Next salmon adventure

[pacman]

As a result of the advice I got from my last posted salmon smoke, I decided to try two salmon fillets based on that advice.

Found a salmon roast that I slit down the spine and separated from the ribs. I then used some pliers to remove the remaining bones from the meat. Rubbed them in EVOO and here's where they start to differ:

Fillet #1 was made with what I like... my favorite cajun rub, plain and simple.
Fillet #2 was made with some fresh ground pepper, two crushed garlic cloves, and a couple sprinkles of kosher salt. Smoked at about 220-250 for about an hour until the internal temp was 140... Took it off and sampled the results....

MMMMMMMMMMMMM

Flavorful, tender and juicy!!! I only took a couple pieces from each because this fish was made for my fishing trip next week. Hope you like the pics!

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[t-bone tim]

Good looking fish ,great pics ....salmon is on my list for the near future !!

 

[pacman]

I hate to plug my own thread, but it seems my next attempt at smoking salmon became buried by the weekend posts. I put a lot of energy into this post and (although I don't wanna sound like a cry-baby) think it deserves to be reviewed and critiqued. I read this post now and it sounds like I am a whiner, but I still think this got buried... sorry if I'm just whining!

 

[ga.roadhog]

I am not much of a Salmon eater, unless its sushi (love all that), but those do look really good. I can say I've not tried smoked salmon so maybe it's time to try that. I noticed your pics don't show using a plank. What exactly does the plank do? Pros... Cons...

 

[gofish]

I wouldnt bother using a plank if your smoking it. I believe the plank is more for grilling it and trying to get some cedar flavor to the fish from your grill. Try using maple, apple or alder woods on your salmon when smoking....... you wont need a plank.

 

[ga.roadhog]

Thanks Gofish. I really like apple so I may have to give that a try.

 

[gypsyseagod]

what gofish said- planks are more for grilling. i lost the addy but ya can google cooking planks & get them in almost any wood. salmon is a bit strong for me(unless it caught going down stream which i believe is illegal now). but i like halibut cheek steaks smoked-along w/ any blue water fish.great post & pics. i give it

.

 

[pacman]

Thanks, gypsyseagod. Your opinion means a lot... I only wish you could taste the results!!!!

 

[crewdawg52]

Agree 100%! Alder, apple, and cherry are excellent for smoking fish, especially salmon!

 

[navionjim]

I noticed your pics don't show using a plank. What exactly does the plank do? Pros... Cons...[/quote]

Forgive me because I don't want to pontificate more than I should, but I'm going to wade in here again on yet another Salmon smoking issue.

This is all something I grew up with being raised in the Pacific Northwest and working for many years in Alaska as well. Salmon served as my introduction to both fishing and smoking anything, so while I don't mean to sound like a know it all because I hate to sound pompous, I do know allot about it just because I grew up there and have seen this done many times at numerous Indian Ceremony's.
(Powwows for all you white eyes out there)

Plank smoking is a tradition among the Pacific Northwest Indian tribes, from the Siletz to the Nez Pierce, it has nothing to do with sticking a fish on a piece of wood on a charcoal grill. The time honored method of plank smoking is simple and is performed as follows:

The salmon is cut into fillets and seasoned according to taste, then each fillet is lashed to the squared off end of a pointed cedar plank about six feet long. Many planks are prepared this way with half of a fish on each one. A large alder wood fire is built and allowed to burn to smoking coals, then the planks are set into the ground in a circle around the coals at about a 15-20 degree angle with the fish held about four to five feet above the coals and slightly angled over the fire pit. It is then left to slowly smoke for several hours. This method is used to cook many fish rather than just one or two. The fire pit can be twenty feet long or so with a hundred or more planks around it. The fish are started early in the day so they will be ready for the evening festivities. Salmon can also be fully smoked using this method and kept for consumption over the winter months, but at least among the tribe I grew up around, long-house smoking was more commonly used for that purpose.

If you ever have the opportunity to try a salmon cooked this way you will be amazed at the taste resulting from what is essentially a very simple and hands-off way to prepare a large quantity of fish. It's hardly worth doing this for anything less than twenty people when more common smoking method can be employed for lesser amounts of product. But the ceremony and tradition that accompanies salmon prepared this way for a large gathering adds a special energy in itself.