Stardew Valley's 1.6 update gives players a new get-rich-quick scheme, and it involves smoking a lot of fish

A screenshot of Stardew Valley multiplayer.
(Image credit: ConcernedApe)

A Stardew Valley player has discovered a new get-rich-quick scheme thanks to a new item introduced in the 1.6 update. 

Over a week ago, developer Eric 'ConcernedApe' Barone rolled out the Stardew Valley 1.6 update. The update breathed new life into the farming sim, adding everything from new NPCs, dialogue, outfits, events, crops, items, and so much more. As it turns out, one of the more ordinary additions to the farming sim is secretly an amazing way to make a lot of money fast.

As YouTuber Aiming4Gaming highlights, the new Fish Smoker Artisan Equipment is really handy for making money. This method has several steps, but once you've got things up and running, there's basically no end to the number of items you can sell and the money you can make. To get started, make sure your version of Stardew Valley is updated to version 1.6.

First, you'll need to get your hands on a fish smoker. There are a few methods to do this: You can either buy one from Willy for 10,000 gold, get one for free if you start on a Riverland farm, or craft one yourself using 10 hardwood and 3 different jellies—which you can farm in rivers, seas, and caves. Once the smoker is built, you'll only need one fish, one piece of coal, and 50 in-game minutes.

As the video above explains, smoked fish retain their original fish quality, so smoking an iridium-quality fish will be worth more than just a standard fish. You can also use the charcoal kiln to speed up the process or use fish like Catfish to make your smoked fish business even more lucrative. Now you're all set to make bank.

Once you've got your collection of smoked fish - which are now technically artisan goods - you can sell them to Pierre directly or drop them off in your shipping bin. This method is particularly good if you've got the Fisher, Angler, or Artisan professions as you'll get both the fishing and artisan bonuses applied to each item.

The fish smoker isn't the only exciting feature in the 1.6 update, find out why Stardew Valley speedrunners are racing to see who can chug a jar of mayonnaise the quickest.

Hope Bellingham
News Writer

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training.  My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.