SMOKIN CATFISH By Tubedude There are a lot of different ideas on the best ways to smoke fish...and which woods to use...and which brines...and how long...etc. My best advice is to try a few different things and see what YOU like the best. Trout are more delicate and do not need nearly as much brining or smoking as catfish. Most smoked trout fans like their fish just nicely cooked and well flavored. Catfish, on the other hand (rod), are heavy fleshed, oily and take a lot of brining and smoking to finish them up right. If you don't smoke them long enough they are softer, oilier and not nearly as appealing. The last hour makes a lot of difference. Catfish noticeably shrink and lose more moisture and oil as they finish their stay in the smoker. BRINING: I do not soak catfish in any kind of prepared brine solution. Instead, I sprinkle them with salt and sugar and let that suck out enough moisture from the fillets to create its own thick brine liquid. I begin by cutting and trimming the fillets into pieces about 3-4 inches on a side. These usually weigh about 3-4 ounces before smoking and less than half that when finished. I have a large round plastic container that is roughly the same cross sectional area as a smoker rack. I make three stacks of fillet chunks inside that container to get a rough amount to fill the smoker...three racks. This picture shows the first layer of kitty chunks salted and sugared on both sides. Be sure to use non-iodized salt. Pickling or kosher salt is good as is sea salt. Sprinkle only enough salt and sugar to make a thin coat. Do not bury the fillets in salt or you will have salty cardboard. I remove the fillets from the container and then put them back in as I "flavor" them. I have 3 containers...sea salt, white sugar and brown sugar. I lay the fillets out in a layer to cover the bottom of the container. Then I give a generous coating of first salt, then white sugar and then brown sugar. I flip them over and do the same on the second side. I then add the second layer and process it with the salt, sugar and brown sugar. When I have done all three layers...both sides...i put the lid on the container and leave it in the refrigerator all night. Page 1
Three layers of kitty chunks salted and sugared on both sides, ready for the refrigerator. PREPARATION: Early the next morning I take the container of fillets out of the refrigerator, I can usually pour off a pint or so of salty liquid sucked out of the fillets by the salt and sugar. This reduces the size of each piece of fish. Now, I double rinse (rinse twice) each piece of fillet, pat it dry with a paper towel and arrange the pieces on the racks. After sitting overnight in the refrigerator, the fish pieces have been shrunk by the moisture pulled from them by the salt and sugar. Note the heavy brown brine solution in which the fish are floating. About a pint of brine solution formed by the salt and sugar pulling moisture from the fish. Page 2
Rinse the brined fillets well, to remove excessive salt. Fill the container with water and rinse each piece twice to reduce the saltiness of the final product. My Little Chief Smoker has 3 wire racks. I clean them lightly and treat them with non-stick spray. Then I lay them side by side on some paper towels...over newspaper. They will get soggy. Any non-stick spray will work to help reduce sticking to the racks. Without it the sugar, salt, oils and fish juices cook onto the racks and make it tough to remove the smoked product without a chisel. Three racks on paper towels and newspapers. Ready for seasoning and drying. Page 3
I do not add pepper or other seasoning until the brined and rinsed fillets are on the racks. Then I sprinkle one side with my "Super Spice"...see the recipe below. No more salt. Then, I let the fillets air dry for an hour or so. They will form a glaze on the surface. This is one rack for the smoker, before adding the seasoning. SUPER SPICE: 3 parts ground black pepper 1 part cayenne pepper 1 part ground oregano 1 part cumin powder 1 part garlic powder Fillets seasoned with Super Spice. Be careful unless you want to cauterize your taste buds or relight the pilot light in your heartburn. After seasoning, let the fillets sit for an hour or so to develop a glaze before putting in the smoker. SMOKING: I prefer the traditional hickory wood for smoking catfish. I buy both the sawdust and the chips and often mix the two for longer and more even smoking. I do not wet them. I put a fresh pan in the smoker about every two hours and open the lid to check on the progress at about 5 hours. By then the bottom layer, nearest the heating element, is slightly darker than the middle or top layers. So, I rotate the racks...top to bottom and leave them that way until they are all done. In cooler weather I sometimes put a box over the smoker to keep more heat in. On hot summer days without wind the fish will be done an hour or more sooner than they would be in cooler weather. Page 4
Little Chief Smoker, loaded with three racks of brined and seasoned catfish fillets. Note the pan of wood chips at the bottom. I prefer hickory for smoking catfish. I use both the chips and sawdust. Other good woods are alder, cherry, apple and mesquite. Each has its own appeal to different folks Pine is not a good wood for smoking fish. I change the wood chips about every two hours. If there is still unburned material you can simply mix in some new chips and put it back in the smoker. No need to throw away good wood. When completely burned, do not dump in a plastic container or any garbage receptacle with paper or other flammables. Page 5
Here is what the catfish looks like after about 10 hours in the smoker, at the proper temperature. Compare this picture with the two pre-smoking pictures on page 4, to see how much more the fish pieces shrink during the smoking process. There are several types of smokers and each has its own temperature ranges and different controls. Whatever kind you use, the end product will usually come out better when smoked slowly over lower heat. Try to keep the temperature well below 200 and be sure to check often on your first few batches to avoid turning potentially tasty tidbits into smoky cardboard. In my 3 rack smoker I usually rotate the top rack to the bottom and vice versa at about the halfway point in the smoking process leaving the middle one in place. That helps insure a more even result on all racks. If you are smoking outdoors, you may want to use a box or some other cover for your smoker during cold weather or when the wind is blowing. That helps keep the temperature up to a good smoking range and shortens the time needed. Page 6