TINAPA RECIPE ( FILIPINO HOMEMADE

SMOKE FISH)

Ingredients

 15 – 16 (about 5 pounds total weight) whole Tilapia

 1-quart salt
 3 quarts water
 2 pounds hickory wood chunks for smoking (Soak wood chunks in
water two days before using them.)

Instructions

For the Brine:

1. In a large bowl or small bucket add warm water and dissolve the salt.
2. Clean the fish and add the brine onto the fish.
3. I just use our kitchen sink for this (make sure your sink is clean and
rinsed thoroughly).
4. Let it brine for 1 hour while stirring the brine every ten minutes.
5. The rule of thumb: brine the fish for ½ an hour for every half inch
(thickness) of fish.
6. After an hour remove the fish from the brine, rinse it well, and set
aside.

The Smoker:

1. Depending on your smoker, the best way to do this is to keep the fish
away from the heat source as much as possible.
2. Place your fish on the rack and add your wood chunks to the heat
source.
3. Cover the smoker and let it smoke for 1 ½ hour.
 4. You will need to add wood chunks every 20 minutes to keep the smoke
going.
5. Enjoy your freshly made Tinapa.
6. Serve with fresh tomatoes and onions and don’t forget the garlic
flavored vinegar dipping sauce.

Smoked fish is fish that has been cured by smoking. Foods have been smoked by humans
throughout history. Originally this was done as a preservative. In more recent times fish is readily
preserved by refrigeration and freezing and the smoking of fish is generally done for the unique taste
and flavour imparted by the smoking process

Smoking process.
According to Jeffrey J. Rozum, "The process of smoking fish occurs through the use of fire. Wood
contains three major components that are broken down in the burning process to form smoke. The
burning process is called pyrolysis, which is simply defined as the chemical decomposition by heat.
The major wood components are cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin."[2]
"The major steps in the preparation of smoked fish are salting (bath or injection of liquid brine or dry
salt mixture), cold smoking, cooling, packaging (air/vacuum or modified), and storage. Smoking, one
of the oldest preservation methods, combines the effects of salting, drying, heating and smoking.
Typical smoking of fish is either cold (28–32°C) or hot (70–80°C). Cold smoking does not cook the
flesh, coagulate the proteins, inactivate food spoilage enzymes, or eliminate the food pathogens,
and hence refrigerated storage is necessary until consumption",[3] although dry-cured hams are cold-
smoked and require no refrigeration.

Smokehouses
A smokehouse is a building where fish or meat is cured with smoke. In a traditional fishing village, a
smokehouse was often attached to a fisherman's cottage. The smoked products might be stored in
the building, sometimes for a year or more.[4] Traditional smokehouses served both as smokers and
to store the smoked fish. Fish could be preserved if it was cured with salt and cold smoked for two
weeks or longer.[4] Smokehouses were often secured to prevent animals and thieves from accessing
the food.[4]

Traditional versus mechanical

Today there are two main methods of smoking fish: the traditional method and the mechanical
method. The traditional method involves the fish being suspended in smokehouses over
slowly smouldering wood shavings. The fish are left overnight to be naturally infused with smoke.[5]
In the mechanical method smoke is generated through the use of smoke condensates, which are
created by the industrial process of turning smoke into a solid or liquid form. The flow of smoke in
the mechanical kiln is computer controlled and the fish generally spend less time being smoked than
in a traditional kiln.[2]
Laminar air-flow technology allows mechanical kilns to achieve a higher production rate, while the
use of micro-processors has allowed mechanical kiln smokers increased sensor coverage within the
kiln.[2][6]
High-quality smoked fish is a high-end product sought after by restaurants