Traeger Smoked Catfish Filets (How Long at 250F)

Today’s recipe is for some beautiful Traeger Smoked Catfish Filets!  This catfish is incredibly easy to prepare, looks beautiful and tastes amazing.

We smoked the catfish on our Traeger Trailhead but any pellet grill will work just fine.

This is a fast smoker recipe that will get dinner on the table in about an hour.

Prepare the Catfish for the Traeger

We had bought two large catfish filets, skin off, with each one weighing a little over a half pound.  These are big and meaty filets that are the perfect size for smoking.  Don’t mess around with strips or nuggets of catfish as they are better for frying.

To season the fish we went with McCormick’s Cajun Seasoning.  This is a nice, fine textured seasoning that contains:

• Salt
• Paprika
• Red Pepper
• Thyme
• Black Pepper
• Celery Seed
• Garlic
• Onion

Season both sides of the filets with the rub.

We also grabbed a bottle of Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing to use as a baste later on.

Fire Up Your Traeger

We were cooking on the Traeger Trailhead but it was raining outside so we set up shop in the garage.  You can use a Traeger in the rain but I don’t like getting wet and neither does our Jackery power supply.

We had the Trailhead sitting on the Yukon Glory Portable Grill Table which is the best grill table we have ever owned.

We filled the hopper of the Trailhead with hickory pellets, added a foil liner to the grease deflector, closed the lid and set the temperature to 250F.  It was a cold, wet day and it took the Traeger about 20 minutes to get to temperature.

Smoke the Catfish

Once the Traeger had come to temperature and stabilized at around 240F we put the filets on the smoker, flat side down.  The Trailhead was the perfect size for the two large catfish filets.

Close the lid and let the fish cook for 45 minutes.

At no point in the cook will you ever flip the fish.

After 45 minutes the rub will have set and it’s time to baste the fish with the Italian dressing.  Open up the lid, give the fish a squirt of Italian dressing and spread it around with a basting brush.

If Italian dressing isn’t your thing then you can make up a lemon butter sauce with a touch of hot sauce.

Regardless, this is your chance to add more flavor to the fish so take advantage of the opportunity.

After the fish has been basted, close the lid and smoke for 15 more minutes until an internal temperature of 145F is reached.

Plate and Serve the Traeger Smoked Catfish

Once the smoked catfish reaches an internal temperature of 145F it is done!

You need to be careful taking the fish off of the Traeger so it doesn’t break in half.  We use an extra long spatula and lift from the heavier, meatier end of the filet.

This smoked catfish was served with steamed broccoli and lemon wedges for a simple, healthy, protein packed meal that was delicious and satisfying.

We hope you try this recipe for Traeger Smoked Catfish Filets and enjoy it as much as we did!

For more fish recipes check out:

Weber Grilled Mahi Mahi Sandwiches