The first time I smoked Goldeyes they turned out great. They
were of a nice golden color and they didn’t split open. After that, for some
unexplained reason, they never turned out as nice. I had them with dark color
and wide open bellies and split backs. I also found that smoking them in the
summer doesn’t really work, because of the heat. My electric smoker heats up
too fast and then shuts down, producing very little smoke, but you pretty much
cook them.
The user guide that comes with the smoker suggests to turn
on the smoker and let it heat up for about ½ hour before putting in the fish.
Well, that is just not right, because it doesn’t work that way. After
experimenting with the procedure I found if I put the fish in immediately after
I turn on the heater I get good results.
This is how I did it last Saturday and the results were
satisfying:
I took 4 Goldeye from the freezer Friday evening and left
them in our laundry room until 11:00 p.m. to thaw. Then I put them into the
fridge overnight.
9:00 a.m. Saturday: I washed the Goldeye. Sprinkled them
with coarse salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Left them in a covered container
until 11:30 a.m. Then I washed the fish and put them onto a rack to dry in a
cool room (Laundry Room).
1:30 p.m. (after 2 hours of drying), I turned on my electric
smoker. I set the temperature to 185 F and hung the fish in immediately. I used
cherry wood for the smoke. After 30 minutes I added more cherry wood and again
30 minutes later.
3:00 p.m. After 1 ½ hours I shut off the smoker and opened
the door to let the fish cool down. The skin was a beautiful golden color and
the bellies had spread open just a little. I left them for 20 minutes to cool
and then I removed them from the smoker. We peeled off the skin immediately and
scraped the meat from the bones. The meat was solid but moist. We ate the first
meal 2 days later. I find that by leaving them sit for a day or so in the
fridge the meat becomes nice and firm. They tasted delicious with a wonderful smoky flavor.
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