Just plain Salmon???

[smoke_chef]

So, I have my salmon chilling in the fridge waiting for a brine, then a smoke. I have all the ingredients for Dutchâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s maple glaze. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m thinking Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m all set to smoke my first salmon tomorrow. THEN, my wife says she wants half the salmon cooked with nothing, “just fish and smoke … plain salmonâ€. Will that even work??? It seems like it would dry out. Would I skip the brine too on that half? Any thoughts?

 

[decepticron]

It will work but not very well. The salmon will taste like you cooked it over a fire, that's it . A little salt goes a long way in making anything taste good even without any other spices. If you want natural smoked salmon a salt brine and smoke is all you need. Me , I prefer indian candy or lox.

 

[vulcan75001]

Smoke
Here is a thread I started awhile ago...should answer your questions...have qview thru out the thread...hope this helps ya...

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ead.php?t=1147

 

[richtee]

That would be a waste of good salmon. Salt is needed, or in some cases- required for health reasons. A cold/cool smoked salmon MUST be brined. And hot smoking without salt... ugh. You can lessen the amount, but adding after is NOT the same. The salt helps draw moisture out before smoking, making a firmer product, not a puddle of mush. And no pepper or lemon?

Well, it's your fish...and wife... ;{)

 

[smoke_chef]

Vulcan,

Thanks for posting that thread. That was perfect! It answered both my questions. I had searched for "Salmon" but that was too broad of a search I guess. Also, I hadn't got to the equipment section that is just about thermometers in this site yet. Honestly, I just threw that question in as an after thought. I wouldn't have guessed there was so much information on the topic. I guess I should have known though. There is tons of information about everything that involves smoking here. Plus, some things that have nothing to do with smoking.

Richtee,

Once again, thanks for chiming in with great advice too. You'll be glad to know that after reading Vulcan's thread and talking it over with the wife, she's looking forward to the garlic, pepper and dill seasoning. She just didn't want a "sweat" fish. Personally, I'm looking forward to Dutch's glaze. So... half one way and half the other.

I can't wait to get my smoke on!!! Q-View coming soon.

THANKS!!!

P.S. I look forward to the day when I can be a "giver" and not just a "taker" on this site.

 

[richtee]

I don't like sweet anything...LOL! Well desserts...and coffee. My rub recipe has 1 tablespoon brown sugar per CUP...heh.

Onion powder is good on the salmon too. And thin sliced red onion and lemon wedges to top it- chilled.

http://[URL=http://www.putfile.com/...file.com/thumb/12/34611532229.jpg[/img][/URL]
wow...I see King is on sale for $7 Lb. here today Hmmmm :{)

 

[gt2003]

I actually did salmon twice this past weekend. Very simple, I sprinkled it lightly with lemon pepper then, while cooking, brushed with butter every 1/2 hour. Total cook time about 1 1/2 hours at 250. I put the salmon on the far end of the smoker away from the pit. Here's are a few pics, the 1st 3 are the salmon on Saturday, the last one is the one from Sunday. All turned out with a nice smoke flavor and were very moist. Good luck and post some q-views. Thanks, Greg

 

[decepticron]

I like sweet salmon, Indian Candy. First i make a dry rub. 4/1 mix brown sugar to salt with coarse black pepper (eyeball) and some grated ginger and garlic (fresh). I cut slits top to bottom on the fillet about 1 1/2 inches apart and gently rub mixture onto the fish and into the cracks. Put fillets meat to meat and skin to skin (meat to skin leaves fishy flavour) and wait. The mixture will become almost a syrop from the water that comes out of the fish. The dryer you want it the longer you leave it. When you are ready to smoke wash off fillets leaving lots of pepper and garlic then place in the smoker. After a few hours I Baste with 1cup honey 1 cup mollases 1 1/2 shots jack daniels. Let her smoke till the whole mess is sticky and fairly hard to the touch. I use a smoker at about 190 for this so it takes quite a long time usually 12 hours but in the end you get a gooey sweet jerky like salmon.

 

[smoke_chef]

The overall smoke didn't go like a planned but if success is measured only by the end product then my first attempt at smoking salmon was a success. I prepared it two ways. The two smaller pieces got McCormick's Garlic Pepper blend and some dill weed. The larger (but thinner) piece got Dutch's Maple Salmon Glaze. I didn't do the glaze right at all! But it still tasted good. My day was hectic to say the least which cut into my smoking time. I didn't get to put the fish in the smoker when I had hoped. I didn't get to make the glaze when I had hoped. The fish wasn't done when I had hoped. BUT... the tasted was better than I could have possibly hoped for. My wife went on and on about it. She said she thought it was a $50 meal. (that should help pave the way for future smoking expenses

) Thanks to everyone who gave me advice on what to do and what not to do. I will certainly be smoking salmon again. I think I can do even better next time.

 

[gt2003]

Great job (rep given)! It definitely looks like it was a success. That salmon looks delicious. Keep up the good work!

 

[smoke_chef]

Thanks. It was a lot of fun but several things went wrong. Mainly cook time. I had to finish the last 20 minutes in the over at 350 to get the temp to 140. I'll play with the smoker and get better at tending the fire and that problem will be solved. I look forward to many more smokes.

 

[jerkyaddict]

look's like ya did pretty darn good there

sorry you had so much stress
but if the wife liked it......then it had to be worth eatin !!! the only food critics that mater are the one's you feed