Smoked Catfish

[Jogeephus]

That flathead should do wonderful. I hope to have a few shortly myself but I'll only dream of one that size.

[alisonb]

Jo, how long did you smoke the fish?

[Kathie in Thorp]

Got a 65lb flathead today. Gonna keep him in the cow trough for a couple weeks, then I will try out ur smoking recipe.

That's a BIG fish!! Aren't you afraid he might just suck up one of your calves at the tank?

[Jogeephus]

Jo, how long did you smoke the fish?

Just till their flakey so its best to keep them grouped by size cause they get ready at different times.

I'd like to do one of those large flatheads. No matter how big they get they still taste good.

[alisonb]

We are going trout/bass fishing one of these weekends, have you ever tried smoking some of them? If so would you recommend using pecan or something else on them? Sorry, so many questions but would a simple salt and water brine not pehaps be better when preparing trout? Do you add a bowl of water to your smoker? Last question, is the catfish quite an oily fish? Thanks

[Jogeephus]

We are going trout/bass fishing one of these weekends, have you ever tried smoking some of them? If so would you recommend using pecan or something else on them? Sorry, so many questions but would a simple salt and water brine not pehaps be better when preparing trout? Do you add a bowl of water to your smoker? Last question, is the catfish quite an oily fish? Thanks

I've smoked a warmouth in the mix and its about like a bass. It I were doing bass or trout I'd do it just the same as I did but maybe drop off the chipotle pepper after the brine. I still think I'd hit it lightly with the pepper. The brine is very mild and I think it compliments the fish very well. No, I don't use water in the smoker for this cause I want the to dry out some. They are still moist and tender but they are much firmer. Catfish is not an oily fish. Problem with cats is - with the exception of the flathead - they tend to get muddy tasting the larger they get. Flatheads prefer live fish rather than scavenged food and they are delicious no matter their size. I love pecan smoke and I have tons of it so that is what I use but I think if I was going to use something else it would be a fruit wood or grapevine.

[alisonb]

Thanks for the advice Jo, now we just gotta catch a fish or two

[houstoncutter]

We are going trout/bass fishing one of these weekends, have you ever tried smoking some of them? If so would you recommend using pecan or something else on them? Sorry, so many questions but would a simple salt and water brine not pehaps be better when preparing trout? Do you add a bowl of water to your smoker? Last question, is the catfish quite an oily fish? Thanks

I've smoked a warmouth in the mix and its about like a bass. It I were doing bass or trout I'd do it just the same as I did but maybe drop off the chipotle pepper after the brine. I still think I'd hit it lightly with the pepper. The brine is very mild and I think it compliments the fish very well. No, I don't use water in the smoker for this cause I want the to dry out some. They are still moist and tender but they are much firmer. Catfish is not an oily fish. Problem with cats is - with the exception of the flathead - they tend to get muddy tasting the larger they get. Flatheads prefer live fish rather than scavenged food and they are delicious no matter their size. I love pecan smoke and I have tons of it so that is what I use but I think if I was going to use something else it would be a fruit wood or grapevine.

If you will put those large cats in a cage or a cow trough thats clean for a few weeks it will get rid of a lot of that muddy taste. I have also been told that you can clean em then put em in ice with rock salt overnight, supposedly it will make the fat conjile and be easier to see and you can just trim it of... I cant speak to the latter method, as to wether it works, but putting em in clean water and letting them live off their fat reserves really has worked well for me in the past.... Warning though, your cow trough needs to be clean, and the cattle drinking from that trough cannot be on feed or lick otherwise you are defeating the purpose.

[dieselbeef]

sounds a bit like purgin crawfish

[Jogeephus]

or possum but you use less water.

[houstoncutter]

That flathead should do wonderful. I hope to have a few shortly myself but I'll only dream of one that size.

Jo, hope you have finally got a couple of flatheads by now....Tried your recipe, and it was GREAT. All of the fish was good, but the eyeball sockets chunks were out of this world

[houstoncutter]

Gonna try this on some Manitoba pike in 7 weeks, but who's counting..........

[Jogeephus]

Gonna try this on some Manitoba pike in 7 weeks, but who's counting..........

You lucky dog you. I went up there once and the fishing was great. I'd have killed someone for some cooking oil, batter and ketchup though.

[3waycross]

Gonna try this on some Manitoba pike in 7 weeks, but who's counting..........

You lucky dog you. I went up there once and the fishing was great. I'd have killed someone for some cooking oil, batter and ketchup though.

When we were in Sask a few years ago we used flour and butter to fry em in. By the time I got home a pint of my blood had a head of grease on it!

Sure was goo though. I would kill for a good shore lunch of Pike fillets! I actually like em better than Walleye!

[Jogeephus]

Only pike we have here are red fin pike that are found in puddles. They are about four inches long but are mighty tasty - bones and all.