Smoked Indian Candy (salmon)

[bodbob]

Hey all,

I just wanted to post a great method for curing/smoking salmon. I started with a beautiful skinned Costco Norwegian farmed salmon filet  of 3 lbs. I cut the filet into 2" wide strips across the grain, then used a  wet brine for 12 hours. The brine recipe was:

1/4 cup of kosher salt

1 cup of dark brown sugar

1/2 cup of grade A maple syrup

1 quart of water

I took it out of the fridge in the morning and washed each piece under cold water then placed it on drying racks after sprinkling with coarse black pepper and put a fan on it for 2 hours.

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• bodbob
• Jul 10, 2015

I brought my BGE up to 150 and used 1"X4" pieces of almond for the smoke (about 6). 

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• bodbob
• Jul 10, 2015

I was able to maintain a grill temp of around 148-156 for the first 2 hours and basted the fish with more maple syrup when it had been on 2 hours. It was smoked to an IT of  135/140 and I let the grill temp creep up to 190 during the last hour of the cook. Total cook time was 3.5 hours. I also basted the fish in maple syrup once more just before removing it from the egg.

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• bodbob
• Jul 10, 2015

I let it rest for 30 minutes before putting it back in the fridge, but I had to taste it before it went back and I gotta say this was some perfectly smoked, mouthwateringly good stuff. There was just the right amount of sweet/salt/smoke flavor for my taste, and I can't wait to make another batch!

Thanks for listening and for all the help you all offer here on SMF!

BB

 

[dirtsailor2003]

Tasty looking smoke!

 

[bodbob]

Thanks DirtSailor. Give it a try. You'll like it!

Cheers,

BB

 

[driedstick]

Vac pac some and send it to me I will try that - Looks great nice job. 

A full smoker is a happy smoker 

DS
 

 

[bodbob]

Mine will be full today. 3 racks of baby backs and Garys smoked baked beans! Grilling some chicken thighs on my gas grill too.

BB

 

[cmayna]

That looks wonderful. Good job

 

[brayhaven]

Do you know what species of salmon that was?  I usually avoid farmed fish of any type.  But the open water (pens) farmed  salmon might be worth a try.

Thanks,

Greg

 

[bodbob]

Thanks Craig. Much appreciated.

Greg,

I don't know for sure and certain. I think it was a Norwegian Atlantic farmed salmon. I read on a blog somewhere that farmed salmon had a higher fat content (which makes sense) and therefore were better for low and slow smoking, but wild caught are better for grilling for dinner. Don't know if it's true, but I bet someone on this forum does. :-)

Cheers,

BB

 

[cmayna]

Bob,
All I as well as so many others smoke is wild Salmon, mainly King (Chinook)and can assure you that it is unreal when smoked. I will say that wild Salmon like Silver (Coho) is less fattier so when you smoke it, your smoking time is typically less.

 

[bodbob]

Thanks for the feedback, Craig. I'll wait till there's a sale price on the wild and smoke some up. My wife's birthday party was last night and the 3 lbs. of salmon I smoked is gone, along with most of 20 lbs of chicken and ribs, and the whole batch of Gary's baked beans. I was gonna post a Qview but the house is a disaster area, so that will have to wait.

Cheers,

BB

 

[brayhaven]

 
Thanks Craig. Much appreciated.

Greg,

I don't know for sure and certain. I think it was a Norwegian Atlantic farmed salmon. I read on a blog somewhere that farmed salmon had a higher fat content (which makes sense) and therefore were better for low and slow smoking, but wild caught are better for grilling for dinner. Don't know if it's true, but I bet someone on this forum does. :-)

Cheers,

BB

Thanks,  I can get Pink here in FL pretty cheap frozen, but it's nothing like the good varieties we had in AK.  FWIW, I know it's not politically correct, but the indians who sold me my first "indian candy" had it marked "squaw candy".. Didn't seem at all offended. 

Greg

 

[bodbob]

No matter what  name you want to use, it's mighty good stuff!

BB