1ST COLD SMOKED SALMON

[goliath]

Well i ventured into the unknown and pulled the trigger on some cold smoked salmon. i live in salmon country BUT the cold smoked variety is usually a European sort of delicacy more than a northern redneck.... all the lodges up here have a "secret" recipe....  LOL. as i have enough European friends and alot of buddies that have guided at the lodges i took what i thought was a combo of the best of the best for my tastes and gave it a go.

as my bride is from Austria she enjoys Lox and i have acquired a taste for it also. still not too fancy on the real wet stuff but enjoy the rich, smoke flavor. our way of eating it is what we call a Fritz-wich. met a German chef years back (Fritzy) and he introduced me to actually being able to stomach LOX. make an open faced canned salmon sandwich, as normal mixed with mayo, then put the thinly slice Lox on top and then thin  slices of red onion.... guaranteed to be the most decadent salmon sandwich you have ever tasted. if your not an onion person leave it off..

letting the stuff sit in the fridge for a few days but the sample right out of the smoker definitely passed the taste test !

this ia a spring, chinook, or for the American peeps... A KING  :0)

pics of the Fritz-wich in a few days......

heres the slabs ..

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• goliath
• Dec 15, 2013

P1010048.JPG

• goliath
• Dec 15, 2013

Fillets from a 25 pound fish so lots for the holidays...

 

[woodz]

RackRat, Greetings from FL and congrats on your salmon. I was up there working at Alcan for 2 weeks in Kitimat Sept of 2010 and got a recipe from a local for cold smoked salmon, never tried it yet though.

All I can say is wow what beautiful country! I took the ride from Kitimat to Terrace and over to Prince Rupert and loved the scenery along the Skeena River. Gorgeous!

 

[pintocrazy]

mmm salmon looks good

 

[wade]

Looks great Rackrat. Are you going to share your "secret" recipe with us...

 

 

[driedstick]

 yes recipe plz!!!!

 

[leah elisheva]

Really delicious looking!!!! Cheers! - Leah

 

[goliath]

well the recipe sounds a little salt heavy BUT for this application it was fine.

4 cups coarse salt

1 cup brown sugar

3 Tblsp black pepper

1 to 3 Tblsp dried dill (personal preference)

mix it well, put a layer in the bottom of your tub, lay the fish in skin side down. apply the cure to the fish AND DONT BE STINGY !!!!!

the next part is just trial and error experience. depending on the thickness of the fillets depends how long you let the fish stand in the fridge. minimum 12 hours for average sized salmon, sockeye, coho..

the bigger thicker fillets like what i used stayed for 24 hours in the brine. alot of liquid comes off the fish.

now rinse the fish and rinse and wash it well....then  try a little slice of the salted sushi.. as with everything if its too salty soak it in cold water for awhile.

hang or lay out with a fan to get a nice pellicle then cold smoke. alder is what most people up here use on their salmon. if you are using an AMNPS i guess you would try and get an alder based pellet. im not sure  cause i used alder chips in a Masterbuilt cold smoke generator i got from Bass Pro for $60. can burn anything in it, sawdust, chips, pellets... what ever ya have. i use and piece of 3" heating duct a couple feet long between the generator and the smoker. the only hassle is you have to fill it every 4 hours or so. i extended the hopper on it and get quite a bit longer.

this fish smoked for about 30 hours.

hope this helps ....

unlike hot smoked fish people havent seemed to add the extra spices like garlic, or onion salt etc.....

just keeping it OLD SCHOOL simple and it works fine!

 

[wade]

 
well the recipe sounds a little salt heavy BUT for this application it was fine.

4 cups coarse salt

1 cup brown sugar

3 Tblsp black pepper

1 to 3 Tblsp dried dill (personal preference)

this fish smoked for about 30 hours.

just keeping it OLD SCHOOL simple and it works fine!

Yes I agree - keeping it simple is better when cold smoking. Fresh fennel leaves/seeds also work well when they are available.

I was surprised at the salt/sugar mix as it does look salt heavy as you say and also the length of time you leave it in the salt - I usually only leave mine dry brining for only 2 to 3 hours depending on thickness. This does require longer smoking though to reduce the fillet weight by 18-20%.

Your fillets look great and I bet they taste great too. Do you have any photos of it sliced to make my mouth water even more?

 

[goliath]

well they were quite large fillets Wade. off a 25 to 30 pound spring salmon. will be slicing some on on wednesday for the FRITZ - WICH and will post some pics.

DONT DROOL TOO MUCH .... they will make ya wear a helmet ...  lol