Boogers

[dtjim]

why do i have boogers, ive read on here that its a sign of cooking too fast/high so why do i have big slimy boogers even at 110*F

[Keymaster]

What thermometer are you going off of? Try a different one in a different location. You need to rotate front to back top to bottom. I noticed if i don't  have a good pelicle it allows the fat to come out more and make BOOGERS, but they taste just like the salmon. :)

[dtjim]

I had a good pellicle both my redi check digital and the door thermometer were reading about 108. I  was only using the sg burner, didnt even have the main burner on. The redi check was hanging in the center of the rack. I was using two racks

[pmmpete]

At 110 degrees, I would be very surprised to get boogers on any of the kinds of fish which I've smoked.  What kind of fish were you smoking?

[dtjim]

sockeye the same thing happened to me last time also

[Keymaster]

Do you happen to have a couple pictures you could post. 110 degrees shouldn't  make the fish fat out like that. Is it all the fish or the fish closest to the heat source.

[dtjim]

no dont have any pics it was pretty much all the fish some were worse, didnt really make a difference after i rotated

[devo]

Farm salmon are full of fat if that's what you have

[dtjim]

The brand was wildcatch, the package says wild alaskan but i dont believe everything i read lol

[Salmonsmoker]

Are you letting the fish sit out after brining and rinsing to form a pellicle? You can put the pieces on racks in the fridge overnight or as I do by leaving the racked pieces of fish on the counter witha fan blowing across them. This aids with getting rid of more moisture before it even hits the smoker.

[dtjim]

ya it sat in the fridge on a rack for three hours and then two hours in front of a fan, it had a good hard pellicle

[JZ]

I get boogers on mine most of the time but I don't worry about it any more because the fish still turns out good, tastes great and is very moist. So to heck with the boogers. ;D

How does yours taste?

[Mr Walleye]

DTJim

Just out of curiosity, where are you measring the temp from?

I know you indicated the Maverick probe was in the centre of the rack but you should be measuring the temp below the lowest rack. That way you are truly measuring the temp the fish is being exposed to. You also need to keep the probe a comfortable distance from the fish.

If you are measuring the temps above the rack, the temps can be reduced dramatically at that location because of the moisture being given off the fish. This is the same for the built in thermometer.

Mike

[dtjim]

it turned out good but could be better. I used two racks one was in the second position from the top and the other in the third. The probe was hanging from number 2 rack

[devo]

Like Mike said put your probe just below the bottom rack. I use an alligator clip and clip it to the bottom of the bottom rack. The biggest thing is to rotate your racks often if you don't have a fan. Even with a fan you should rotate a couple of times because no matter what someone will tell you there will be hot spots in the smoker even with a fan. Hope this helps yo out. I have done a poop load of salmon and when I started I had Boogers also but now I can do them in my sleep  ;D