My first LOX

[FishBus67]

I've had my original Bradley for a few years now. I've great results smoking ribs, chicken & sausage.
Also hot smoking Salmon with good results as well. Well I got the bug to try cold smoking!! I made the
cardboard box/ vent tubing method so the smoke is cold before it enters the Bradley. The temp only got to
65 degrees. I followed SpyGuys recipe except I was concerned about the amount of salt the recipe called for,
so I used more brown sugar. After all the brining was done ( dry & wet), air dry for 1 hour, I put in the the
smoker for 2.5 hrs with 5 pucks of Alder. I admit I should have used more salt, but the finished product seems to be
like cheese with a ashy taste to it. I vac bagged it and froze most of it. I will wait 2 weeks and try some then. I hope
it will mellow in that time. Just wondering if any smokeheads out there tried Spyguys recipe for Lox and what kind of result
you had  :-\

[mikeradio]

I have made spyguys lox 3 times, I have found the same with the smoke flavor, it needs to sit a couple of days to mellow out.  Usually the salmon is firm but like a velvet like texture.  I know it seems like a lot of salt but it works, make sure you freshen the salmon to remove the salt taste.

Mike

[Hopefull Romantic]

I agree with Mike on the salt issue and I would think you would need a long drying period. I usually dry the salmon for 3 - 4 hours with an fan running nearby to for the pellicle.

HR

[Caneyscud]

I have also made it three times, but have not run into the ashy taste, but then again, I have been making and eating "dirty" barbecue and grilled stuff for years and maybe, that is what I prefer. 

[FishBus67]

Thanks Guys for the advice!! I'll let the Salmon air dry more next time. Plus I'll follow Spyguy's recipe without adjustments.
The Salmon I bought was from Costco. I bought the Atlantic one ( I know "farm raised" ) not my first choice.  I prefer Wild Pacific
King Salmon. Costco also had some nice Steelhead from Chile? Looked fairly red and good sized fillets, but was farmed as well  ???
I'm hoping California will let us have a Ocean Salmon season in 2010, that why I'll take my boat out and catch some hogs!  ;D