Smoked Salmon

[MarkFromSea]

Mediocre fishing skills? I don't know, you are holding a couple of nice fish in your picture.

My fishing practices are a bit sloppy, but, I connect alright from time to time. Hitting the Duwamish in the morning, 4am wake up. Eager to see if there is a coho or two running with the pinks. Got eggs! LOL

[natetreat]

Aha! I never thought to use a cooler! I've got a bunch more fish to brine, but I can't do batches that big yet, I have to stagger them out. I've got two recipes in the works, I'll post an update on how it works out. BTW I filled my second catch card today at the carbon, I'll post a report later tonight. SOOOOO much tasty chrome to smoke!!!!!!!

Way to go on the second catch record card! It was looking mighty full the other day, you've picked up 6? since Thursday! Busy Busy! LOL Looking forward to seeing a recipe that you've found satisfactory.

Chef, molasses crossed my mind today. Didn't have any on hand so stuck with my OJ. Nice to see your recipe. I'm writing that one down! Thanks!

Just looked at the pictures,,,,,,,,,CANDY!!!!!!!!!!!:bounce:

I know! It all happened in quick trips, not all day affairs. I got lucky.

The first recipe I did I used 3:1 salt and dark brown sugar, whole cloves of garlic and a little bit of pepper. I got tired of peeling so much garlic, but I think I like the taste of it. Does fresh versus canned or powdered make a difference? I really like onion on my food, would onions in the brine just screw everything up or would that be good. I'm sure it would probably smell strong, but onions are a good kind of strong. I just made up the orange juice recipe to try for tomorrow's smoke. We'll see how it goes.

[knotabassturd]

Nice having chefjake and Bodofish around for the culinary brining/smoking intricacies:cheers: chefjake- I like your candy-looking glazed salmon. They look almost as messy as spare ribs but probably better tasting!:chef:

I, too, brush on a little of a teriyaki/brown sugar/apple juice mix for a sweet smoke but only brush it on at the beginning (too hard to get at lower rack in the cheapo Brinkmann).

As for mediocre fishing skills, you aint alone:eye: We'll leave the professional level to the guys.

Now for the chef:geek: pros- how do I get rid of the excessive curdling on my fish? The flavor is absolutely fine (use about 4:1 ratio brown sugar/salt plus apple juice/ water wet brine with some teriyaki and couple other variables thrown in) but the fatty stuff on top aint very attractive. My cheapo Brinkmann maybe has something to do with it? It burns hot plus I put a lot of alder chips in to smoke it hard which produces even more heat. I odn't have the patience to babysit it too much but usually unplug it a coupel time to slow it a little bit. Total smoke time about 2 to 2 1/2 hrs (like I said, smokes hot).

The lower pic shows the clear pellicle formation (that dark blotch on one fillet is shadow from faucet arm cuz the light is above it). The first pic shows the obvious fatty residue.

[MarkFromSea]

Aha! I never thought to use a cooler! I've got a bunch more fish to brine, but I can't do batches that big yet, I have to stagger them out. I've got two recipes in the works, I'll post an update on how it works out. BTW I filled my second catch card today at the carbon, I'll post a report later tonight. SOOOOO much tasty chrome to smoke!!!!!!!

Way to go on the second catch record card! It was looking mighty full the other day, you've picked up 6? since Thursday! Busy Busy! LOL Looking forward to seeing a recipe that you've found satisfactory.

Chef, molasses crossed my mind today. Didn't have any on hand so stuck with my OJ. Nice to see your recipe. I'm writing that one down! Thanks!

Just looked at the pictures,,,,,,,,,CANDY!!!!!!!!!!!:bounce:

I know! It all happened in quick trips, not all day affairs. I got lucky.

The first recipe I did I used 3:1 salt and dark brown sugar, whole cloves of garlic and a little bit of pepper. I got tired of peeling so much garlic, but I think I like the taste of it. Does fresh versus canned or powdered make a difference? I really like onion on my food, would onions in the brine just screw everything up or would that be good. I'm sure it would probably smell strong, but onions are a good kind of strong. I just made up the orange juice recipe to try for tomorrow's smoke. We'll see how it goes.

I'm just an amateur, but, I'd recommend the powdered garlic, onion powder, ect. You don't get the full flavor out of garlic or onions unless you mince really small or run them thru a blender.... Cooking brings the flavor out of garlic and onions. I love onion powder in my smoked fish, we just didn't have any handy when I went to put a brine together. I like this idea of brine first then apply spices before the drying process. Trying it now in fact!

[chefjake99]

Knotabassturd-

That is the fat melting out of the fish and then when it cools it re solidifies. I suggest cutting the fish into a few pieces, I typically cut my pinks into three or four pieces. This allows for the fat to drip out as opposed to just collecting on top of the filet. You could also just give the fish a final brush of a glaze of choice when it comes out of the smoker that should help rid those bubbles of fat while at the same time giving it a little extra flavor. The temperature is deffinately an issue if it is getting done that fast. It being 80+ outside Im sure doesnt help. You might try putting some ice in the bottom of the pan although that wont last long. When the fish cooks that fast it probably is not getting as much smoke as it could either. I am fortunate to have a commercial smoker at my restaurant. I do however want to get a smoker for home. I think I will wait and save some money to buy either a bradley or a traeger or traeger like bbq so I can control the temp. That is also very important when smoking different types of meat.

[chefjake99]

Mark-

Not necissarily an amature move to use dry spices. While some may scoff at anything but fresh, that is not what is always best.

While at culinary school we made a vegetable stock made a few different ways and did a blind taste test. The one that won was made from dehydrated then powdered vegetables. They typically carry a lot more flavor when reconstituted in some sort of liquid.

[natetreat]

So powdered spices could work better than fresh? Awesome! I'm going to pick some of that up. Saves me time too.

[MarkFromSea]

So powdered spices could work better than fresh? Awesome! I'm going to pick some of that up. Saves me time too.

I think powdered or granulated spices WILL work better than fresh. I believe it's all about getting the flavor in suspension in the brine BEFORE placing the salmon in. (OR this dry rub after brining) It's hard to get the flavor out of fresh with out cooking or pulverizing. I avoid the garlic salt or other spices that have additional salt in them, that's already in the brine. LOL

[curado]

i am doing my second batch of fish wednesday

'

[MarkFromSea]

Here's batch 3 and 4. OJ base brine, extra garlic on left, extra pepper and garlic on right. Added before 3-4 hour drying then 7 hours smoke. Tasty! Older Little Chiefs, only 3 racks.

[Gringo Pescador]

Smoked three batches (13 pinks) over the long weekend - each batch a different recipe, all great! Thank you all for your input!

[Big D]

Here's batch 3 and 4. OJ base brine, extra garlic on left, extra pepper and garlic on right. Added before 3-4 hour drying then 7 hours smoke. Tasty! Older Little Chiefs, only 3 racks.

Hey Mark,
I've never had smoked lizard. How's it taste?

[MarkFromSea]

Here's batch 3 and 4. OJ base brine, extra garlic on left, extra pepper and garlic on right. Added before 3-4 hour drying then 7 hours smoke. Tasty! Older Little Chiefs, only 3 racks.

Hey Mark,
I've never had smoked lizard. How's it taste?

LOL I'm not sure Big D, I'm told it tastes a bit like alligator or rattle snake.(chicken) LOL I thought it's a fun picture and there was room.

[chefjake99]

Quick question. How do you all store your smoked salmon? I've always vacuum sealed it and froze it.

[curado]

mine is coming out great

[chefjake99]

Ive made a couple more batches of "candy" the last couple days. Its so freakin good.

[curado]

how do you guys like you fish. dry or moist. i like mine drier

[TedBull]

I bought a "Little Cheif" smoker from fred meyer on sale for $80.00. I brought home 3 pinks today and made my first batch of brine ever. Got the fillets floating as I type this. I have always prefered dry fish and dry smoked fish. How long should I smoke for? What are some tips to tell when it is done enough for my liking? If I vacume seal it and keep it in the fridge how long will it keep? Thanks.

[curado]

i normally do 2 to 3 pans of smoke. so 4 to 5 hours. if you cover with a box that has a vent it will help cook it faster because it keeps more heat in longer and smoke as well

[natetreat]

Well I did up a batch of OJ/Soy Sauce fish, and another with the brown sugar molasses brine. The oJ one came out a lot less brine and more fish, it was more subtle, smoky with a hint of citrus. The molasses one hasn't been smoked yet. I did a dry brine with brown sugar, salt and lots of garlic powder and onion powder and rubbed it with crack black pepper and honey while smoking. Turned out really good. I also did an experiment and smoked one batch of fish with pan of cherry and a pan of hickory, which turned out bacony and fantasticly smoky. I totally nailed the baconed smoked salmon, without adding bacon. It's friggin GOOD! Hahaha, if that's what you like. Bacon is one of my favorite foods besides steak and fish.