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Joined: Jul 2006
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Campfire Regular
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OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jul 2006
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I've got twenty pounds or so of silver salmon I got this past summer that I want to smoke. I've got an electric smoke, but I've never smoked fish.
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 3,734
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Dec 2010
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I use the following brine
2 1/2 gallons water 7.5 oz insta-cure #1 (pink salt) 2 1/2 oz brown sugar 1 lb salt 2 tsp cracked pepper 5 bay leaves 2 tbsp liquid smoke (optional)
Depends on how thick your salmon is for the proper brining time
with about a 1 1/2 lb fish I brine 16 hrs
can take up to 36hrs for large fish
I hang about a half hour while the smoker preheats to 100 then I hang in smoker with air flow only for an hour to form pellicle
then heavy smoke to about 150 degrees working my way to 180
total smoke about 5 hrs.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637 |
Wow! All I can say is wow!
Bettin' you are a beer drinker...
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637 |
I've got twenty pounds or so of silver salmon I got this past summer that I want to smoke. I've got an electric smoke, but I've never smoked fish. Good fish needs nothing beyond brown sugar and non-iodized salt, 2:1. There is absolutely no point in adding nitrates and nitrites to your food... Salmon fillets cut in chunks, for silvers about 6 pieces per fillet works best for my set-up, but it is completely non-critical. Try to keep them all about the same size, though. A food grade 5-gallon plastic bucket works well for brining. I usually boil about a gallon of water and dissolve the brown sugar and salt in it to create a hypertonic solution. After boiling it gets poured into about a gallon of cold water in the brine bucket. I let this cool further while preparing the fish. Brine for about 90 minutes, stirring at least several times during the soak. Rinse VERY quickly under cold running water and arrange on smoker racks. Allow to dry until a good pellicle forms which should be dry to the touch and look a little glassy. Use lots of smoke to start and keep the temperature way down... Salmon smoking should NEVER exceed 140F, especially with silvers and kings. The oils will break through the pellicle and denature to ugly white blobs. Kings and silvers are the hardest to control because kings are super oily and silvers are very wet fish. Smoke does not need to be continuous, but heat must be fairly consistent. Smoke for an hour or two is plenty and it is easy to smoke too much. Wood makes a big difference in taste and using blends of different woods is usually better... Alder is a favorite local wood here, but lots of fruit woods, mesquite, black cherry, hickory, and maple add a lot especially in small doses.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,931
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2003
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I mix 2 parts Brown sugar and one part rock salt. Layer it in a big plastic bowl, layer of fish skin down, layer of salt/sugar mix, fish skin up, salt/sugar, fish skin down, repeat until bowl is full, put a paper towel over it and in the fridge overnight. Take it out the next day, rinse in cold water real well. After rinsing I lay the fish out on paper towels or news paper for about one hour to dry a little, then smoke for two hours. I only smoke fish for one hour if it's going to get canned.
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Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 15,380
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 15,380 |
I've got twenty pounds or so of silver salmon I got this past summer that I want to smoke. I've got an electric smoke, but I've never smoked fish. Good fish needs nothing beyond brown sugar and non-iodized salt, 2:1. There is absolutely no point in adding nitrates and nitrites to your food... Salmon fillets cut in chunks, for silvers about 6 pieces per fillet works best for my set-up, but it is completely non-critical. Try to keep them all about the same size, though. A food grade 5-gallon plastic bucket works well for brining. I usually boil about a gallon of water and dissolve the brown sugar and salt in it to create a hypertonic solution. After boiling it gets poured into about a gallon of cold water in the brine bucket. I let this cool further while preparing the fish. Brine for about 90 minutes, stirring at least several times during the soak. Rinse VERY quickly under cold running water and arrange on smoker racks. Allow to dry until a good pellicle forms which should be dry to the touch and look a little glassy. Use lots of smoke to start and keep the temperature way down... Salmon smoking should NEVER exceed 140F, especially with silvers and kings. The oils will break through the pellicle and denature to ugly white blobs. Kings and silvers are the hardest to control because kings are super oily and silvers are very wet fish. Smoke does not need to be continuous, but heat must be fairly consistent. Smoke for an hour or two is plenty and it is easy to smoke too much. Wood makes a big difference in taste and using blends of different woods is usually better... Alder is a favorite local wood here, but lots of fruit woods, and maple add a lot especially in small doses. +1
I work harder than a ugly stripper....
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,744
Campfire Regular
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OP
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,744 |
Thanks, to all who responded. I think I'm going with the brown sugar/salt route. And will use apple wood. Troy.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637 |
I mix 2 parts Brown sugar and one part rock salt. Layer it in a big plastic bowl, layer of fish skin down, layer of salt/sugar mix, fish skin up, salt/sugar, fish skin down, repeat until bowl is full, put a paper towel over it and in the fridge overnight. Take it out the next day, rinse in cold water real well. After rinsing I lay the fish out on paper towels or news paper for about one hour to dry a little, then smoke for two hours. I only smoke fish for one hour if it's going to get canned. Between the rock salt and the time that could be salty... Long-term dry brining is very hard to control IME&O. I also have found all fish should be oriented skin side down when dry brining or it will produce very uneven results. Sometimes there is an adequate pellicle in an hour, but often it takes quite a bit longer. A fan makes a huge difference... art
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637 |
Thanks, to all who responded. I think I'm going with the brown sugar/salt route. And will use apple wood. Troy. Apple is good smoke, but it can get bitter... I would suggest apple with another wood like alder, hickory, or maple... art
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,931
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,931 |
I mix 2 parts Brown sugar and one part rock salt. Layer it in a big plastic bowl, layer of fish skin down, layer of salt/sugar mix, fish skin up, salt/sugar, fish skin down, repeat until bowl is full, put a paper towel over it and in the fridge overnight. Take it out the next day, rinse in cold water real well. After rinsing I lay the fish out on paper towels or news paper for about one hour to dry a little, then smoke for two hours. I only smoke fish for one hour if it's going to get canned. Between the rock salt and the time that could be salty... Long-term dry brining is very hard to control IME&O. I also have found all fish should be oriented skin side down when dry brining or it will produce very uneven results. Sometimes there is an adequate pellicle in an hour, but often it takes quite a bit longer. A fan makes a huge difference... art If it's not rinsed real well when taken out of the brine it will be salty
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,261 Likes: 25
Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,261 Likes: 25 |
For my tastes, hickory is for meat, not fish. I prefer straight alder for salmon.
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 25,107
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 25,107 |
I've got twenty pounds or so of silver salmon I got this past summer that I want to smoke. I've got an electric smoke, but I've never smoked fish. Good fish needs nothing beyond brown sugar and non-iodized salt, 2:1. There is absolutely no point in adding nitrates and nitrites to your food... Salmon fillets cut in chunks, for silvers about 6 pieces per fillet works best for my set-up, but it is completely non-critical. Try to keep them all about the same size, though. A food grade 5-gallon plastic bucket works well for brining. I usually boil about a gallon of water and dissolve the brown sugar and salt in it to create a hypertonic solution. After boiling it gets poured into about a gallon of cold water in the brine bucket. I let this cool further while preparing the fish. Brine for about 90 minutes, stirring at least several times during the soak. Rinse VERY quickly under cold running water and arrange on smoker racks. Allow to dry until a good pellicle forms which should be dry to the touch and look a little glassy. Use lots of smoke to start and keep the temperature way down... Salmon smoking should NEVER exceed 140F, especially with silvers and kings. The oils will break through the pellicle and denature to ugly white blobs. Kings and silvers are the hardest to control because kings are super oily and silvers are very wet fish. Smoke does not need to be continuous, but heat must be fairly consistent. Smoke for an hour or two is plenty and it is easy to smoke too much. Wood makes a big difference in taste and using blends of different woods is usually better... Alder is a favorite local wood here, but lots of fruit woods, mesquite, black cherry, hickory, and maple add a lot especially in small doses. How much B sugar and salt per gallon do you use for your brine?
“Life is life and fun is fun, but it's all so quiet when the goldfish die.”
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637 |
For my tastes, hickory is for meat, not fish. I prefer straight alder for salmon. Yeah right! Show me a straight alder! Tried to make a joke about a straight "alder" boy and gave up for obvious reasons!
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637 |
"How much B sugar and salt per gallon do you use for your brine?"
I usually use about 3 cups brown sugar or so and half that for salt... But that ends up in 2 gallons of water and does about 30-35# of salmon.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,697
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,697 |
I use a wet brine. 2 gal of distilled water, 3 cups dark brown sugar, 1-1.25 cups of non iodized salt and 1 cup of dark molasses. Prior to placing the fish in the brine I wash in a solution of lemon juice and water, rinse with clean water and then into the brine. Now that we have refridgeration, I back off on the salt, although it is still required to mix with the proteins to make the pellicule. pete p.s. Art, I ate a jar of the silver. again very tasty...Thanks
'Often mistaken, never in doubt'
'Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge' Darwin
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Joined: Dec 2003
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Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 86,261 Likes: 25 |
For my tastes, hickory is for meat, not fish. I prefer straight alder for salmon. Yeah right! Show me a straight alder! Tried to make a joke about a straight "alder" boy and gave up for obvious reasons! You're really reaching.
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637 |
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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