What do you do with hooligan fish?

 

During a heavy run it is just a matter of showing up and scooping them into buckets with your net.

Then I cut the head off, gut them and soak them in a brine of salt and sugar. I put 1/2 cup salt (canning salt) and 1/2 cup sugar per gallon of water for about 3 hours. Be sure to stir the contents occasionally while they brine.  Be sure to rinse off the brine before placing into the smoker, or they will be way to salty to eat.

I smoke them for 6 to 8 hours in my Big Chief smoker with alder chips.

When they have become dried out a bit they are ready to snack on, bones and all (crunchy).

I assume they will last quite a while in this dried out state, but the longest that I have kept them like this was about a week. Because they are so plentiful I prefer to can (in jars) the excess in the same manner I do with my smoked salmon. It will last for years when canned.

I cut them into jar length pieces and then pack them into cleaned half pint jars. I like to add about a tablespoon of olive oil to each jar.

Pressure cook the jars for 100 minutes as recommended by the “Ball Blue Book of Preserving”.  If you are new to the process of canning foods please read this book or another reputable book about home canning.