Sakhalin Island → Los Angeles

Hi, we are Denis and Misha

We grew up catching fish on Sakhalin Island. We couldn't find that taste in America — so we spent a year learning to make it ourselves

Misha and Denis, founders of Smoke It Fish
5,000+ orders packed and shipped by the two of us
3 year+ of feeding Los Angeles and the rest of the US
6 of us - we smoke it, pack it, run the website and answer your messages

Where we are from

We grew up on an island where fish was everything

We're Denis and Misha, and we were both born on Sakhalin — a long, cold island off the Pacific coast of Russia, where the fish comes out of the water an arm's length from where you're standing

We've been catching and cooking it together since we were kids. Salmon, halibut, keta, smelt — smoked, dried, boiled, baked, fried. And after the meal we'd sit for hours with that landscape in front of us. It's the kind of thing that stays with you

What we found here

Then we moved to California and couldn’t find that taste anywhere

There's dried fish in America, of course. But it's a different thing entirely — not what we grew up with, not what we were looking for

The more we dug into how smoked fish is made here, the more it bothered us. The average American eats about 35 lb of fish a year, and 15–20% of that is cured, dried or smoked. Yet nearly everything on the shelf had the same flaws: too salty, too smoky, or dried until there was nothing left of the fish

How we got here

A year of getting it wrong before we got it right

So we started making it ourselves. It took more than a year of experimenting — different woods, different cures, different times — before we had something we were willing to put our names on

What we landed on carries the flavours and traditions of our childhood on Sakhalin, made for how people actually eat in the 21st century. A grown-up treat you'll remember, and can reach for at any hour of the day

That's Smoke It Fish. We hope you enjoy it

The pieces of steelhead trout with red meat, rolled in honey

What we do differently

  • Real wood, never liquid smokeAlder, applewood and hickory chips — the reason it smells the way it does.
  • Not too salty, not over-smokedThe three things we kept finding wrong on store shelves are the three things we fixed.
  • Just fish, salt and spicesNo preservatives, no dyes, no chemicals. Read the label — it is short.
  • Made this week, not last seasonSmall batches, sold fresh. Nothing sits in a warehouse waiting for you.
  • Cold from our door to yoursVacuum sealed, packed with gel ice, shipped early in the week so nothing waits over a weekend.
  • Answered by a personMessage us and one of us writes back — usually the same day.

Welcome

We're not a warehouse with a website. There's a real door in Los Angeles, and behind it two people who will happily tell you which fish to take home today.

Order online and pick it up for free!

Taste a piece of Sakhalin

Start with a set if you're new — it's the easiest way to find your favourite

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