I used to smoke steel head and I would soak them in brine ( 1 cup salt, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 quart of water in a zip lock bag with the all air squeezed out of it) for 24 hours before I smoked them. I smoked them with the skin side down then removed the skin after I smoked them. I would smoke them with hickory chips at 200 degrees for 3 to 4 hours. If you want them to be sweeter tasting like ham sprinkle brown sugar on top of them before smoking them.