Simple stuff, my first smoked salmon...

[Danabw]

First time doing anything w/fish. Didn't have great salmon available, but you roll with what you have.

About .8lbs in two pieces. Simple 2:1 brown sugar/salt brine for two hours, and took it to 140 internal w/apple chips.

Smells and tastes far better than I expected, and most importantly family was very happy w/the outcome. I also made some scotch oat cakes today (something I grew up eating, my grandmother's recipe) so I'd have to say it was a very good day. :D

Brined and ready to smoke.

Out of the smoker just a couple mintues, and my son and I have already eaten away the edge of the top piece. The smell was just fantastic.

Smoked salmon and scotch oat cakes. Can't get much better than that.

 

[ronf]

i bet it tasted great. Nice job.

 

[xray]

Looks good, nice job! I’m not a big salmon person but I’d definitely eat that.

Like!

 

[pushok2018]

NIce looking salmon.... and.... looks tasty!

 

[SmokinAl]

That is a big favorite around here.
And yours looks delicious!!!
Al

 

[Bearcarver]

Very Nice!!
Great Job!
Like.

Bear

 

[Danabw]

Thanks for the kind words, all! We had it at lunch yesterday and it was smiles all around. We all agreed that next time I'll try it at 210 rather than 225, to keep the salmon on the smoke just a little longer.

Would it be a bad idea to remove the skin so that all sides of the fish are open to absorbing smoke? I was thinking I can put it on a small relatively tightly spaced cooling rack I have so that the fish is fully supported, and having the skin off seems like it would allow a lot more smoke to get in. Or is that crazy talk?

 

[Bearcarver]

Thanks for the kind words, all! We had it at lunch yesterday and it was smiles all around. We all agreed that next time I'll try it at 210 rather than 225, to keep the salmon on the smoke just a little longer.

Would it be a bad idea to remove the skin so that all sides of the fish are open to absorbing smoke? I was thinking I can put it on a small relatively tightly spaced cooling rack I have so that the fish is fully supported, and having the skin off seems like it would allow a lot more smoke to get in. Or is that crazy talk?

THat's not crazy talk. I never leave the skin on when doing Salmon. I get much better smoke flavor. I start my temp low & work it up as I go to get more smoke flavor.
Here's how I do it:
Smoked Salmon

Bear

 

[Danabw]

THat's not crazy talk. I never leave the skin on when doing Salmon. I get much better smoke flavor. I start my temp low & work it up as I go to get more smoke flavor.
Here's how I do it:
Smoked Salmon
Bear

Excellent! The low start also seems exactly what I want/need to increase the smoke level. I was concerned that hickory would be a bit "too much" for salmon, but like the idea of mixing it w/apple. Will give this a try on my next salmon smoke day!

 

[Danabw]

Bearcarver - Took you at your word, removed skin for the second salmon test smoke today. Still could not get anything but Atlantic (farmed) unfortunately.

Big change from last time is that it got about 7 hours in the fridge w/the same 2:1 brown sugar/salt rub, rather than the 2 hours last time. Same as before w/the rest, apple smoke and took it to 140.

Came out looking fantastic. Unfortunately it finished just after we finished a large dinner (homemade foccia w/gnocchi w/homemade pesto) so it will be a bit before any of us is ready to dive in. ;-)

Thanks for your help!

 

[Bearcarver]

Bearcarver - Took you at your word, removed skin for the second salmon test smoke today. Still could not get anything but Atlantic (farmed) unfortunately.

Big change from last time is that it got about 7 hours in the fridge w/the same 2:1 brown sugar/salt rub, rather than the 2 hours last time. Same as before w/the rest, apple smoke and took it to 140.

Came out looking fantastic. Unfortunately it finished just after we finished a large dinner (homemade foccia w/gnocchi w/homemade pesto) so it will be a bit before any of us is ready to dive in. ;-)

Thanks for your help!

View attachment 448371

Looks Great!!
If it's lacking smoke flavor, try Hickory, instead of Apple.
Like.

Bear

 

[cmayna]

Danabw,
Looks very good just the way you did it, with the skin on. Depending on your desired amount of smoke taste of the finished product would dictate if you remove the skin. I will remove the skin for Salmon nuggets and other similar cuts, but for large pieces such as tails, filets, etc, I leave the skin on to help prevent the meat from drying out too much and to help control the amount of smoke flavor. For me when it comes to Salmon, I love it smoked but also love the flavor of the meat, especially if it's fish that the wife and I caught.

Again, good job and cheers.

 

[Danabw]

Looks Great!!
If it's lacking smoke flavor, try Hickory, instead of Apple.
Like.

Bear

Thanks! The smoke flavor on this batch was even better than the last, and it had some of the sweetness from the longer brine as well, just very nice. I was actually a little afraid of using hickory on salmon, but my family keeps saying they love more smoke flavor, so the next batch is going to be with hickory, as you say.

I was also using your MES temp swing hack this time, but in the process I've discovered that my MES remote is having some issues. Sometimes when I press the button to see the MES temp probe temperature it actually turns off the smoker! Since I'm unsure of the accuracy of that probe anyway, I've got a bluetooth multi-probe thermometer ordered so I can track both MES cook temps and ITs.

Danabw,
Looks very good just the way you did it, with the skin on. Depending on your desired amount of smoke taste of the finished product would dictate if you remove the skin. I will remove the skin for Salmon nuggets and other similar cuts, but for large pieces such as tails, filets, etc, I leave the skin on to help prevent the meat from drying out too much and to help control the amount of smoke flavor. For me when it comes to Salmon, I love it smoked but also love the flavor of the meat, especially if it's fish that the wife and I caught.

Again, good job and cheers.

Yeah, both came out very nice, with and without skin. We didn't have any drying, the salmon is very moist inside, and it did retain good salmon taste. I really want to try this w/better quality salmon, the farmed stuff always seems kind of watery to me. Must be nice to be in an area where you can actually catch your own salmon!!

 

[gary s]

Looks Great to me,

Gary

 

[Bearcarver]

Thanks! The smoke flavor on this batch was even better than the last, and it had some of the sweetness from the longer brine as well, just very nice. I was actually a little afraid of using hickory on salmon, but my family keeps saying they love more smoke flavor, so the next batch is going to be with hickory, as you say.

I was also using your MES temp swing hack this time, but in the process I've discovered that my MES remote is having some issues. Sometimes when I press the button to see the MES temp probe temperature it actually turns off the smoker! Since I'm unsure of the accuracy of that probe anyway, I've got a bluetooth multi-probe thermometer ordered so I can track both MES cook temps and ITs.

I use Hickory for just about everything, including Salmon & Bacon.
If I didn't want Smoked Fish, I wouldn't Smoke it. LOL
You'll have a better time when you get that new thermometer.
You can't trust any therms that come with their smokers.

Bear