HELP!...Smoked Dolphin

[DustyQ]

Dolphin, Mahi Mahi, Dorado, they go by many names depending on where you're from.

Anyway, my wife and I just got home from a wildly successful OBX fishing trip with some friends. We boated 51 fish and ended up with 185-lbs of meat. I ended up bringing home 93 pounds of fillets.

One member of our fishing party was home from the US Navy visiting from California and he wasn't able to take back a share of the catch.

ANY, suggestions for grilling or smoking are welcome.

But most importantly, is there any way to cure & smoke some of this stuff so I can vacuum seal and mail it across the country without refrigeration?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dusty

My wife and I on the right.
http://www.hatteraslanding.com/sites/default/files/styles/medium_teaser/public/blog-teaser/34664312_654913224841954_554676815617064960_n.jpg? itok=r2JDEIb_

[ferdelious]

Smoked fish spread is very popular in Florida especially in the the Keys. I get Mahi fresh from Costco and usually smoke it for 30-45 minutes at 275ish using oak wood in my stick burner. It's a mild smoke flavor but very delicious.


Also, blackened Mahi is a great preparation too. I make my own blackened seasoning and cook it on a scorching hot cast iron pan with oil.

[bschoen]

I do not believe there is any curing process that would allow non refrigerated or frozen shipment of fish.

[thirdeye]

I'm sure it's possible but to do a full preservation cure and avoid refrigeration might yield a very dry and mealy product.

When curing and smoking fish, using either a dry cure or a brine, fish with higher fat content is generally better as far as flavor and moistness. How would you rate your fish with salmon for example? Here is some salmon I dry cured and smoked for about 6 hours to an internal of 140°, the flesh is still moist and slightly sticky.

https://i.imgur.com/U3mQWEn.jpg

[Badgerjacob]

I smoke it often. 275-300 for about 20-30 minutes. Be sure to use a mild wood, fish takes in a lot of smoke.

[thirdeye]

https://i.imgur.com/6OrimLV.jpg

I suppose an option would be canning it. This is a batch of trout and salmon. Despite it's unusual "canned" appearance it is very good when making a spread or adding flakes to a pasta dish. Just think how versatile canned tuna is. And by the way, fish can be flavor smoked before canning.

https://i.imgur.com/RAMzh4q.jpg

[DustyQ]

Canning may be my only option. I was thinking maybe cure, smoke, vacuum seal then steam pasteurize or boil to sterilize them. I know there are shelf stable vacuum sealed packages of smoked salmon and tuna, but I don't know enough about their process to know if I can replicate a shelf stable end product with a Food-Saver and a steamer.

[Stingerhook]

I'll have a 5 gallon bucket of fish dip please.

[DustyQ]

I'll have a 5 gallon bucket of fish dip please.


LOL, yeah that's on the menu for sure. We had some great smoked Dolphin dip at the Marina bar. Know a good recipe?

[Stingerhook]

LOL, yeah that's on the menu for sure. We had some great smoked Dolphin dip at the Marina bar. Know a good recipe?

I will post when I get home.

[bgross88]

Not sure if this is an option for you. But when I was in Alaska, we vacuum sealed our catches(salmon and halibut). Then froze it solid. Buy a few insulated shipping boxes, and overnight them.

I flew home, commercial from Alaska to Central PA. Checked the boxed up frozen fish like it was luggage in Juneau, and it was good to go when I got home. That was a few months of quality eating, let me tell you! :-D

Like I said, that may not fit when you're trying to do, but assuming you want to get that fish to your friend in CA that's one way it can be done.

[cowgirl]

Great catch!
I cold smoke and can fish.
http://cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/2013/09/cold-smoking-and-canning-salmon-for.html

https://i.imgur.com/CeC3aJf.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/YGTnKTy.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/THlFlxa.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/fICIWc5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/DN1YYrK.jpg

The pressure canning process intensifies the smoke flavor... so not much is needed. I cold smoke under 85F for 2 hours.
Like Badgerjacob mentioned, use a light flavored wood.
For shipping, I like bgross88's idea. :thumb:
Brethren Pheasant shipped frozen fish filets to me on several occasions. It arrived semi frozen but in great shape!

Good luck to you!

[Cook]

Wasabi was built by Captain Buddy Harris in the fishing village of Marshallburg located Downeast in Carteret County, NC. I call him "Mr. Buddy".

Good story.

Growing up we had a camper on the beach. We farmed about 2 hours inland, but went to the coast as much as possible. About 25-30 years ago a friend of our had his 36' boat pulled at the Jarrett Bay boatyard in Marshallburg to have the bottom blasted so he could put on new paint. Since we fished with him alot, my dad & I "volunteered" to go help paint the bottom. This was my first experience at a REAL boatyard. Jarrett Bay is pretty fabled across the globe these days...back then they had a growing regional presence. My friend's boat was sitting along a line of other boats that had been pulled for various repairs. At some point during the day I was on my back, in the rocks, painting underneath the boat. I heard what sounded like someone trying to start a chainsaw. Sure enough...it fired off and it sounded as though somebody was attempting to cut down a forest......only......sawdust was drifting down in my face. Well that was strange.

I crawled out from under the boat to see some older "gentleman" standing on the bow of a 40+' sportfisher. He was the one with the chainsaw...and he was slicing his boat in half right in front of the bridge! Well we got done with our painting & I felt like we should leave because "these people down here are crazy!" And yes, when we left, that guy's boat was in two pieces...sliced in half with a chainsaw.

So several years passed & my parents and I bought a restaurant about 10 minutes from that same Marshallburg harbor where Jarrett Bay used to be. My weekday lunches generally saw about five custom boat builders & some of their employees come in all about the same time. They generally sat on the same side of the dining room, and shot the bull while they ate. Several of them I consider good friends to this day...many are known names...some internationally known. At this particular time I hadn't been "here" too long & didn't know the guys very well...but I overheard one of the builders, who used to work at Jarrett Bay, telling two guys about the day Buddy Harris took a chainsaw & cut the bow off his boat in order to extend it about six feet, and put the bow back on. The two guys wouldn't believe him & kept saying "you're lying" and "that can't be true".

I walked over & spoke up. I told them that I had been at Jarrett Bay that day, and could confirm the story. At this point I knew Mr. Buddy & fed him on a regular basis...I just didn't know that he was the crazy old man who was manning the chainsaw that day at the boatyard!

The other funny thing is that he had left a few offshore trolling rods hanging in the cabin. That chainsaw didn't slow down when they sliced through them!

One of my best friends also captain's a boat who's hull & house were built by Mr. Buddy. It's a 62' sportfisher. Nothing rides like a wood boat...especially a LONG wood boat.

[Stingerhook]

https://www.mrfood.com/Appetizers/Florida-Fish-Dip
This one works, add what you like if you want some heat.

[EyeBurnEverything]

Great catch!
I cold smoke and can fish.
http://cowgirlscountry.blogspot.com/2013/09/cold-smoking-and-canning-salmon-for.html

https://i.imgur.com/CeC3aJf.jpg



The pressure canning process intensifies the smoke flavor... so not much is needed. I cold smoke under 85F for 2 hours.
Like Badgerjacob mentioned, use a light flavored wood.
For shipping, I like bgross88's idea. :thumb:
Brethren Pheasant shipped frozen fish filets to me on several occasions. It arrived semi frozen but in great shape!

Good luck to you!

Those smoked salmon fillets look delicious and i like how you portioned them out while still on the skin, very ingenious idea.