OK I've smoked Salmon before, but never Brined it. I saw that quite a few people do, so I thought I would try it out.
Brine Ing:
2 Qts water
1/2 C kosher salt
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C real maple Syrup
1/4 C golden rum infused with Vanilla beans
Brined Skin up for 12 hrs
Basting Sauce I used 3 parts honey to 1 part water
Copper River Sockeye Salmon
Smoked over Apple wood chips this time around
Added Brine to Water Vessel
Rinsed and placed in fridge for 4 hrs to form Pellicle.
( Also Brined some Kingfish in diff Brine for Smoked Kingfish Dip )
Used honey/water for Basting Salmon:
Now, The Electric ECB grilling guidelines for Small Fillets is 3-4 hrs, so I followed that. I do know that some here suggest cooking until the fat starts to rise to the top of the fish and It flakes easily. So to me, I'm thinking it should be done by this stage after 1-1/2 hr:
Problem is, at this stage there was hardly no smoke flavor at all, I used chips near the element and did achieve TBS. And had to add more chips during smoking thus lowering the temp and temp recovery time.
However I wanted more smoke flavor so I let it continue to cook 1 more hour.
End Result:
IMO the Kingfish came out dry.... not to salty ( used different Brine recipe )
the Salmon came out dry and super Salty.
All turned out overcooked, so the moral of the story : don't rely on suggested cooking times,Dont ruin a great piece of meat. Invest in an internal meat temp gage.
TO BRINE OR NOT TO BRINE: IMO Kingfish no problem. Salmon for a supper smoke I won't do it again, to me it is to mild a fish for all that salt.
Maybe this Salmon would make a good dip!
What is the community consensus on this one? I'm curious on how many brine this type of fish. Would you brine your salmon?
Brine Ing:
2 Qts water
1/2 C kosher salt
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C real maple Syrup
1/4 C golden rum infused with Vanilla beans
Brined Skin up for 12 hrs
Basting Sauce I used 3 parts honey to 1 part water
Copper River Sockeye Salmon
Smoked over Apple wood chips this time around
Added Brine to Water Vessel
Rinsed and placed in fridge for 4 hrs to form Pellicle.
( Also Brined some Kingfish in diff Brine for Smoked Kingfish Dip )
Used honey/water for Basting Salmon:
Now, The Electric ECB grilling guidelines for Small Fillets is 3-4 hrs, so I followed that. I do know that some here suggest cooking until the fat starts to rise to the top of the fish and It flakes easily. So to me, I'm thinking it should be done by this stage after 1-1/2 hr:
Problem is, at this stage there was hardly no smoke flavor at all, I used chips near the element and did achieve TBS. And had to add more chips during smoking thus lowering the temp and temp recovery time.
However I wanted more smoke flavor so I let it continue to cook 1 more hour.
End Result:
IMO the Kingfish came out dry.... not to salty ( used different Brine recipe )
the Salmon came out dry and super Salty.
All turned out overcooked, so the moral of the story : don't rely on suggested cooking times,Dont ruin a great piece of meat. Invest in an internal meat temp gage.
TO BRINE OR NOT TO BRINE: IMO Kingfish no problem. Salmon for a supper smoke I won't do it again, to me it is to mild a fish for all that salt.
Maybe this Salmon would make a good dip!
What is the community consensus on this one? I'm curious on how many brine this type of fish. Would you brine your salmon?