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I live down the road from a family called the Perry's. I fell for their daughter in H.S. She was the head cheerleader for football and wrestling, and was a beauty pageant darling. I got to be really good friends with her brother and her parents (notice the angle) but she married her H.S. sweetheart and I never had a chance. I at least got to spend time with an amazing family. Mom sold encyclopedias, dad was a textile chemist, one son was a hippie, one an engineer, one a salmon boat captain in Homer, one daughter an editor, and one the owner of a landscaping company. Mrs Perry gives me a loaf of home made bread and a king salmon steak for Christmas.
I remember the first time I was invited over to learn how to smoke salmon. Chris would freeze the fish solid and ship them to his Dad. Mel would put 4 posts in the ground and make a little frame about the size of a phone booth maybe 5 feet tall. He'd cover it with canvas, wet it down and make a little fire in the bottom. He'd split the salmon down to about an inch of their tails and fillet out the bones. He'd drape them over sticks and set them inside. He'd also cut some into strips to make Eskimo candy. We'd stand around with a pine bough and swat at any flys that tried to land. It was an all day and into the night affair. He'd reach in and bend a fillet, and say "not yet." It never seemed to be done. We did a batch for his son's wedding and it wasn't ready until about half his guests were gone.
I've been over for the annual salmon smoking party. I've watched Mel smoke bluefish too. I still think they're too oily. I can tell you that they never put any seasoning on the fish, and he used cherry wood cut from his back yard. He'd take a knife and peel off the bark before putting the wood on the fire. He said it makes the fish bitter. I've seen a big commercial bbq restaurant doing the same thing with oak and hickory. There were always guys in the parking lot with little jack hammers stripping logs. I use maple and fruit wood when I fire up the smoker and I take the bark off with my ax. I don't know if it helps, but Mel said it does.
"I didn't get the sophisticated gene in this family. I started the sophisticated gene in this family." Willie Robertson
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Rob, the only local wood around here that I use is alder. The hickory, cherry, mesquite, maple and pecan is lumber. Because I often smoke in cold temps way below 32F I no longer use green wood due to the condensation it produces in the smoker(cold smoking) I don't peel the alder but I intend on trying it sometime. I have smoked fish without brining but I don't like it as much. The product I most frequently make is more refined than native style. Mine is boned, skinned and the subcutaneous fat is removed.
I have had bluefish smoked and it to me it is best kippered. If I could get tuna in quanity at a reasonable price I'd like to try it.
pete
'Often mistaken, never in doubt'
'Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge' Darwin
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When pak(Pete) speaks about smoked fish, it should be like an E.F. Hutton commercial, folks should listen! His salmon is hands down the finest quality, best tasting smoked salmon, I've ever eaten. And that's no $hit!
Jeff
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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And he is kind enough to share occasionally...
His smoked cheese does not suck either...
Last edited by Sitka deer; 01/13/10. Reason: cheesey comment added
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Nov 2005
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My Brother doesn't fire up the smoker without putting a big block of cheese in there. I always thought that ruined it. I don't like many cheeses to start with though.
"I didn't get the sophisticated gene in this family. I started the sophisticated gene in this family." Willie Robertson
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I use peeled and split birch with no bark or pith. I split 14-16 inch pieces and knock the outside 1-2 inches off using that for kindling in my outside furnace. It gives a yellow brown colour to the meat/ casing and is mild flavoured. The alder we have here is small brush nothing bigger than 1.5 ". The natives use it for whitefish with excellent results.
Randy
Praise the Lord for full Salvation
Christ Still lives upon the throne
And I know the blood still cleansess
Deeper than the sin has gone
Lester Roloff
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New Member
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I have smoked all kinds of fish salmon, mullet, amber jack, tuna, dolphin, king fish, spanish macks, Just about all of them. I have an old stainless steel comercial refrigerator that I have converted into a smoker. I can do about 80lbs of mullet at one time!! I have found that my favorite brine for all fish is to mix equal parts brown sugar and koser salt. I use 1 pound of each with 4 gallons of water, and 2 cups of crushed garlic. I don't brine fresh fish for more than an hour. I have never smoked frozen fish, most all of it is stuff I catch. When I do salmon I order it from a fish house here and it comes in fresh. I really used to enjoy the "squaw candy" my Dad would bring home from Alaska. It was packed in small mason jars with a little liquid. Do any of you have a recipe for that???
Also for a little "island flavor" try a seasoning from badia called completa. It is a Spanish seasoning that is great on smoked fish, I put a few shakes on my king fish after I brine it.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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And he is kind enough to share occasionally...
His smoked cheese does not suck either... Smoking cheese is a real art. I've done it several times but my first couple were disasters. What I learned is to take the fire completely away from the cooker and simply impart cold smoke into the dome at temps of about 125. Finally got it down using the XL Big Green Egg.
Proud to be a true Sandlapper!!
Go Nats!!!!
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Campfire Ranger
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Just another yeah vote towards Pete's ability to smoke salmon. I've had alot of various smoked salmons, and his product is top notch. Haven't had the cheese, but have heard it's good stuff, and I have no doubt of that. One of these days I'll build cold smoker 2.0. The first one was inhabited by yellow jackets, and every non toxic means to move them failed. So I poisened them and trashed the smoker. Not a bad idea as it had a pretty good build up of tar. ![[Linked Image]](http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/4/8/1/481101382/781101382_EE33A54A2C24126866F21C06B67D1F5D.jpg) ![[Linked Image]](http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/4/8/1/481101382/681101382_3A12C9491A57D30E8BAC543007A974DE.jpg) Not the fire box, but you gotta love a good picture of flaming alder. ![[Linked Image]](http://forums.accuratereloading.com/evefiles/photo_albums/4/8/1/481101382/999101517_927CE28A726655C3E81C222A144641D6.JPG) In my cold smoker I'd start some birch kindling, and then put on chunks of alder that had been soaked in water and let them smolder for however long it took them to burn up. In the big chief I split blocks of alder into kindling and put them in the smoke pan. Seems that a little bit of hickory sawdust and the alder kindling produces a great smoke flavor.
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A couple of observations, first of all thank you all for your kind comments. Salmon should not be eaten raw especially fresh. Individual fish can carry a nemotode or bacteria that can make you really sick. Not all carry this. Freezing kills whatever it is. Someone more knowledgeable can fill in the blanks, for me.
FL Cracker, the product you like is canned smoked salmon. Many here make this. The canning process usually dries the salmon so that is is like a squaw candy. How dry it ends up depends on the canner and their method. Pass me a can of good smoked salmon you will get an empty can in return. King salmon is by far the best with sockeye(red) salmon close behind in canning. Coho is also very tasty.
pete
'Often mistaken, never in doubt'
'Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge' Darwin
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Campfire Ranger
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Pete,
I tried my hand at canned smoked salmon this year with some of the sockeye we dipped, and I liked the product, though the consistancy was that of canned salmon with a smoked flavor. I believe my mistake was smoking whole large fillets vs. cutting them into strips. Too little surface area for the fish to be properly brined and dry out. Still great stuff on crackers, or mixed with cream cheese.
I have had what I'd call native style canned smoked salmon where it is more in the form of squaw candy strips, and it's just dripping with oil, I love that stuff. Would love to know how to get that end product.
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For a target, buy a can or jar of red, king or silver from Copper River Seafoods and try to duplicate it in color, taste and texture. It is terrific stuff but I think you could match it after a few batches or so.
pete
'Often mistaken, never in doubt'
'Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge' Darwin
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The question is how much do you let it dry out before canning. The fillets I smoked weren't even completely hot smoked before canning, but I'm thinking the next batch I'll have to let them dry a bit more.
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Trial and error, I suppose. I don't can. Canned stuff seems to draw moisture out of the fish durning the canning process. Try a batch at extreme ends. Real dry then real wet. Somewhere in between should be a hit. I'm sure there are dippers here that can help.
Pete
'Often mistaken, never in doubt'
'Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge' Darwin
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OP
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I haven't been back at this tread for a while! I haven't gotten to try any fish yet, but did make some awesome jerky last night  I'm going to hit the ice in the next couple weeks, maybe catch me some Trout or Salmon, and give it a go again with one of the many recipes you guys have left for me. I'll keep you guys posted 
"The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed upon"- Thomas Jefferson
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I generally dry pack with brown sugar and non-iodized salt at 2:1. One and one-half hours is plenty. Generally, pre-frozen fish is most reliable in salt/sugar uptake and many will only smoke fish after it has been frozen.
Rinse briefly with cold water after brining or dry-packing.
Arrange the fish on racks and provide a fan to dry the surface. This is the single most important step. Allow a pellicle to form. The ambient temperature and humidity will determine how long it takes to get the pellicle. Usually a couple hours in out very dry winters, inside.
this is basically how I do it, but I do generally let the dry pack sit in the fridge for 6-8 hours, and then rinse it all well (critical step!), and dry it with the fan. I use the "little chief" aluminum smokers. And I'm usually smoking fish in late summer, in pretty mild weather. But what makes my fish different is that I don't use chips from the store. I go out and cut a arm load of alder twigs and small branches right off the trees, and chop it all up, lichens, bark and all. It gives the fish a tangy, more interesting flavor than the fish that gets smoked with the bark-less chips that come from the store. Fruitwood should work good, too. I see here that some people actually go the opposite direction, getting rid of the bark, but I like the flavor that the bark and lichen gives, and all I've ever heard about my smoked fish is rave reviews. So I guess I must be doing something right.
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LiveFree
With all due respect I would not waste a fish with either of the recipes you have been given so far. Both have glaring holes in the processes that will lead to huge variations in results.
There are quite a few folks here that have had my salmon for many years and I doubt any would dispute the fact my fish is far better than average.
I will address critical process steps more than flavor issues, but my bias against flavors will show...
First, you can dry pack or you can brine the fish, in neither case is it an overnight proposition. The longer it takes to get the fish in the smoker the greater the chance for poor results.
Try smoking without flavors first so you can develop a baseline. Tossing teriyaki at salmon indiscriminately is one of the best ways to make it really not like salmon.
I generally dry pack with brown sugar and non-iodized salt at 2:1. One and one-half hours is plenty. Generally, pre-frozen fish is most reliable in salt/sugar uptake and many will only smoke fish after it has been frozen.
Rinse briefly with cold water after brining or dry-packing.
Arrange the fish on racks and provide a fan to dry the surface. This is the single most important step. Allow a pellicle to form. The ambient temperature and humidity will determine how long it takes to get the pellicle. Usually a couple hours in out very dry winters, inside.
Smoke with lots of smoke and low heat to start and slowly raise the temp to no higher than 140F. That can be as quickly as a half-hour or so. If it gets too hot too fast the outer parts of the fish will denature too rapidly and there will be a "boundary layer" in the fish that will not develop proper texture. If it goes hotter than 140F the surface will start oozing white liquids which will denature on the surface. The white will indicate the texture has suffered also.
Because there is so much variation in smokers, ambient temperatures, relative humidity, fish and everything else it is very hard to give anything approaching an absolute for smoking time. Generally an hour or so is all the smoke the fish needs. More smoke increases the nasty tars and such that can create "hot spots" when eating it. It is very easy to overdo the smoke.
Maintain the heat at under 140 until the fish is firm and uniform all the way through. Too long and it will be dried out.
Most AK Native dried fish is seriously over-smoked and inconsistent.
Cold smoking is a whole other ball game and pak is the King of that game...
art
I just made this for my wife, for Valentines day dinner with fresh, not frozen Sockeye Salmon from the deli, and IT WAS AWESOME!!! Thanks Sitka
Last edited by LiveFree; 02/14/10.
"The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed upon"- Thomas Jefferson
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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But I thought you couldn't?  Happy to hear it worked! Stick with simple things and it will be hard to mess it up. Get wild with the stuff that goes with the fish if you like. One point though... Sockeye is not available fresh right now. It was frozen at some point and that is a good thing for the brining/salting phase. art
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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OP
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I always thought that non-frozen was better. I learn something from this site every time I say something, lol. I can't wait to smoke some Trout, using the same recipe.... unles there's another one BTW, we are planning a vacation to AK in 2011, if obama doesn't sned me to the poor house. Plans right now are to fly there, rent a car or van depending on how many of us go, to see some of the state, do some hiking maybe, I HAVE to catch me a nice Salmon up there, and then take a cruise back to the lower 48. I've been dreaming of going to AK for a LONG time, hopefully it will work out
"The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed upon"- Thomas Jefferson
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Stick with simple things and it will be hard to mess it up. Yup!
Proud to be a true Sandlapper!!
Go Nats!!!!
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