Starting to get a little adventurous...smoking pheasants and haddock

The first two 'smokings' took some sausages and cheese, no need to do any preparation, and put them straight into the smoker. As I mentioned in my last posting I was given some pheasant breasts last week, so a chance to push the boat out a little. It was also an opportunity to smoke some haddock, one of my favourite foods.

I made couple of brines - 2 litres of water, 240g of salt, 40g of sugar, 1/2 tsp of garlic powder and a tbsp of pickling spice. I placed the pickling spice into a cup with enough boiling water to cover the spices. In the meantime I mixed together the other ingredients, making sure that the salt and sugar dissolved, otherwise it's water with some granules on the bottom of the container! When everything had dissolved I stirred in the pickling spices.

The pheasant breasts went in to its brine for an hour and a half, the haddock for 45 minutes. The haddock was then allowed to drip dry for a couple of hours. When the pheasant breasts' time was up, I dried them off using paper kitchen towel and then wrapped 2 in back bacon and 2 in prosciutto ham. Everything that I've read says to wrap in streaky bacon so that the fat helps to keep the breasts moist. Must admit that both versions tasted really nice! 

So off into the smoker - beech again. The pheasant breasts went in for a couple of hours and the haddock for four. 

I know that part of the pleasure is the preparation and smoking, but for me the enjoyment of eating it is the main thing. First the haddock - not strong enough for my liking but a very decent smoky taste that I wouldn't refuse anywhere it was served. Next time I'll use oak instead of beech. The pheasant breasts, whether in bacon of prosciutto, were fantastic! Cooked by pan frying for 5 minutes each side and then 10 minutes in the oven @ 180 degrees. Moist, with just the right hint of smokiness so as not to overpower the core taste.