smoked salmon

[Seahawk]

 :(Hi to everyone, its that time of year for me when the salmon are on there way and i'm doing my first batch of fish and im having problems with moisture on my fish in the smoker, im cooking it at 160-170 degrees and vent half open i tryed a new cure from hi mountain followed the instructions for the most part other than air drying my fish longer than called for and cooking it at a lower temperature.The fish just seems to be real wet feeling,i have smoked fish with my own brine for years and never come across this problem before,any help would be appreciated.    thank you.

[StickyDan]

Hi Seahawk,
First off, vent open all the way - you need to let that moisture out.  Secondly, did you let the fish dry out after the brine?   You have to let it dry out so it can form the pellicle ( google it).  I'm not an expert, but this much I know.  Someone else should come along with some more/better info for you.
Good luck.

[RossP]

Hi Seahawk

I was getting wet, mushy salmon myself until I read Kummoks
recipe for smoking. Although I do not use his brine I do use
his smoking temp an times. Since following the temp and times
my salmon has been great. Here they are:
    *
          o 100°-120°F for 1-2 hours, then increase to
          o 140° for 2-4 hours, then increase to
          o 175° for 1-2 hours to finish
you can see his brine and everything on the recipe site here

http://www.susanminor.org/forums/index.php

Hope this helps.

Ross

[Kummok]

Assuming that you're not talking about farmed salmon  ;) , I'd have to side with the "longer pellicle stage" advice given. Make sure that your pieces are sufficiently dried enough to touch BEFORE you put them in the smoker, use the incremental cooking temps and I think you'll have better luck with drier fish.

(I can't believe that I'm giving advice on making drier fish  :o  Those who know me know that I prefer my salmon dripping in oil....which is why I prefer feeder King bellys  ;) )