Smoked catfish

[Paddy]

We all have heard of smoked salmon and most enjoy. Over the years we have smoked beef jerky and salmon. A few years back, I thought I'd try a catfish. Not as good as salmon but an upgrade from the earthy catfish taste.

Over night soak in 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup salt with water just to cover fish. We add some good o'l Louisiana Hot sauce. Smoke in the morning for about 8 hrs. I use a Little Chief smoker element, about 230 watts. Every few hrs I toss a pc of hickory bark on the element.

Blue gill are hitting now and that is the bait I use for the cats. Between the wife and I we set 6 lines out with 30 lb test off our dock. Each has a 3" blue gill hooked just in front of the dorsal fine, but missing the backbone.

Happy fishing

Patrick T

 

[/pine]

The more oil a fish has the better it will be smoked...leaner fish will dry out much faster in a smoker...try using fine rock salt for your brine...also leaner fish/meat will smoke better with fruit woods rather than nut wood...
Also, the leaner the fish the less time it will need to be smoked...

 

[Stimw]

Do your neighbors say " That guy is always Smokin' Somethin' " ??
I would try brown sugar, might give it an extra kick. ???

 

[Bird]

I lost my recipe years ago, but I had a recipe that came from a friend in Alaska for smoking salmon. It was, of course, salt, water, brown sugar, and I think worchestershire sauce to make up a brine to leave the fish in overnight before smoking. I used that same recipe for salmon, and for sheepshead fillets and sand shark steaks. They were all good, with the shark being the best of all. But I've never had catfish that was smoked. But I sure plan to fry some catfish fillets tomorrow.

 

[The kid]

I lost my recipe years ago, but I had a recipe that came from a friend in Alaska for smoking salmon. It was, of course, salt, water, brown sugar, and I think worchestershire sauce to make up a brine to leave the fish in overnight before smoking. I used that same recipe for salmon, and for sheepshead fillets and sand shark steaks. They were all good, with the shark being the best of all. But I've never had catfish that was smoked. But I sure plan to fry some catfish fillets tomorrow.

Bird, your making me hungry. The mrs and I gonna have to go to the marina tommorro for a plate of "all you can eat" southun fried catfish. -kid

 

[MacLawn]

Living in Mississippi most of the year, uh, I know catfish! But, never had one smoked! Got to try that. Fish are like trucks to me - I've never seen one I didn't like!

 

[Paddy]

Bird,

Do you recall the ratio of the salt vs. the sugar? They both pull the water from the fish but, it's easy to go too heavy on the salt. When I first started, I used 50/50 and that was too much salt. I have been using 2/1 for a while but if you use a bunch of soy sauce or Worcestershire, grain salt needs to be reduced.

When I was a kid, we had a summer cabin in MN boundary waters. The Northern Pike were so full of bones, most locals released. My mom pickled them to soften the bones to nothing. As I recall, she used a standard dill pickle brine/vinegar mix. The Pike was filleted and cut in to one inch cubes. They were not for long term storage but kept in the frig. after 2-3 days all the bones disappeared. The vinegar would cook so to speak the flesh so it was white and firm.

Patrick T

 

[caver]

Smoked Mullet is real tasty.