A little help please

[smokeNcanuck]

I bought some fresh salmon yesterday.  I will not be smoke'N this till
probably next fri or sat.  Question: should I freeze or will it be ok to leave in
the fridge until brine time???(say friday at the latest)


Thanks,
sNc

[TomW]

I'd freeze it.  I've begun to use only frozen salmon from Rest Depot, and it works great.
Tom

[Quarlow]

Freeze it. All my salmon start from frozen.

[OU812]

Freeze it. All my salmon start from frozen.

Ditto.

[smokeNcanuck]

In freezer now, Thank you!  Good to know you have help when you need it ;)

[Smokeville]

I bought some fresh salmon yesterday.  I will not be smoke'N this till
probably next fri or sat.  Question: should I freeze or will it be ok to leave in
the fridge until brine time???(say friday at the latest)


Thanks,
sNc

Hi sNc;

Like you, I live in Ontario. As everyone else has noted, freezing is a good idea since Friday is 6 days away from when you posted. The fresher you can keep the fish, the better.

The other reason is that in all likelihood that salmon is already well over a week old. When I first started smoking salmon or trout for sale at the Burlington Farmers' Market, I was buying fish over the counter, Then I discovered it was easier to ask the fish dept for a 10lb styrofoam box. These boxes have dates of when they were packed, and I was really amazed. Some were 10 days ago! Yes, they are still packed in ice packs, and still smell super-fresh, but they are not as fresh as we might think. The major grocery chains buy their fish from a wholesaler and warehouse it to ship to each store on demand. So, I went to the wholesaler and bought from them. It helps a bit but even so, Atlantic Salmon -- which mostly comes from Chile! -- will be 5-6 days old by the time it hits Toronto.

What I've found since is that many of the Oriental grocery superstores in the GTA fillet whole salmon, and their product is exceptionally fresh and also very inexpensive.

Regards, Rich

[tsquared]

I used to be a commercial salmon trolller, owning a 36 ft "ice boat"--meaning we kept our fish on ice in the hold. We would go out for 10 day trips and then deliver to ports here on Vancouver Island. If you factor in 3 or 4 days handling after they hit the dock, those salmon could be 14 days old before getting to the market. If they were handled properly, with good fresh ice--no problem. Most of the wild troll caught salmon you buy now is froze at sea within hours of catching it. Sounds like you are describing farm fish from Chile and I'm not sure of their timelines.
T2

[viper125]

Well if me or some one don't catch it I buy flash froze. Never buy from a fresh fish counter like Giant Eagle or some place. They come in frozen and unfrozen. They can lay in the back for who knows how long. And they set it on ice every day till it sells. Like playing Russian Roulette when you buy.

[Smokeville]

You're right, tsquared, they are farmed. Chile also farms Steelhead. After an ecodisaster several years back due to overstocking, Chile has put tight control on aquaculture. Each box I see has exact data on the source and the date packed, and it usually shows up here at the wholesaler about 6-7 days later. I don't know for certain, but the tracking info seems to say that it is flown from Chile to Florida, and then trucked in multiple directions. Even so, in my opinion, farmed fish from chile is superior to anything I've seen from Atlantic Canada.

But, it ain't fresh !

[smokeNcanuck]

Thanks for all the info guys!!