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I have gotten in on Copper River reds many times and have access to about all I want. Kenai River dipnet reds are plenty good for my uses and I should be able to put up my needs in the next week or so.

I also smoke quite a bit of silver salmon.

It never ceases to amaze how far people will go to produce schit and call it smoked salmon...

Funny schit, cisco. I wouldn't want to be downriver on that supply chain.

Gonna keep my eye on Costco.

I think you need to pay more attention. Re-read what I wrote. A dry brine allows you to control salinity by how much you apply.

When you use a wet brine, you have no control other than time. Time is the only control you have with the wet method. A dry brine allows you to control salt and time.

And, what "you" like and what "I" like isn't necessarily what the "OP" likes. There's some experimentation until the beginner finds what they want. After a batch or two, he'll figure out what "he" likes, not what you tell him to like. Just make a batch and see what is preferred. You must have assumed that I suggested that every batch be made willy-nilly.

Sitka, I've enjoyed many of your posts. But why you're getting spun-out over smoked fish is beyond me. Anyway, try a dry brine and it'll take care of your over-brining issues

As I have posted before I dry-brined salmon for a long time. And to do that I can tell you exactly how much salt I used per pound of salmon and the differences between species when doing it. If you do not know exactly how much salt you are using you are guessing and that does not produce good fish.

You started out saying it was "tough to screw up." I disagree because I have seen so much that was awful. Making a good batch of smoked salmon once by very specific directions will give a new smoker a stating point with reliable standards which can be adjusted if desired.

I went to wet brine because I have far more control and every bit of surface area gets the same amount of salt, every time. Adjusting the sugar is easy if you want sweeter fish. Adding other flavors is also easy with a little attention. I suspect my smoking salmon history is a bit deeper than you realize...

And more than one poster on this thread has had my smoked fish...

Why does it matter to me? Because there are a bunch of folks here that just have to give advice that is going to cause others grief. And I am not going to let it go without explaining what is wrong with their plan.

Sorry if I stepped on your toes, but if it saved someone from some wasted fish it was worth it. At least to me.

Pete, sorry I missed this earlier. Around here somewhere I have the studies done in Kodiak on brining... it is pretty dry, pun intended. For your purposes texture is not the same problem as in kippering.

The flesh itself is the limiting factor on how fast the salt moves in. Make brine hypertonic and maximum speed is achieved. The pellicle forming time allows the salt to equalize through the fish, too.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree Sitka, but I appreciate the extra info

A wet brine adds water to the fish. Its the only way the salt gets into the flesh. This water dilutes the natural flavor. And you're right, the longer you brine in a wet solution the more problems it can create. If you cook wet brined meat fast, like a roast, it can actually make the meat moister than non-brined meat... because the wet brine has added water to the meat.

But more water is not what we want for smoked fish. A wet brine adds water to the fish (but will eventually get removed in slow/low smoking). A dry brine does not. It actually pulls water from the fish. And that is the objective in the first place, to dry the fish.

A 90-minute wet brine is also misleading as no mention was made of the thickness of the pieces. Thin pieces can get brined throughout the flesh, whereas thicker pieces will not.

That said I think a wet brine is fine. I just prefer a dry brine myself. I've made smoked fish with dry brine and wet brine and both can work fine. For meat like a roast, I prefer a wet brine and its amazing what you can do with it. But what I've learned is that everyone in my family and my friends that have me smoke their fish likes the fish smoked a little differently. Some like it drier and saltier, and others like it more moist. One style doesn't satisfy everyone.

Let people experiment with smoked fish. Its not the end of the world