Hello All:
I made that word up...
I am interested in your suggestions on how to "pre-dry" salmon before smoking. While waiting for the pellicle to form, I used to be able to make enough room in the fridge to fill the (little) Chief. Now that I have the much larger capacity Bradley, and I have learned about stacking the trays to get 8 in the smoker instead of 4, my limiting factor has become lack of space to "pre-dry" the fish. I have thought about building a frame and covering it with window screening, which would work in the colder months up her in Metro Vancouver, but I am not sure I want to leave fish outside here in September/October when salmon is the most plentiful (cheap!) here.
Does anyone have a solution to this space problem, short of getting another fridge?
Thanks!
I have done the air drying on the counter with a fan on several of the Salmon Smokes I have done.
I have also used additional racks inverted to layer them in the Fridge. I accidentally ordered too many spare racks so I could do 12 racks of jerky at one time. The extra 6 racks come in handy for such occasions.
Many moons ago a member here, Smokehouse Rob, produced a carrying rack for such a situation. Can't find a picture, they were probably lost when the forum underwent a major modification a few years ago but this is what he produced.
http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=604.0
I was lucky enough to win one here on the forum and they are great. Pretty sure they aren't in production anymore, Olds would probably be the one to put me right on that score?
Perhaps a money making opportunity for someone? ;)
Thanks guys,
I appreciate the feedback. The rack sounds like just the thing, but it wouldn't fit in my fridge...
4 racks inverted in the fridge take up a lot of room, and even though my wife loves the results, I am definitely pushing her boundaries when I do that. I need to find another solution.
Do you see a problem leaving the fish outside with a fan to speed the process at 8-12 deg C (sorry, I don't know the Fahrenheit) for a few hours?
He also made a mini-carrying/drying rack for the refrigerator. I was fortunate to purchase one, prior to them being discontinued. It will hold four racks of salmon, and will fit in my refrigerator, after adjusting a self. After removing the plastic end protectors, I occasionally will use it in my oven to dehydrate vegetables, and meat.
If I get a chance I will post a picture of it later today.
I am from the Vancouver area and if you do not ave an extra fridge, ie beer fridge, or if it is full of other food like mine ??? I just set the racks up in the basement with a fan blowing over them. I find that if I get up early and set up my racks and the fan I can have the fish in the smoker by noon no problem. Never had a problem with bugs as long as the fan is blowing across the salmon ;D. Now I just have to get another fridge for doing brines etc.....
8°C = 46.4°F 12°C = 53.6°F
When I had my smoking business on the Hudson River I was smoking roughly 1200 lb. of Shad a day. I never dried them inside a refrig., always outside in the shade. A big no no was to put a fan on them to speed the drying, you can actually dry the flesh. All you want to do is remove the outside moisture. If it was too windy I would block the wind. Those temps. that your quoting are perfect for outside. If your concerned about insects drape cheese cloth over them.
Is my mind losing it or has the rest (another page or two) of this thread disappeared ?????? ??? ???
Yep sure looks like it.
Guess if you stray off subject the boss high jacks it.
We were discussing drying racks, shad fishing and the Fish Market
The forum had a problem today. Lost the meat section of the forum. In order to get that section back online, apparently lost some of the most recent posts.
KyNola
Ahhhh the joy of network administration! Another reason for early retirement! Hopefully Brian still has his hair and tublackdogs had his plans for racks "mentalized" before the digi-stuff went hasta la bye bye! If not, TBD, let me know and I'll re-post pics.......
Gotta love technology :o
Yup, I "mentalized" the images. I was thinking along your plans, Kummok. I am thinking I will not use any screen, as I am fairly certain that a fan will keep the flies and yellow jackets off the flesh, and it may restrict air circulation. Great tip about watching out for the flesh to "over-dry".
Brian: I had gone to the Bradley site, but I couldn't find the propane frame listed anywhere. I assume it can be ordered as a "spare part" directly from customer service. I just need the part number. Seems like the easiest solution - not sure about the cheapest ;)
Kinda off topic: what about brining large qtys.? While it doesn't create the same space issues as the drying process, it is still problematic. I was planning on using a large cooler with ice contained in plastic so that as it melts, it doesn't dilute the brine. -I think I read about that here- any thoughts on that?
Geez, I'm getting excited about all the smoking I will be doing this fall!
Thanks for all the tips!!!
Quote from: Kummok on March 05, 2009, 07:58:14 PM
Ahhhh the joy of network administration! Another reason for early retirement! Hopefully Brian still has his hair
Kummok after yesterday the hair is almost gone ;D
Quote from: tublackdogs on March 05, 2009, 09:41:41 PM
Brian: I had gone to the Bradley site, but I couldn't find the propane frame listed anywhere. I assume it can be ordered as a "spare part" directly from customer service. I just need the part number. Seems like the easiest solution - not sure about the cheapest ;)
Tublackdogs
Yes they are spare parts I will get the part numbers you will need and post them later on today
Brian
Not to worry Brian...bald guys catch more fish!! ;)
Tublackdogs.... your question about brining is covered in the post at: http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=107.0 Here's an excerpt: "Soak in your own brine recipe for 12 hours at refrigerator temps (I use an Igloo type ice chest with about a gallon of ice thrown in). For more complete brining throughout, place a stainless steel or wooden grate over the top of the meat to hold it under the brine. Stir fish a few times during the brining process." Keep on Sssssmoooookin' !!
Tublackdogs
Here are the parts you will need from the propane smoker
Part Code Description
PS BOTT TRAY Bottom Tray (out of stock)
PS DRIP TRAY Drip Tray (different than V shaped tray)
PS FOOD RACK Wire Racks (different than reg wire racks)
PS SIDE SUPP Side supports
PS TOP TRUSS Top truss
Drip Bowl (any bowl will work)
Drip Tray ( took from my smoker)
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f171/1smokie43/DryingRack.jpg)
Here is a Picture of mine nice and clean (not used much) ;D
Brian
Now that's what I call clean.
And if you double the racks and invert them over the four that are the right side up you can double your surface area.
Are those racks not the same as the OBS/DBS racks ?
Quote from: FLBentRider on March 06, 2009, 04:51:46 PM
Are those racks not the same as the OBS/DBS racks ?
FLB
No they are not the same as the OBS/DBS
If you look close at the pic you will see on the side they have a turn down on each end to keep them from slipping out.
The other racks will fit they just slide out if you move it to quickly.
The drip tray is also different it has holes it each corner to lock it to the frame.
Brian
From the pic, it looks like you could use the inverted rack but the top inverted tray sliding out would be a concern. I'll post the pics again so you can see how Smokehouse Rob made his tray "locks" with a bent SS wire that extends down from top to bottom to hold all trays from sliding out. Can't see in Brian's pic what's under the vented drip pan so don't know if/how the SS wire would clamp onto a lower bracket???
Bigger question is whether the propane racks, with their little locking loops, will work in the regular OBS/DBS Bradley box...it'd be an inconvenience to have to pellicle on the propane racks than move to the OBS/DBS racks for smoking. If they don't, I reckon that you could order the structure w/o racks and just use your existing OBS/DBS racks with the above mentioned home made SS wire locks.
I really like the looks of the base for rigidity but don't have one so don't know if it's non-marring for use on "scratchable" kitchen counter tops??
Marketing note to Brian....is Bradley interested in making SS drying racks? Seems like they'd sell...I bought one for each of my 3 OBSs from Smokehouse Rob via Kirk and have a "gifted" fourth just cuz I helped SR with the design. They are indispensable for salmon smoking of more than four trays at a time.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v728/Kummok/th_Glazed700.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v728/Kummok/?action=view¤t=Glazed700.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v728/Kummok/th_137-3726_IMG_2.jpg) (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v728/Kummok/?action=view¤t=137-3726_IMG_2.jpg)
Quote from: Kummok on March 06, 2009, 10:56:53 PM
Can't see in Brian's pic what's under the vented drip pan so don't know if/how the SS wire would clamp onto a lower bracket???
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f171/1smokie43/IMG_0406.jpg)
Here is a side view
Quote from: Kummok on March 06, 2009, 10:56:53 PM
Bigger question is whether the propane racks, with their little locking loops, will work in the regular OBS/DBS Bradley box...it'd be an inconvenience to have to pellicle on the propane racks than move to the OBS/DBS racks for smoking. If they don't, I reckon that you could order the structure w/o racks and just use your existing OBS/DBS racks with the above mentioned home made SS wire locks.
(http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f171/1smokie43/IMG_0408.jpg)
The Propane racks are slightly smaller i have used them in my DBS just need to center them in the smoker.
In the picture the propane rack is inverted on top of an original rack. The propane is about 1/4" smaller.
Quote from: Kummok on March 06, 2009, 10:56:53 PM
I really like the looks of the base for rigidity but don't have one so don't know if it's non-marring for use on "scratchable" kitchen counter tops??
There is no rubber feet or anything like that on the bottom so i would be careful there, I guess you could glue some felt on the bottom.
Quote from: Kummok on March 06, 2009, 10:56:53 PM
Marketing note to Brian....is Bradley interested in making SS drying racks? Seems like they'd sell...I bought one for each of my 3 OBSs from Smokehouse Rob via Kirk and have a "gifted" fourth just cuz I helped SR with the design. They are indispensable for salmon smoking of more than four trays at a time.....
I will pass this along to our R&D department thanks.
That same member also made a refrigerator drying rack. It will fit in my refrigerator, after I adjust one self. I occasionally will use it in my oven to dehydrate fruits, vegetables and jerky.
It's 11 3/4 inches high; 15 inches wide, and 10 inches deep. Because of the flash it hard to see that it holds four racks.
(http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/Formatted/th_Refig_Rack.jpg) (http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y174/Formatted/Refig_Rack.jpg) Click to enlarge.
Sure wish Smokehouse Rob was still around selling these!! Does yours have the dimensions to do the inverted rack double up trick and still have room for product on the inverted rack Habs? Your pic shows very clearly, the SS wire "rack stop"....for those that don't have one of SR's racks, those stops actually just snap into place making them removable....
I wish he was around also. Whatever problem(s) he had I hope he worked everything out for the better.
The wire "rack stop" (one on each side), was a great idea. If the stops were not added the racks could easily slip off while you are carrying it. With the refrigerator rack, if you use all four self brackets you can not invert and double the racks. Also the spaces between the brackets are not the same. I can't recall all the discussions back then, but he did that after lengthy discussions with members on this board.
The greatest space is between the bottom bracket and the second from the bottom. The smallest space is between the top bracket and the third from the bottom. I find you can use all four racks with air drying salmon and other fish, jerky, ribs, and other items that are 1.5 inches thick or less. For chicken parts I find I can use three racks, because most of the time the space between the third and top brackets are not quite wide enough.
When I bought mine, I also purchased 4 trays. When I have a cook out, I will use the trays to carry appetizers. It cuts down on a trip of two. :)
Thanks for all the tips!
Brian: the part numbers are a great help!
It occurs to me that that I am going to have to settle for drying outside, so I think the easiest thing to do would be to simply use the frame and rack from my DBS and then I can transfer it directly to the smoker when the drying process is done. I will just have to make some kind of ss clip to stop the trays from sliding out during transport.
I've got a few months to think on it..... :-\
QuoteI wish he was around also. Whatever problem(s) he had I hope he worked everything out for the better.
Second that HS, notice he has been active Feb 09 so he is still keeping an eye on us! ;) :)
Those racks of his are really useful.
I sure hope so ManX! If yer out there lurkin' SR, we miss ya's and hope all's okay. Know that your racks are getting a workout up here and standin' up like the day they were made!! Hope to hear from you, friend!
Anyone have detail photos of Smokehouse Rob drying racks? If required, I can host the photos on my domain server.. I have 200G of space.
I'm in the process of drying my salmon and my wife isn't to pleased with the smell. It's been 9 hours and still no pellicling. I should youtube the word pellicling to see if there is anything to learn.
What kind of detail do you need, Mcalpin1? Glad to take pics for you if you need more detail than is already posted......
I LOVE salmon but have to agree with your wife....the pellicling stage is kinda pukey to smell. I didn't check to see where you are located geographically but unless you're in the tropics, you should see some drying results starting in 9 hours. Do you have fan on the product? High Speed? Cool, dry, and LOTs of air circulation are a pellicler's (another new word?? ;) ) best friends!
YouTube has lots of stuff (where DO people get the time for some of that junk?!?!?) but I'd be surprised to find video of "pellicling"...that'd be right up there with grass growing, stalactite forming, and phonebook editing ;) ;)