Cold and hot smoked salmon

[atomicsmoke]

Smoked salmon supplies running low ...managed to squeeze some time for these sockeye fillets

_20151206_135549.JPG

• atomicsmoke
• Dec 6, 2015

Sides will make smoked lox, bellies and tails hot smoked.

_20151206_135606.JPG

• atomicsmoke
• Dec 6, 2015

Dry brined

IMG_20151206_134628.jpg

• atomicsmoke
• Dec 6, 2015

Aiming for 48h for lox. Will check/taste how firm they are.

 

[atomicsmoke]

13lb of fish.

 

[crazymoon]

AS, looks good ,keep us posted on the final product so I can salivate over the pictures!

 

[atomicsmoke]

Tails and bellies done.

IMG_20151207_212704.jpg

• atomicsmoke
• Dec 8, 2015

 

[cmayna]

Nice looking batch of snacks. Congrats.

 

[daveomak]

Looks real good to me.... Thumbs Up

 

[atomicsmoke]

Thank you fellows. Munched on those bits last night while vacpacking. And i wasn't even hungry.

BTW, I learned here to trim tails/bellies.

 

[driedstick]

Looks great,, just did 2nd batch of salmon myself

A full smoker is a happy smoker

DS
 

 

[wade]

Looks good Atomic. How do you finish your cold smoked salmon?

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I have two fillets waiting in the freezer. Going to make some smoked salmon dip for the holidays!

 

[atomicsmoke]

Looks good Atomic. How do you finish your cold smoked salmon?

By finish you mean spices on the fish before smoking?

 

[wade]

Or slicing afterwards. Or do you keep it as a steak?

 

[cmayna]

I always slice my cold smoked lox the day after smoking, then vacuum seal and freeze.

 

[atomicsmoke]

I vac-pac the entire piece (maybe cut in two if too big).

 

[daveomak]

I recommend freezing before vac packing.... then cut open the vac pack bag before thawing....

 

[wade]

Yes freezing hot smoked salmon before vac packing is a good tip as it help it to keep its shape and stops it from breaking apart. As Dave says, it is best to cut open the pack before thawing as the structure of the fish is quite delicate after hot smoking and this helps to prevent it from being crushed/crumbled as it thaws.

With cold smoked salmon though it is best vac packed before freezing (especially if it has been sliced) as it helps to natural oils to distribute more evenly throughout the fish. When cold smoking a whole salmon side the tail, being thinner, is often a little drier than the thicker parts. When sliced and vac packed together it helps to more evenly distribute the oils and ensure that all of the slices are equally succulent. When thawing cold smoked fillets or slices of salmon you no not need to open the pack first as the fish still has enough of its structure to hold together.

When cooking lightly cold smoked salmon steaks they work well as boil in the bag straight from the freezer.

 

[disco]

Fine looking salmon, Sir.

Disco

 

[atomicsmoke]

Thank you Disco. Sockeye is a treat for us Easterners. Hope one day I won't call myself that.

 

[atomicsmoke]

....and smoked lox done ...30h of smoke

_20151212_114029.JPG

• atomicsmoke
• Dec 12, 2015

 

[atomicsmoke]

Tastes nice

_20151213_195524.JPG

• atomicsmoke
• Dec 13, 2015

Ready for storage

_20151213_195433.JPG

• atomicsmoke
• Dec 13, 2015