Perfection. Why tinker??

[locomotiveman]

My Smoked Salmon is THE best sez my friends. Simplest Recipe from right here. Dry Salt n Dark Brown Sugar for 5/hrs. Rinse. Dry it overnight then hot smoke. Done. QUESTION: What is gained by adding all sorts of various spices and wet brines etc.?? Used for a ‘spread’? Some cultures like exotic flavors?? Keeps better??

 

[SmokinEdge]

Variety is the spice of life.

 

[locomotiveman]

Variety is the spice of life.

I s’pose. Some salmon peepul bring to parties just doesn’t cut... at all. I wonder why.

 

[noboundaries]

If you ever figure out the "don't tinker with perfection" formula, bottle it and sell it here.

 

[forktender]

The Salmon you describe as perfection sounds awful bland to me.
Don't take this the wrong way please, if you and your friends like it that's all that counts.
I've been to parties where people are raving about the smoked Salmon, and it tasted under seasoned and bland to me.

 

[Inscrutable]

Variety is the spice of life.

^^^This^^^

We don’t necessarily tinker to make something ‘better’ but to experiment to create something ‘different’. In a direct pair-wise comparison, sometimes we like it more, sometimes we like it less. But we learn something and have a little fun.

 

[daveomak]

May I suggest adding cure#1 to any fish you smoke... Botulism seems to be getting more prevalent, in salmon, these days......

 

[zwiller]

As resident SMF devil's advocate, feedback from friends is generally biased. They might just enjoy free food. That said, fresh smoked salmon prepared in any fashion is generally tasty stuff. I think you are onto something however and that simplicity IS the path to perfection. To me, there are different schools of thought with fish (and ALL BBQ) and there are 2 main groups. First group wants prominent meat flavor and the other want to mute it. I am with daveomak with the use of cure but admit it is more for flavor but added safety is a bonus.

 

[locomotiveman]

My Smoked Salmon is THE best sez my friends. Simplest Recipe from right here. Dry Salt n Dark Brown Sugar for 5/hrs. Rinse. Dry it overnight then hot smoke. Done. QUESTION: What is gained by adding all sorts of various spices and wet brines etc.?? Used for a ‘spread’? Some cultures like exotic flavors?? Keeps better??

I suspect 2 preferences, RUB vs MEAT flavor schools of thought maybe is why some want Salmon ‘straight up’.. others want it more spiced up. But some versions I encounter at fancy-pants events and conventions seem to be closer to Steamed Salmon dipped in Liquid Smoke, ie. No pellicle, no color, no taste. (Some smoked salmon just plain misses the mark sez the local Bartenders and I always wonder what was done to screw it up).

 

[cmayna]

To the OP, we all have different tastes. You and your friends are use to your Salmon. To others, it might be too bland, too dry, too whatever. It's just what you have grown up with. We can't expect to please everyone.

As long as I can take care of my family, neighbors and fellow fishing buddies with some smoked fish, I'm happy.

 

[SmokinAl]

If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. I have my hot salmon & cold smoked lox recipe’s that everybody around here loves. So I just keep them the same. It took a lot of experimenting to get them just right.
Al

 

[locomotiveman]

As resident SMF devil's advocate, feedback from friends is generally biased. They might just enjoy free food. That said, fresh smoked salmon prepared in any fashion is generally tasty stuff. I think you are onto something however and that simplicity IS the path to perfection. To me, there are different schools of thought with fish (and ALL BBQ) and there are 2 main groups. First group wants prominent meat flavor and the other want to mute it. I am with daveomak with the use of cure but admit it is more for flavor but added safety is a bonus.

Agreed. (This FORUM has a member who posts his Pics of HotSmokeTails n Chunks’ & does a black pepper w/diluted honey glaze. THAT is what my friends always want. All of em. $Free$ Beer for me so I don’t dare change what works. Ha!!