Ever use a Little Chief smoker?

[C-Money]

I am giving smoked trout a try in our little chief smoker today. I have cured the fish overnight and it is now in the Little Chief. The trout are 10-12'' in size that we caught last weekend. Will the Little chief get hot enough to cook the fish fully, or will I need to place them in the oven? I am planning on them being in the smoker for 12 hours. I will only use one pan of cherry chips which was placed first thing this morning. Any tips would be very welcome, thanks!

[wildmanoutdoors]

Oh they will cook just fine! No need to bake em anymore. Check em at 6 and at 8 as 12 may be too long but it is cold so they may take that long. Just depends how tough or done you want them.

[jeepasaurusrex]

I have a big chief smoker that I use and it burns through chips about every 2hrs or so. I smoke my jerky about 12hrs.

[halflife65]

I put a little water on the chips to moisten them a bit so they don't burn up too fast, too.

Put the thickest pieces on the bottom rack closest to the heat source.

[carpsniperg2]

If anything they cook a little hot, it will get them done. Putting a little water on the chips does help. I used a chief smoker for years. But then went to a propane unit.

[C-Money]

Well, I just have used one pan of Cherry chips that was put on this morning. We may not have a strong smoke flavor. This is our first attempt, so we will learn from our trials!

[WSU]

Little/big chiefs work great for fish. They don't get hot enough for other things that need to be cooked to a higher temp though.  They work great on salmon, trout, etc.  For salmon I use a couple pans of alder.  I like to take it out a bit early and cover with honey, then bake in the oven to give it a sweeter finish.  I've never finished trout in the oven, but it cooks them just fine.

[gasman]

I have use my big chief and little chief for every thing.

Fish, jerkey, pork roast, bacon, summer sausage, pep, keil, turkey, etc.......

Works great, may need to cover it with a blanket to get the heat up if the weather is too cold out side.

I will smoke it out side, then move it in to teh garage for the drying time.

[Buckmark]

Well, I just have used one pan of Cherry chips that was put on this morning. We may not have a strong smoke flavor. This is our first attempt, so we will learn from our trials!

Better to have to little smoke, than too much in my opinion...

[C-Money]

Well I checked the fish tonight around 8pm. They still looked a bit moist on the inside from the bottom rack after 12 Hrs in the smoker. The top rack looked even more under cooked, so I plan on leaving them on till morning. The smoker is outside, and may not be getting warm enough. Hope we dont get sick from them. Our first attempt at smoking is not going the greatest! Sure smelled good when I opened one of the trout up to check it!

[gasman]

You can pull them out of the smoker and finish them in the oven. Use low temps about 180 in your oven. If you are done with smoke, and have a garage to put it in then do so (to get out of the cold weather and bring up to temp).

I would not wait till morning, more then likely they will be leather by then, check them every 3-4 hours. Unfortunatly, its what has to be done with a smoker that uses low heat.

[halflife65]

It can take a long time.  Hesitated to say this before because it sounds kind of dumb - but I cut the top out of the cardboard box it came in and then cut a slot in the bottom to put the pan in but left the cardboard around it for extra insulation and that helps some.  I've had trouble in winter with it because of cool temps but it works much better in summer.

If you use the cardboard trick you might want to monitor carefully so it doesn't burn your house down.  Be careful.  Knock on wood, I've had a couple of these things and haven't had any trouble yet, though.  <Knocking vigorously on all wood that I can reach.>

[ICEMAN]

We have used the cardboard box before with good success, just trim it off near the bottom... 

Also, smoked fish is not always really cooked thoroughly to 250 degrees like many believe that cooking occurs at.... I am not even sure if my old Little chief can get to 250....

Your brine has an anti microbial affect as does the smoking process itself. We never used to watch the temp as much as just watching the moistness, pulling the food before it became too dry. I do not ever remember getting sick from our smoked meats... Ever eat sushi?  If you took care of the trout, brined it, smoked it, and feel that it was well taken care of all along the way, enjoy! Just keep it in the fridge for a few days or freeze it.... 

[lokidog]

Well I checked the fish tonight around 8pm. They still looked a bit moist on the inside from the bottom rack after 12 Hrs in the smoker. The top rack looked even more under cooked, so I plan on leaving them on till morning. The smoker is outside, and may not be getting warm enough. Hope we dont get sick from them. Our first attempt at smoking is not going the greatest! Sure smelled good when I opened one of the trout up to check it!

I rotated my shelves a couple times during the smoke.  I liked mine for fish, my propane one is a bit hot for thin  fish like trout.

Yum!!

[dscubame]

I too put the cardboard box that it came with over the smoker in colder weather...works excellent.  Nothing wrong with the oven to finish it off either as the little chief has already done its job long before the 12 hour mark.

[C-Money]

Thanks for all the good advise! Our fish taste good, Not perfict, but good. I cant wait to get out this weekend to get more fish and try the smoker again!

[Skyvalhunter]

Just remember as mentioned before if you cook fish in it and then go to cook meat it will give it that fishy smell

[Hangfire]

I have a Outters smoker, much like a Little Chief. The instructions with it recommended placing the box over the smoker. A friend of mine made a Styrofoam case for his smoker.  These little smokers actually kipper the fish. True smoked fish is not cooked but cold smoked. The brine and smoke is what cures the fish. I had indian cold smoked fish one time. I understand it may take two or more weeks. What I had was the best smoke salmon I ever ate.

The typical plans for the oldstyle smokers had the smoke house up he hill from the fire and smoke source. The smoke would go under ground through a stove pipe or trench to the smoke house. This distance removed the heat. Heavy continual cool smoke did the job.

[Alchase]

True smoked fish is not cooked but cold smoked. The brine and smoke is what cures the fish. I had indian cold smoked fish one time. I understand it may take two or more weeks. What I had was the best smoke salmon I ever ate.

Little Chiefs and Big Chiefs are not really designed to "cook" anything. Yes they can cook things but not very efficiently. Having said that, I used my Little and Big chief to cook for years but found that a couple hours in the smoker then the oven or BBQ to finish cooking gave better flavor (objective opinion). The brine, be it sugar based or salts based, is what "cooks" the fish. If you want to cook smoke you would be better off with a Bradly, Brinkman, or some other smoker that you can have better control of the temperature and smoke supply. I have both Brinkman and a Bradly Commercial grade. I use the Brinkman to put smoke on a quick meal (this can also be done in a Weber grill), and the Bradley to do volume, or extended smoking. Controlling the temp, when to smoke and how much smoke really makes a world of difference in taste. Trout smoking has a fine line between just done and to dry. Get a log and record what brine, how long brined, how much smoke, what wood, and temp. That way you can duplicate the good ones and not repeat the not so good ones, lol.