Cedar Key Smoked Clams?

Nick,

I do not know of anyone smoking Cedar Key clams. There are only four businesses smoking mullet anymore and they are charging a price you would normally pay for pompano. Wick would be the person to talk with as he has a good size wood smoker. Also, Talk to Carl Robinson who has the sea food house at Rosewood - 9 miles East of Cedar Key and has a large wood smoker and smokes mullet, grouper and sheepshead. For the yanks in here sheepshead does have an "s."

Ate lunch at Wick's restaurant today. Uum good.

Post me through this site when you are coming down and I will meet you at Wicks. Also we have a commercial cappucino machine at home. No place to get buttonwood here, everyone uses red bay.

smokemullet

Thanks for the info. Mullet is really high here, too. They are commercialing them just for the roe and throw away the rest. A guy we know made $2,000 on Monday just selling the females. The wholesalers send the roe to Asia. Doesn't sound like mullet's got a bright future. We are smoking up about sixty pounds on Friday.

Annie's is good. I will definitely give you a whistle before I come over. You fish for grouper?

Don't know what red bay is. Is it available to buy? Comes in logs or chunks? What's it compare to? I'll have to try some.

I'll bring some smoked clams with me so you can try them.

Just checked---McKenzie at Duck Trap is no long offering the smoked clams due to supply problems but does offer mussells smoked over black cherry. Here's their link if you want to see some good-looking seafood products: http://www.ducktrap.com/

Nick,

We have two types of bay wood here in Cedar Key, White Bay and Red Bay. The local bay trees here can become quite large and are directly related to the Turkish Bay tree which gives us the leaves we use for cooking. The California Bay Laurel, which we also use for cooking (very expensive) is more complex than Turkish Bay and is very strong and is just a cousin to the true bay tree. We can get red bay wood here anywhere, but Wick will give you some logs and if you let me know I will get a few logs for you - no cost too much of it here. The Red bay is very mild, like button wood, but the white bay is stronger and not a preference for fish, but good for fowl.

Using a band saw I just cut up my red bay into one ounce blocks for my CS55. Some friends here use the small branches and leaves for BBQ in standard BBQs and offsets. When the wind blows here the bay tree leaves will turn over and they are almost silver where the top of the leaf is green - also gives the direction of the wind on land from a view off shore.

You now know EVERYTHING I know.

smokemullet

I planted a small bay tree in my back yard three years ago and we use the leaves for cooking. I don't know which variety it is. Red bay sounds like a good smoke and I will certainly try it. Is it mild like pecan?

Buttonwood is a variety of mangrove as I understand it but grows on land. I don't believe it is protected. Haven't heard of anyone using it anymore.

My wife and I are working up a recipe for an All-Florida gumbo with smoked mullet, clams, shrimp, grouper and scallops for the Anything But class. We'll get some more ideas for it from family and friends when we're over in Cajun country and New Iberia next week.

On our way home around the 28th or 29th we'll swing down to Cedar Key for a couple of days. We'll probably stay at the Island Hotel. How can we reach you then? You can always leave a msg with Andy at the hotel for us.

quote:

Originally posted by smokemullet:
[qb] Nick,

The California Bay Laurel, which we also use for cooking (very expensive) is more complex than Turkish Bay and is very strong and is just a cousin to the true bay tree.

smokemullet [/qb]

Hi Nolen.. Question.. are you suggesting that the Calif Bay WOOD is good for smoking or are you talking about the leaves as a spice?

If you are talking about the leaves.. I can fill up a USPS Priority Mail envelope with leaves.. I have about 10 trees on my property (Calif Bay- which is a Laural- as you mentioned. Lemme know.
Heck, I could probably send them green in a Priority envelope and they'd arrive before they begin any kind of breakdown/mildew/mold. Else, I could dry them for a few days before sending.

I like to put them in soups/stews green.. not dried.

William,

I just use the leaves of the California bay Laurel for cooking as an herb. Would love to have some and I will e-mail you. The California Bay Laurel leaves are 10 times more expensive than Turkish Bay. The leaves have a more complex set of flavors and for use in soups and spaghetti sauce it is preferred over Turkish bay - my opinion.

smokemullet

Nick, there was a mullet smoker over there at Cedar Key who used green red bay. I always attributed the unique flavor of the finished product, a nice bite (goes good with beer) to the smoke he used.

Don't know if SmokeMullet would support that observation.

Northwest Seafood, Inc, here in Gainesville is terrific. Them ole boys might have some insights on your smoked clam question. They sell the fresh clams, and I think they own the grouper banks! I see them at 352-371-4155.

I2BB,

Herman Allen, Johnson and Allen Seafood, does at times uses green red bay. Once they were so strong that beer wouldn't have helped - I couldn't even make mullet dip with them. This is rare for they have the best smoked mullet in Cedar Key. I prefer dried red bay or dried alder without the bark.

Northwest Seafood charges double what you can buy salmon for a Publix and when smoked, can't tell the difference. In fact! When I catch Publix the day the salmon comes in, I can't tell any difference between the two, even poached. I have no idea which salmon has the most mercury though.

smokemullet