Smoked Tulibee - First Try - Help Please

[bigbluepirahna]

I like catching tulibee. I love eating them smoked even more. I have always brought them to the locker plant to get them smoked, but I bought a smoker and took the maiden voyage today. I went out this morning and got a half a dozen. I soaked them in a simple salt brine I found here. I smoked them about 3 hours. My smoker was charcoal, but I found a small electric heating element from an electric grill that I put in there to make it electric. I had the heat from 160-200 throughout the process and added soaked alder wood a few times. They looked great when I took them out. As I started to peel the meat off the skin though, I saw a bunch of small black dots on the underside of the meat. I ate a few bites around those...but they make me nervous! I have had smoked tulibee a bunch of times, but never seen that. Looked like the black dots you see on sunfish all the time. Am I safe, or should I be concerned. Any thoughts on my process, or suggestions. Thanks.

[scott b]

It is a parasite. Have no fear on that one though. Just think of it as pepper and enjoy. What you really need to look for in fish is the long white worms. Even these can be eaten but make sure the meat is fully cooked. I've found these worms before and for me, it is reason enough to discard the fish.

[fivebucks]

You only have to worry about the white worms on whitefish and tullibe is what I was told by my high school biology teacher. All the other parasites in other fish will not hurt a person. I do not stake my money on this in a lawsuit if someone gets sick eating them but it is what I've been told.