Basic Cure, fish/meat smoking

 This is the mix I use for fish and meats being smoked. 

Ingredients:

1 cup sea salt

1 cup sugar (granulated or light brown)

1/2-1 tsp black peppercorns

The rind of 1/2 lemon or mandarin

1/2 tsp onion powder/salt*

1/2 tsp garlic powder/salt*

Optional spices or herbs can be added to this later to personalise to your taste or protein

*Recipe here

Method:

Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend till fine and well mixed. You may need to stop and stir or shake during this process.

Put in an airtight jar and label for future use.

Use:

For fish or meat, if using frozen defrost safely overnight in the refrigerator. 

Pat dry the surfaces with kitchen towel.

Then liberally sprinkle the cure over all surfaces.

Press or rub in to ensure contact is made then lightly sprinkle again.

Place in a sealable bag, expelling the air and refrigerate for one to two hours for fish fillets depending on thickness. For meat, the same length is fine for smoking for flavour but if smoking for preservation please follow one of the many guides available on YouTube as the curing process is usually much longer.

Remove the protein from the fridge and rinse lightly under cold water to remove excess cure.

Pat dry the surfaces with kitchen towel.

You are now ready to smoke the protein in whatever method you have available.

There are many home smokers available but even a pot with a lid, some woodchips and wrapping your protein of choice in pierced kitchen foil work well on the stove or cooker. I have a large pot, that I made a rack for that fits inside, and have successfully smoked foods for many years.