Mr T's "Smoked Salmon From Go to Show" w/Q-View

[smoker22]

Mr. T, thanks for the feedback.  I hope to be smoking this weekend.

 

[leah elisheva]

That's so incredible! Wow! Looks terrific! Cheers! - Leah

 

[j 2the w]

I want to try your method out, it looks great.  I have a question though, should I season the salmon before or after the pellicle is formed?  Do you have any suggestions of what I could season the salmon with before I smoke it?

Thanks

 

[mr t 59874]

 
I want to try your method out, it looks great.  I have a question though, should I season the salmon before or after the pellicle is formed?  Do you have any suggestions of what I could season the salmon with before I smoke it?

Thanks

No need to season.  After removing it from the brine, give it a quick rinse, pat dry, place on racks and air dry (preferably with a fan) to form pellicle.  Try it without any extra seasoning the first time.  You may not want to season at all afterwards.

Let us know how you like it.

Tom

 

[mr t 59874]

Recipe typo correction.

While curing King and Coho salmon, I noticed a typo in the weight of the curing salt in the recipe.  The weight used should be 3.0 oz. instead of 5.1 oz. All other info is correct including the 80% salinity.

Hope this did not cause any problems.

Tom

 

[pcmyers23]

Smoked salmon for the first time following this guide and it is fantastic stuff. I doubled the brine and shorted the cayenne bc I didnt want it to turn out too spicy. Follow his brine, it'll be even better next time when it has a little kick to it. Only 'mistake' I made. Things said around the table were "I like it more with every bite I take" and "I'd order that in a restaurant!" Really was pretty easy to do and it turned out great.

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• pcmyers23
• Mar 23, 2015

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• pcmyers23
• Mar 23, 2015

Thanks for all the help and the guide Mr. T!

 

[mr t 59874]

 
Smoked salmon for the first time following this guide and it is fantastic stuff. Really was pretty easy to do and it turned out great.

Thanks for all the help and the guide Mr. T!

Glad you enjoyed.  Curious as to what kind of salmon you used?  Have you had a chance to try it cold?

T

 

[pcmyers23]

I was mostly staring at the prices..$9/lb-$14lb but I believe it was Atlantic farm raised. After trying this I'll be more willing to spend a little extra next time to see if it tastes better. Its definitely better cold, just ate it hot because I had some people come over to taste test as it came off the smoker.

Next time Im asked to 'cater' someones party this will be included in the appetizers along with the smoked cheese and homemade butter your other "From Go to Show" threads helped me make.

 

[fishmonger]

I took a 10 lb. King Salmon out of my freezer this morning (caught last week in L Huron) and have been doing a lot of reading, I am going to try this recipe, I will start a new thread for my smoke, tried some fresh Lake Trout last week (different recipe) and it turned out great, didn't last long once the family, friends and neighbors got a wiff.

Smoke em if you got em

 

[tootall87]

Question. I'm looking for a salmon recipe that will be served cold. Texture I'm looking for is the flacky dryer meat that is put on crackers with a spread for an appetizer? Is this that kind of recipe? Very new to smoking fish and want to give it a try. Thanks!

 

[mr t 59874]

 
Question. I'm looking for a salmon recipe that will be served cold. Texture I'm looking for is the flacky dryer meat that is put on crackers with a spread for an appetizer? Is this that kind of recipe? Very new to smoking fish and want to give it a try. Thanks.

This will work perfectly for you.

Enjoy,

Tom

 

[tootall87]

With a little guidance from Mr T I enjoyed some amazing salmon yesterday. Per his recipe I brined the salmon for 18 hours over night. Quick rinse, pat and air dry for about 2 hours. Smoked over apple for about an hour. Hot damn those babys were good! Thanks for you help Mr T!

Tim

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• tootall87
• May 26, 2015

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• tootall87
• May 26, 2015

 

[mr t 59874]

The Salmon does look good, glad you enjoyed.

Tom

 

[thatcho]

Mr. T I was wanting to do some fish with a maple wet cure i purchased from Waltons. I currently brine all my fish with a recipe from this site. I am just seeking your thoughts

 

[mr t 59874]

Mr. T I was wanting to do some fish with a maple wet cure i purchased from Waltons. I currently brine all my fish with a recipe from this site. I am just seeking your thoughts

When using a manufactured cure of any kind, use, as recommended by the manufacturer as the % salinity, is a known.  Use caution when using recipes that do not reveal the % salinity even though they may be popular.  I have tested some that do not meet minimum standards for cured fish.  I would further recommend purchasing a salometer for your wet brines.  They can be purchased for under $15 and then all the guess work is eliminated.

Let us know how you liked it.

Tom

 

[pitcom]

After reading this thread I decided to give this recipe a try. I refrigerated the salmon ( 2.66 lbs CR sockeye) in the brine for about 16 hours overnight. After drying, I placed the salmon in my bluestar oven and turned on the convection fan. It worked great, after about 2 hours there was a great pellicle on each piece.  I used pecan and cherry wood in my electric master built.

I decided to glaze half of the pieces with grade b maple syrup. All in all it only took 40 minutes at 200F to achieve an IT of 140F. The pieces were not much thicker than your pinky finger. I turned down the smoker temp to 150 and they stayed there for another 30 minutes. The fish came out perfect. The texture was just right and moisture content was ideal. Of course I had to eat a couple of pieces while they were hot.

My impressions - The fish had good flavor. Although the thinner pieces were just way too salty for my liking. The first piece I tried was very thin, and i thought the batch was going to be ruined. However, the thicker pieces were much better. I was quite surprised by the saltiness because I brine turkey, lamb and chicken all the time but those are larger thicker pieces of meat. Next time I will need to find a thicker filet of salmon or adjust the salt level to my preference. The cherry and pecan smoke imparted a nice flavor and I really enjoyed it. The maple glazed pieces almost gave the fish a sweet/sour effect. Both glazed and unglazed were worth it and I would not hesitate to point anyone to this recipe.

 

[murraysmokin]

Just did this this weekend...spot on those who tried it loved it. Some cold beers along with this salmon were a big hit on Friday. Thanks for sharing your awesome recipe, will be making more soon.

 

[sb59]

 
My impressions - The fish had good flavor. Although the thinner pieces were just way too salty for my liking. The first piece I tried was very thin, and i thought the batch was going to be ruined. However, the thicker pieces were much better. I was quite surprised by the saltiness because I brine turkey, lamb and chicken all the time but those are larger thicker pieces of meat. Next time I will need to find a thicker fillet of salmon or adjust the salt level to my preference. The cherry and pecan smoke imparted a nice flavor and I really enjoyed it. The maple glazed pieces almost gave the fish a sweet/sour effect. Both glazed and unglazed were worth it and I would not hesitate to point anyone to this recipe.

I always package & freeze like size pieces for the freezer until I get enough for smoking. Small whole fish separated according to size. Large fish I fillet freeze tail sections together, separate belly sections for another pack & finally the larger loin sections together. I 1st wrap in saran wrap & then vacuum pack in a larger vacuum bag. Then when I get another fish I can cut the seal on the bag if necessary & and the new pieces wrap in saran & reseal & freeze. Just add new dates to the bag. This way brine & smoke times are the same for all pieces. You don't need to remove thinner pieces from brine or open smoker to remove. Fish caught & frozen this way within a month or 2 of each other have no noticeable flavor or texture diff. that I or family can discern.

 

[mr t 59874]

Just did this this weekend...spot on those who tried it loved it. Some cold beers along with this salmon were a big hit on Friday. Thanks for sharing your awesome recipe, will be making more soon.

My pleasure, glad you enjoyed.

T

 

[driedstick]

MR, T I owe a guy a bet that I lost and he wants some smoked salmon and I am going to try this, during the week, How long will this stay vac pac'd in the fridge??  No freezing, I am going to try to get 6lbs or so, and cut into chunks. 

DS