Fishing Michigan

Ok, I finally broke down before the last perch trip and made my trip to Bass Pro Shops in Rossford. Went right to the shelf after talking it up with one of the guys I used to work with, and bought a Tumble Drumm fish scaler. I did some research, looked around and asked a lot of questions. Cost of the unit was $199.99+tx.

First impression was really good, although it took a bit longer than I thought it would.  Perch are supposed to take the longest to get the scales off, and although I was told about 20 minutes, it took about 10 minutes longer for 20 perch to get done. Even then, and I don’t consider this a big deal, I had to scrape maybe four or five in each batch with a straight edged steak knife to get a few patches that did not come clean.

When the first batch came out, I had plenty of time to get them sliced before the second batch was ready to come out of the scaler.  Everything goes a lot faster when you aren’t trying to poke through scales. The skin was not beat up, and was impressed with the overall condition of the meat on the fish.

Now bluegill and crappie are supposed to take less time to get scaled once they go through the unit. Thinking they could take an honest 20 minutes.  Although I am sure most people checked the progress while scaling and estimated the time it took to complete the job.  I used a timer to check, so I could have an accurate time to report in this review.

I will be getting another unit to report on sometime either next month or in December.  I should be able to catch enough bluegill and crappie to give that unit a proper test when it arrives.  Looks like I might be going into the fish cleaning biz!

If you like vension, or even if you want to try it with beef, you should try this marinade.  Its set up for a loin or a roast to put in the smoker, but yesterday I used it on venison steaks on the grill.  It was really good.

Drunk and Dirty Marinade

With the warm weather last night I could groan and moan what its doing to the ice, or could take advantage of it and do some grilling.  Since Danny’s Meats have whole chickens on sale for 99 cents a lb, grabbed a couple of birds last night, and stuck ‘em on the beer can cooker I picked up from Gander Mountain last year.

Which got me thinking, which is not always a dangerous thing, contrary to beliefs in some corners.  I  had an idea back in September, that I meant to share at the time, but got sidetracked with something else.  The fancy name I gave it is a “grill spritzer”, less fancy is a plastic squirt bottle.  You know the kind that some folks use to spritz water while they tan, or people use while watering their plants.  Basically your plain jane empty squirt bottle you can get at any dollar store or even places like Meijer and Walmart.

I fill it with water, cider vinegar, beer, or if I want a little extra ummph, some Frank’s or Tabasco hot sauce.  In spray mode its useful to keep things moist while adding a little flavor.  In squirt mode, its good for putting out fires while creating steam, which again adds flavor and keeps things moist.  Also handy in preventing fires by squirting away in oil or fat that might have dripped down.

It works for burgers, chicken, steaks and even lil touch ups to what you have in the smoker.

In a short time US-23, I-75 and US-27 will be full of cars and trucks heading north to enjoy Michigan’s unique tradition of “Opening Day”, the first day of the state’s deer rifle season.  Mothers and Aunts will pack the pre-made meals of chili, lasagna and those yummy homemade pot pies.

There is one meal that hunters make on their own, breakfast.  Myself, through most of the year, I can eat or not eat in the morning, but hunting season holds its own traditions.  Through the walleye season I have been saving these sweet little morsels call cheeks just for the hunting season. If you don’t get the cheeks while cleaning walleyes, you have so been missing out.

A typical breakfast includes fried potatoes, couple of eggs, over easy and fried up cheeks.  I boil the spud slices, then pull them out to dry slightly before they are finished.  Lightly flour with a mix, then fry.  Pull out and drain and start on the walleye cheeks, and while they are frying, you start your eggs.  The cheeks do not take long and are easy to over cook, much like shrimp.  By the time the eggs are done and on the plate, its time to pull the cheeks off the stove top.  They are fantastic and top off any hunt camp breakfast.

How not to get freezer burn on your fillets?  This isn’t exactly a revelation to a lot of anglers, but it can sure save you some bucks  and  fish in the long run.

When you get done with the filleting,  place them in a freezer zip-loc and then add water.  Stop filling about halfway to the top, and then start sealing the top of the bag, almost to the end. Squeeze the bag until water begins to come out, and close the rest of the bag.  Lay flat in the freezer for storage later.

Like I said, its not a new process, lots of folks do it already and works great in preventing freezer burn.  Saves you some money from the expensive vacuum sealers, and buying the bags later on. This also applies to when Meijer’s  has those buy one, get two deals on shrimp.

Tired of paying the tab at the fair for some good ol’ homestyle ribs?  With the smoker I picked up from Bass Pro last spring, its only 5 hrs away while being at home.  Don’t get me wrong, when I find that cotton candy machine on ebay, I will probably never see another fair, but until then I will keep going.  Until that time arrives, this was pretty darn good folks.

I made my dry rub out of brown sugar, seasonall salt, cayenne and garlic powder, and loaded two slabs of ribs in the smoker.

Five hours later, I opened the doors.

When I finally overcame my smoke inhalation, this is the final product