Citrus and Herb Smoked Whole Snapper
Set your smoker temperature to 250 degrees. For this recipe, I use alder or cherry smoking wood.
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients
- 1 whole snapper gizzards removed and de-scaled (have your butcher do this for you)
- 1 lemon thinly sliced
- 1 lime thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 small bunch thyme
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Drizzle the insides of the snapper first with olive oil, then add the salt, pepper and garlic and spread in the inside of the cavity evenly.
- Layer lemon and lime slices in the cavity starting from front to back and then add the thyme sprigs in the cavity. Save any remaining lemon and lime slices for serving with the fish once it’s cooked.
- Place the snapper on a frog mat and smoke until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees- this will take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour depending on the size of the fish.
- Once the internal temp has been met, remove and serve immediately with remaining lemon and lime slices. The outer filets will remove pretty cleanly for serving but be extra vigilant about looking for bones before serving guests.
Notes
- While fish filets remove any danger of finding bones, smoking the entire snapper adds visual appeal and keeps the fish moist as the pocket of citrus, garlic and herbs steam inside the fish as it cooks.
- This fish is wonderful on its own or served with warm tortillas (it’s easy to find gluten free and grain free at the supermarket), fresh avocado slices, chopped cilantro and hot sauce for quick and easy fish taco. You can also serve these with Charleston-style coleslaw for a complete meal.