Single Malt Indian Candy Plus Some Old School Jerk Chicken

[OldHoss]

I started doing some jerk chicken in the afternoon today:



in the converted barbecue:



Then shifted to the Bradley tonight for some salmon Indian Candy style.



Recipe:

3/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 honey
3/4 cup Rogers dumura brown sugar
1 and 1/2 cup water
1/8 cup coarse salt

Heat all of the above and stir till salt is dissolved.  Chill then cover strips of salmon - do not put hot or even warm brine over salmon.  Refrigerate for 5 hours then add this:

2 good shots of fine Scotch - in this case 15 year old Scapa.  I have used Bowmore to fine results as well as Jamaican Rum.
3 cloves of garlic crushed
3/4 tblsp crushed pepper mix - I have a 5 pepper medley I am using.
1/8 cup more maple syrup

Mix and refrigerate again for another 7 to 11 hours.  I am going with a total of 16 hours in the brine this time.



I have a circular grate that I fit into the pot and then add a small bowl to hold it down.  This keeps all the salmon below the level of the liquid.  I do not rinse or pat dry my salmon - the base recipie I started with did not do it so I stayed true to that part of it.  I figure it is because there is so little salt in the brine.  I hang my salmon strips from a grate with tooth picks suspended over newspaper.  I change the newspaper out after 10 or 15 minutes.  I put it in front of high speed fans in a cold room for 12 hours or so.  I take the covers off of the fans to increase air circulation.  When I do this in the summer I do it in a room I can get the air very cold via a air conditioner.  This is after 10 hours - the outside is dry but shinny due to the flash:



Before going in the smoker I made a mixture of garlic powder, crushed pepper corns, honey, maple syrup and Scotch - this was lightly brushed on the salmon just before going in the smoker.  In the smoker with a mix of Pecan and Alder....that is frost beside the thermometer on the top of the unit:



the candy closeup:



I will bast the product a few times during the smoke.  I have no heat on but the the hot plate for the bisquette - I am running between 80-94f.  I will turn on the heat and graduate from 130-140f to a high of 160f as a temperature setting.  The actual temp on the inside will hit a high of 185-190f.  I will pull the product when it hits a internal temp of 135f on the thickest piece.  The product will be dusted with garlic powder and a little cracked pepper will be added.  It will be put on a rack and re fridgerated overnight for the flavours to blend and set.  I will add more pictures.

[JZ]

Wow that stuff looks REALLY good. ;D Nice job and thanks for sharing.

[Keymaster]

Everything looks geat and love that sheen on the candied fish!!

[rooster85]

Wow. Beautiful fish.

[OldHoss]

The Indian Candy cook turned to crap boys.

I picked up that salmon at Costco and when I opened it I found a slightly slimey smelly product.  There was no fish smell an inch away from the surface of the fish but closer there was and when I smelled my fingers there was.  Going back and returning it for another piece would have meant waiting till the next day and I had a schedule to keep with the process if I hoped to get it to a family gathering on Sunday.  I have gotten far more foul fish in the past that I have ALWAYS returned....I decided that all the brine ingredients would MASK what little bad smell/taste was in what I was using.  BIG MISTAKE.  The reason was partially due to the fact that I was starting to turn the salmon into jerky by dry curing it for so long under those fans....I was concentrating the flavours.....all of them including the bad ones.   

Lesson learned and noted for the future.  I did not serve that product to anyone but the return department at Costco Monday night.  At least I had the smarts not to serve it to loved ones.  The smaller dryer chunks of the candy tasted less like crap than the larger ones that had moister centers.  I pulled that salmon at 135f internal on a large chunk - it looked perfect.  I have done "good" Indian Candy 7-8 times before this foul up.  Prior to that I had cooked salmon for the wife on the grill a few times only - I do not like non-smoked salmon personally.

[Waltz]

It is retribution from the Scots gods for using 15YO Scapa Malt in your cooking :)

[OldHoss]

It is retribution from the Scots gods for using 15YO Scapa Malt in your cooking :)

I believe you may be correct....but you know what....the 5 or 6 pieces I ate told me the Scotch portion of the taste was outstanding.   I made Indian Candy with 12 YO Bowmore and it was marvelous....better than the Scapa and I used less of the Bowmore as it is a stronger product.  It occured to me at a certain point to get the Scotch in my mouth at the same time as the candies Salmon.  This was a experience I will not soon forget let me tell you.  Ha!  Bowmore lasts about 20 minutes or so on my taste buds and is very strong indeed so the question was how would the salmon stand up....if at all?  Not only could the salmon be tasted alongside the Scotch but it lasted LONGER on my taste buds!  Something about good quality farmed salmon and the process I stubled on to....that dry curing at cool room temp with the fans.....makes for a concentrated flavour experience.  I have used wild Salmon 3 times only in the past and it is a cleaner taste, to the point of being bland beside the strong brine this recipie uses....and the dark maple syrup I normally use.

Here is my source recipie from where I found it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhef6s7uyk8

I modified it some but that is the source.  Any questions about what I do go ahead and PM me.  The best alcohol I have used making the Indian Candy was Appleton 12 Extra Rum.  The sweet maple elements in the Rum made it in my opinion a solid 9.5 out of 10 on the flavour scale...maybe even a solid 10.  If I had to make this product in a competition I would use the Jamaican Rum every time......and farmed Salmon as well....I would stick my nose in the later before I did so however.   I do like my Scotch....so perhaps I will stick with Rum rather than tempt those Scottish Gods to screw with my smoked Salmon again.  But then again I can get that Bowmore for 55 dollars anytime I want......mmmmmh, mmmmh, mmmmh.  I should go get me a little taste now.  The Scapa was probably a wrong choice even though it is not my kind of Scotch - it was a gift from a fellow Scotch fan who was downsizing his collection by "gifting" inferior selections.  This 79' bottling is somewhat rare and I should be drinking it straight up.  The cork blew out on it so I transfer the contents to a bottle with a screw top lid - I will be sipping the rest for some time.  I have a number of bottles and have not been drunk on Scotch for years.  Low and slow is how I come at it.

[Waltz]

Hi OldHoss,
The idea of using whisky (or any spirit) in marinade for smoked salmon had not occurred to me but I can see it would impart a distinctive flavour and will give it a try. I imagine the Islay Malts (like Bowmore or Ardbeg) with their peaty/smoky/tarry flavour will be particularly good. Thanks for sharing and I am sorry your salmon was not a success this time, I am sure there will be other successful times.

[oguard]

I also use Appleton in my candied salmon recipe 8). You should always use the freshest fish possible, bad fish is bad fish no matter how much you dress it up!

Mike