Smoked Mullet Succotash

📝 Notes: Also known as: Cracker Mullet Succotash · Miz Kathi's Old Florida Succotash The concept: Classic: succotash. Vector: Terroir swap (smoked mullet, the definitive Old Florida smokehouse fish, folded into the vegetable base as flaked protein). This turns a side into a more substantial plate component without changing what the dish reads as on the menu. Hero ingredient: Smoked mullet, flaked and folded in at the very end so the smoke stays forward and the fish doesn't break down to paste. Plating: Serve warm in a small bowl, a few flakes of mullet visible on top. Pro upgrade: reserve some smoked mullet skin, crisp it separately, and crumble on top for a textural garnish. Prep efficiency: vegetable base holds on the steam table; fold in mullet per-pan at the pass so it stays flaky, not mushy. Cross-utilization: smoked mullet, once stocked, is also a standalone appetizer (smoked mullet dip) — same protein feeds two menu sections. Failure modes: bones. Every batch must be hand-checked before service — this is the single non-negotiable step in the recipe. Scaling: At 4x: bone-check time scales directly with volume — budget the labor, don't rush it. At 10x: fold mullet in per-pan, never into one giant batch — texture and bone-check thoroughness both suffer at that scale in one vessel.