04-04-2023, 04:24 PM
Good to hear they turned out well for you. A lot of guys are unsure about how to smoke anything beyond what they are used to...trout, kokes or whatever. But if you consider the thickness of the flesh, the consistency of the flesh and the mild or strong taste of the flesh...and alter your spices and wood choice accordingly...along with smoking time and temperature...you can make some tasty vittles from almost any species.
I got started smoking fish many years ago...while living in Sacramento, CA. Started with salmon and steelhead. Then added shad and even sturgeon to my repertoire. Later experimented with stripers, largies and smallies and then even bluegills and crappies. And I have been smoking and enjoying catfish for many years. Once I got the right balance of time, temp, brining and wood for each species I always had tasty munchies in my refrigerator. That is, until my rowdy fishing buddies came over and raided my stash.
One of my best smoking stories is of the time I brought home a couple of big ol carp caught from a clean water reservoir near Sacramento. I worked carefully to fillet and skin them...and to remove all the nasty bones...leaving some nice meaty chunks for the smoker. Used my fave dry brine mix (salt, brown sugar, white sugar and seasoning) to brine them overnight in the refrigerator. Poured off the brine-extracted liquid in the morning and gave them a good rinse. Let them sit on the wire racks for a couple of hours to "glaze" and then smoked them in hickory smoke on low heat for about 5 hours. Turned out great.
The "rest of the story"? When my fishing buddies showed up to watch Monday Night Football they cleaned out my entire supply of smoked carp...thinking they were getting salmon. I didn't tell them until most of them had praised it...saying it was some of the best salmon I had ever done. Nobody "ralphed" when they learned the truth although a couple got strained expressions on their faces. But most were pleasantly surprised and admitted they would eat it again.
From past experience I might suggest you try smoking some of the thin fillets from decent sized crappies, perch or bluegill. Smoke them just long enough to cook and flavor them with the smoke. Great to break up and eat on crackers...with a little cheese and an "appropriate" libation. Also make great po-boy sammiches with lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce.
I got started smoking fish many years ago...while living in Sacramento, CA. Started with salmon and steelhead. Then added shad and even sturgeon to my repertoire. Later experimented with stripers, largies and smallies and then even bluegills and crappies. And I have been smoking and enjoying catfish for many years. Once I got the right balance of time, temp, brining and wood for each species I always had tasty munchies in my refrigerator. That is, until my rowdy fishing buddies came over and raided my stash.
One of my best smoking stories is of the time I brought home a couple of big ol carp caught from a clean water reservoir near Sacramento. I worked carefully to fillet and skin them...and to remove all the nasty bones...leaving some nice meaty chunks for the smoker. Used my fave dry brine mix (salt, brown sugar, white sugar and seasoning) to brine them overnight in the refrigerator. Poured off the brine-extracted liquid in the morning and gave them a good rinse. Let them sit on the wire racks for a couple of hours to "glaze" and then smoked them in hickory smoke on low heat for about 5 hours. Turned out great.
The "rest of the story"? When my fishing buddies showed up to watch Monday Night Football they cleaned out my entire supply of smoked carp...thinking they were getting salmon. I didn't tell them until most of them had praised it...saying it was some of the best salmon I had ever done. Nobody "ralphed" when they learned the truth although a couple got strained expressions on their faces. But most were pleasantly surprised and admitted they would eat it again.
From past experience I might suggest you try smoking some of the thin fillets from decent sized crappies, perch or bluegill. Smoke them just long enough to cook and flavor them with the smoke. Great to break up and eat on crackers...with a little cheese and an "appropriate" libation. Also make great po-boy sammiches with lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce.