Smoked Mullet

Bobby Que

<p />The Gulf Mullet is a fairly common fish in the Tampabay area. Along the Gulf Coast, it is smoked slowly and if served freshly caught and cooked is a delicate, light textured fish that has to be tasted to be appreciated. It is an oily fish, which is a virtue in our health conscious world. It is used as bait to catch Tarpon. Snook and other larger fish devour fingerling mullet in the bay. They are hard to catch on a hook, and mostly netted commercially. [p]There used to be a lot of local restaurants that served smoked mullet in my area, but because of gill-net restrictions, and popularity of the mullet and it's roe by our Asian friends, the local restaurants have become hard to find. It is even hard to find mullet at most fishmongers. The mullet I got cost $1.89/pound. [p]I have been trying to smoke the little devils in first my gas-fed water smoker, then my electric smoker, and recently my BGE. Until the efforts in the BGE, none came close to what I remember fondly as good Tampabay smoked mullet. The surface should be browned with a slightly crispy texture, the meat underneath should be juicy and mild with a hint of smoky taste (but not overpowering), and the aroma of the fish should make you want to eat more![p]Here is a picture of a nice sized mullet that was smoked for 2 hours in my Egg with a handful of pecan chips, and a small hunk of cherry wood (I thought this might give the mullet a darker surface color). I put some oil on the fish before I cooked it an sprinkled some rib-rub on it. [p]I just finished eating this fish, and it was delicious!!!! [p]I'm posting a picture of this peasant type smoked fish for your enjoyment. I do not recall seeing a smoked mullet posting on the forum in the year or so I have been hanging around here.[p]

Sandi

Bobby Que,[p]Funny, on a recent trip to Florida and back, I was wondering about smoking some mullet on the egg. Have a friend who adores smoked mullet. I couldn't recall having seen a post on smoking mullet on the egg. What temp did you smoke it at for two hours? Think I may surprise my friend this weekend and smoke some!

Unknown

Sandi,[p]I smoked them at about 225 degrees direct. Started them when temp was about 160, and let it build up to 225-250.[p]Let me know how they come out.

Bobby Que

Huck,[p]Cool website.[p]Have you seen this one?

[ul][li]More than you want to know about mullet[/ul]

Jethro

Bobby Que,[p]You made mention of it use by our Asian friends. It looks a lot like a fish the Asian I know call Milk Fish - do you know if this is the same fish?[p]Jethro

Bobby Que

Jethro,[p]I am not familiar with an Asian fish called milk fish. do you have a picture of it or a link to a website with info on it?[p]