smoked salmon

[chrish]

I smoked these 2 weeks ago turned out really good.

 

[smokincowboy]

never had smoked fish... looks good

 

[chrish]

you should try smoked salmon then, you would love it

 

[az_redneck]

Did you skin them before you smoked them or did you smoke them whole? Also, did you brine them first?

 

[teacup13]

he smoked them whole, butterflied them, looks like he turned them upside down, but you dont have to when you smoke fish

from my experience... nope you leave the skin on, just fillet them... you can dry brine them(rub in Q terms) - or wet brine, i prefer to rub them....

when you are ready to smoke, you let them set on a counter/table with a fan blowing on them to set up the pellicle... i smoke them with apple or maple or a mix of both

b4 i eat, i peel the skin off - scrape the dark meat that was close to the skin - that is the lateral line where alot of the contaminates are(as well as the belly fat), that is also IMO where the fishy taste in fish come from... remove that and no fishy taste

 

[gypsyseagod]

just a heads up- a lot of people don't know this, but that "lateral" line is actually a fish's kidney/bloodline- fished all my life & just learned that from a marine biologist last year.when filleting -45deg that line out & for smoking (salmon or florida black mullet) skin the side & lay back flat- gut the fish & place 2 hot stones in the cavity & close or wrap w/ bacon...

 

[t-bone tim]

Bump/////Chrish...we need some more info on this post ????thanks T-bone

 

[teacup13]

what info do you yah need? you are from N.B., you should be a smoking pro..lol (j/k)

i have been smoking fish in Ontario for about 20 years now...damn i didnt realize how long i had been until i actually counted the years...yikes..lol

 

[packrat]

So is all salmon cold smoked? I know you can bake salmon in the oven, so would it be fine to just smoke it at 225 with the rest of my meat? Adjust the cooking time up to 2 hours maybe?

 

[teacup13]

i do it both ways... i prefer hot smoking it because it actually cooks it and the fish still gets smoke in the meat

so in answer to your question, yes you can smoke it with your other meat, just got to watch it is all...

 

[bbq bubba]

Do some salmon fishin in the fall and usually smoke most of it! simple brine (with lotsa lemon and dill) and smoked on my ECB till it flaked nicely, but now Teacup's gotta go run his mouth and give me more ideas

As always, your knowledge blows me away

like to know your dry rub for salmon if ya care to share.........TY in advance

 

[coz]

YUP its about that time!We went fishing last Saturday at Racine,WI.Although we didnt get any Kings for the smoker we did fill out our limits with my favorite for the grill Coho!I prefer wet brining my salmon.Also usually doing big enough batches to fill the smoker.I prefer to run the smoker at 170 or so as I really like to load up on the smoke.Alder when I can get it or else cherry or apple.

 

[packrat]

Do I need to brine it, or can I simply season it lightly and place it on the smoker?

 

[coz]

If you make sure it is cooked you can just season it and put it in justy make sure that you cook it enuff.I think the brining process pulls the seasonings thru the flesh more for a richer flavor that isall the way thru .

 

[teacup13]

i know all about the salmon runs...grew up in sault ste marie,on... love the kings and the pinks...also love the smelt runs in the spring

my basic dry brine for fish

3 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup salt(not table salt)
2 TBLS garlic powder
1 1/2 TBLS onion powder
1 1/2 TBLS fresh cracked black pepper
1 TBLS Italian Seasoning (rubbed to bring out essential oils)
1 1/2 TBLS lemon pepper (i use salt free)
sometimes i add dill if i feel like it or lemon zest...all depends on the mood i am feeling that day

mix together, lay fish in glass baking pan, rub the fish, add another layer of fish, rub again...repeat

i brine mine for a minimum 18 hours for salmon, couple of hours b4 i start my smoker, i take the fish out of container, rinse lightly..i leave a little brine on it.... place on my smoker racks in front of a blowing fan to set up pellicle....

put in smoker...smoke with apple,maple,cherry or a combo of all or have even smoked them with peach and alder

side note:
when you pull fish out of brine you will notice that there is a lot of liquid, this is normal as the salt has taken out some of the water in the fish... discard the liquid, it is not usuable again...

 

[teacup13]

congrats on your catches...

i use to prefer wet brining as well... then found out, that i get better flavor in the fish when i dry brine it... most of wet brine ends up being water or water based IMO

 

[chrish]

oh heck forgot about this post or i just didnt see it. where to begen?

whole not skined and brined for 2 days, (the brine is from Hi-Mountian jurky) since its brined and cured with nitrates im not trying to cook it really and theres no need too but the temp is around 190-120 for about 6 hrs and thats a guide line now, but ill have it under a heavy hickory smoke but go for a cold smoke if you can.

brine or dry rub? brine will penatrate better then a dry rub sorry teacup

but id like to try your rub sometime tho.

anyone thats had smoked fish will know the difference from baked and smoked, cold smoked is best, does fish with your dry rub need to be baked? does it include any curing agents so it can be smoked or cold smoked?

 

[teacup13]

i type a long response to you here...but my internet took a crap on me...here is the basic version of it...

the meat is only a couple of inches thick at most, when you dry brine, it draws the moisture from the fish, causing the liquid from the fish to come to the surface, mixing with you other ingredients, you have to make sure that you rotate your fish, or it wont penatrate as well....

long b4 i ever heard of Q, i was smoking fish...my maiden voyage was a lake trout and some rainbow... i borrowed a friends lil chief smoker, january in northern ontario canada, yes i was cold smoking..lol

i personally dont cold smoke fish because you can get the same flavor from a hot smoked fish as a cold smoked one without having to cook it again....now a days, it is all about flavor not about preservation like it was before there was cold storage

here read this page....
http://www.3men.com/allabout.htm

 

[chrish]

My ISP does that to me every 10-15 min its like a dropped call no responce from them at all.

anyway i orderd 2 salmon from fairway Sat and ill pick them up WED, I'll brine them and smoke them friday night.
id try your rub but ill try that with fish i catch down at the river, catfish,bass, small carp, Drum (white Bass) when fishing last night but the river is up too high.
well with my GOSM i have to prop the door open to get 175 deg so its not really a cold smoke like it would be in a bradly smoker.
i find smoked fish a delicacy eating as a small chunk or on crackers.

 

[chrish]

the brine i use is from Hi-mountain jerky and its basicly salt,pepper,nitrates,sugers,maple flavor so your main flavor is going to be the wood smoke, a rub will ad alot more flavor to the fish and thats why im thinking its more of a main corse for supper way of doing it.

now ive smoked catfish for an hour and then pan fried them, they wernt brined in any way just added flavor and had that as a meal.