We were way overdue for our normal rotation of fish. Had a real nice Redfish in the freezer and decided it was time to do a stuffed and smoked whole fish. My usual preparation. For the stuffing;
6-8 oz. container of lump crab meat
1 shallot, finely diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
Olive Oil for saute
2-3 tbls of white wine
1-2 tbls fresh squeezed lemon juice
Bread crumbs
Seafood seasoning (like Tony Chachere's)
Saute the shallot and garlic in some olive oil until soft. Place the crab meat in a strainer and strain out most of the liquid. Add the crab meat to the saute pan and combine with the shallot/garlic. Season generously. Warm the mixture on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, don't scorch or overcook. Add the wine and continue to stir and reduce the liquid. After about 3-4 minutes begin adding the bread crumbs until you reach a stiff, stuffing like consistency. Add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end. Set the pan aside and let the stuffing cool down.
In preparing the fish, have your fish monger clean and scale for you if you don't do it yourself. I also like to cut the fins off as they tend to burn up and are inedible anyway. Wash the inside and outside well and dry with some paper towels. I cover the fish in a mixture of lemon juice and olive oil, then season well with Tony C's and dry dill on all surfaces. I then cut slits in the body of the fish on both sides to aid in seasoning and cooking. I stuff those with lemon wedges. You can also use lime or oranges if you prefer a different citrus flavor profile!!
I cut sprigs of fresh dill (optional) and line the inside of the fish cavity. I then add the cooled down stuffing mixture and push it firmly into the cavity not only in the body portion but up into the head area where the gills once were. Season the outside of the stuffing. She's ready to go onto the grill....
Instead of convention grilling like I normally do, I wanted instead to cook it a bit slower with some smoke. That also facilitated a more thorough cooking of the cavity and stuffing which tends to lag behind the rest of the fish. I built a fire on my Cherry Bomb Weber in the SNS with some apple wood. I only used a couple of ounces. The fire needs to get pretty well established so the smoke settles down and turns as blue as possible. Fish takes on smoke quickly and can get over smoked easily.
The kettle got to about 350-400* with nice steady thin smoke so I put the fish on a Phat Mat to keep it from sticking, facilitate a more even cook and make it easy to remove the final cooked fish which tends to fall apart otherwise. If you don't have some of these mats you need to invest in some. Great for other delicate foods as well.
Fish smoked for about 40 minutes until the internal got up to about 135-140* on average. I don't like to take it any higher, I like it moist and not dried out. Off she came to rest for a few minutes on the serving platter. Fish had a great color and a fabulous smokey taste.....
Served with my favorite sides de jour and once again Troutman is eating good in the neighborhood.......
KEEP YOUR TACKLE DRY AND YOUR HOOKS WET....TROUTMAN STEVE IS OUTTA HERE !!!
6-8 oz. container of lump crab meat
1 shallot, finely diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
Olive Oil for saute
2-3 tbls of white wine
1-2 tbls fresh squeezed lemon juice
Bread crumbs
Seafood seasoning (like Tony Chachere's)
Saute the shallot and garlic in some olive oil until soft. Place the crab meat in a strainer and strain out most of the liquid. Add the crab meat to the saute pan and combine with the shallot/garlic. Season generously. Warm the mixture on medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, don't scorch or overcook. Add the wine and continue to stir and reduce the liquid. After about 3-4 minutes begin adding the bread crumbs until you reach a stiff, stuffing like consistency. Add a squeeze of lemon juice at the end. Set the pan aside and let the stuffing cool down.
In preparing the fish, have your fish monger clean and scale for you if you don't do it yourself. I also like to cut the fins off as they tend to burn up and are inedible anyway. Wash the inside and outside well and dry with some paper towels. I cover the fish in a mixture of lemon juice and olive oil, then season well with Tony C's and dry dill on all surfaces. I then cut slits in the body of the fish on both sides to aid in seasoning and cooking. I stuff those with lemon wedges. You can also use lime or oranges if you prefer a different citrus flavor profile!!
I cut sprigs of fresh dill (optional) and line the inside of the fish cavity. I then add the cooled down stuffing mixture and push it firmly into the cavity not only in the body portion but up into the head area where the gills once were. Season the outside of the stuffing. She's ready to go onto the grill....
Instead of convention grilling like I normally do, I wanted instead to cook it a bit slower with some smoke. That also facilitated a more thorough cooking of the cavity and stuffing which tends to lag behind the rest of the fish. I built a fire on my Cherry Bomb Weber in the SNS with some apple wood. I only used a couple of ounces. The fire needs to get pretty well established so the smoke settles down and turns as blue as possible. Fish takes on smoke quickly and can get over smoked easily.
The kettle got to about 350-400* with nice steady thin smoke so I put the fish on a Phat Mat to keep it from sticking, facilitate a more even cook and make it easy to remove the final cooked fish which tends to fall apart otherwise. If you don't have some of these mats you need to invest in some. Great for other delicate foods as well.
Fish smoked for about 40 minutes until the internal got up to about 135-140* on average. I don't like to take it any higher, I like it moist and not dried out. Off she came to rest for a few minutes on the serving platter. Fish had a great color and a fabulous smokey taste.....
Served with my favorite sides de jour and once again Troutman is eating good in the neighborhood.......
KEEP YOUR TACKLE DRY AND YOUR HOOKS WET....TROUTMAN STEVE IS OUTTA HERE !!!
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