Study confirmed that people consume more dried fish than fresh fish in Nigeria, and mostly fresh water river dry fish. This study tends to compare the consumer preference of dry Catfish (clarias gariepinus Burchell, 1822). Preserved with Sweet Orange Peel (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) either smoked with fire wood or with gas oven. The fish were gutted, washed throughly with water to remove external dirt, and transferred into a basket for proper draining of water. The fresh fish were dipped in 150ml of sweet orange peels extract for 30 minutes, and divided into three groups the fish were marinated with spices and placed randomly on the rack of smoking klin. The fish were prepared and smoked using dry fire wood in a traditional smoking klin for a period of 2hrs, and the other part smoked with oven gas. The dried fish was Prepared into pepper soup sample and a trained panel of judges was used to assess the acceptability make comments through a questionnaire. The smoked catfish were allowed to cool at room temperature and samples were taken from each batch respectively for proximate analysis. The result of proximate analyses of samples showed that the moisture content of the smoked fish with charcoal is lower (10.04 %) than that of oven gas sample (14.80 %). The crude protein, fat, ash, crude fibre and nitrogen free extract of the smoked fish with charcoal sample were 55.34, 13.29,3.88,14.22 and 13.27, respectively compared to 52.80,13.47,3.46, 13.29 and 16.68 observed in the oven gas fish, respectively. The mean score of organoleptic evaluation showed that both processed fish products in terms of organoleptic assessment, smoked fish with firewood or charcoal had better flavour, taste, texture and general acceptability than the smoked fish with oven gas as revealed by the panellists with better reduction in moisture content and higher protein content observed in fish subjected to smoking. The role of orange peel prolonged the shelf life of fish and can be used as antimicrobial and antioxidant activity. It is concluded that smoking with charcoal or dried wood is better and more accepted than fish smoked with oven gas in the processing of catfish (Clarias gariepinus).
Keywords: Assessment, orange peel, organoleptic evaluation, Clarias gariepinus