Freezing Smoked Meats and Salmon

[Freedomeagle]

My lovely bride has decided that since I have nothing better to do during the holidays, that I should smoke meats and salmon so she can give them away as Xmas gifts to friends and the heathens that live nearby.

So the plan is for me to smoke 10 salmon, 10 pork loins and 10 chickens and she can put one of each in her lovely gift baskets that she is making. The only problem is that I don't have all that much free time to do all the smoking at one time so I will have to do it in batches.

I'm thinking of doing them in batches by category, with the salmon first. Since some will want a full sized fillet while others will want the 2" "steaks", I was thinking of letting them settle to room temperature, then wrapping the 2" steaks in saran wrap to hold the juices, put them in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to let them "harden" and then vacupacking them 2-4 to a bag.

Is this the best way or should I do something different?

I am at loss for how to do the full sized filet because it is so fragile after its smoked. Should I try to wrap it in plastic like the 'steaks', freeze it and then vacu pack or what?

For the loins, I was going to let them rest for 15-20 minutes until the temp drops to where I can handle. Then wrap in saran wrap to hold in the juices and then straight to the vacu-pack.

Am I thinking right or should I do something different?

Finally, for the chicken, I am going to smoke them whole and I have the shrink wrap BPA free poultry bags. After resting, I was going to let them get close to room temp and then just slip them in the bags and dip in water.

If I started around Dec 15 to do this, I was thinking I could just refrigerate, rather than freeze, everything but then I began worrying about a) the long salmon filets being too fragile and b) if she delivers her baskets to some who are in an office environment, they may not have refrigerator capacity to keep everything cold.

At least in my mind, I am thinking its just best to freeze everything. Am I thinking right or is there a better way to do these kinds of quantities as gifts.

Thank you everyone for your comments in advance and I hope all has a very Merry Christmas.

Regards to All,
Paul

 

[dirtsailor2003]

After cool, I put all meats, on parchment on a tray and into the freezer for an hour. Then vac pack. No other wrap or anything else. Firms up nice and vac packs good.

Confused on your comment about whole fillets being fragile s do you not leave the skin on?

 

[PerazziMx14]

Please remove

 

[gmc2003]

Personally I would forget about the chicken and the loin(unless your making CB). You can hot smoke the salmon(dip or cracker), or make lox and freeze w/o any problems. Either way you shouldn't have a problem with fragility if vacuum sealed. Nuts, cheese or sticks make a wonderful xmas basket.

Chris

 

[Freedomeagle]

After cool, I put all meats, on parchment on a tray and into the freezer for an hour. Then vac pack. No other wrap or anything else. Firms up nice and vac packs good.

Confused on your comment about whole fillets being fragile s do you not leave the skin on?

Here in Fredericksburg, its really hard to find wild caught salmon. That's about the only kind you can get 'skin on'.....and it is VERY pricey.

Thanks for your other comments

 

[Freedomeagle]

Cured smoked fish would be the easy one.

Why not switch gears a bit to make it easier:

Smoked cheese - 3 hours one evening
Smoked Summer Sausage - 1-1/2" chubs can be done in 1 day
Smoke mixed nuts - 2 hours + couple hour rest before repackaging
Jerky - 2 day soak + 1 day dry/smoke
Pickled eggs or mustard eggs - 1 hour + week to rest
Habanero peach jelly for dipping (I have a great recipe that makes a little over fourteen 1/4 pints and is easy) - 1 hour

Any or all of the above go together and would fill a basket and present nicely.

The advantage is unlike chicken or pork that will need to be used right away or frozen (vac bags are great but do not present well in a basket). The above can be used weeks/months after they are made. This time of year there is typically so much food laying around most don't need something else perishable to deal with immediately.

Perazzi, please, please, don't give my wild-eyed bride any other ideas...I've already talked to her off the ledge of lobster, smoked oysters, prime rib and a host of other crazy ideas. If I even mention some of your great ideas to her, she'll be saying "what a great idea, lets just give the whole neighborhood a basket"....lol

 

[PerazziMx14]

Please remove

 

[Freedomeagle]

OMG, I will do my best to keep her from reading your kind comments...but she really is a jewel...

 

[myownidaho]

I portion out the smoked meat once it’s cooled, put in in the vacuum bag and then into the freezer. All I have to do the next day is run it through the vacuum sealer.

 

[cmayna]

After cool, I put all meats, on parchment on a tray and into the freezer for an hour. Then vac pack. No other wrap or anything else. Firms up nice and vac packs good.

Exactly! This past weekend we processed (picked) 20 dungi crabs that we caught and I formed the cooked meat into hockey puk size discs, placed on wax paper and froze for an hour plus, then vacuum sealed. It's really important when you are working with very oily fish such as black cod (Sable), which is extremely oily. You don't want to squeeze the oils out of the meat.

 

[daveomak]

I freeze salmon hard... wrapped in plastic wrap, then vac seal... It is important to cut the vac bag open before thawing.. when thawed, the vacuum will crush the fish if you do not bread the seal...

 

[Bearcarver]

I just put things in a Vac bag with the last end open.
Then put it in the freezer for 3 or 4 hours.
Then seal the final end when there are no juices to flow to the seal.

And like Dave said, if it's something fragile cut it open before thawing.

Bear