"stuff" on smoked salmon

[frenchcreek]

I just did 2 loads of fresh sockeye salmon on the smoker. When finished, it had some light brown substance on the top, looked like it might be fat? No problem with the taste, but doesn't look great.

I smoked the fish for 1 hr @ 130, 3 hrs @ 150, and then 1 hr @ 170.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi frenchcreek;
Welcome to the forum.

The "boogers" are a combination of fat, coagulated proteins, and seasonings you have on the fish that may add some color; generally it is white. Coagulation is a reaction you see when you cook eggs. It is harmless and can be blotted off while the fish is still warm, if you want to improve the appearance.

Cooking at a lower temperature and increasing the temperature slowly throughout the cooking time, as used in Kumock' Recipe will prevent these proteins from being forced to the surface.

[aces-n-eights]

Habs has you covered...  also i have found that air drying the fish after it comes out of the brine, and forming a good pellicle before the smoke helps reduce "boogers".

[frenchcreek]

Thanks for the info. I probably didn't wait long enough for the pellicle to form properly. However it looked, it tasted great. I looked at a lot of recipes and came up with this hybrid:

1 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup soya sauce
1/3 cup molasses
3 Tbl Worcestershire sauce
handful of coarse ground pepper
handful of garlic powder
splash of maple syrup
splash of blueberry honey
3 quarts water