I've been doing a lot of spring fishing lately and the only way I cook my fish is by breading it and frying it. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to smoke crappie and bluegill?
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I like fryin em without breading, just as is in lots of butter. Don’t know a thing about smokin gils or crappies. -
I assume you are eating them whole given the fillets would be tiny. Great eating but boney, used to catch both when I lived in Illinois. I suggest you smoke them whole like any protein. Watch out for your smoke gradient, you don't want to over smoke them. I suggest 250* until they are flakey, should be great eating.
Here are some trout I stuffed and cooked recently. They only take about 30 minutes to cook. I cooked on a Phatmat, would not suggest placing the fish directly on your grates. In a pinch you can use aluminum foil. Brushing with butter gives a golden color to the finished product. Show us how yours come out.
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Not sure if this can be applied to panfish.... but just in case, I would marinate, smoke, crumble and mix into a dip.
We have a Lionfish problem in our neck of the woods. Not comparing nor suggesting I’m aware of similarities between these 2 so very different critters, other than both are fish and they are excellent eating.
We fillet them first, then marinate in soy sauce and brown sugar. Place the fillets in a bag, ensure all is submerged and let it be for 24hrs.
Rinse the fillets in cold tap water but very lightly to remove excess marinade.
Smoke low and slow. I like to use cherry wood and target a temperature of 200F.
Keep an eye on them. Most of the lionfish fillets are small... they generally cook at different rates depending on thickness of the fillets. In my case, most are done between 45 and 70 minutes. Time is not the way to really handle this, but probably probe it and try to attain a desirable color, texture and moisture without over cooking it.
Once we get texture and color we like, we crumble the fillets and mix them into a cream cheese and peppers dip base.
We generally fix a large batch and share mason jars with friends.
Hopefully this can be an idea that you can try.
Cheers,
RicardoComment
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Sounds kinda like a nice problem to have, relating to cooking, not environmentally. -
It’s relentless and when left unchecked, it has managed to eat everything around...
They are a challenge to catch, but lots of folks are actively doing what we can by removing them. Here is a link to a video that PBS put together a couple of years ago describing how we try to keep them in check....https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CSd7pgvOV3M
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I am not allowed to cook Bluegill, but Crappie fillets with Zatarans fish fry is a pretty good combo!Comment
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Maybe you should just smoke the crappie out of 'em.
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Thanks for all the info folks! Unfortunately it got cold again as usual but, I'll be trying something out next weekend. I'll be sure to post what I come up with.Comment
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My recipe:Originally posted by Darm9230 View Post
Not sure what you are using for the "breading" but here in the deep south, we use cornmeal as the breading. Clean fish by scaling and gutting, etc. Remove head. We like the skin so we leave it on. If small, cook the entire fish whole. If larger, simply filet it. Then dip in a buttermilk and egg bath, followed by seasoning with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle the cornmeal all over them, both sides. Deep fry until golden (not dark) brown at 325 to 350. (Best done outside due to the smoke). Will only take a few minutes. Don't overcook!! Fish will tend to float on top of grease when done, but don't let that be your sole testing for fully cooked. I go by the color. Difficult to use a thermometer as the fish is suspended in the hot grease! We cook them in peanut oil as it has a very high flash point before it smokes. Cook hush puppies in same pot with fish. Have slaw ready for your side, or whatever you like, and eat fish and puppies hot! Squeeze fresh lemon generously over fish. Drink sweet tea, in a glass filled with ice cubes! Now that is eatin in Dixie!!
And yes you can smok'em if you like, but honestly frying them is best IMHO.
Tom
This thread is several months old now, but I ran across it looking for help on the longevity of fish grease, which I have not yet gotten satisfied on, and decided to add to my original post since the OP was primarily looking for advice on smoking pan fish. I have not done to much, preferring frying to smoking these, but I remember back around 1963 or so when I was about 14 or 15 yrs old and in the Boy Scouts. One morning I was fishing off a small bridge at our nearest Boy Scout camp and hooked a small bass, maybe a pound, maybe a little less. It was around 5 AM I recon. I did not have any grease, or anything to cook it in with me really so I simply scaled and gutted the fish, washed thoroughly, cut my self a green oak stick large enough to keep the fish out of the morning fire and after salting and peppering, I simply held it above the fire in the smoke and heat. I occasionally stuck it gently with a knife or whatever, I don't remember details it was over about 55 years ago! Anyway, my fish was wonderful! So smoke away and enjoy! Tom
Last edited by Alabama Smoke; May 4, 2020, 04:32 PM.Comment
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