First Smoked Catfish (w/ Q-view)

[daboys]

I gotta get down to the river now! That really looks good.

 

[walking dude]

heck dude.....the saylorville doesn't go down much by the get together, you can walk maybe 20 feet and toss your line in

 

[daboys]

Hey, there ya go. Freshly caught and smoked catfish for the get together.

 

[walking dude]

S-I-L went catfishing today ( lill sob didn't take ME along) and caught some to give me, i hope to bring to the get together

 

[walking dude]

seeboke............hey.......i just went back over this thread........and i noticed that you seasoned each fillet diff.

which one did you like the best outta the seven?

 

[seboke]

I'd say the the red pepper, black pepper, and garlic, in that order. The other ones seasonings had salt, and I think I used a little too much in the brine, making them even more salty. They weren't TOO salty, but could have stood a little less.

 

[blacklab]

A little late to the thread, but heck great looking meal or meals

 

[talleymonster]

That looks awesome! I've got some catfish in the freezer that I was thinking about grilling for tomorrow. I've got some massive fillets from this bad boy:

33 pound Flathead Catfish.

 

[seboke]

Yeah Man, Nice Catch!! Give it a whirl on the smoker!

 

[sweethanky]

nice job dude... i dont eat fish but man that looks good

 

[packplantpath]

Ok, so this is the first time I've ever seen this in a pic and it gives me a chance to ask this question. Anybody else see that sparkly sheen on the meat in the above pic? What is that?

I've seen it on cuts of pork, beef, and now fish. Mostly, I've seen it on roast beef, but sometimes packaged ham has it too. It's almost always a cured meat, so I've assumed it's a reaction to the cure, but I'd like confirmation. Sorry for the off topic question.

 

[seboke]

Dude, that's tartar sauce, though I've never seen tartar sauce on beef or pork

. Seriously now, not sure what sparkly sheen you're talking about, not from the fish sammy pic. If I'm seeing what I think you're talking about, I think it is moisture reflecting the camera flash.

 

[walking dude]

i have my fillets in the brine now

i think seboke, he is talking that rainbow type color, and you will get that with fish......

 

[daboys]

Isn't that from the oil in the meat? I could be wrong.

 

[walking dude]

mite be, but catfish is not a oily fish, much at all

 

[seboke]

Went back and looked again, I see the rainbow effect on the flesh. Showing qview to my mother, a long time country-cooking gal. She don;t know why, but says it is common. I have seen that same sheen on roast beef more than anything. I was jus tryin to get a laugh with the tartar sauce comments!

Lookin forward to your catfish smokery (is that a word?). Water finally go down enough to wet a line up there?

 

[walking dude]

yeah.............finally

i also see it in roastbeef......

 

[packplantpath]

Ok, thought maybe I was crazy for a minute.

I knew I didn't like tartar sauce, but I thought I knew what it looked like

.

I guess it could be the sheen of oil, it does kinda look like the colors of a layer of oil on water. Maybe.....

 

[placebo]

Nice looking eats there! I will have to try that soon.

Here is an explanation on the rainbow color:

"What causes the shiny rainbow appearance on some cured meats?
A natural phenomenon in cured meat, and some fresh meat, is the occurrence of iridecence or a rainbow appearance on the cut lean surface. Technically, this is referred to as birefringence. It is caused by the reflectance of light off the muscle proteins. Muscles are arranged in strands that are bound together to form myofibrils. These in turn are bound together to form muscle fibers, which in turn form muscle bundels and finally the muscles. When the muscle is cut in a particular angle, exposing a cross section of myofilaments, the reflected light causes the rainbow effect."

 

[packplantpath]

Nice, I knew I could count on somebody to come up with an answer.

Thanks. Points.....