Make money from your backyard through smoke-cured fish and fish-product (Smoking catfish)

One of the easiest and cheapest cottage agric businesses you can start without stress is a catfish smoking business. Due to the increase in number of catfish farms in Nigeria on daily basis, getting catfish to smoke is not a problem. All you need to start this business is having the right information, technical skill and determination. You don’t have to be a catfish farmer, you might not even have an idea of how fish grows but you can make big money smoking fish for sales. This is a business for both fish farmers and non-fish farmers. Smoking fish can be easy if you follow some basic steps. The basic steps in smoking fish for business are cleaning, curing, drying/smoking and packaging.

Smoking is an excellent way to preserve fish that you don’t plan to sell right away also for fish with stunted growth. Fish is smoked as it dries over a smoking heat generated from a burning charcoal. The brining process helps to preserve the fish.

Tips on smoking catfish
The first step in your fish smoking business is to obtain some fresh fish.  If probably the fish doesn’t look FRESH or smell FRESH or feel FRESH and it will make your finished product taste bad because Smoking/drying will not hide old/bad fish. The quality will be reflected.

Brine & Cure
Method 1:

what is a brine?  Basically, brine is salt and water.  Soaking the fish in brine will achieve a few things:

• It will firm up the flesh to be less mushy.
• It will draw out any old blood, which will improve the taste.
• It will add some salt to the fish ; this is desired.
• It will add some additional flavoring to the fish.
• The cure will ensure that we are protected from the deadly botulism bacteria, especially since this is a relatively low temperature cooking environment.  Cure is optional, but recommended.

Brine recipe
·   1/2 gallon clean water TO 3/4 cup kosher salt (or plain salt, but not iodized salt) = BRINE SOLUTION

OR

–   2 1/2 tablespoons plain salt TO one cup of water = BRINE SOLUTION, Place fish in brine for 15 minutes.

Method 2:  rub a desirable quantity of salt on the fish, let the fish sit for a while then wash it off.

Method 3: Put the life catfish inside a dry containing with cover; add kosher salt (or plain salt, but not iodized salt) -30g of salt/20kg of fish, than cover the container for a short period of about 15 minutes to 30 minutes for the fish to die.

HOW TO SMOKE A FISH
All you need is a smoker, charcoal, fire-lighter, salt and some fish. Time required: 4 to 12 hours (time depend on the quantity of fish, fish flesh tissue texture, level of heat).
Step(s):

1. After Remove fish from any of the BRINE method above, rinse with cold water.
2. Remove the gills and intestine (see fig ii & fig iii).
3. Wash in clean water with synthetic sponge.
4. Prepare smoker.  Too much smoke will cause the fish to taste bitter –not recommended because of health implication. Use just enough charcoal to maintain a steady smoke
5. Place fish, thick skin side down on smoker rack- Fig: iv
6. Keep the heat low, for the first two hours.
7. Increase heat after the first two hours. The length of time will depend on the quantity of fish, fish flesh tissue texture, level of heat and on your preference for dry or moist smoked fish.
8. Continue smoking until fish is flaky and cooked through.
9.   Weigh and package to a desirable weight.

There are many advantages of smoke-cured fish and fish-product. It prolongs the “shelf life” of the fish once it has been smoked or smoke-cured. Many people believe it enhances the flavor when used in sauces and soup. If you harvest a number of fish at a time, you can decide to smoke some to increase your income. A kilo of smoked fish is between N1000 – N2,000.

Last but not least, smoked fish/ smoke-cured fish is a better way to get omega-3 fatty acids. There are numerous studies showing positive effects of these acids on the prevention of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Nicholas Izekor is an Aquaculture Trainer at The Ark Shore Konsults (T.A.S.K.). He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Fisheries Management from the University of Benin, Nigeria.