<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by TonyG:
please......not sure what might go over well....grilled recipes also welcome
thanks,
Tony G </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Tony,
I've done catfish, trying to imitate the smoked "mullet" we used to get in FL. Here's one I've tried....got off the web from "Smoky" and the Smoke Ring :
".....Along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Smoked mullet is called "Biloxi Bacon." I have eaten it from Florida to Texas, however, and it is delicious anywhere there are fresh mullet.
The mullet you ate was hot smoked - 170-190 degrees, after a brine cure. Here's how you do it.
Smoked Mullet
Start with fresh mullet, remove and reserve the roe and the gizzard, eviscerate and cut off the head. Split the fish head to tail from the belly but leave connected at the top so that it opens like a book. May as well do 10-20 lbs.
Prepare a brine solution of 4 cups pickling or kosher salt to 2 gallons of water @ 60
degrees F. Use ice or whatever is necessary to maintain 50-60 degrees. Soak mullet for 30 minutes, remove and rinse thoroughly.
In a second brine with 2 cups salt and 1 cup brown sugar to 1 gal. water at a maximum of 60 deg. F., immerse fillets for 1 hour. Remove, rinse and hang in a cool, dry place until a shiny film forms. (Using an electric fan speeds the process.)
Season the brine with garlic, onion, lemon/lime, pickling spices, etc. - whatever turns you on or sprinkle a mixture onto the fish after the last rinse.
Heat the grill to 170-180 degrees and add green wood (alder, apple, pear, white oak,
citrus) to the coals. Place fillets on the grill and maintain temperature until firm - 6-8 hours.
When you get this down pat, give me shout. I'd drive to St. Pete for some good smoked
mullet.
Fun,
Smoky "
Two points with my "experiments".....catfish fillets are MUCH smaller than mullet, so it cooks faster (Don't even TRY the "catfish nuggets" !). Also, hard to get a smoke temp of 170-190 on my WSM. I recently read Chris A.'s articles about smoking cheese, etc at low temps, so I'm going to try his method next !
HTH....let us know how it turns out when you try it !
Dean...