Recipe Courtesy of Alton Brown

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon crushed black peppercorns
• 2 large mullet fillets

Directions

• In a bowl, mix together salt, sugar, brown sugar and peppercorns.
• Spread extra-wide aluminum foil a little longer than the length of the fish and top with an equally long layer of plastic wrap.
• Sprinkle 1/3 of the rub onto the plastic. Lay 1 side of the fish skin down onto the rub. Sprinkle 1/3 of the rub onto the flesh of the mullet. Place second side of mullet, flesh down onto the first side.
• Use the remaining rub to cover the skin on the top piece. Fold plastic over to cover then close edges of foil together and crimp tightly around the fish.
• Place wrapped fish onto a wooden board or sheet pan and top with another wooden board or pan. Weigh with a heavy phone book or a brick or two and refrigerate for 12 hours.
• Flip the fish over and refrigerate another 12 hours. Some juice will leak out during the process so make sure there’s a place for the runoff to gather (ie a towel underneath or a pan).
• Unwrap fish and rinse off the rub with cold water.  Pat mullet with paper towels then place in a cool, dry place (not the refrigerator) until the surface of the fish is dry and matte-like, 1 to 3 hours depending on humidity.  A fan may be used to speed the process.
• Smoke fish over smoldering hardwood chips or sawdust, keeping the temperature inside the smoker between 150 degrees F and 160 degrees F until the thickest part of the fish registers 150 degrees.

Serve immediately or cool to room temperature, wrap tightly and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

Click below for a pdf of:
Smoked Mullet