Fish Smoking Times & Temperatures Chart: Fish Smoking Guide

Every smoker eventually keeps a grubby note of times and temperatures taped inside a cupboard door. This page is that note, written down properly - hot smoking and cold smoking, fish first (we are a Cornish shop, after all), with meat, cheese and the food-safety rules that matter.

Times are honest ranges, not gospel: thickness, your smoker and the weather all move them. When it matters, a probe thermometer beats every chart ever written - including this one.

Hot smoking: cooks and flavours at once

Hot smoking runs around 80-90°C in a or a lidded BBQ with a smoker box. The food cooks as it smokes, so “done” means cooked: fish is ready when it turns opaque and flakes (63°C at the core if you probe it), poultry and sausages want 75°C.

A stovetop fish smoker is happiest doing what the name says. Chicken and sausages smoke beautifully for flavour, but in a small oven it is good practice to finish them in a conventional oven to core temperature rather than stretch the smoke time.

Cold smoking: flavour without cooking

Cold smoking stays below 30°C - the food never cooks, it just takes on smoke over hours from fine wood dust in a cold smoke generator. The iron rule: fish and meat must be properly cured or salted first. The cure makes it safe; the smoke is only flavour. Cheese, butter and nuts need no cure at all.

The two rules that matter

Cure before you cold smoke. Cold smoke does not cook or preserve on its own - salmon and bacon are cured first, always. Our treacle-cured salmon recipe shows the whole process.
Probe, don't guess. Hot-smoked fish is done at 63°C; poultry and sausages at 75°C. A £10 probe thermometer ends every argument.

The kit this chart assumes

Hot smoking: a stovetop smoking oven or BBQ smoker box with fine wood chips. Cold smoking: a ProQ generator with wood dust. Weighing up which path to take? Our hot vs cold smoking kit guide settles it, and best wood chips for smoking matches flavours to foods.

Chart questions, answered

Why did my smoked fish come out bitter?

Too much wood or damp chips. A small handful of dry chips gives clean smoke; a smouldering heap gives creosote. Delicate fish shows the difference fastest.

Do these times change in winter?

Cold smoking loves winter - low ambient temperatures are exactly what it wants. Hot smoking outdoors takes a little longer in the cold; indoors on the hob nothing changes.

Can I hot smoke and cold smoke in the same kit?

A lidded BBQ can do both - smoker box for hot, ProQ generator for cold. The stovetop oven is hot-only. Everything lives in our food smoking collection.

Food	Typical time	Done when
Mackerel fillets	20-30 min	Opaque and flakes at the thick end; 63°C core
Whole mackerel	35-50 min	Flesh lifts cleanly off the bone; 63°C
Salmon fillets	30-45 min	Opaque outside, just set in the middle; 63°C
Whole trout	45-60 min	Skin peels freely; 63°C
Sea bass fillets	20-30 min	Opaque and flakes; 63°C
Prawns (shell on)	10-15 min	Pink right through and piping hot
Chicken thighs	60-90 min	75°C core, juices run clear
Sausages	45-75 min	75°C core
Halloumi & veg	15-25 min	Coloured and heated through

Food	Typical smoke	Before smoking	Afterwards
Salmon (cured)	8-12 hours	Dry cure 24-48 hours	Rest overnight before slicing
Bacon (cured belly)	8-24 hours	Cure 5-7 days	Rest 1-2 days; slice cold
Cheddar & hard cheese	2-4 hours	Nothing - keep it cool	Wrap and rest 1-2 weeks; it mellows
Butter	1-2 hours	Straight from the fridge	Use within the usual dates
Garlic & nuts	2-4 hours	Peel / shell	Jar up once cool
Sea salt	4-8 hours	Spread in a thin layer	Stir hourly for even colour

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Fish Smoking Times & Temperatures Chart

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The full guide