Kokanee

[oldschoolben]

I'm going to do some Kokanee fishing this season, never targeted them, just wondering what is the best way to cook them? Smoke them can them fry ?

[meandcuznalfy]

I smoke mine, love them that way.

[Walted]

I love canned and smoked both. I have only been smoking the last year or two since the price of canning supplies skyrocketed.

[oldschoolben]

I might have to invest in a smoker,

[Rebelss]

I used to smoke my fish out of one I made...welded some angle iron together to form a 3' high box, put a door on it, and used some old sheet metal for the sides. Used 2 old 'fridge racks inside. Put an old grill round vent on top. Put a pan of applewood in the bottom with a charcoal briquet, and smoked 'em for a 4 hours after brining in salt water, soy sauce and brown sugar. Best danged fish I ever ate. Trout, carp, and suckers. All tasted great with a cold longneck.
Lotsa guys used to use an old fridge, too, but the good old steel ones are now almost impossible to find.

[pmmpete]

Kokanee are landlocked sockeye salmon. They're great smoked, and they're great cooked with most salmon recipes.  I say "most" salmon recipes because while kokanee are very tasty, they're small and tend to be rather tender when cooked, and I think that some salmon recipes are better with bigger and firmer fish.

[FreshwaterPhil]

I've had them both pan fried and seared on bbq, both are good, just don't overdo them. Better rare than overdone.

For those of you that want a cheap alternative to cold smoking, you can simply marinate them. After filleting/de-boning them, cut them into small cubes, then cover with some canola or vegetable oil, and add generous amount of salt. I also add smoke flavor spice, but it can be tough to find, I get it from a spice dealer. OK, without it, but here is where you can tinker with other flavors.

Mix everything well, cover, and let it cure in fridge 24 hours before serving. Have some lemon juice on hand when serving. It's optional to those that prefer it, just don't add the lemon juice until serving.

Recipe works well for kokanee, atlantic, pacific, sockeye, etc. Bigger rainbow trout and steelhead too.

[skifisher]

Brought back memories of the Kokanee a buddy and I smoked several years ago. Had an old fridge I took the motor out of, (it was on the bottom), cut several “vents” in the bottom, and added a smoke stack on top. Brined over 30 pounds of fillets, and let them glaze before they went into the several racks in the fridge. Started a pan of charcoal adding cherry wood chips during the smoking process. I hung a thermometer and kept the temperature in the “cold-smoke” range over night, adjusting the temp by moving the charcoal pan in an out. In the morning, I had the best smoked salmon ever! I don’t know what my buddy did with that homemade smoker, but I hope he got some use out of it! Lol

[BigSage]

I battered some last week from Gtown. They were delicious!

[Rebelss]

If anyone has any of Pat McManus's  books ( and I would hope so ) he has some good recipes for Kokanee
in his Whatchagot Stew edition. He sure had a lot of ways of subsisting on Kokanee, as evidenced throughout a lot of his books.


https://www.amazon.com/Whatchagot-Stew-Childhood-Recipes-Commentaries/dp/0805009221

[PerchPounderMT]

Try Salmon candy...aka brown sugar frosted kokanee jerky.   

[MT_btagger]

Along with brown sugar, maple syrup right at the end of smoking is also really good. I usually water it down a little and add the sugar to make a glaze.

[missoulafish]

If anyone has any of Pat McManus's  books ( and I would hope so )

Sure miss that guy....

[PerchPounderMT]

Along with brown sugar, maple syrup right at the end of smoking is also really good. I usually water it down a little and add the sugar to make a glaze.

Nice....gonna try that!   

[Walted]

If anyone has any of Pat McManus's  books ( and I would hope so ) he has some good recipes for Kokanee
in his Whatchagot Stew edition. He sure had a lot of ways of subsisting on Kokanee, as evidenced throughout a lot of his books.


https://www.amazon.com/Whatchagot-Stew-Childhood-Recipes-Commentaries/dp/0805009221

I thought I had most of his work but somehow this one slipped by me. Thank you for the late Christmas gift. Loved his work.

[Rebelss]

I thought I had most of his work but somehow this one slipped by me. Thank you for the late Christmas gift. Loved his work.

    That one WAS a Christmas gift to me years ago !

I'm fortunate to have all of his books. Lots of good recipes in that one, and his usual great stories. A friend of mine who grew up and lives in Idaho and is in his 80's, actually went to school with Pat.

[BlueDuck]

If you can cook at all, its pretty hard to screw up with Kokanee.  They are great fried, smoked or canned.   McManus used to have a cabin not far from my cabin near Clark Fork.  Never met him there, but did talk to him once at a book signing.  He was a national treasure.

[Kilsdonk]

Smoked then canned with fresh herbs from the garden. Dill, Black Pepper and garlic is my favorite... add some capers and have on a cracker, F-ing Yum 

[flatgo]

Awesome , thanks for all the replies! I live 10 minutes from Bitterroot lake and only fished it a couple of times, but didn't Target salmon, but I'm going to hit it in a day or two

Is bitterroot lake froze?  it usually seems to freeze late.

[oldschoolben]

No not yet

[missoulafish]

It's well over 200' deep... Gonna be a little while.