AbstractBACKGROUNDFish smoking is a traditional fish preservation method that is affordable, and hence employed by most artisanal fish processors in Ghana. Traditional kilns are used but are less fuel efficient and the end‐product has lower quality. This study therefore sought to test and compare the efficiency and quality of smoked fish for two improved kilns, the Cabin and Abuesi gas fish smoker (AGFS), against the traditional Chorkor smoker.RESULTSThe results showed that the AGFS and Cabin had specific fuel consumption of 0.31 ± 0.02 and 0.67 ± 0.01 g kg−1 of smoked fish, respectively, which were significantly lower than that of the Chorkor (6 ± 0.12 g kg−1 smoked fish). Again, the AGFS and Cabin had significantly higher processing rates (251.18 ± 10.65 and 156.80 ± 8.30 g min−1, respectively) compared to the Chorkor (135.20 ± 5.60 g min−1). Smoking improved the nutritional, microbiological and sensory quality of mackerel, with only the sensory quality being statistically different between the products from the AGFS and Cabin. The Cabin‐smoked products had more traditional smoked fish attributes while the gas‐smoked products had a pronounced fried appearance and taste.CONCLUSIONThe AGFS and Cabin were more efficient than the Chorkor. There were no significant differences in the nutritional and microbial quality between the AGFS and the Cabin. Cabin‐smoked products, however, had the more traditional qualities of smoked fish (appearance and flavor) that the gas‐smoked products lacked. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.