I’m looking for some input on drying fish. I’m sure there have been a few out there that have tried this in a food dehydrator. I know that alot of people smoke fish in a smoker but does anyone have a good recipe for trout jerky in a dehydrator? Or is this just a bad idea?
Thanks for your responses!
Cdragon
Personally I have not tried it in a dehydrator but I do not see why it would not work. I would make the brine the same way but add some liquid smoke to it to get the flavor of a smoker.
You can make jerky out of just about any fish, fowl or red meat. I make catfish jerky a lot. I have not tried trout, but I have done salmon and steelhead while living in California.
As with many recipes (and other projects), you have to first decide what you want to end up with, and then work backwards. For example, if you like salty and spicy, then you need to either marinate the subject jerky material in an appropriate marinade, or else sprinkle it liberally with salt and seasonings before smoking and/or drying.
There are lots of inexpensive (and expensive) prepared marinades and spice mixes. Some of them are quite good. It is also easy to find a bunch of recipes on the Internet if you are handy with search engines.
For the drying part, you can use dehydrators if you want, but you can also use an oven. Just be sure, if you use an oven, that you drape the fish over wire racks (for even drying) and put foil underneath to catch the drippings. Depending on how fast you want to dry them, set the heat from 120 to 200 degrees. Higher if you are impatient. Thick fillets take longer, at lower temps. Thin fillets or small fish dry fast and thoroughly at lower temps. It takes some experimenting and watching.
I like smoke in my jerky. I do beef, chicken, turkey, goose, duck, pork and several species of fish. I do not marinate fish, but heavier fleshed items flavor better if you marinate them for up to several days in the refrigerator.
I have posted my SMOKED CATFISH RECIPE (with pics) before. It includes the list of spices and how I use them. Basically, I sprinkle salt, sugar and spices on the raw fillets and then smoke them until they are mostly cooked, and well flavored. Then, I remove them from the smoker and put them in the oven at about 160, on a foil lined cookie sheet, for another couple of hours. That makes them firm, but not quite jerky. To take them all the way to jerky might take another two to four hours. You gotta watch and test to get just the desired texture and consistency.
Trout are delicate fleshed fish. If you can leave them on the same wire rack throughout the entire process, you can fillet and skin them. But, if you scale the skin before filleting, you can leave the skin on to help keep the fillets intact. The skin is edible, and it is more difficult to pry the flesh off the skin once it has hardened and bonded during the jerkyizing.
That’s about all I know about that.
Thanks for the replies… I’m gonna give’er a try.
I made catfish and trout jerky all summer long and it was good!It never lasted more than a day at my house.I even had freinds at work begging me to bring them some and some even brought me fish so i could do it for them.So yes fish jerky is awesome eating depending on how you season them and marinade them.If you are interested pm me and i can give you my recipe that i use.
So Ocean… did you use a food dehydrator, oven, or smoker?
I use a dehydrator 80% of the time and the other 20 % a smoker.I never tried the oven.
Like Ocean pointed out, the finished product usually doesn’t last long enough to spoil. It is so good that everybody cleans you out faster than you can bring out a new batch. So, unless you are planning on making a bunch for your “year’s supply”, just do it up and serve it up.
When you smoke the Kittys throw some fresh whole green chiles on the rack. Goes just as quick and adds a neat mix of flavors.
Great idea. I spent a lot of time in Southern Arizona and I learned me how to roast green chiles. I use a lot of them for chile rellenos and in several other rockem sockem dishes. Love green chiles…and jalapenos…and habaneros. Viva.
Have you ever made catfish chili? I have been whuppin’ up that stuff for many years. Here’s a LINK TO MY RECIPE that I posted, with pics, some time back.
i would love your recipe if you would divulge it need some new ways to get my wife to enjoy fish again
Theres only a few places that sell the seasoning i use.Walmart in payson and springvile do and a mexican place in provo. Ok the first sesoning is called Sazon make sure you get the one that has culantro and achiote it costs abot $1.25 a box at walmart.tMake sure you get that one because there is another one but it doesnt give off the flavor as this one.Second there is Adobo i use the orange flavor and lemon pepper and the one with cumin they are about $1.75 a bottle and they last a long long time time.I also mix some extra garlic not the cheap powder kind but the real grinded up dried kind they sell at the mexican stores. I think that walmart sells the mexican brand.Third i use a marinade called Mojo Criollo its a creole style marinade and the one i use is made by “the lechonera”.Its about $2.50 a bottle.I use all these at bbq’s and all the meats i cook.I converted my wifes non fish eating relatives here in utah using these seasonings.Now i cant catch and cook enough fish for everybody especially when i make jerky.I have also used nescos jerky spice mix they sell that at walmarts except the one in payson.They got rid of their dehydrators so i bought out all their spice for .50 cents each.I think they are about $4.25 regular price.If you have any questions just let me know.
thanks ocean i hope the walmarts around here will have it. i can’t wait to try it. heading to mantua @ 12:30 if anyone has a report would love to hear it.