Smoked suckers/redhorse?

[tunrevir]

Just curious to see what type of recipes you guys have for suckers/redhorse. Do you scale them and then smoke them or do you smoke them in the round? How long do you brine them prior to smoking them? I don't really care for pickled fish but would like to try smoking a batch of these if they are any good. Anybody have any suggestions? Do you fillet them and smoke or again just smoke them whole?

Tunrevir~

[tunrevir]

So, I gather nobody actually keeps these fish and or consumes them they just C&R.

Tunrevir~

[fishgutz77]

That redhorse is a good smoking fish, gotta get em when the water is cold. Cut them in steaks 2 1/2"s wide and brine for 48 hrs. No smoke for the first 45 min at 120, then 150-165 for 2 1/2 more hrs. if you smoke them in the round brine for 4 days and smoke at same as above but finish them with high heat the last hour.

[DEADhead]

 Originally Posted By: tunrevir

So, I gather nobody actually keeps these fish and or consumes them they just C&R.

Tunrevir~

I'm not against keeping them, but the waters I typically fish out of I would prefer not to eat from (downstream of several powerplants) and it is an hour drive home. Otherwise I'd likely smoke them in filets. it's always easier that way.

[tunrevir]

Thanks Fishgutz77& deadhead.

Tunrevir~

[DEADhead]

forgot to mention, I typically dry brine my fish with canning salt for about 15-30 minutes, depending on the type of fish and it's condition (previously frozen or fresh). I often coat with brown sugar and then smoke. I've also added coarse ground pepper and they are good as well.

[pikestabber]

I much prefer suckers to redhorse for smoking for the simple fact that suckers are a much "beefier" fish in terms of the amount of meat they have (in contrast to the streamlined redhorse). Suckers, again due to their larger size, are also easier to pick bones from... an unfortunate circumstance with both fish is their bony disposition, unless they are canned after being smoked which will dissolve all bones.

To prepare the fish, first I completely cut the sides off each fish and rinse both sides extremely well (you can butterfly the fish, too, but the extra inedible belly meat just takes up unneeded room in the smoker); next, I brine the fillets in a 1/2 cup canning salt and 1/2 cup of sugar per quart of water. Use enough brine to completely cover the fish--I use a five gallon pail and put the whole pail in the refrigerator if it isn't cool enough outside overnight, which it generally is.

After an 8-12 hour overnight soak, rinse the fish well, pat dry, and load into the smoker. 6-8 hours should do the trick, but I always finish my fish off in the oven (350 degrees for 20-30 minutes to kill any stray bacteria). Let 'em cool! They taste better after a day's refrigeration.

There it is! A better smoked fish than salmon, in my opinion.

[goblueM]

when you refer to suckers, what do you mean? because redhorse are suckers...

[DEADhead]

I think pikestabber's referring to white suckers