Lox

[sawhorseray]

I'm making my first attempt at lox using Smokin' Al's recipe, it looks great and foolproof. Well, it was foolproof until a minute ago when I opened the container and found the two salmon fillets swimming in what was supposed to be a dry brine. It appears the gallon Ziploc bag of ice I put on the board on top of the fillets didn't hold seal, so not a perfect start for me. Now I'm going with the 90 minute ice water bath after rinsing and then will dry the fillets off and place on a wire rack in the container, back in the fridge till tomorrow mornings 4-hours smoke with apple in the A-Maze-N smoke tube. I'm really hoping I didn't screw up $50 worth of fish right off the bat, only time will tell. RAY

 

[gmc2003]

Not sure how long you've had it brining, but are you sure the liquid is from the ice and not the moisture being drawn out of the fish? Sorry I don't remember Al's method.

Chris

 

[tropics]

I think after smoking it should be sent to me for proper inspection,I am willing to do my part in keeping you safe.
Richie
Owe Ship it overnight express please

 

[chef jimmyj]

I made Gravlax a few years ago. Packed in 2 parts Sugar, 1 part Salt and a bunch of Fresh Dill. The single fillet put out close to a 1/2 Cup of liquid in 48 hours. It got nicely firm...JJ

 

[sawhorseray]

I had it brining for 48 hours as directed. The bag was pretty empty by that time, tho there were still some ice cubes floating around, it was a lot of water, way more than would have come from the fillets just dry brining. The fillets were nice and firm, thanks for bringing that up Jimmy, I have no idea what to look for this being my first lox effort. Now the fillets have been in the fridge on a wire rack and I'm going to get up early and go for the smoke with the A-Maze-N tube. Then that's another thing I overlooked! I bought two tubes, one came filled with pellets, I have no idea what kind of pellets they are. I went to Home Depot and the only apple pellets they had were a 20 pound bag for $20. I have 7-8 bags of apple wood chips for smoking bacon in the garage, I don't need a bag of pellets stored that I'd hardly ever have any use for, so I'm just going to go with the pellets that came in the tube. I'm usually pretty good at following direction and now I'm starting to feel I'm screwing this up by the number. This is Al's step by step, I'm blowing the whole thing, maybe it'll work out, who knows. RAY

Salmon Lox (revised recipe 12-10-16)

1. Start with 2 Salmon filets, skinned & dry. We get ours at Sam’s Club.
2. Trim the belly & tail off so you have two pieces with uniform thickness shaped like a rectangle & weighing about 5 lbs. total. Also cut the brown fat out that runs the length of the salmon on the skin side
3. To 1 gallon of water add 2 cu. of pickling salt. Put salmon in a food safe plastic container and add salt water & enough ice to cool the salmon down to under 40 degrees for 30 minutes.
4. Mix up 1 tsp. cure #1, 1 ½ cu. kosher salt, 1 ½ cu. raw sugar, 2 tbsp. white pepper. If you don’t have 5 lbs of filets then adjust the cure amount to what you have.
5. Zest 1 orange & 1 lemon. Mix zest with the cure mixture.
6. Remove salmon from salt water & dry off. Dry out the container. Put the filets in the container & coat both sides with the cure mixture. Use all the cure mixture, making sure both sides are coated well.
7. Place a board, ( I use a bamboo cutting board that is the same size as the container ), on top of the filets. Then take a 1 gallon zip lock bag & fill it with ice cubes & put that on top of the board to weigh it down. Put a cover on the container & place it in the fridge for 48 hours.
8. After 48 hours, remove the salmon and rinse them off. Then soak them in ice water for 90 minutes. Remove from ice water & dry off. Then put them on a cooling rack in the container, put the lid on the container and put it in the fridge. Let them dry in the fridge for 18 to 24 hours.
9. Remove from fridge & cold smoke with light smoke for 4 hours, making sure the salmon never gets above 90 degrees IT. You may need to put a pan full of ice in the smoker to keep the temp down. I like apple pellets the best for salmon. Now I fill the Amazen 12” tube & put it in the firebox of my Lang. This time, however I used dust in my Weber kettle. Remember too much smoke is worse than too little.
10. After smoking put them back in the fridge on a cooling rack in a covered container for 24 hours.
11. After the 24 hours they are ready to be sliced. Slice them very thin at a 45 degree angle to make wider slices.
12. As an extra precaution I vacuum pack the slices in ½ lb. batches & put them in a freezer set at -4 degrees for 7 days. This will kill any parasites that may be present. This is probably overkill, but why take a chance.

 

[sawhorseray]

Well it's two in the morning, 56º outside, and the fillets are in the SQ36 with the A-Maze-N smoke tube doing it's thing. Hope this works! RAY

 

[SmokinAl]

Good luck!
Were the fillets nice & firm after drying them out?
Al

 

[sawhorseray]

Yes Al, they were dry and firm. I'll pull them off if another half hour, then back into the fridge covered on a wire rack. After 24 hours in the fridge I'm wondering if I can cut them in three pieces then vac-seal and freeze? RAY

 

[chef jimmyj]

With Everything Bagels, a schmear of Cream Cheese, some shaved Sweet Onion and a few Capers, there would be none to freeze...JJ

 

[sawhorseray]

They came out looking pretty nice! I'm going to cut the fillets into thirds or quarters and vac-seal them for a week in the freezer before eating any, I like to do my gambling in a casino. I had a pain in one of my replaced hips so we took a little trip to the ER, turned out to be nothing concerning. Now it's just waiting around for the Niner game! RAY

 

[SmokinAl]

Sounds like a plan, I usually slice mine & put them in 6 oz. portions then vac seal & freeze them. 6 oz. is the perfect size for one big bagel. After reading this I'm going to have to defrost 1 pack for lunch today!
Al

 

[sawhorseray]

Mrs. I Can't Wait Gimme Some Now had me slice a couple of test pieces and the results came back a huge success! My wife, who has NEVER eaten a steak or a pork rib in her entire life, has had a lot of lox and says this is as good as it gets. My kudos to Smokin' Al for a great recipe, this is a keeper I'll use again and again. The smoke the A-Maze-N tube put out was, well, amazing! I'm gonna get some apple pellets and see what else is out there to cold smoke, now's the time of year for me. Cheese comes to mind. RAY

 

[sawhorseray]

Yesterday we passed this place a couple miles from home

http://www.buongiornobagelsandcafe.com/

Well that was it for waiting until Sunday. The DW said to thaw a pack of lox and we'll head over there. The owner turned out to be a great guy and we talked extensively about meat smoking and lox. He said they used to smoke their own lox until the health department had them jumping thru so many hoops it wasn't worth the time and hassle. At first bite Jan said "perfect, absolutely delicious", best she's had in years. Now she wants me to get ready to do another load of lox, happy wife, happy life. Great recipe and step by step Smokin' Al, thanks again for your help. RAY

 

[SmokinAl]

Yesterday we passed this place a couple miles from home

http://www.buongiornobagelsandcafe.com/

Well that was it for waiting until Sunday. The DW said to thaw a pack of lox and we'll head over there. The owner turned out to be a great guy and we talked extensively about meat smoking and lox. He said they used to smoke their own lox until the health department had them jumping thru so many hoops it wasn't worth the time and hassle. At first bite Jan said "perfect, absolutely delicious", best she's had in years. Now she wants me to get ready to do another load of lox, happy wife, happy life. Great recipe and step by step Smokin' Al, thanks again for your help. RAYView attachment 410022

Your very welcome Ray!
I'm glad you like the recipe!
Al

 

[jcam222]

That looks delicious. I haven’t had lox in ages.

 

[SmokinAl]

It's very easy to make & it's much better than store bought or any deli lox.
I guess I would have to go to New York to Katz's deli to taste the best lox, but I have a neighbor who has been all over the world & he loves lox & he has been to Katz's . He said mine is the best he has ever tasted. But maybe he's just saying that cause he knows when I make it I give him a big bag of it.
Al

 

[sawhorseray]

My wife and I agree with your neighbor Al, your recipe is the best! I'm off to Safeway to get some Lawry's Seasoning Salt, did a search and am going to try Chile's pork rub on some baby backs in the SQ36 today. RAY