smoking catfish-and seeking explanations

[popriveter]

Hi all, I am smoking some fish today and it got me thinking and reading. My favorite species to smoke over the last couple of years have been catfish and carp. However, I usually end up with a mixed batch. For example, today I have 2 small channel cats and 2 brown trout in brine together. No matter what combination, 1 species always turns out better than the other. I'd like to discuss the reasons why. When I read preparation instructions and recipes, they don't explain the reasoning behind the steps. What special steps do you take with a given species, and why? How do you vary your approach from one type of fish to another?

I'll start:

Catfish- 1-2 lb fish cut in sections (not filleted, not skinned) have consistently turned out better than fillets of larger fish. They seem to cook slower and retain more moisture with the skin and cartilage in tact. I freeze and thaw first because the process forces out all of the slime. Catfish flesh seems to soak up a brine easier than most of the other fish I brine. Is the pieces are not big, they may only take a few hours to brine whereas similarly sized pieces of trout, walleye, pike, etc. need to soak overnight.

Pike- I've only tried them 2 times. My biggest misstep with this fish so far is to skip slime removal. When I simply wiped the fillets with a paper and dropped in brine, my brine turned slimy and transferred the slime flavor into the fillets. Next time, I'll attempt to soak them in a vinegar/water solution first and wipe the slime off. Does anyone know if freezing/thawing will force slime out of pike skin like it does with cats?

Trout,Salmon- My father has been having great success with rinsing and drying fillets, then dry-rubbing them with salt, seasoning and brown sugar rather than brining. He leaves the dry rub on overnight in the fridge and puts them straight in the smoker. I need to try this next time.

Carp- I've smoked them 2 times so far and results have been great. I was very hesitant to try them, but a friend urged me and I gave it a shot. My first impression was that I could not believe how much blood is in a carp. Freaked me out. The recipe I read said to first scale them. I couldn't get the scales off. Does anyone know the purpose of the scaling step? Instead, I took skin-on unscaled fillets straight to a 50% vinegar 50% water solution and soaked them for 15 minutes and wiped off all the slime I could (from the surface of the skin and the flesh.) Then I brined over night in brown sugar saltwater and garlic powder. In the morning, I dumped the brine and replaced it with fresh brine for the rest of the day. Rinsed, dried with paper towels and rubbed some Salmon Magic seasoning on them. I hot smoked them for 2-3 hours and refrigerated. I was almost afraid to try them, but they were phenomenal. Some of the best smoked fish I've ever had.

I'm always looking to learn a little more. Do some of you have observations to share? Which techniques work best for you and why do you apply them a given species? I look forward to your insight

[thirdeye]

Before I put my $.02 in on this, let me say that oily fish seem to produce better results overall when smoking fish. That’s why salmon, sturgeon, catfish or tuna are good choices. The other thing that’s important to me is to have the freshest fish possible. And I don’t just mean fresh caught, I mean taken care of properly by field dressing, bleeding and getting them on ice as quick as you can. Sometimes I get my fish into a cooler before getting the line back in the water. This is not as critical if I’m planning on frying them, but some days I just don’t know what I’ll do with them….. so I get them all on ice quickly. When I'm buying salmon, I prefer to use farm raised Atlantic salmon for smoking over the wild caught sockeye or Copper River.

As far as changes in smoking technique for different fish species, the most common one might be spices, but that’s a pretty personal thing. I can say that I like a sweeter cure on trout, salmon and steelhead, and a saltier cure on catfish, carp or smelt. Wood is another option. I like starting salmon and trout with alder, then switching to cherry. With catfish I like a stronger smoke like oak or pecan.

Next would be choosing a brine or a dry cure. Like your Father, I prefer a dry cure on my trout, salmon and steelhead. I've eaten catfish that had been both brined and dry cured, and carp that were brined. In addition to flavor, my preference between the two methods is the texture of the smoked fish. The dry cure seems to give me a firmer fish and it also allows me to change up the seasonings easily.

Catfish – I prefer a dry cure on them and almost all the fillets I've ever used were skinned. I could see where the skin would hold moistness, and this is good. The cure was salt, sugar, white pepper, onion & garlic powder and maybe some aromatics.

Pike – I can’t recall ever having smoked pike.

Trout/Salmon – I leave the skin on and use a dry cure. Brown sugar, salt, ginger, white pepper, garlic and bay leaf. My cure time is 6 hours or so, then I rinse and rest them in the fridge overnight before smoking.

Carp – I’m not sure of the recipe of the smoked carp I tried, I do know it was brined and not overly sweet. And it had been chilled overnight. It was very moist and flaked easily.

[popriveter]

Thanks for the thoughtful response. You mentioned several ideas that I might try and apply. Among them, I'd never thought of using ginger in a brine or dry rub, but I love ginger. I love the idea of rinsing off a dry rub and letting fish rest over night. I fully agree with you about getting fish on ice quickly and bled quickly where possible. I've adjusted my approach on this in the last few years and it has really made a nice difference.

[pikestabber]

In terms of pike, which actually are one of my favorite smoked fish, don't freeze them first. Wash un-skinned fillets thoroughly in cold water, wipe the fillets completely dry with paper towels (both sides), brine (wet or dry is fine) 8-12 hours, then wash well in cold water and completely dry with paper towels again. Let them air dry after wiping them down until the pellicle forms and smoke as you would a sucker or walleye. I have never had an issue with "slime flavor" with this method.

[popriveter]

Thanks Stabber. I'm going to have to set some tip-ups in a few weeks.