White Bass

Brought some back from Devils Lake trip this year. We got into them a couple times over three days. They sure light up your sonar when they come through and fun to catch on a ice rod! Anyhow the guide says they are good smoked so I brought some home. Anyone have any advice on smoking them? Kind of brine etc. Or any other way to prepare them.

I’ve been doing this dry brine for a few years for tullibee and lake and rainbow trout. I would recommend it. I don’t know if I’m not supposed to post from this site but I did. Personally for me five hours and a lite rinse is all they need (filets). I do tullibee fillets for four hours at 190

Attachments:

1. 

   Screenshot_2020-04-06-21-10-42.png
   

I think there might be a printing mistake though. I buy the box of canning salt and I believe it’s actually a four pound box, not five. One box of salt and one bag of brown sugar is what I’ve been doing. I mix it and store in a two gallon zip lock bag.

Thanks Gino! Looks simple enough I’ll give it a try!

If you bleed them out. and then cut most the red meat out of the center line on the fillet and then cube them…. and batter and fry them..
you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between that and the almighty walleye.

I ate lots of smoked white bass while living out by lake Winnebago. From what I heard it seemed like most people had their own “secret” brine, but they all started out with salt and brown sugar in the ratios mentioned earlier. I don’t know if you’ve smoked much brined fish, but don’t forget to rinse them good when they come out of the brine. Some of what I had was way too salty. I made the same mistake with some smoked trout the first try at it.

I’ve been hoping to stumble into a mess of them since moving back here, but seem to strike out more often than not. If you haven’t had them smoked you will be happy you kept some after this.

sktrwx2200 wrote:

If you bleed them out. and then cut most the red meat out of the center line on the fillet and then cube them…. and batter and fry them..
you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between that and the almighty walleye.

2X

Buffalo Fishhead

sktrwx2200 wrote:

If you bleed them out. and then cut most the red meat out of the center line on the fillet and then cube them…. and batter and fry them..
you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between that and the almighty walleye.

Yup, have caught and eaten a lot over the years and agree with this, especially from cold water. They also do smoke really well, my dad does a few batches a year and it’s pretty tasty.

That recipe is awful heavy on the salt, but maybe the way it’s applied won’t make it too bad (just coating the fillet).

I like a 3:1 or even 4:1 (cups, not pounds) brown sugar to salt ratio (the recipe above is a 1:2.5 by weight)

I love Big Chief smokers for fish, the finished product is amazing.

This video is very similar to how I do most of my fish (the second method mentioned-dry brine).

After brining, I use the garage fridge overnight to form the pellicle (rinse the meat, then leave uncovered)

B-man wrote:

That recipe is awful heavy on the salt, but it maybe the way it’s applied won’t make it too bad (just coating the fillet).

I like a 3:1 or even 4:1 (cups, not pounds) brown sugar to salt ratio (the recipe above is a 1:2.5 by weight)

I love Big Chief smokers for fish, the finished product is amazing.

This video is very similar to how I do most of my fish (the second method mentioned-dry brine).

After brining, I use the garage fridge overnight to form the pellicle (rinse the meat, then leave uncovered)

I’ve done exactly this for salmon I’ve smoked in the past. I think I actually watched that exact video at the time. Funny thing is I can’t stand salmon. Not even the smell. I’ve smoked salmon for friends when asked. Many have said it’s the best smoked salmon they ever had and can’t believe I won’t even try it.

Just one of those things I guess. Thanks for all the suggestions and I think I will smoke some and try some cubed and deep fried. I use the upper portion of my wood fired smoker I can run that just over 100 degrees up to about 200. Works great for fish. I try to use a mix of apple and oak wood.

And you you’re going to eat a white bass??? Lol

What the hell is wrong with you boy???

I’m just giving you a hard time.

I love cheese and I love yogurt…..but cottage cheese makes me want to barf. It makes me queasy even watching people eat it

B-man wrote:

And you you’re going to eat a white bass??? Lol

What the hell is wrong with you boy???

I’m just giving you a hard time.

I love cheese and I love yogurt…..but cottage cheese makes me want to barf. It makes me queasy even watching people eat it

Yeah it’s weird salmon and tuna steaks don’t do it for me. Any other fish I’m fine. Love to catch them though. Cottage cheese on a Ritz cracker sprinkled with Lawry’s seasoning is been something we have been doing for years. Love it!

I normally do around a dozen fillets per batch. I put them in a gallon zip lock and add a cup of the mix I posted . I refrigerate and try to mix it up once an hour , after five hours I give a light rinse not heavy and they will not be too salty. I like the dry brine over the wet brine because I don’t feel I waste as much salt and sugar as a wet brine. The recipe I posted lasts me around a year before I need to make another batch.