Spyguys Smoked Salmon LOX Recipe

[Shark Bait]

Does anyone who has used Spyguys Best Smoked Salmon LOX recipe know how many filets or pounds of salmon  the recipe as written can process? The recipe does not state how much fish to use with the quantities given.

Since the recipe is both labor and ingredient intensive I would like to maximize each batch.

Any recommendations?

Thanks

[Habanero Smoker]

I've made this recipe several times, but could not tell you how many pounds the full batch of his mix will cure. I just apply it as directed, and store the rest in an airtight container, in a dark cool area.

I do scale down his wet brine recipe depending on how many pounds of salmon I am brining. Making the full amount if you only have a small batch, will be a waste. If you look towards the bottom of the recipe, linked below, you will see that member Mary Veithurst, has scaled down the recipe. It states it will do at least two small fillets, but it is enough to brine up to 8 pounds of salmon, if that amount will fully cover all the fish.

The Best Lox Style Salmon

[Caneyscud]

I think I did 5 or 6 pounds of filets the last time and had a good quantity of the dry cure leftover.  Recommend the recipe as the taste is great, but the texture is amazing - velvety!  I did not use the maple syrup - I put in another cup of brown sugar and I don't put in the dill either. 

The dish I do often after making lox is either the
Lox Benedict ----  Trader Joes Hollandaise sauce is my new bestest friend!

or
a Martha Stewart Lox wrap

[Shark Bait]

 Since we live in Alaska and fish out of Seward in the summer getting Silver (Coho) Salmon is not a problem so we always have a bunch of salmon in the freezer(s). When I  do this recipe the first time I will take a guess on how many filets/pounds a single wet brine will do and then will report back. I want to maximize each batch and don't want to waste any of the ingredients.

Thanks for the responses.

[Habanero Smoker]

To save on materials on making brine, the rule of thumb for a wet brine, is that the liquid (in this case water) should weigh at about 40% (some sources state 50% is also acceptable) of the green weight of the meat. For example; if you are brining 10 pounds of meat and you use 50%, you will need 5 pounds of liquid, the you can scale the recipe from there. Five pounds of water will be approximately 80 ounces or  2 quarts and one pint. If I calculated correctly, the amount of brine Spyguy's recipe makes, it will brine up to 55lbs. of fish, but that depends on the container(s), and if the amount of brine will fully cover that amount of fish.

When I measure the amount of liquid I need for a brine, I will place the meat/fish in the container I will be brining in, then cover it with water until the level of water is about 1" above the meat/fish. I next measure the liquid and make sure the amount of liquid will be at least around 40% - 50% of the weight of the meat/fish. More is perfectly alright. If it is an odd amount such as 3 quarts and 7 ounces, I always run up to the next quart, it makes it easier to recalculate the rest of the ingredients.

I go into much more detail on how to measure a brine, just click on the below link. Also that recipe has a link to a great recipe converter.
Smoked Cured Ham

[Toker]

Habs, i see the scaled wet brine for 2 fillets OK, but what about the dry ingredients for 2 fillets? Should it be scaled too or do i missed something?  I mean for 2 fillets •5 lbs. Kosher or canning salt •6 lbs. Dark brown sugar seems too much lol!

[Habanero Smoker]

Habs, i see the scaled wet brine for 2 fillets OK, but what about the dry ingredients for 2 fillets? Should it be scaled too or do i missed something?  I mean for 2 fillets •5 lbs. Kosher or canning salt •6 lbs. Dark brown sugar seems too much lol!

I don't like to rewrite some else's recipe until I have a chance to communicate with them; but in this case you may have a point, and additional information can be added for clarification of those who only want to try this recipe once.

I use to make this 2 - 3 times a year; using one large whole fillet each time. The first time I made the whole batch of dry brine. I now generally will make a half batch of the dry brine at a time. The dry brine will last almost indefinitely. So what you don't use for one batch, you can stored in an air tight container, and placed in a dark cool area. If one is only planning to make lox one time, then you can also scale the dry brine recipe down. You just need to make enough to apply it as directed in the recipe. That amount I never measured by volume, because it depends on the length of the fillets and the width of the fillets and the container. I will also update the two small fillets to up to 8 pounds.

For the dry brine, a coarse salt should be used. I know in Canada your canning salt is coarse, but here in the States our canning salt is the same grain size as table salt. I use Morton Kosher salt, and it turns out fine.

[rajzer]

Lox is simply cured salmon.  If it's smoked, then it's "smoked salmon" and no longer lox.

[ThorJeep]

anyone have this recipe? the website is down or hacked!

[Habanero Smoker]

The below link will take you to his original post, and the discussion.

Best Smoked Salmon

[Salmonsmoker]

ThorJeep, there are many variations spice and herb-wise, for curing lox. Here's a youtube , extremely simple, where the guy smokes his own paprika/salt combo. When I first saw it, I thought he was using Himalayan salt.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8KqaD5SM1I . There are many others on youtube also. One where a professional chef used grated beet root as part of the curing process. It's brilliant red on the outside.