History

Commercial whitefish fishing on Lake Michigan dates to the mid-1800s when German and Scandinavian fishermen settled the Lake Michigan ports of Milwaukee, Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Two Rivers. Smoking preserved the catch for shipment inland; Empire Fish Co. on East Layton Avenue and Susie Q Fish Market on East Mason Street still smoke whitefish daily. The smoked fish is now a Wisconsin specialty staple, paired with rye crackers, dilled cream cheese and a beer.

Common allergens: Fish

Make it at home

Yield 8Hands-on 30 minTotal 8 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1 whole Lake Michigan whitefish, about 1.5kg, gutted and scaled
  • 150g kosher salt
  • 100g brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Apple or maple wood chips for smoking

Method

  1. Mix salt, brown sugar and crushed peppercorns to make a dry cure.
  2. Coat the whitefish inside and out with the cure mixture. Place in a non-reactive container with bay leaves.
  3. Refrigerate 6 hours, turning the fish halfway through.
  4. Rinse the cured fish thoroughly under cold water and pat dry. Let air-dry on a rack in the refrigerator 1 hour to form a pellicle.
  5. Soak wood chips 30 minutes. Set up your smoker for cold smoking, 90 to 120F.
  6. Place the fish on a smoker rack. Smoke 4 to 6 hours with apple or maple chips until the fish flakes easily.
  7. Cool completely and refrigerate. The smoked fish keeps a week.
  8. Serve flaked over rye crackers with cream cheese and dill, or use in chowder.

Tip from the editors. Cold-smoking at 90 to 120F is essential; hot smoking dries the fish out. If you don't have a smoker, hot-smoke at 200F for 2 hours instead for a different but still good result.

Where to eat lake michigan smoked whitefish

Lake Michigan smoked whitefish in Milwaukee

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