Smoking Spanish Mackeral and Wahoo

[Card Shark]

It's summer time here and plenty of warm water means lots of pelagic species. In particular spanish mackeral which looks idential to your kings. We catch these across the road a few 100 yards from the beach mostly in the 10 - 30lb range. The hoo a few miles out further.

Interested how folks here would suggest to brine and what to smoke with?

To date Ive been using a recipe from the 07 BGE year book for a maple and dill brine but would like to try something new. Have been using a few chunks of oak and spoted gum for the smoking which has tunred out pretty well so far. CS

[L20A]

Nice "Hoo". I don't brine mine. I just sprinkle on a good amount of salt and whatever flavor seasoning I wish (usually just pepper or a little BBQ rub) and smoke them until they firm up..If I want any other flavors on the fish I add it when serving it.
I got a couple Hoos last May in the Florida Keys and I smoked some with just salt and made up a "Hoo salad" with it by flaking it in a bowl with a fork and adding mayo & lime juice, cilantro, jalapenos minced, minced red onion and served it on whole wheat toast with home grown tomatoes & lettuce. DAMM, I'm getting hungry just remembering how good that Hoo was.
Your Hoo could feed a small town!

[Livewire]

Cardy

You are going to have to go to the gym a little more regulary to improve those muscles if you want to show off the Hoo. Have to be able to get it's head off the deck

Would like to try some of the smoked Mackeral

Glenn

[Card Shark]

Thanks L20A. That salad sounds great!

[dales133]

I used to rub kingfish and mackerel down with brown sugar with a bit of cracked pepper and salt flakes in it for a rot smoke and let it sit in the fridge a couple of hours then smoke.
We brined our marlin and tuna tho

[Card Shark]

You are going to have to go to the gym a little more regulary to improve those muscles if you want to show off the Hoo.

Fair call. The roof over the tool shed is a little larger post christmas.

[Card Shark]

Dale, what brine do you use? I don't usually keep the marlin but definately yellowfin.

[Slanted88]

Aight Man!...You on it for me! They some fine eat...hmm...like mine that big sliced & grilled!

[dales133]

It was a mix of brown sugar salt and water and brined for about 12 hours I cat remember exact ratios but this one looks about the same

http://www.food.com/recipe/smoked-fi...ections-226732

I used to take the fillets off in 2 pieces, cut down the lateral line then take each piece off the backbone then cut into big chunks about 1-1.5 kg, the bigger chunks coul even go 18 -24 hours in the brine

[Doug S.]

Fair call. The roof over the tool shed is a little larger post christmas.

LMAO

[sweet_magnolia]

Nice fish!

[curious aardvark]

love those giant mackerel.
Are they as oily as the normal sized mackerel ?

And what's the wahoo like, never had the opportunity to eat any.

[Card Shark]

The spanish get quite big here further up the reef. (100lb). Oily flesh the same as over your way. Great for smoking! Wahoo have a very white flesh like a reefy and are one of the few fish that don't get tough or loose flavour as they get bigger. Good fun to catch too. That one was a shade under 80 lb.

[blues_n_cues]

those ARE Kingfish here. our Spanny Macks have spots but are not to be confused w/ Creo Mackeral(totally different legal possession limit)

anyway,for those & wahoo i just use pepper,garlic,evoo w/ butter & smoke or grill them over mesquite or oak. pecan is nice too if you can get it.
you may have mesquite there, if not Keawe(kee-ah-vay) is the same thing.
no need to brine the Kings they're an oily fish as is.

p.s. nice 'Hoo that looks to be 100lbs.

[dales133]

What we call kingfish you blokes call yellowtail