new member that can't relate to your smoking times

[7997redtail]

Hi everyone

I read a post earlier that mentioned his dad using a plywood smoker 3' x 3' x 8' high home made smoker.  Just like my dads.  He used to have an old Volkswagen hood 10' from the smoker and would light a wet alder wood fire under it.  The smoke would cool as it worked its way into the smoker.  He would also smoke his salmon for 2 - 3 days.  The fire had to be kept going the whole time and the rule was that if the fire went out so did the fish.  Right into the garbage.

As for me, I have a Bradley 4 rack non-igital smoker.  I just did two racks of spring bellies and tails and one rack of sockeye bellies with Alder.  The sockeye were in there for 12 hours and the spring was in there for 24 hours.  In a couple of days I am going to do the same thing over again but with apple wood pucks.  This time I will use the same time frame as I am comparing woods.  And getting used to the new smoker.

In my little chief, my last smoker, sometimes I would leave the fish in for 48 - 72 hours to get it nice and dry.  On this site I am seeing people smoking for 2 hours.  ?????  ae you just trying to add the smoke flavour or are you smoking to cure the fish?   

Here is something else I am working through my brain.  How many pucks do you use?  6 hours divide by 20 minutes per puck?  24 hours divided by 20 minutes per puck? 

Just my ramblings.  Thanks for your replies.

[DTAggie]

Welcome redtail, I am very interested in seeing some pics of what you just described.

[7997redtail]

My dads smoker?  Long gone.  I was 14 at the time and I am just hitting 50 now. 

The smoked fish?  I just vacuum packed the alder batch.  Tomorrow I start brining the apple/cherry batch.  I still haven't decide what wood to try.

[DTAggie]

How about pics of your setup?

[classicrockgriller]

The Original Bradley (which is what you have) was basically design to smoke fish in it.

I'm not a fish smoker, but I have read a bunch of post on it.

Kummock has established a guide line for salmon that others have adapted to different fish that works.

I will post you a link.

Here's some links that might help you.

recipe site:
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/

You might want to check out our FAQ's
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?481-Bradley-Smoker-FAQ-s&p=748#post748

Try this link to get your pictures going.
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showpost.php?p=768&postcount=11

[classicrockgriller]

Here you go. Take a peek at this:

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=107.0

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Redtail;

Welcome to the forum.

Most of us smoke salmon for the flavor; either cold or hot smoke. Depending on one's preference and the type of bisquette used; members apply 1:40 hours (5 bisquettes) to 5 hours (15 bisquettes) of smoke; with most using 2 hours (6 bisquettes).

The type of smoke you get from the bisquettes is more concentrated, and it is different them using chips; pellets or chunks of wood. So you will only need to apply smoke for a short period of time, then continue cooking without the smoke until your food is at your desired "doneness".

Here is another link to Kummok's salmon;
Excellent Bradley Smoked Alaskan Salmon

[TestRocket]

Welcome 7997redtail,

Happy smoking!

[SouthernSmoked]

Congratulations on your purchase and welcome to the forum...Enjoy!

[Kummok]

Camai Redtail!
Welcome to the world of Bradley smoking....the easier way to get the GREAT tastes!

You've used a word that I'm not certain everyone picked up on.... Spring & Sockeye "bellies". Those two species are the oiliest of the salmon and the bellies are the oiliest part of those oily fish. Subsequently, I'm not surprised at your long cure/smoke times. I call that part of the salmon, "bacon" and I too cure/smoke for waaaaaay longer than my max time of 4 hours for the rest of the salmon cuts. The belly strip I do are usually brined for a full 24 hours and can smoke for up to 12 hours. Takes that long to firm up the meat and permeate the fat with smoke. The extra time/effort is worth it to me because the Kings/Reds are the top of the food chain to me and the belly strips are the best part of the salmon, (I call it 'King Bacon' cuz I mostly do just big fat Kings). Admittedly the bellies aren't for everyone.....I know many good salmon eaters that cut/toss the bellies when cleaning but, when asked, it's usually because they've never had King Bacon....

The tails, on the other hand, are the driest part of the salmon and smoking that long should produce a pretty hard/strong chunk of meat....deliciously edible, but much tougher, I'd suspect....I call it "pocket meat" cuz I can carry it in my pocket while hunting/hiking and not worry about it getting all mushed up....(a highly technical hiking term, "mushed up"  ;) )

Looking forward to more good posts about your experience with the world's #1 food group!

[7997redtail]

Well, I have had a good taste of the salmon bellies i did (sorry no pictures its hard for me to get into that).  If you like your smoked salmon soft, juicy, oily and absolutely Delicious you would like these.  21 hours with just the smoker heater and 12 pucks. 

They are very very good.  But, i like my smoked salmon hard, dry and chewy.  The next batch i do will have the same amount of smoke.  12 pucks but I'll smoke it for longer.  I'll start watching around 36 hours and I'll bet right now that I'll go about 48- 72 hours. 

I'll keep you informed.

BTW, kummok, I Love your avtar.  I feel that if you want to farm farm on land.  If you have to farm fish use an enclosed system on the land that can be controlled and won't affect natural stocks.  A while back, at Cougar creek in Nootka sound, I was fishing Chinook and had a fisheries officer ask if she could collect samples from my fish.  While she was digging out the parts she wanted she mentioned that the farmed fish are loose and can be caught.  Hummmmm.  I remember the farmers saying that would be impossible.  What else are they wrong about?  Lice?

[Caneyscud]

Just caught this post.  Redtail, lots of things used to be done differently - way back then.  I'm already past 50 - almost halfway to 60.  From Central Texas and was not a big fan of some of the smoked fish that came my way back in my youth.  Some was mighty good - while some I'd be able to use to resole my boots.  Lots of converted refrigerator/wood shack type of smokers.  And most of what I remember, was that they would smoke for days.  There was a number of older black men that smoked the heck outta mullet.  A few of the ones I knew about, but did not like, - you could use the mullet as a baseball bat.  It was more of a preservation technique rather than a flavor technique.  Not as many refrigerators at the time, and certainly no vacuum sealers.  So to store fish in the cupboard, they had to cure, and smoke until it dried out - mullet jerky if you will!  When they did mullet that way, it intensified the "odd" nutty, mettalic taste.  However after the first frost, I wouldn't touch one - spawning time and talk about ratty flesh then.  That was also a time some of those little smoke stands would really pour the smoke to the mullet - to hide the poor flesh. 

[Quarlow]

Hello Redtail and welcome to the forum. I beleive you were refering to me when you mentioned the 3x3x8 plywood smoker. I actually made a mistake, it was 3x3x12 tall. we called it the 2 story outhouse.  ;D We had a door in at the bottom with a hotplate and a cast iron frying pan for burning the chips. The fish would smoke for 12 to 16 hours and it was not as dry as what you talk about. It was flaky but dry and still had some moisture to it. We used it to wash our beer down with it and would put it on crackers or just take chunks and eat them. One member recently ask me if you could make more of a dinner smoked salmon and I told him you could cut back on the salt abit and then not cook it as long and it would make a nice main course for a meal. We kept all ours in the freezer so you know that it was not for preserving it were as what you discribe would be more able to store without refridgeration. I have had some like yours and it is good for the pocket as Kummok mentioned. I grew up on the coast and when I was 6 my dad built a strip planked 36' cabin cruiser from the Glen-L designs. We spent most weekends on her and atleast a month in the summers, of course dad would stretch it as far as he figured he could without losing his job. Our neighbour was a commercial troller and was my first capt. when I went out on the fish boats. And longtime friend of the family was a commercial gillnetter so we always had fish around and a whole host of other seafoods too. I think there are many, many ways to smoke fish and none are right or wrong. It comes down to what you like and what you are use to. I was going to try Kummok's version this time but by the time I got all the fish fileted I was to tired to mess with a new recipe. But I will be better prepared nexttime.