Final Smoked Salmon with recipe, instructions, and Qview

[SonnyE]

OK Bear, the clock is running, 3 pounds of Plastic Salmon filet's are in our fridge in one of Mama's larger plastic bowls W/ lid.
The ice didn't all melt yet, but it will.
3 pounds was my whole bag, and I only had the one bag that followed me around the store begging me to take it home. ;) LOL!

While I was waiting for the Salmon to thaw, I went out and smushed up 3 Bradley Alder pucks and staged them in the AMNPS. Each puck is supposed to be 20 minutes in the Bradley puck pooper, but it never burned a puck perfectly. Always dropped the puck in the pan, blackened but not finished. I ran the pan dry so the puck pooper's plopped pucks could perfectly burn into a puck pile of perfectly piled ash.
But the 3 pucks piled into a 4 hour row of relatively packed pile of puck pooper pilferage. Pant, pant, pant....

I'm hoping for a milder smoke result... I might go and blend apple chips into the puck pooper pilferage to do my first ever blended wood pyre in any of the smoking's I've enjoyed in my dayz.
Well, about 5.5 hours left in the brineing. Poop!

I vill be bach! You have until tomorrow to steer me towards using Hickory pellet fuel, and away from my puck pooper pilferage and apple chip confection.

As Jackie Gleason use to say, "And awaaay we go!" :D

_________________________________________________
Smokerday...
So loaded up and torched the AMNPS. Sputter, sputter... :( Wound up dumping the fuel after an hour of messing with it. Loaded half-full rows with hickory pellets, the piled the pulverized puck pooper Alder over the hickory fuse. Smoke...finally. And steady good smelling smoke.
Running through the temperature profile with probes in the thickest, and a medium thickness filet's, two racks. Heavies bottom, mediums middlin.
Studying Sous Vide methods for my Salmon. I'm getting hungry.
At 160, the medium was at 140. Bumped to 180 and don't expect to need any higher settings.

And done! Oh! So perfect Bear! My thickest reached 158, I pulled because I didn't want to over-do it and go into the dry zone.
So I brought it in, and in spreading it, I broke off some slender ends. Of course, I just had to taste them...:oops: Big mistake. I made lunch out of one of the pieces.
I took pictures. But I devoured 1/8 of my finished Salmon. (1 piece out of the 8)

So moist and delicious! Warm out of the smoker!

Excellent recipe! I wondered if the wet brineing would be too wet, but not so, it came out perfect to my tastes.

It's almost time to refrigerate for overnight, then vacuum bag for Sous Vide meals.

Outstanding! Thank You for sharing your recipe!:D

From the Shore's of Sam's Club...




Sorry. Grandpa was hungry.


And of course my little Buddy got some tastes.
He said Delicious too.

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks Awesome, Sonny!! :)

Glad it worked good for you too!!

 

[cmayna]

Sonny,
Looks great! I'm dying to try another Salmon filet recipe and Bear's recipe sure looks like it's the way to go.

 

[johnmeyer]

I have followed Bear's steps, substituting my own marinade, and have had great results.

One thing in a recent post intrigues me: sous vide. I never thought of combing that with smoking the salmon. It seems to me you could get the salmon to a temp that absolutely makes it safe, without the one month freezing step, and then transfer to the smoker and keep smoking for hours and hours to get it as smoky as you want.

Bear is now a sous vide expert, so perhaps he has some thoughts on this.

 

[SonnyE]

Sonny,
Looks great! I'm dying to try another Salmon filet recipe and Bear's recipe sure looks like it's the way to go.

Bears recipe sure worked great for me. Plus, it used ingredients I have on hand.
My plan is a little dill and vacuum seal it, then try some Sous Vide.
(I use to take my Plastic Salmon and put it in boiling water to poach it in the bag. I didn't know there was a name for it.)

Bears Recipe came out wonderful for me.
Note that I pulled it at 158° on the thickest piece. If I can trust my thermometer... :rolleyes:;)
I'm betting the Sous Vide will make sure I'm safe. :)

 

[SonnyE]

I have followed Bear's steps, substituting my own marinade, and have had great results.

One thing in a recent post intrigues me: sous vide. I never thought of combing that with smoking the salmon. It seems to me you could get the salmon to a temp that absolutely makes it safe, without the one month freezing step, and then transfer to the smoker and keep smoking for hours and hours to get it as smoky as you want.

Bear is now a sous vide expert, so perhaps he has some thoughts on this.

I'm doin the smoke then Sous Vide. I've also smoked hamburger, then dehydrated it into GB Jerky at 165°
But leathality temperatures get reached, so I'm not worried.
But the smoke in mine goes in up front. It would be interesting to hear how your method works out John. :D

 

[Bearcarver]

I have followed Bear's steps, substituting my own marinade, and have had great results.

One thing in a recent post intrigues me: sous vide. I never thought of combing that with smoking the salmon. It seems to me you could get the salmon to a temp that absolutely makes it safe, without the one month freezing step, and then transfer to the smoker and keep smoking for hours and hours to get it as smoky as you want.

Bear is now a sous vide expert, so perhaps he has some thoughts on this.

I've done a little Salmon in my Sous Vide to get it all to a safe Temp.
However that has nothing to do with Freezing for proper times & Temps to eliminate Parasites.
It's either cooking to 160° or freezing that eliminates Parasites.

Bear

 

[cmayna]

Thinking of doing two small batches of Salmon and Rock Cod using same brine in two different containers. Then let them smoke together.........as buddies do.

 

[SonnyE]

I've done a little Salmon in my Sous Vide to get it all to a safe Temp.
However that has nothing to do with Freezing for proper times & Temps to eliminate Parasites.
It's either cooking to 160° or freezing that eliminates Parasites.

Bear

I did get 161°. But don't trust my thermometer.
I don't trust any thermometer until I've proofed it.
Electrical engineers write tolerance specifications, like accuracy to +/- 2% or such.
So I apply that to other things, like a thermometer.
And mine are far too cheap to be expected to be accurate. So I use them as a rule of thumb.
If it burns my thumb, well, it's pretty danged hot! LOL! :eek:

 

[SonnyE]

Thinking of doing two small batches of Salmon and Rock Cod using same brine in two different containers. Then let them smoke together.........as buddies do.

Cod is another of my favorite fish. Never smoked any before, but I like it's flavor.
I need to look in the search function for smoked Cod. :rolleyes:

 

[johnmeyer]

I did get 161°. But don't trust my thermometer.
I don't trust any thermometer until I've proofed it.
Electrical engineers write tolerance specifications, like accuracy to +/- 2% or such.
So I apply that to other things, like a thermometer.
And mine are far too cheap to be expected to be accurate. So I use them as a rule of thumb.
If it burns my thumb, well, it's pretty danged hot! LOL! :eek:

I am not only an engineer, but I spent the early part of my career working at one of Hewlett-Packard's test & measurement divisions. I learned a lot about various things related to measurements which includes not only accuracy, but precision, resolution, and sensitivity.

You are correct that any measuring instrument, in order to be accurate, has to be calibrated against a standard. Without getting "windy" and giving you a five page discourse on accuracy, the main thing you need to do, when figuring out whether you can trust your thermometer, is to do the ice water/boiling water tests. This is pretty simple, but there are actually a few things you need to know in order to do it right. I describe those things here:

Thermometer Calibration

But what about all the temperatures in between 32 and 212? Well, the neat thing about modern thermometers is they use solid state technology that is pretty much guaranteed to be linear. What does that mean? It means that if the two endpoints (the freezing and boiling temperatures) are set correctly, the physics of how the sensor works will pretty much guarantee that the in between temps will be very, very close to accurate, certainly plenty good enough for the rather simple requirements of BBQ. Even for something like sous vide, which requires extremely accurate temperature measurements and control, it will be good enough.

Finally, I am a big fan of the Thermapen. Yes, it is expensive, but for that price, you get a unit that is individually calibrated at the factory, traceable to NBS, meaning that you can trace the calibration back to the National Bureau of Standards and be assured that you are really measuring the temperature you think you are measuring.

Having said all that, as many people have said, for most BBQ things, while the thermometer is useful, the real test is feeling and prodding the food itself, in order to determine doneness.

 

[Bearcarver]

Thinking of doing two small batches of Salmon and Rock Cod using same brine in two different containers. Then let them smoke together.........as buddies do.

So the Salmon & Cod will be hanging around, Smoking & Joking??

Bear

 

[SonnyE]

So the Salmon & Cod will be hanging around, Smoking & Joking??

Bear

...and drinking up your beer?

 

[forkin pork]

Hi Bear, tried your salmon brine today.
Brined a nice 1-1/4 lb salmon for 6 hrs.
Didn't smoke my fish this time, just grilled and my wife and I really enjoyed it and will use it again.
Thanks

 

[SonnyE]

I am not only an engineer, but I spent the early part of my career working at one of Hewlett-Packard's test & measurement divisions. I learned a lot about various things related to measurements which includes not only accuracy, but precision, resolution, and sensitivity.

You are correct that any measuring instrument, in order to be accurate, has to be calibrated against a standard. Without getting "windy" and giving you a five page discourse on accuracy, the main thing you need to do, when figuring out whether you can trust your thermometer, is to do the ice water/boiling water tests. This is pretty simple, but there are actually a few things you need to know in order to do it right. I describe those things here:

Thermometer Calibration

But what about all the temperatures in between 32 and 212? Well, the neat thing about modern thermometers is they use solid state technology that is pretty much guaranteed to be linear. What does that mean? It means that if the two endpoints (the freezing and boiling temperatures) are set correctly, the physics of how the sensor works will pretty much guarantee that the in between temps will be very, very close to accurate, certainly plenty good enough for the rather simple requirements of BBQ. Even for something like sous vide, which requires extremely accurate temperature measurements and control, it will be good enough.

Finally, I am a big fan of the Thermapen. Yes, it is expensive, but for that price, you get a unit that is individually calibrated at the factory, traceable to NBS, meaning that you can trace the calibration back to the National Bureau of Standards and be assured that you are really measuring the temperature you think you are measuring.

Having said all that, as many people have said, for most BBQ things, while the thermometer is useful, the real test is feeling and prodding the food itself, in order to determine doneness.

But John, you did give a 5 paragraph dissertation... :confused: LOL!
At my home, at my Altitude, water boils at 209. So I can't expect 212°.
And for some odd reason, a pan filled with ice and water stalled at 39-40 degrees.
Anyway, I just choose safety in numbers. Right now I'm trying out Sous Vide for my dog's chicken.
So I'm also comparing my thermometers.
Multitasking... ;):D

 

[cmayna]

Cod is another of my favorite fish. Never smoked any before, but I like it's flavor.
I need to look in the search function for smoked Cod. :rolleyes:

SonnyE,
Not knowing which cod you normally consume, I can say that Ling Cod is much oilier than Rock Cod. So when you smoke it, plan to spend more time smoking ling vs Rock. I bring a lot of smoked cod, cream cheese and crackers, on our cod fishing trips. Everyone woof's it down.

But back to this thread's original subject, I'm looking forward in trying Bear's recipe for it will be something different than what I've been doing for so long. Maybe I won't fall asleep while torching up the pellets, etc.

 

[Bearcarver]

Hi Bear, tried your salmon brine today.
Brined a nice 1-1/4 lb salmon for 6 hrs.
Didn't smoke my fish this time, just grilled and my wife and I really enjoyed it and will use it again.
Thanks

That's Great, FP !!
GaryS does it too, without smoking. It's still good, but you guys gotta try smoking it too---It's so much better!

Bear

 

[SonnyE]

SonnyE,
Not knowing which cod you normally consume, I can say that Ling Cod is much oilier than Rock Cod. So when you smoke it, plan to spend more time smoking ling vs Rock. I bring a lot of smoked cod, cream cheese and crackers, on our cod fishing trips. Everyone woof's it down.

But back to this thread's original subject, I'm looking forward in trying Bear's recipe for it will be something different than what I've been doing for so long. Maybe I won't fall asleep while torching up the pellets, etc.

I have no idea other than it is Plastic Cod, Atlantic I think. Been a long time since I bought any.
I'm not much of connoisseur. I like sea food, I see food, I eat it.
But I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut Bear's recipe would work great for a lot, if not all fish.

 

[Bearcarver]

I have no idea other than it is Plastic Cod, Atlantic I think. Been a long time since I bought any.
I'm not much of connoisseur. I like sea food, I see food, I eat it.
But I'd bet a dollar to a doughnut Bear's recipe would work great for a lot, if not all fish.

Been awhile, but I used it on Salmon, Tuna, Trout, Tilapia, Crappie, Perch, Striped Bass, and Flounder.
Worked Great for all of them.

Bear

 

[forkin pork]

Oh I will be trying it in the smoker for sure, and I still had some extra bring unused so I used it on two thick port chop and grilled them. We thought that with a bit of seasoning adjustment we'd have another winner.