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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 2020)
B Saturday, November 7, 2020 The Observer & Baker City Herald B ONING U P ON F ISH S MOKING ■ A discerning 5-year-old reminds a veteran fish- smoker that even one bone can ruin the experience Dennis Dauble/Contributed Photo A load of fall chinook salmon “swatches” fi lls the top rack of the smoker/cooker grill I keep at our cabin. Y ou are never too old to learn. I thought I knew everything about smoking fi sh until a tiny girl with big blue eyes and soft curls in her auburn hair spit out a mouthful of mushed- up salmon in my hand. It was family day at a regional sportsman show. Parents holding infants in their arms, pushing strollers, and with small children in hand wan- dered by the outdoor writer’s booth I fronted. Loudspeaker blare interrupted the hubbub of good cheer to an- nounce the next special event. The odor of hot popcorn lingered in the air. Only six more hours to go, I told myself. A couple with two young girls, ages 3 and 5, paused to peer at a 2-gallon jar that held a foot-long white sturgeon fl oating in form- aldehyde solution. I often display fi sh specimens when I attend trade shows, hoping their presence will lead to gainful conversation with the curious. “Is it alive?” the older girl asked, pointing to the sturgeon. “It is preserved. Just like a pickle,” I replied. She was not impressed by my sleight of word. “What are those baby fi sh?” she said, pointing to a smaller jar. “I’ll give you a hint. They have three spines or stickles on their back.” “Stickly fi sh?” “Close. They are “threespine stickleback.” The exchange led to a satisfi ed smile from her. Hoping to gain equal attention, the 3-year old moved forward and blurted out, “I don’t like fi sh.” “She doesn’t even like to eat fi sh,” older sister explained. “Not even a tuna fi sh sandwich?” I asked. “Nope,” the youngster replied with an impish smile, before she retreated to the shelter of her dad’s legs. “Ah, the family rebel,” I said. The 5-year old moved back to cen- ter stage, “I like fi sh. Also shrimp, lobster, and oysters.” Dennis Dauble/Contributed Photo Our 12-year old corgi is deaf, but the scent of salmon smoking and the hope of a scrap on the ground keeps her vigilant. THE NATURAL WORLD DENNIS DAUBLE That’s when I pointed to a small plate of smoked chinook salmon set out for people to try. A compliment generally follows each taste. “Ever eaten smoked salmon?” I asked. The little girl rested her chin on the tabletop and stared at the plate of fi sh as if it were exotic fare. “Would you like to try a bite?” I said, spearing a small piece with a toothpick. When I held the toothpick out, she moved close and opened her mouth like a baby robin. I sensed her trust in me had been breached, however, when after no more than two chews, she muttered, “Uh-uh. bone ...” and spit the chewed up meat into my outstretched hand. “I hope the experience won’t scar her for life,” I said to her embarrassed parents as the family retreated into a milling crowd. For me, the best time to smoke fi sh is when fall chinook salmon are on the spawn, sandhill cranes chortle their way south, and the lawnmower has been put to rest. I favor my Little Chief smoker for a light smoke. The process requires up to two bags of wood chips and 6 or more hours of tending for a load of fi sh, depending on outside air temperature. The electric smoker has designated use for small-bodied fi sh that include kokanee, whitefi sh, and trout. Kept at our family cabin is a water-cooled, charcoal-based cooker/smoker for processing larger swatches of fi sh meat, for example a limit of salmon. A rich, sugary glaze is imparted in 3 to 4 hours. An auto- matic-feed wood pellet grill, such as a Traeger, with built-in temperature control will make your life easier, but expect to spend $600 or more. Brining is a personal preference that involves careful experimenta- tion. One wet brine recipe involves soaking a pound of fi sh overnight in a one-gallon solution to which ½ cup Kosher salt and ½ cup brown sugar has been added. Some recipes call for more sugar and salt (but usually the same ratio). Adding soy sauce to the solution will impart an “umami” taste. Dennis Dauble/Contributed Photo Flesh color from a late-run fall chinook salmon can range from blonde to light orange. Many retain enough protein and fat reserves to qualify for smoking. My favorite dry brine recipe in- volves a 4-to-1 ratio of brown sugar to salt spread evenly over swatches of fi sh. I layer swatches in a Tupperware container, refrigerate, and let the mixture soak and ooze overnight. Excess ooze is removed with a paper towel before I rack the brined meat in my smoker. A quick “dry” recipe involves coating fi llets with paprika and ground black pepper before smoking. I once put out plates of smoked sucker and smoked mountain whitefi sh, and asked friends what they liked best. Most pointed to the plate of sucker I labeled “whitefi sh” and remarked, “I like the white- fi sh best.” Only then did I admit I had switched labels to confuse their culinary preference. This Searching for the Singing Rock W e went whenever we came out searching of the trees the shafts ON THE TRAIL for the Sing- of sunlight carried a JAYSON JACOBY ing Rock on the sort of discernible warmth October day when both that would be absent the cloying heat of summer and the nostril- in, say, January. clenching chill of winter seem more fantasy The road meets the trail about a mile than recent or looming reality. and a half from the trailhead. From there The sky was blemished by just a scrim of the route, through the North Fork John benign cirrus. Day Wilderness, is all by trail, another 2.3 When we parked at the Granite Creek miles to the wilderness area’s namesake trailhead on the morning of Oct. 17 the river. temperature was 45 and the air had the It’s a fi ne trail, well-maintained and nev- bracing, but benevolent, tinge exclusive to er straying too far from the fetching riffl es autumn. and crystalline pools of Granite Creek. As we hiked along the old mining road Our hike was brightened not only by the beside the creek, one of two routes down autumn sunshine but also by the tama- its canyon to the confl uence with the racks, scattered among the fi rs and pines North Fork John Day River, it was just and spruces and all but beaming, with cool enough to justify a light jacket. But their yellow-orange needles, against the comparatively dour green backdrop of their coniferous cousins. Tamaracks, known more formally as the western larch, are conifers, but of the rare deciduous type. Rather than holding their green needles all year, tamaracks, in the manner of maples and willows, drop theirs each fall. But before the needles fl utter down they turn that inimitable color. It is to my eyes ones of the signature shades of the Blue Mountains, joining the winter trio of blue sky, white snow and the red-tan bark of a mature ponderosa pine. See Singing/Page 2B Lisa Britton/For EO Media Group The yellow-orange of tamarack trees brightens the scene along Granite Creek. experience and others suggest that abundant libation around holiday time encourages folks to eat most anything placed on a festive plate. I now carefully remove visible bones before I offer smoked fi sh for public consumption. Family members who expect me to supply smoked fi sh for holiday gather- ings are welcome to pick out stray bones for themselves. But, as I have learned the hard way, little girls are more discriminating. Dennis Dauble is author of the award-winning natural history guidebook, “Fishes of the Columbia Basin,” in addition to three short-story collections about the fi shing experience. Learn more at DennisDaubleBooks.com.
