Greetings to all!
Today's smoke was a battle of catfish fillets. Understand that I was never really a fan of catfish, but there were some posts last week about it. Talking to a buddy at work, he had been fishing and caught a bunch of catfish and gave me four fillets; total weight was 2 1/2 lbs.
So, I started thinking about how I wanted to smoke them. I really couldn't make up my mind, so I did four different brines/marinades and smoked all of them with maple. Not sure what to expect and needing a second opinion, my nephew (a 16 year old bottomless pit) offered to help eat them and give me his opinion. Really, nice guy.....
So, it's time to smoke some cats!
No, Kritter Kitty, not you...
In order, fillet #1 will be Bearcarver's brine(originally for salmon), #2 will be Cowgirl's brine, #3 is my own creation, #4 is Dutch's Maple Glaze (also for salmon).
After soaking in the brine and ready for the smoker.
In the smoker.
Done and resting while the table is set.
End results.
Remember, there were only the two of us eating and I also made my beans.
In the end, Dakota and I agreed on how to classify the four flavors.
Mine, #3, needs more work. It was good, but absorbed almost no smoke. It was the only one to use EVOO, and I think that might have been the cause/effect.
Bearcarver's and Dutch's Maple Glaze would be perfect for catfish nuggets for snacks. While much better than mine, just not what we wanted for the main course of a meal. I've used the maple glaze on salmon and it was incredible for the main course. Bearcarver's was great, not much left and it will be gone soon, too.
Cowgirl. Just can't say anything more than that. We both decided that Cowgirl's brine was just wow. Main course, snacks, whatever. That fillet disappeared and we were ready to fight over the last little piece.
Today's smoke was a battle of catfish fillets. Understand that I was never really a fan of catfish, but there were some posts last week about it. Talking to a buddy at work, he had been fishing and caught a bunch of catfish and gave me four fillets; total weight was 2 1/2 lbs.
So, I started thinking about how I wanted to smoke them. I really couldn't make up my mind, so I did four different brines/marinades and smoked all of them with maple. Not sure what to expect and needing a second opinion, my nephew (a 16 year old bottomless pit) offered to help eat them and give me his opinion. Really, nice guy.....
So, it's time to smoke some cats!
No, Kritter Kitty, not you...
In order, fillet #1 will be Bearcarver's brine(originally for salmon), #2 will be Cowgirl's brine, #3 is my own creation, #4 is Dutch's Maple Glaze (also for salmon).
After soaking in the brine and ready for the smoker.
In the smoker.
Done and resting while the table is set.
End results.
Remember, there were only the two of us eating and I also made my beans.
In the end, Dakota and I agreed on how to classify the four flavors.
Mine, #3, needs more work. It was good, but absorbed almost no smoke. It was the only one to use EVOO, and I think that might have been the cause/effect.
Bearcarver's and Dutch's Maple Glaze would be perfect for catfish nuggets for snacks. While much better than mine, just not what we wanted for the main course of a meal. I've used the maple glaze on salmon and it was incredible for the main course. Bearcarver's was great, not much left and it will be gone soon, too.
Cowgirl. Just can't say anything more than that. We both decided that Cowgirl's brine was just wow. Main course, snacks, whatever. That fillet disappeared and we were ready to fight over the last little piece.