meat after brining it? Anything that you brine needs to be rinsed when it comes out of the brine...otherwise it will be too salty.
    Crops are harvested, animals are killed.

  19. #19
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    It took seven replies before someone mentioned fresh dill?

    I agree with 2th - just pull of bunch of stuff out the 'fridge and mix it up - it's different every time.
    Ephesians 2 : 8-9



    Charles Barkley: Nobody doesn't like meat.

  20. #20
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    Ha, yep. I'm not saying that I like any style more than the other.. but sometimes you want that cajuny crab or shrimp dip flavor, and sometimes maybe something a tad more refined

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