Smoked Salmon

[pier2pier]

A friend of mine talked me into going salmon fishing with him last week. I bought some waders and some gear and eventually even caught one. I smoked a few pieces today. Here are the before and after shots.

IMG_20130927_100424_157.jpg

• pier2pier
• Oct 6, 2013

IMG_20131006_160415_716.jpg

• pier2pier
• Oct 6, 2013

 

[rdknb]

Nice very nice

 

[pier2pier]

Thanks! There was a 4th piece but it didn't make it to the picture.

 

[mike johnson]

That's a nice lookin fish and even better when smoked. Good job!!!

 

[s2k9k]

That's some Great looking fish!!!.........before and after!!!!!!

 

[frosty]

Spectacular!  Both the before and after look great!

 

[millerk0486]

Great looking catch! How did you smoke it? I have only cold smoked trout before. My buddy has been asking me to try and and smoke a salmon, but I don't know what temp, how long and what wood to use.

 

[smokeusum]

Oh, I'm drooling!!! Love smoking salmon!

 

[smokeusum]

Great looking catch! How did you smoke it? I have only cold smoked trout before. My buddy has been asking me to try and and smoke a salmon, but I don't know what temp, how long and what wood to use.

Hot smoking or cold smoking - the two are very different. I hot smoke salmon, and by hot, I don't mean grilling, maybe it is best referred to as heat smoking because it's still a lower temp, and comparatively it's a much shorter smoke.

To me, at least, cold smoking creates a jerky type salmon, it's got a very long shelf life, and has a limited application.

A heat smoked salmon is buttery, smooth and can replace any protein for any meal. It's great heated up, or eaten straight out of the fridge. Pair it with a side of eggs in the morning, on a salad at lunch, as the main dish for dinner... It's a winner winner Salmon dinner!!!

 

[mfreel]

What's the recipe?  How'd you smoke it? 

 

[kettleq]

Very nice!!

 

[Bearcarver]

Nice Job!!!

The before looks exactly like my Son catches at Pulaski, NY, and the after looks the same as the pieces that come out of my smoker.

You gotta catch more next time & stock up!!

Thanks for sharing,

Bear

 

[cmayna]

Nice looking fish you got there and a very nice way to serve it - smoked.

Millerk0486 & mfreel,

If you do a search, you will find many different smoked Salmon recipes with wet brines, dry brines,  combo's of both, etc.   Most commonly used wood for Salmon is Alder and Apple.

 

[millerk0486]

Smokeusum and Cmayna, thank you for the input. I actually have some Alder wood I've been wanting to try out. Now I know what I'm cooking with it! Thanks again!

 

[pier2pier]

 
What's the recipe?  How'd you smoke it? 

Sorry Guys,  I didn't realize I should follow up on my posts more often.

I made a brine from water, kosher salt, brown sugar and a garlic clove chopped up fine and let it set over night. I rinsed off the meat and patted dry with a paper towel and I let them sit out for a little while.  I remember someone talking about letting the meat dry a bit to let the leftover brine develop a film but I'm not sure if I picked that tip up here or from a buddy of mine.  Anyway, I drizzled a little bit of maple syrup on top for good measure and set my smoker as low as I could.  I put some water and apple juice in the pan.  I used hickory chunks as that's what I had.  About 3 hours later, it was ready to go.

 

[wade]

Hot smoking or cold smoking - the two are very different....

To me, at least, cold smoking creates a jerky type salmon, it's got a very long shelf life, and has a limited application.

A heat smoked salmon is buttery, smooth and can replace any protein for any meal. It's great heated up, or eaten straight out of the fridge. Pair it with a side of eggs in the morning, on a salad at lunch, as the main dish for dinner... It's a winner winner Salmon dinner!!!

Cold smoking is certainly different to hot smoking however with cold smoking the end result will differ depend on the amount of water that you remove from the fish during the curing and smoking process. If you reduce the fish weight by 18-20% then you will end up with the traditional smoked salmon that often gets eaten in bagels with cream cheese. If you only reduce the weight by 10-12% then you end up with a firm fleshed fillet that has the deep mellow smokey salmon flavour with a texture close to tuna steak. In the UK these are called "lightly smoked salmon fillets" and a commercial (and in my opinion, inferior) version can be found on most fish counters over here. These are not usually eaten raw but are cooked for a short time before eating.

They are juicy and tender too and like your description of hot smoked salmon fillets "Pair it with a side of eggs in the morning, on a salad at lunch, as the main dish for dinner... It's a winner winner Salmon dinner!!!" 

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/140785/smoked-fish-fillets-salmon-cod-and-haddock-q-view

 

[leah elisheva]

Holy wow! That's a hell of a beautiful fish you have there! DELICIOUS!!!!!!!! Cheers! - Leah