Striper Masgouf

[AbuMasgouf]

As I promised in another thread here are the pictures of the striper MOC hooked me up with while we were at Hooper Island. Needless to mention, I cooked it Masgouf style

I butterfly the fish from the top without descaling it. I then hang it close to the fire and let it slow roast... about 45 minutes.

To see how I butterfly it from the top, check out my youtube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHAEd...-cF1t1dEYrkHQg

I've been meaning to try to set it up a different way than the traditional way (like in the video) to make it a bit easier... so this worked out perfectly.











Mmmmmmm.....Glowing Striper



To finish it off, I lay the fish scale side down on the hot coals for a minute or two. This is the reason I don't descale it... it protects the meat from burning.



and then my family and I devoured it

[jsquare]

That is an awesome way to cook fish! I have never seen that before, but I love whole cooked fish. I'm a big fan of eating as much of the fish as you can so there is no waste, and cooking it whole is the best way to do it.

I love the combo of smoked and roasted that you get here, and it looks great hanging over that fire. Thanks for sharing.

John

[kitkatyaker]

awsome photos and description. Welcome! Looking forward to fishing with you sometime.
Asalaam alikum
kitkatyaker

[mytmouse]

MMM that looks delicious! Nothing better than a smokey flavored fish.

[moc]

That fish looks so awsome. The pictures make my mouth water. I too want to go camping and catch our fish and cook it that way ! WOW.......

I would like to see some detailed pictures of your portable make shift fire pit.

[daddyg]

I will be cooking one that way buy the end of the season..That looks awesome. I will at least try it that way on my smoker.

[kevinfry]

Mustafa...that is similar to how we did the "Depoe Bay Indian Salmon Bake" in my home town......only we did it on a massive scale!

[AbuMasgouf]

Thanks All!

Yeah this is based on a traditional Iraqi method that dates back to the Babylonians. The original way is to make two slits in the back and put stakes to hang the fish. It works (as you can see from my original video) but its takes longer to set up to get the hight right. For a while now, I've been looking for the right material to make something where I can just put a skewer through the fish and hang it on two posts... then one day I'm at walmart and I see these "hot dog cooking posts" and my jaw drops! These are exactly what I needed and for $6 it was like a gift!!

With this way all you'd need are the posts and a good long kabob skewer (most middle eastern grocery stores carry them... need to get the thin one so it goes through the fish like a needle). Makes packing, set up, and clean up so much easier.

I completely agree with cooking the fish whole, I also feel that there can be so much meat wasted when filleting... plus the bones give it so much more flavor! When I do fillet, I end up saving the carcass for soup stock.

Yeah Moc and I were talking about planning a day where we fish and cookout afterwards.... and with this set up its way simple... would probably need one set up for each fish but you can do 4 fish to one fire pit or two long rows with the fire in the middle.

As for the fire pit, its just 4 cinder blocks !!! I got the hollow ones to be lighter for when I set it up and then get it out of the way when I'm done.

Kevin that looks awesome!!! I totally need to take a trip to your home town!

[kevinfry]

Yeah....bring your Yak... I left there long before the kayak fishing craze started, but it is a "Mecca" of sorts for brave big water fishermen. Just one of many youtube videos of guys yak fishing there....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siPxC0iRgG4