Alaqua Mullet

Made a few more memories with the best fisherman on earth yesterday ( My Dad). It wasn't just the box of mullet we snatched in a 5 hour period. Or the cold beer we drank at the house while cleaning them. I never knew my dad was a two time defending Gold-Gloves champ in the Navy. I never knew my Grandaddy had a gopher farm. Its funny how a man can learn so much the older he gets. As we headed out toward freefort yesterday morning at 3am, I watched my Dad ( 68 years of age) kiss my mother on the forehead and tell her he loved her and we would see her after lunch. I thought to myself, most of the time my wife never knows when I leave. Then I observed him on the water. Catching 2 to my 1. He reminded me to just slow down! Oh what a trip He and I had!!

Sounds like ya had a great trip. Nice box of mullet. I take it ya eat em. How ya cook em?

Been eating them my whole life. Fried. Only way I've ever ate them

I've had em fried & smoked & we usually eat the roe when avaliable but I really like some smoked mullet dip on a cracker with a slice of jalepeno:cheers2

Sounds like a great trip with your dad & a cooler FULL.

Fried huh. Tried em smoked once and had to scrub my tongue on the asphalt to get the taste off.

fried fried fried fried fried fried fried fried fried fried fried fried fried fried fried fried fried fried fried fried the only way......ummmmm um good stuff! Nice box of fish and a great story. Use to head over to New Smyrna several times a year with my BIG cast net and load the cooler. Might try it again sometime! Thanks for the post.

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Originally Posted by huntinslabs

Fried huh. Tried em smoked once and had to scrub my tongue on the asphalt to get the taste off.

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You from Louisiana and never had mullet? I thought fillet gumbo was mullet. Scaled or skinned fried mullet is the best. And to drag a piece of hot fried mullet through some real cane syrup will make your tongue slap your brains out. Fried mullet with swamp cabbage and grits and hush puppies, it don't get any better.

Nice fish! Great story!

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Originally Posted by Yelim

You from Louisiana and never had mullet? I thought fillet gumbo was mullet. Scaled or skinned fried mullet is the best. And to drag a piece of hot fried mullet through some real cane syrup will make your tongue slap your brains out. Fried mullet with swamp cabbage and grits and hush puppies, it don't get any better.

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Nope!! Never heard one person in 18 years of living in south Louisiana ever mention the thought of eating mullet. Filet is a spice thats added at the finishing stage of Gumbo. Now the Swamp Cabbage, grits and hushpuppies sound great and I would try a piece fried but the smoked mullet tasted like my aquarium filter smells after 6 months. Maybe I oughtta start smoking my aquarium filters and selling to ya'll.

You might be on to something there. Really sounds like you got into some bad smoked mullet. Do you like any other smoked food, salmon oysters, shrimp? Bacon? If so you should like smoked mullet.

Great post, it don't get any better than a day fishing with your dad. I spent many a day with my dad fishing and hunting. Thanks for sharing your experience.

I do not like Salmon anyway it is cooked, rather eat a PBJ sammich. Like smoked oysters, shrimp, kingfish, briskets, ribs, chicken, Boston Butts, bacon etc. etc. The smoked mullet I had was from a local fish house that everyone said was excellent. Heck, I coulda fed em the insoles out of my workboots and it prolly woulda ate better in my opinion. Honestly, I dont mind fishing with live mullet but even the smell of dead ones for cut bait make me queasy. Them just some rank fish to me. But I am not one to say it shouldnt be eaten cause everyone has different tastes. I just did not like em. Same as my opinion of Salmon and freshwater trout, give me a PBJ and yall enjoy all ya got, unless there is some swamp cabbage and grits, I will fight ya fer them.

Used to hate mullet and green boiled peanuts until we went gigging and had some fresh and iced down, found out it's the prep. Used mullet for grouper bait and the stink was the draw. The nose tells the truth.--shu

Growing up we scaled mullet and fried them with the skin on. Later I started bleeding them when caught and skinning them, made them much better to me. Mike I have been told about chicken gizzards and livers, when I offered to a co-worker that he didn't eat his fish bait. Probably the same with mullet. I looked and mullet are big seafood in Lo.

All I can tell ya is they must be selling it to Mississippi or the Vietnamese are eatin em. I heard them eating and ate alot of weird things but never a mullet. Possum yes, raccoon yes, mudfish yes, gar yes, mullet NO!

I was raised on mullet and sometimes that's all we had to eat. The best way to do them is scaling or filleting get all of the black stuff from the inside and rinse them a couple of times until the water is clear and then put them in a cooler of ice and salt and let them rest for a couple of hours this will make them taste so fresh. I don't know what it is but when we do this they taste a whole lot better and different

Now.........the mullet from the pan handle, and I assume that entire northern gulf coast, is a better mullet than the atlantic ones. I don't like em....... I love em! We use to go to the coast with a coleman stove and all the fixins to fry with...catch a bunch...clean em..and fry em right on the dunes. Good times!

I'm from La. and the only mullet I ever ate was when I was stationed at Eglin AFB in Ft. Walton. Our land lord would throw a fry every now and again. I thought they were good, and they were saltwater mullet if memory serves. In fact I think the people from the area called themselves mulletheads. But most importantly to me was reading the great post and story. You can always learn from your Dad , and looks like a lot was learned that day.

It is a great post and by no means did I mean to derail it. Was just curious about his cooking method as I had only eaten em smoked. Time with Dad is precious and I would give anything for 1 more trip with my Dad. But thanks for the back up dpisani.

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Originally Posted by huntinslabs

All I can tell ya is they must be selling it to Mississippi or the Vietnamese are eatin em. I heard them eating and ate alot of weird things but never a mullet. Possum yes, raccoon yes, mudfish yes, gar yes, mullet NO!

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You're a funny man!:Rofl

We still trying to talk him to smoking that heavenly piece of deliciousness.

Went to a smokehouse in St. Pete with a friend 40 yrs ago and got several things to go back to orlando. Smoked mullet and smoked spanish mackeral were in the bag. Chuck had to put the squash on me eating all his wife's spanish and that was the first time I had smoked mullet. It was very good, but the spanish was better. I also had a butterflied smoked jack crevalle given me while fishing the Ponce inlet jetty once, and offered the man $5 for another but he wouldn't sell his lunch. Imagine that. Way better than I have ever heard of anyone speak of crevalle. He said the oil in the fish, when done right, wasn't an issue. He said his cat wouldn't eat em raw. This has convinced me that it is definitely in the prep and the secret recipe. I have learned to try a little before I commit. Sorry you don't care for it cuz now you're biased and might miss that recipe that would do it for you.

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Originally Posted by huntinslabs

Fried huh. Tried em smoked once and had to scrub my tongue on the asphalt to get the taste off.

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Now that's funny right there!!! Being from Savannah, I never took a liking to them there fish. A whiting on the other hand was the cat's meow. That is until I started eating crappie.

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Originally Posted by Speckanator

Now.........the mullet from the pan handle, and I assume that entire northern gulf coast, is a better mullet than the atlantic ones. I don't like em....... I love em! We use to go to the coast with a coleman stove and all the fixins to fry with...catch a bunch...clean em..and fry em right on the dunes. Good times!

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All I know are the Atlantic version I recon.