I'm smoking crappies and tullibee fish today

brey · April 18, 2014, 07:37:39 AM

There is some threads on here about this but not much, just thought i'd show what I do. (nothing out of the norm but here we go)
Myth: crappies are not oily fish, They are very greasy!! I think most people try to smoke them and over cook them rather then smoke them.

tullibee are like a oil soaked rag . My dog goes crazy and will bite the lid off a 5 gallon pail to get to them if I let her!!

I brine them for 10 to 24 hours (usually 12) and leave them hole.( gutted and head off )

This process will work with most fish i can think of.

My basic Brine:
This is for 1 gallon of water
1 1/3 cups caning salt
2/3 cup light or dark brown sugar
1 or 2 cloves raw garlic
t crushed red pepper
t onion powder
t allspice

I dry them on the racks with a fan for 1 to 3 hours. (usually 1 hour) I'm to exited and impatient to get them in the smoker!! ;D

Today i'm smoking them with hickory for 3 to 4 hours, its the only kind I have left. :( (normally apple I use)

I put them in the smoker at a hundo for a hour or so.
Start smoking them at 150F and let them go at that for 2 hours and then bump it up to 175, 185F for the rest of the time till they hit 160F or I just think there done! 4 to 7 hours total time.
Its different every time but never had a bad batch yet. Always moist and not under cooked or over cooked.

For the newbe: Just don't get it to hot too fast take your time and do small batches like 2 whole fish 1 per rack only put the smoke to them for 2 hours, look at them If there brown they got smoked. Most likey it will take 3 or 4 hours to get them to look like smoked fish. Or one rack of flays. Flays are thin and are more touchy with hi heat. Try whole first there more forgiving I think. Keep them in the upper two rack spots in the smoker. Then you have less chance of cremating them. (Farther from the heating element). Vents wide open.

After writing this Maybe I should of put this in the fish Recipes.

ragweed · April 18, 2014, 10:37:08 AM

The Crappies we catch usually hit the frying pan shortly after we get home, but if we ever get too many to fry (is that possible?) I'll try smokin' some. Sounds good. How 'bout some pics of your finished product?

brey · April 18, 2014, 12:29:11 PM

I'm trying to post pics right now. where is Library at. Cant find it

brey · April 18, 2014, 12:41:41 PM

Quote from: ragweed on April 18, 2014, 10:37:08 AM
The Crappies we catch usually hit the frying pan shortly after we get home, but if we ever get too many to fry (is that possible?) I'll try smokin' some. Sounds good. How 'bout some pics of your finished product?

Ya ok, Im living off of fish all winter long and getting fat!! I call it fried paradise

WoodlawnSmoker · April 18, 2014, 05:29:37 PM

Yeah, this sounds really good! Pictures please, love to see it.

brey · April 19, 2014, 07:28:58 PM

first batch ready to go in smoker. The small ones!!

brey · April 19, 2014, 07:36:57 PM

First batch done

brey · April 19, 2014, 07:41:46 PM

Second batch going in. 5 were 1.5 to 2lbs each!! Slabs in the spring time. We used chest waiters to get out on the ice.

brey · April 19, 2014, 07:44:17 PM

Here is a pic of one done from the first batch comparing it to the big ones.

brey · April 19, 2014, 07:56:36 PM

No pics of the second batch done, it was late and i went to bed as soon as they were done. They all turned out great!! The big ones are super moist. The small ones are moist but you got to be careful reheating them in the microwave as my son found out.
The tully's are almost impossible to ruin.

Ka Honu · April 19, 2014, 10:42:08 PM

What kind of fish is a tulipe?

NorthShoreMN · April 20, 2014, 05:50:11 AM

Around this part of MN they are called tullibee. They net them in the fall from inland lakes. Some say they are small whitefish others call them freshwater herring. By any name I think they are very good smoked or grilled. Crappies are Great.

NorthShoreMN · April 20, 2014, 05:57:25 AM

Brey
Great looking fish. Those crappies look great, where are you from? Won't ask what lake you cought them on!

tailfeathers · April 20, 2014, 07:55:49 AM

Brey, those look great, I'm definitely gonna try smoking some crappies next time we get into them. Wish I has seen this earlier, we caught a boatload of crappies early ice this year but I usually only keep enough for a meal or two. Do you scale them before or after smoking? I've always just filleted mine so I never had to worry about the scales.

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brey · April 20, 2014, 12:11:29 PM

Quote from: NorthShoreMN on April 20, 2014, 05:57:25 AM
Brey
Great looking fish. Those crappies look great, where are you from? Won't ask what lake you cought them on!

I'm from central MN. There are lots of lakes with them in it around here.

They are called tullibee. I spelled it wrong.
We don't scale any of the fish we smoke. I peal off the skin as I eat.