Mission - Operation Smoked Fish

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Usually here in Georgia Mahi Mahi is hit or miss in the larger chains at the seafood counter. A few stores have pre-packaged frozen fillets, but 2-4 small pieces can cost around $10. I've never seen such huge pieces at Kroger, so I think the low price and suppy is because of the surplus of seafood that has not gone to restaurants, etc.
They had a cooler full of these. This one was $11:


As far as a smoke house, I mean, yeah, I use my grill as a smoker, I just figure it might be nice to have a traditional smokehouse, just for the hell of it, and make me feel like I'm "keeping the old ways alive" or something, lol.

Mission Briefing - Update

05-07-2020 21:00-ish Hrs - Nine o'clock is pretty well past my bedtime, so sorry for not posting an update last night, but here's a summary.

Due to weather conditions and work meetings, the fish didn't get into the smoker until 13:00 Hrs. Smoked at 90 degrees for 2 hours, and then at 150 degrees for 6 hours. Final product came out beyond fabulous! Texture was firm as I had hoped. Flavor was indescribably fantastic!

Wood used was generally Peach chips, but I did put some Mesquite shavings in at the beginning and then again near the end. Mesquite can be strong (and bitter sometimes), but it's great smoke when used sparingly. The Peach wood did most of the heavy lifting.

The smoker I used for this batch was the Masterbuilt electric smoker (insulated). The LEM (also electric) might have worked even better (but I was too lazy to cart it around the house) because the internals are easier to get at. Smoking at such low temperatures can be tricky because the smoke wood doesn't really want to burn, so you kind of have to baby things as you go along.

05-07-2020 21:30 Hrs - Way past my bedtime! Allowed the fish to cool for about 20 minutes. Tried some samples. Wife and I then replaced eyeballs back inside our heads (they popped out, it was that good!). Then vacuum sealed the rest and put it in the fridge for consumption today or tonight.

Mission Analysis - Crushing success and victory! The enemy of 'Bad Ju-Ju' was completely vanquished, and no prisoners were taken.

After Action Report - Definitely do this one again! Possibly add some pepper to the fish right after rinsing so it binds into the pellicle for smoking.

That is all.

On a side note - In my travels on the webz yesterday I stumbled across a couple of interesting articles. Many people have said the old Luhr-Jensen "Little Chief" smokers are the best smokers of all for fish. They practically have a cult following. It's kind of ironic because these are about the most inexpensive smokers you can lay your hands on, and they're stocked in just about every sporting goods store on planet earth. A true "set it and forget it" device for fish.

I used to have one of these little things, but tossed it years ago because it was almost impossible to get it hot enough to smoke anything.

Amused by the cult status of these little things, I read some of the tips and tricks for getting great results. Anyone who has seen one of these things will know they are not insulated, which means they are highly susceptible to wind and outside air temperature. Now, they do sell an insulation 'blanket' for these things, but they are about the most cantankerous, frustrating, piece of cheap crap imaginable. So what's the solution? This was interesting:

Remove the smoker from the box it came in. Do NOT throw away the box! Cut a small hole in the bottom back side of the box for the electrical cord to exit, and cut a larger hole in the front bottom for the wood tray. Put the smoker back into the box. With the box open on top, load the smoker with your fish. Place the wood in the smoker from the front (through the hole you cut)...and plug it in! And...BOOM!!...smoked fish!

Now, I'm sure some of the fire-ninjas will be along shortly to say..."But, but...that's a major fire HAZARD!". And yes, it probably would be wise to keep an eye on it, and definitely do it outside your house, but I thought this was a pretty novel idea which makes smoking fish accessible to just about everyone. I think they only cost about $30 bucks.

So there you have it, smoking fish is now available to the masses...and on the cheap.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk

originally posted by: mysterioustranger
a reply to: Flyingclaydisk
Goin to Marysville to see my old drummer n wife...off the St. Claire...so well see..

Well, make sure you go to the Sans Souci bar & grill on Harsens Island (you'll have to take the car ferry to get there). They have some wicked good fried Perch!! Plus, it's a blast watchin' some of the rookies trying to tie up their boats when a freighter comes by! You can look out the window and have a blast, it's hilarious!

We do go there. Did you hear the ferry was out last yr? No way across...pi--ed the hell off residents...took a few weeks...!

God, I love Michigan !

a reply to: mysterioustranger

I think I did hear something about that. I have a good buddy who keeps his boat tied up on Harsens (or used to). Their family has a 99 year lease on a small island with a cottage over on Muscamoot Bay.

It's been years and years since I've been there though.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Wouldn't recognize....always wall to wall traffic from Selfridge up the road thru Algonac past Port Huron...

At your old place, it's always traffic...the place got popular awhile back...nice homes, Harsons Island on the east...

Sadly...yuppie-ville w 2.2 families everywhere. Nice yearly Blue Water boat races, art.fairs and Bluesfest...but the traffic there? Nightmare stop n go