Good day ! Started with Bloody Mary at 0900 & eventually ran out of beer too. I’ll have to plan better next time. Thank goodness for my stash of rum in the toolbox ! Smoked a pile of buffalo today. Turned out great!!
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Oh very nice!!!
Wholey Carp, thats a lot of buffalo!
Now what?
Gave it all away except for two filets for myself. The old timers love this stuff. I’ll admit I can eat smoked buffalo but I’d have given the whole batch away if it was carp.
ats a lot of buffalo!
Now what?
Smoked carp, caught through the ice or very early during the spawning run, is great.
I use to catch and have smoked a lot of Redhorse and River suckers – I preferred the redhorse. They were dryer and not as oily as the suckers. I need to get out and try to Catch them again this spring. I haven’t fished for them in a long time. it would be a fun way to kill a morning
In southern wisconsin the river flooded one summer around 94 or 95. It filled all the fields with water and the carp were thick. When the water went down they were trapped. A guy I worked with took their stock water tanks out to the fields and filled them with carp, three of the big oval ines full. He said they were smoking them for over a week straight and had a freezer full of smoked carp. He was getting sick of eating smoked carp every day by the end of the summer.
bison burgers and ribeyes are the bomb.
Many many years ago my mom and dad ran a tavern in southern Mn where I grew up. I’d go carp fishing with grandpa and then he would smoke up a bunch. Bring it to my dads tavern and lay about 8 big fillets out on the bar where all the old guys would sit and pick at it and drink beers all afternoon.
Not much left on those carcasses after a few hours of those guys picking on it. I never could eat any.
Got the best compliment, from an 80+ yr old neighbor. Said this was the best smoked fish he’s had, since his dad was alive and smoking fish. I’ll take that. Him wanting some smoked fish was the reason I even started smoking carp two years ago. Nice to give it away to people that appreciate it. Only cost a few bucks for the brine, everything else was free.
Going to be grinding up some pork butts & making 25# of breakfast sausage tonight yet. Let it sit for 2-3 days in the fridge with the seasonings before I package it up for the freezer.
Were did you get the Tatonka?
Tom, what are you going to use for the mix?
“She Who Must Be Obeyed” and me had some smoked salmon with cream cheese on ritz that I caught and smoked this afternoon for mid afternoon appees, scrumptious!
Tom, what are you going to use for the mix?
“She Who Must Be Obeyed” and me had some smoked salmon with cream cheese on ritz that I caught and smoked this afternoon for mid afternoon appees, scrumptious!
“She who must be obeyed”, I love that!
I love salmon & catch my limit (with the help of a local) on Lake Michigan each June. I’m worried I may not get to go this year tho with all this virus stuff.
I’m just using them LEM premixed seasonings for 25# batches. I’m doing 25# Italian sausage next , then 25# bratwurst & finally 25# of summer over the next couple weeks. Hard to beat 99 cent pork butts!
Ice cap- I remember those guys coming into the bars when I was a kid. Selling smoked carp for $1 a filet and selling out in no time. The guy would have his truck loaded up and he’d sell one brown grocery sack at a bar then go on to the next one til it was all gone.
I just enjoy smoking and since it doesn’t cost much, (just the brine & time)…..it’s a good thing to give people a treat. The stuff in the stores doesn’t compare.
Onestout – I got my carp two years ago that way, the road ditches by my house filled up and the carp were easy to spear right off the ditch.
Tom,
What did you use for a brine? Do you have a favorite wood for smoking fish?
Thanks,
Boone
Smoked fish brine –
2 gallons cold water
4 cups brown sugar
1 gallon 100% apple juice
3-4 cups canning salt (floats an egg)
2 cups soy sauce
1/2 bottle of tobasco sauce
1 cup lemon juice
Throw brine into cooler, stir and add your rinsed fish.add a bag of ice
Brine in fridge.Stir/mix occasionally over 36 hrs. Add a cup of salt and a bag of ice if needed. I use a yeti tundra 66 so I don’t use much ice.
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Remove fish from brine and rinse filets good to get brine and any remaining slime off fish.
Pat meat side of fish dry with kitchen towels or paper towels.
Set fish (skin side down) on cooling racks or table/ counter for 1-2 hrs to form pellicle (sticky tacky feel) then put into smoker, skin side down. (I set the fish under the ceiling fan ir use a fan directly blowing on them. I’m doing this in a 50-60 degree garage. May take less time in your 70 degree home.
Heat smoker up with dry hickory wood. Put fish in smoker when box temp is at 100 degrees. Put a pan of water in the bottom of the smoker. (Can use apple juice instead of water)
Smoke at 190-200 degrees for about 4-8 hrs. When the thickest piece reaches 165 degrees internal temp, it’s done.
At the 2 hr mark I use a BBQ dedicated paintbrush to put the baste on each filet. Do this a couple times, til you are out of baste. Every 45 minutes or so.
Baste recipe.
1 stick melted butter
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp maple syrup
4 tbsp brown sugar
20 drops Lemon juice
Could also just put 1/4 cup of maple syrup & 1 1/2 cups brown sugar & hot water in a spray bottle, to just spray the baste on instead. I do this mostly.
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