Hi, I just put my first batch of king salmon in the smoker. When reviewing the times and temps to shoot for all I seen at the end was "170 degrees for 1-2 hours till done". How do I know when it's done? I have my maverick in one of the bigger pieces can I use that as an indicator? What temp should I be looking for?
Thanks and I'll post pics as I take them.
Just put into the smoker.
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh46/pensrock/salmon1.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh46/pensrock/salmon2.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh46/pensrock/salmon3.jpg)
When you hit stage 3 and raise that temperature to 170 degrees, you just have to trust that after an hour or two, the salmon will be done. It just is. As soon as my smoker hits 170, I give the fish an hour from that point and then try a sampler (usually a larger one and on the upper rack). If it pulls apart like cooked fish, I consider it done and figure the rest must be done too.
Pensrock,
Looking at the photos and being some what jealous of the load of salmon I noticed the location of your temp cables. You might want to run the Maverick temp cables down the vent opening rather through the door opening to keep from damaging the door seal. I've made Kummok's salmon before and it is fantastic. Carter is right on with the time thing and the doneness test.
John
I just went out to rotate the racks front to back and top to bottom. I smoked for 1 hour 40 minutes using Alder and am 2 hours into the 140 degree heating phase. When I opened the door I was shocked to see water everywhere. Dripping from the top of the tower, running down the door, on the product. I quickly wiped the inside down with paper towels, emptied the water bowl then fully opened the top damper, it had been 1/4 open during the smoking and two hours at 140 degrees. I hope this will not effect the salmon to any great extent.
I still do not understand why I keep having so many moisture problems and Bradley has not been able to come up with a good solution. Last time I talked to them, this happened before when smoking sausage, they suggested I open the louvers in the 'V' tray as much as possible. Mine are now bent so far open that once in a while the drippings fall through the louver openings. I thought the problem was fixed because I have not seen the moisture again till today.
Well hopefully things will improve since I wiped it down and opened the vent completely. Time will tell. Fingers crossed.
Did you allow the salmon to air dry and form a pellicle? If not that may be a cause for your moisture problem this time.
Habs, yes it was dry and sticky before putting into the smoker. I've had a similar problem before doing sausage. I still believe that the water in the bowl is evaporating causing a lot of the moisture.
Well I have the salmon out of the smoker and it looks pretty good. Some of it stuck to the jerkey trays and fell apart when taking it off of the trays. But for my first fish smoke it looks good.
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh46/pensrock/salmon4.jpg)
(http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh46/pensrock/salmon5.jpg)
pensrock,
Very nice...
Sparkler
Looks good Pensrock. Well done!
T2
The salmon looks real good. If you ever discover what is causing so much moisture in your cabinet please post it. That problem is going to drive me crazy until I know the actual cause. ;D
Looks great. How does it taste?
Man that looks good .
The salmon was a real big hit! Everyone who tried it loved it. The first question from the guy who provided the salmon was "how many can you fit in one load?"
Thanks Kummock!!! It is better than expected.
To which you replied, "how fast can you bring them?"
Giz, My reply was something like that. What I said was when are we going to catch some more?
Even better. You Nailed IT.
Could the moisture problem be due to just the volume of salmon being smoked.
Was the vent wide open? Was the smoker really level?
I would think if the cabinet is really level and the vent wide open cooking at the low temps would allow the moist air out the vent. I noticed the temp cables are routed between the door seal and the cabinet if it really cold out maybe air is coming in there and condensating and running down the cabinet. Just a few thoughts.
Maybe Kummok could jump in and let us know if he's had the problem with moisture.
John
I recall having a moisture problem once and it was due to a pin hole leak in the water bowl.
Brad
MoSmoke, I only did three racks of salmon. The vent was not completely open till the smoking was done and the salmon was heating up to the 140 degree setpoint. The door seal seemed to close really well. I never seen any smoke leaking out around the wires, next time I'll run them through the vent. I just prefer them through the door so the trays are easier to rearrange during the cooking stage. Maybe I sould open the vent the whole way at the beginning but I like to choke it back to at least half way while the smoking process is going on.
Car54, I checked that the first time I had the moisture problem while doing some sausage. I even went so far as to line the bowl with foil for a couple runs. It seems whenever I try to hot smoke the problem occurs, cold smoking is never a problem. I keep thinking it must have something to do with the heating element causing the water in the bowl to boil/evaporate. But we have been down that road before and Bradley really has no idea what is going on.
Thanks for the suggestions, I'm ready to try just about anything.
Pensrock;
Sorry to cause you to do some extra typing. :)
I knew you had done all of the above in the past when you had the problems with the sausage. What I meant by my last post is; when you find out why moisture builds up in your smoker; no maker what you smoke let us know.
No prob. Habs. I know everyone wants to know the cause as much as I do. I'll have to fire another email to Bradley and see if they can come up with more ideas.
Quote from: MoSmoke on January 22, 2008, 03:37:45 AM
......Maybe Kummok could jump in and let us know if he's had the problem with moisture.
John
Sorry for delayed response. Been absent for awhile....haven't even been able to lurk the 'Fish' threads but about once or twice since Oct. Still down in "America", more specifically Nevada, returning home To AK shortly, just in time for GREAT snow and hopefully great ptarmigan hunting......
That being said, advice offered up by HabS, C54, etc. is right on the money. I can only think of two reasons, in my own experience, for excessive moisture when smoking salmon.....not enough drying time (the #1 reason), or vent not open enough. From reading the posts and seeing the pics, I'd focus more attention on drying time....I go for firmer meat with definite dry pellicle, not tacky to the touch. A good pellicle/drying combination leaves the meat almost opaque. I rarely change the vent setting during the smoking process. Hope this helps you achieve your perfect salmon Pensrock!!
Pensrock,
Check for the deflector shield on the heating element. This is the last thing I can think of that if it is missing can cause the excessive water evaporation of the water bowl. Here is a picture of mine from a cold smoke setup. It is positioned to deflect heat up but won't keep the heat from the water bowl and does not prevent boiling. I suspect if it is missing the water would be gone in quick time.
(http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q78/GizmoPhoto/HomeNovember042.jpg)
Deflector Shield?
You flying the Millennium Falcon Han?
Gizmo, The shield is in place but I cannot help feeling that it is not enough. I'm wondering if during the heat up from 80-100 to 140-150 that the heating element is on for a long time which is causing the water to boil? I opened the louvers as much as possible without tearing the metal, per bradleys suggestion. I just sent them another email asking for help.
Kummock,
Thanks for the reply and a huge thank you for the recipie! Everyone loved it, the guy who provided the king asked.... how many can you fit in there. I said, that depends... when are WE going to catch them. I'm hoping to get a fishing trip out of this sometime this year. He laughed and said for now he has plenty in the freezer. So I'm sure I'll be getting more very soon.
The next time I do it, I'll allow it to dry longer, it was tacky and not opaque like you suggested. I used the Teriyaki this time because I thought the soy might be too salty. Which do you think is the best?
thanks again!
Once again I find myself apologizing for delayed response, Pensrock :-[ Just got back home to Alaska last night.......
I'm with your friend.....at the current cost of fuel, I'm glad the freezer is stocked here at home! Catching Kings is a hoot, but if I could find a local fish monger that treated them the way I do from the time they are hooked up until they are frozen, I'd buy most of my fish, eat happily, and save ton$!! ;) ;D
You've asked the "which tastes best?" question and I can only say that it's always a matter of personal preference.....my own taste prefers the sweet/slightly salty taste of teriyaki.....my wife thinks teriyaki is too sweet (but eats it anyway ;)) I've also seen some great variations which include brandy, jalapenos, cloves, etc that sound like worthwhile taste ventures. Lately, I've been supplied (by a GREAT friend ;)) with wild Alaskan Silver Sage that has me intrigued as to how it might add to (or detract from?!?) the great smoked salmon flavor. Don't really know (yet!) how it'd do with fish but it sure has enhanced the flavor of several other non-smoked dishes!
Nice to see you back on the board Kummok. We missed you.
Salmon Frustration:
Sign says:
Wild Fresh Atlantic Salmon.
Farm raised, previous frozen, product of Mexico.
What??? ???
How can it be wild and farm raised? Must be one wild farm.
How can it be fresh if it was previously frozen?
How can it be Atlantic Salmon if it is a product of Mexico? I guess we had a tectonic plate shift recently that went unnoticed by everyone except Mexico.
Sure like to see some regulation on this one.
Good to be back home, Giz!
As far as the Atlantic Salmon signage....it's all soylent green anyway so they can label it whatever they want! ;) ;D :o
Quote from: Kummok on February 28, 2008, 01:14:47 AM
Good to be back home, Giz!
As far as the Atlantic Salmon signage....it's all soylent green anyway so they can label it whatever they want! ;) ;D :o
:D That is a show I have not seen in a long time.
Gotta agree with Kummok on this one. Can't beat the salmon from the northern parts around here.
Farm raised from Mexico???? The only wild part about that is the creative labeling!!! ;) :D