HOMEMADE LOX WITH RECIPE & STEPS, PLENTY OF Q-VIEW

[MeatCharter]

I use https://forums.egullet.org/cure-calculator/
and I don't like going over 1.65% salt.

Now if you are doing some kind of wet equilibrium cure then you want the total weight of water + meat to calculate your salt, cure #1, and sugar off of it.
I don't think you were talking an wet cure.

I dry cure my salmon in gallon bags (no water, no rinsing, or pickling salt, etc.). So I use that calculator and just use the weight of the fish since no water is involved.
I still go 1.65% salt because 2% is too salty for me and 3 % is waaaaay too salty.

Do you soak in water before smoking? You do only a two day dry cure?

What's your sugar % with 1.65% salt?

 

[tallbm]

Do you soak in water before smoking? You do only a two day dry cure?

What's your sugar % with 1.65% salt?

I do not soak in water.
I calculate the proper amounts of salt, cure#1, and sugar for a dry brin and then just toss a whole 3-4 pound salmon fillet in a 2 gallon ziplock bag and add the salt, cure#1 and sugar all on and around it in the bag and massage it around to be fairly even. I then squeeze the air out and set in the garage fridge.

The number of days is based on how thick the salmon is plus a couple of days for safety. The salt and cure #1 travels at 1/4 inch every 24 hours so a 2 inch thick fillet I let it cure for like 6 days and then into the smoker for cold smoking.


When I'm done putting smoke on it I remove it from the smoker, slice it and vac seal the slices... the ones I don't eat then :D
As simple as that!
Oh I do add orange and lemon zest or the Real Orange and Real Lemon granulated citrus to the cure for that fresh citrus flavor but you don't have to add that.

 

[MeatCharter]

I do not soak in water.
I calculate the proper amounts of salt, cure#1, and sugar for a dry brin and then just toss a whole 3-4 pound salmon fillet in a 2 gallon ziplock bag and add the salt, cure#1 and sugar all on and around it in the bag and massage it around to be fairly even. I then squeeze the air out and set in the garage fridge.

The number of days is based on how thick the salmon is plus a couple of days for safety. The salt and cure #1 travels at 1/4 inch every 24 hours so a 2 inch thick fillet I let it cure for like 6 days and then into the smoker for cold smoking.


When I'm done putting smoke on it I remove it from the smoker, slice it and vac seal the slices... the ones I don't eat then :D
As simple as that!
Oh I do add orange and lemon zest or the Real Orange and Real Lemon granulated citrus to the cure for that fresh citrus flavor but you don't have to add that.

If it travels 1/4 inch ever 24 hours and the salmon is 2 inches. Wouldn't that be an 8 day cure?

Do you put any weights on the fish or flip it during the curing period?

Unfortunately, I messed up a lot of fish. My cold smoking ran for too hot. Had some ice in my smoker, but just not enough. Going to re-do it your way.

 

[tallbm]

If it travels 1/4 inch ever 24 hours and the salmon is 2 inches. Wouldn't that be an 8 day cure?

Do you put any weights on the fish or flip it during the curing period?

Unfortunately, I messed up a lot of wish. My cold smoking ran for too hot. Had some ice in my smoker, but just not enough. Going to re-do it your way.

Good questions.

When the fish is covered in cure from ALL sides, the cure is traveling into the meat from all directions. So this means 1/4 inch top, 1/4 inch bottom, 1/4 side to side. So 1/4 inch top and 1/4 inch bottom means 1/2 total through out. In 4 days that would be 2 inches total.
Some will say that the cure doesn't travel as well or very much through the skin side but I didn't notice any issues. I feel like 8 days would do it for sure no matter what and if all the salt, cure, and sugar are measured out properly at good % levels it shouldn't get too salty.

I just put my salmon in 2 gallon bags with the air squeezed out as best I could and stacked them all on top of each other. They were each others weights. Then each day I would flip and rotate the stack. Wight and flipping solved that way :D

I hope the next go works out. This should work for you :D