# Cod Fish gonna come...



## SonnyE (Mar 2, 2018)

So I went to get a bag of Pit Boss Competition Blend, the store's web site was screwed up.
They had none. But the one 'cross town had 50 bags... (My luck, go to the wrong store)
So I go tootle over there. Got my bag after I convinced the guy they carried them. :rolleyes:
So the wife calls... Where are you? I'm at Lowe's. Lowe's? Yeah Lowe's, getting my pellets.
Oh.... Could you pick up milk on the way home? Sure.
So I stop at Sam's Club because it's on the way. I get the milk.
Then I'm walking by the frozen Salmon, but I don't _need_ any Salmon...
But hey, how much is the Cod? Do they have any? Ah, there's some. Ew! Breaded, nope don't want breading in my smoker. No thanks.
But found some Plastic Cod, 3 pounds for $15.98. ($11 a bag cheaper than Salmon!)
So since tomorrows Smokerday, and I've got some new pellets to try, and some Cod Fish to smoke. I'm going to use Bear's Method on the Pacific Wild Cod that jumped in the basket.
Well, I guess smoked Cod Fish gonna come... :confused:
Film at 11...


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## SmokinGame (Mar 3, 2018)

You can tell I am new to this smoking stuff. Cod was not on my radar for smoking. Interested to see the results. Good luck!

For me Amazon has become my best friend when it comes to getting my pellets. So far they carry everything I want to try ... but the shopping adventure is definitely not as exciting.


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## cmayna (Mar 3, 2018)

No experience with Pacific (Alaskan) Cod, so I'd watch the IT at around the 3-4 hour watch, depending on the filet's thickness and if it has skin on or not.  Rock Cod is pretty dry, then there's Ling Cod which is much oilier, then there's black Cod which is way WAY oilier.  Where does Pacific Cod lie amongst this?  Who knows.

Have fun.   This next week, weather permitting, I plan to do a little of both Salmon and Rock Cod using Bear's recipe.


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## SonnyE (Mar 3, 2018)

SmokinGame said:


> You can tell I am new to this smoking stuff. Cod was not on my radar for smoking. Interested to see the results. Good luck!
> 
> For me Amazon has become my best friend when it comes to getting my pellets. So far they carry everything I want to try ... but the shopping adventure is definitely not as exciting.



I remember Dad getting some Smoked Cod from a vendor on the Santa Monica Pier when I was a pip-squeek. So walking down memory lane here, trying to see if I can find that taste.
My Bradley puck pooper pucks got too expensive for me to want to buy anymore. So, I bought my first ever store bought smoker, then went on a Quest to make it do Cheeses to Cow assets.
So working towards trying my hand at cod. ;)


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## cmayna (Mar 3, 2018)

Based on your location, I think you should be able to obtain lots of fresh Cod by traveling over to the coast, just like your dad did.  Odds are it will be Rock, which makes wonderful Rock Cod Taco's.


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## SonnyE (Mar 3, 2018)

cmayna said:


> No experience with Pacific (Alaskan) Cod, so I'd watch the IT at around the 3-4 hour watch, depending on the filet's thickness and if it has skin on or not.  Rock Cod is pretty dry, then there's Ling Cod which is much oilier, then there's black Cod which is way WAY oilier.  Where does Pacific Cod lie amongst this?  Who knows.
> 
> Have fun.   This next week, weather permitting, I plan to do a little of both Salmon and Rock Cod using Bear's recipe.



Thank You Craig! Raining here today, so belay the smokerday run.
I never really paid that much attention. Now and then we would go fishing on the Pacific Ocean, but Dad use to get terrible seasick. He about croaked during WWII on a ship going to Hawaii to repair ships electrical at Pearl Harbor. Then again on the way home. Mom just kept herself full of soda crackers to settle her stomach. She worked on base as a typist/clerk.
Anyway, we're a bunch of landlubbers. But once in a while we'd go on "a freezer run" where Rock Cod was the catch. Fill a gunny sack, and freeze up many a fish dinner.

This Pacific Cod doesn't say a whole lot on the bag. Sez "Pacific Cod". It is atypical for Sam's Club / Costco sort of frozen fish, processed on the ship, flash frozen in individual plastic bags, no skin, individual portions.
As far as I know, it is packaged in clean sea water, but may be fresh water.
Back when all I did was put it in boiling water for a spell, then eat it with some salt and pepper, I always liked its taste.
As I recall, it didn't seem oily to me, not like Salmon is anyway. A very white meat.
But I've grown to like this sort of what I call Plastic Food. Plastic Steaks (now forbidden to me), Plastic Salmon, and this Plastic Cod. LOL! Oh, and add Plastic Hamburger (chubs, Lean) to that fare.
If it tastes good, I'll eat it. If I knew the particulars, I probably would not.
I don't (knowingly) buy anything food wise from Asia, nor do I eat Talapia. I did try to cook a Carp once (Colorado River). That came out so bad I wouldn't even taste it. :confused:

But the other day, we ate some green meat McDonald's Hamburgers, Jr. Big Mac's. 
I only knew it was green because I got a plain hamburger for my dog and cut up the... whatever it was... on the bottom half of the bun for my dog. He loved it. Might be greased ground seaweed, for all I know.
But hey, roll the dice on getting the flu once in a while. So far, so good...
Corn is usually the only thing I can say I recognize the next time I see it. :rolleyes:
So, I only know somebody sez it's Cod, wild caught, Pacific Ocean. I'm not even sure what they mean by wild. Might have been a drunken party boat dragging a net. :cool:
But I want to apply Bear's Recipie to it, with a little bit reduced salt, and a bit less smoke. I'm on a low sodium diet, and I think I tend to over smoke things. So I'm trying adjustments.

Incidentally, the Japan Current is what comes over to Alaska. Maybe this Codfish will glow in the dark... :confused:
What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. (Green hamburgers? Shudder!)

Thank You for your help Craig! ;)


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## SonnyE (Mar 3, 2018)

Well, the cod fish is cured and in the cooler for the night, pellicanizing. :confused:
Seems much more consistent than Salmon pieces are. While it was curing, I dried more than enough of the new blend pellets for the smoke tomorrow. Nice aroma from the wood at 275°, looking forward to the smoke run.
The skies are clearing, too.
Full steam ahead. :)


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## SonnyE (Mar 4, 2018)

Smoke On!
Started ~ 10 AM.
Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!
Probed chunk was at 80° F at the first corner.
Coming right along.

Odd, 3 hours later, stalled at ~ 120° F (Smoker at 200° F) Booger!


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## cmayna (Mar 4, 2018)

So this is using Bear's Final Smoked Salmon recipe?   I'm brining some Salmon and Ling Cod tomorrow based on his recipe.

I have never had fish do a stall on me.  Hmmmmmm.


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## SonnyE (Mar 5, 2018)

Oh, Bad, bad,bad,bad....
I'm not sure what I done, But I sure done wrong.
I did a comedy of errors. I couldn't understand why the process stalled, but it did.
So much so, that I opened the oven and poked a dial gauge meat thermometer in another piece to check it. Pretty close at 120 degrees between two thermometers.
Finally, the remote probe began to slowly climb again. S-l-o-w-l---y.
I kept my nose out and let it go. Finally it was at 140°, so I stuck my nose in. :confused::oops::mad: It was wrecked.
I knew right away it was going to be bad at best. Very dark. Creosote?

Things I did wrong:
1. I tried pellets I had never used before. I did _dry_ them in the sm00ker oven the night before. So moisture content had to be low. They did smell good throughout the smoking. And at one point, there was a heavenly aroma of smoked fish coming out the stack. Mouth watering.

2. I put my whole 3 pounds of Cod in. A really bad move. What could go wrong? Oh... everything.

3. "Remove any unused racks from the smoker." Probably one thing I didn't do that was the most damaging. I left racks 3 and 4 in, with the mats on them. Total brainfart on my part. Drippings from the fish on rack 2 tended to hit there, then drip to the 4th, and find their way to the element and hot drip pan. It looked like the heat in the oven caused these to become a secondary smoke (Based on the crap on the element and the foil on the drip tray), which added it's unpleasant coating to my fish.

4. Pushing for the 145° mark. I think trying to insist on attaining that all important temperature pushed the oven into consuming the drippings. The drippings were somewhat burned onto the mats and racks. And definitely burned onto the drip tray foil. 
In retrospect, I think I need to 'Finish' my fish a bit differently. Maybe bagged and heated in a water bath?

Mine is more edible today after the cooling and refrigerating. And my little buddy loves it! So it ain't bad. But tough, for fish. Chewy, rubbery, but flavorful with a nice smokeyness.
But it isn't Salmon by a long shot. And sure not Santa Monica Pier as I remember it. LOL!
Nope, totally "Operator Error" here.

Maybe Cod takes on water in a wet brine? So the moisture had to be pushed out? But I think Items 1 thru 4 on my own part was where the downfall came.
Live, and Learn. :D At least it came out edible.
Now I'm thinking of ways to make it more palatable, Cod Fish Chowder? Cod Chili? Chewy Cod Tacos?
I know my dog thinks it's great. :)


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## SonnyE (Mar 5, 2018)

cmayna said:


> So this is using Bear's Final Smoked Salmon recipe?   I'm brining some Salmon and Ling Cod tomorrow based on his recipe.
> 
> I have never had fish do a stall on me.  Hmmmmmm.



I look forward to any tutelage you'd care to offer.

That stall really through me off. I went to Bear's 200 degree setting, then left it there until the final 140 degrees. Took hours though.
I did not need to do that with Salmon. :confused:


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## Bearcarver (Mar 5, 2018)

Hmm, Got me---I never did Cod---Lots of different kinds of fish, but never Cod.
That's one of the few fish I won't buy, but for a different reason.

Did it get any better with time resting?

Bear


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## SonnyE (Mar 5, 2018)

bearcarver said:


> Hmm, Got me---I never did Cod---Lots of different kinds of fish, but never Cod.
> That's one of the few fish I won't buy, but for a different reason.
> 
> Did it get any better with time resting?
> ...



Yes, some. The flavor seems to have mellowed from resting overnight in the fridge.
Not sure why it seems tough. I'm more a hack than a cook. LOL!
But with my "No Red Meat!" orders, I'm trying other things. I should have held some back, or tried some cooked first. Just to see if it's the brand, or my lousy cookin. :D
But my little dog is goofy over it. I ate some late morning and gave him some bites along the way. He kept barking at me for more long after it was gone. So it must be good, regardless of what I think.
Maybe I need to just stick with what I know I like, Salmon. ;)


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