Make It at Home: Walt's Famous Smoked Fish Spread
Walt's Fish Market.
Image: Larry Hoffman
Sarasota is home to a sizeable number of places that have stood the test of restaurant longevity. If you're able to keep your doors open for decades, it's a sure bet that you're doing at least some things right.
The restaurants that measure up usually have some of our area's more iconic and best-loved dishes on their menus. Columbia Restaurant's 1905 salad, Michael's on East's famous bowtie chicken pasta and the subject of today's story: Walt's Fish Market's smoked fish spread.
Brett Wallin is the fourth in a line of Wallins to oversee this classic Sarasota restaurant. It's changed a lot since Claus Wallin was in business 100 years ago, but one thing that hasn't is that Walt's still serves fresh, locally caught seafood daily. And that's what we're using to recreate the restaurant's smoked fish dip at home.
Walt's Fish Market.
Image: Larry Hoffman
This one is going to be fun. I'm going to get to use one of my favorite toys, my Traeger smoker. Don't worry: If you don't have a smoker, we're going to tell you how you can improvise.
When Walt's started making its savory fish dip, the restaurant used mullet smoked in its own smokehouse, but it can be tricky to source mullet year-round in the quantities needed for this popular spread. (After all, everyone who sits at a table or the bar gets a free scoop to enjoy.) So now Walt's uses a variety of smoked fish for the spread: Mahi-mahi, wahoo and even occasionally kingfish are all used, along with mullet. Part of the secret to making this delicious spread is using fish with a fairly high oil content.
It's time to get cracking. I asked Walt's for an "official" copy of the recipe—you know, the one the restaurant uses. This is what they sent me, verbatim:
Tartar Sauce
Ingredients
10 gallons mayonnaise, split into three equal portions
3 ounces freshly minced garlic in each portion
1 gallon pickle relish in each portion
Fish Spread
Ingredients
15 pounds smoked and cooled fish pieces
1 bucket tartar sauce
Directions
All fish pieces are cut or ground and mixed with tartar sauce until desired consistency is obtained.
Whoa! There are a couple of things we need to talk about. First, I have no idea the actual volume of a "bucket." I'm going to guess that it's one-third of the finished tartar sauce recipe. Another thing: I don't have anywhere close to the space needed to store 10 gallons of mayo. I'm not sure I even want to store 10 gallons of mayo!
It is obvious that a little bit of math will be required if you and I want to attempt this one. Math has never been my strong suit, but I do have a calculator, and yes, I know how to use it. So, these are the measurements after I reduced this "super-sized" batch of spread to an amount that looks reasonable:
Walt's Smoked Fish Spread for Home Cooks
Tartar Sauce
Ingredients
1 cup mayonnaise
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons pickle relish
Fish Spread
Ingredients
10 ounces mahi-mahi (or other fish with good oil content)
Old Bay seasoning
1 recipe tartar sauce
Tartar sauce ingredients.
Image: Larry Hoffman
Now we've got some amounts that people not in the restaurant business can relate to.
But there's another problem: The original instructions are pretty vague. It doesn't even begin to address how to smoke the fish.
Don't worry; I'm here to help with that "minor" detail. Here are some more in-depth instructions:
Directions
Day One
Rinse fish filet. Rub with olive oil. Sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning. Smoke mahi-mahi using whichever method you prefer or have access to. Chill smoked fish in the refrigerator overnight.
Day Two
In a medium bowl, mix all of the ingredients for the tartar sauce. Combine thoroughly. Set aside.
Break up smoked fish into pieces. In a small food processor, pulse until fish is ground into small pieces. Add ground fish to a large mixing bowl. Add about one-third of the tartar sauce. Mix through. Add more tartar sauce until you have the correct consistency (or a consistency that you're happy with). You will probably not need to use all of the tartar sauce.
Now, this seems doable. Let's talk about a few things.
Rubbing the filet with olive oil before sprinkling with Old Bay will allow the spice mixture to stick to the fish better.
Image: Larry Hoffman
I decided to use mahi-mahi for this spread. Mine smoked up nicely. I used alder wood and smoked at 250 degrees Fahrenheit for about two hours (or an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit).
Here's how things looked after I processed my smoked fish.
Image: Larry Hoffman
My finished tartar sauce.
Image: Larry Hoffman
Here's how it all turned out.
Image: Larry Hoffman
Not bad for an amateur fish spread maker! Let's take a peek at how it looks when the pros at Walt's put a scoop of their delicious Smoked Fish Spread down in front of you.
Walt's smoked fish spread.
Image: Larry Hoffman
Some Smoker-Less Alternatives
One: If you have a barbecue grill, you can use a wood chip smoker box or a pellet smoking tube. At a minimum, you can use a wood chip foil pack. The internet is filled with instructions on how to do that. Shoot for 160 degrees Fahrenheit for your finished temperature.
Two: no barbecue, no problem. When you mix the ground fish and tartar sauce together, a few drops of Liquid Smoke will do the trick. Use it sparingly and taste it as you go. You can't take it out after you add it!
My spread tasted similar to Walt's. You can see by the photos that Walt's is a little bit smoother than mine, which shows my texture was a little off. Next time, that's an easy fix.
Plating was way easy. I mean, it's just fish spread and saltine crackers. If I had a 7-year-old, they could have plated this as well as I did.
How easy is this to make?
Image: Larry Hoffman
The Verdict
Yes, you can make Walt's famous smoked fish spread at home, but it's time-consuming because of the smoking process, and is not nearly as fun to eat at home as it is to eat at Walt's. There is something about the hustle and bustle of a busy restaurant that adds to the whole experience. That Walt's "feel" is the mystery ingredient that's not listed in the recipe.
Larry Hoffman is an independent food writer based in Sarasota. He is the publisher of dineSarasota, which includes dineSarasota.com; an annual printed restaurant guide, The Little Sarasota DINING Book; and the Bulletin newsletter Sarasota Bites. You can subscribe to the newsletter by clicking here.
