Springs are very fatty and I have a lot of trouble with curd forming. After brining and drying my fish I refrigerate overnight and smoke the next morning. The temp. I smoke at is 180 degrees. Can anybody tell me the correct temp. to prevent curdforming. Should I smoke longer at for ex. 120 degrees and then use the oven to bring the temp. up to 160 degrees. Has anybody a better method? Please reply//
Welcome to the Forum,
Check our Kummocks salmon smoking method:
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=107.0
It's a favorite around here and he does address the curd problem and how to avoid it.
Hope this helps,
CArolyn
Yes, follow Kummok's method and you will go a long way towards keeping the "boogers" to a minimum.
I think there are two other factors. The first is whether the fish has been previously frozen and gives off a lot of water in spite of the brine time. The second is how delicately the fish was cleaned. If the flesh is broken when the pin bones (or other bones) are removed, I find boogers are inevitable.
Although the crud isn't overly attractive, it doesn't bother the taste.
Enjoy!
Rich
I also find smoking with lower temperature helps with curds
After a good glaze has formed from air drying start the smoking at a lower temp and slowly raise the temp during smoking in small stages. Do look at Kummoks recipe. You can also gently wipe the fat off during smoking but be carful not to tear the fish apart.
Hommerson, where are you located?
Rich