# my First Smoke: Spanish Mackeral and Bluefish!



## kajun (Apr 21, 2008)

went out fishing yesterday and caught a few spanish mackeral and bluefish..decided they would be the first victims of smoke inhalation :) cleaned them and was gonna smoke them yesterday but i didnt have enough time so waited till today...but i marinated them all till today and now they are on the grill 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






....i dont have a thermometer or any mods...basically just gonna do it blind...using a mix of hickory and mesquite chips..soaked....started them at 6:45 and will smoke em for atleast 3hrs..maybe alil longer if needed.....hopefully they come out edible! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





the marinade/brine was:
cayenne and black pepper
old bay seasoning
adobo seasoning
garlic powder
louisiana cajun seasoning
soy sauce
sesame oil
olive oil
and touch of worchesire and balsamic vinger
alil water and kosher salt

i'll take lots of pics and be sure to post them as i go...



























this is after one and half hours of smoking.....temp unknown 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	

















this is after 3 hours and 15 mins...the bluefish on the bottom initally made alot of liquid and they are still kinda wet on bottom..so i flipped them all over on the foil and gonna smoke everything for another 30 mins....at about 2.5hrs ..i rubbed a mixture of olive oil and sherry cooking wine on the spanish filets....mmmmm


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## bassman (Apr 21, 2008)

Looks great so far!  Looking forward to the rest of the story.


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## kajun (Apr 22, 2008)

got a question..i want to bring all of this into work tommorow mornin and share with the crew.....should i vaccum pack this for that short time? put it in the frig ? warm it up or serve it cold? i'm not too sure of the rules for smoked fish..
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





......also which rack is usually hotter? the top or bottom?


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## white cloud (Apr 22, 2008)

I allways just wrapped in foil and took to work


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## kajun (Apr 22, 2008)

did you refrigerate it or leave it out on the counter overnight?


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## white cloud (Apr 22, 2008)

fridged it


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## coyote (Apr 22, 2008)

I would just put it in ziploxs and then into the fridge, since they are smoked room temp and cold should be good.but you can heat em at work,don't think nucler effect would be good for them.but wrapped in foil and in to the oven for a bit. sounds great. heck, I forgot we used to smoke sail fish way back when in an old metal icebox we converted. that was good stuff.


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## kajun (Apr 22, 2008)

ok..these are the final pics! 4hrs total smoke time....all i can say is...its fricking delicious!....both the bluefish and spanish taste great,they are ziplock bagged and in frig ready to bring to work and eat for breakfast!  i'm definetly impressed with my first smoke and my ECB 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 i made a dip out of onion/chive cream cheese , duke's light mayo, one small onion chopped fine and 90% of the bluefish...with alil old bay sprinkled in it, gonna be be put on ritz crackers......i would of used green onion tops instead reg onion if i had them..but none the less the dip rocks!  thanks for all the help and info! i'll be a fish smoking son of a gun this summer!


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## smoke_chef (Apr 22, 2008)

That looks awesome. Great job.


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## pineywoods (Apr 22, 2008)

Looks good Kajun great job


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## flash (Apr 22, 2008)

Looks good to me, although did you forget the black pepper 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





  I always add a good amount to my spanish and blues. Next time you put some pieces on a ritz, give this stuff a try. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	











I just put them in plastic baggies, if longer than a week vacuum pack them. I've only got one left, time to go fishing again.


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## kajun (Apr 22, 2008)

well we ate it all..not a drop left lol 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Flash, i did put black pepper in it and served on ritz...i looked for your horseradish/wasbai mayo last night at winn dixie but they didnt have any.


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## funh2o (Apr 22, 2008)

Kajun..Thanks for posting the final smoke pics. The fish looks mighty tasty and I can see where it wouldn't last very long.
Congrats on a sucessful fish smoke  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Steve


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## bwsmith_2000 (Apr 22, 2008)

Kajun,
     Great job! Those fish look fantastic. Glad everything turned out so well. Sounds like we are neighbors. I'm over here in Seagrove Beach on 30A right at Seaside. I believe Kewel ...... lives over in PC as well. Perhaps we can get together for a cold one sometime. Are there other smokers in this area?


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## sumosmoke (Apr 22, 2008)

The smoked fish looked really good, Kajun! Thanks for the q-vue!


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## flash (Apr 22, 2008)

Not usually in the mayonnaise section, try looking more in the condiment section. Maybe around the tarter sauces, salad dressing area. I know Wal-Mart has it too. good luck.


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## jdfire40 (Apr 28, 2008)

That looks pretty good.  Although I'm not a fan of spanish or blues, but I might have to try them smoked.  

I'm also not very far from you.  I work in Walton County & live in Holmes.  Did you come from FS site also?


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## bwsmith_2000 (Apr 28, 2008)

JD,
    I love your avatar. Reminds me of "Duke" in the Bush Baked Beans commercials. Anyway, I noticed you are also close to me. I'm in Seagrove Beach (near Sea Side). I know that Kewel ..... and Kajun are also close. Do any of you want to get together for lunch some day? If there is (honest) interest, perhaps we could get together for a Q day or whatever. If no, OK, we met, we talked  and we left. If interested, PM me. 


Bill


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## gobbledot (Apr 28, 2008)

Great job.... Vittles look uuum uuum good.


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## jdfire40 (Apr 30, 2008)

Sounds good to me bwsmith.  I'll PM you.


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## seboke (Apr 30, 2008)

Man, I gotta go FISHIN!!!  Those look great!  Maybe trip to the seafood counter?


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## jdfire40 (May 1, 2008)

That's a sin....living in FL & going to a seafood market!  lol    just kidding!


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## flyin'illini (May 1, 2008)

My experience with the ECB electric is that the top rack runs warmer.
Fish looks great!


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## bcfishman (May 6, 2008)

I like to cut mine into thin strips before I put them on the smoker.

I actually cut them into strips before I ever marinade them. The thought process behind this is it creates a larger surface area for the fish to absorb the marinade. Also it cuts down on the cooking time and allows you to cook all the pieces to be done the same. (The outsides are done while the inside still juicy like with filets.)

Also, this allows you to pull pieces off the smoker after they're done and eat then.

This is a personal preference, but I have done them both ways.


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