A Few Question's on Kummok's Salmon

[gdoily]

Howdy ya'll - rookie here.  I did 8lbs using Kummok's recipe last weekend.  A few changes I made included using chipotle pepper powder rather than the cayenne for the heat, and soy instead of terriyaki.  Also since salmon doesn't grow in Texas, used 1/2 farm raised atlantic salmon and 1/2 wild caught Pacific King.

Brined 12 hrs.
Set out for 4 hours on the kitchen counter - tacky when finished
Smoked total of 5.5 hrs with 2/3 alder and 1/3 pecan
1st two hrs at 120-125 (tough to keep temps down)
2nd two hrs at 140
1.5 hrs at 175 +/-

The wild salmon was slightly dry with the farm salmon perfect.  That stands to reason as the farm raised fish was visibly more fatty.  In the future I will cut 1/2 hr off the high temp segment.  I will also try to cool the box a little for the first segment - got a few white boogers on the fish during that part of the smoke.

Taste was outstanding - no strong flavor of salt or sweet or heat from the brine - just good melody of flavor with the fish and smoke.  Served with green chili roasted cream corn and salad.

Even better, last night with leftovers, mixed some of the salmon in with the green chili corn for a casserole type presentation - it was fantastic (my green chili corn is fairly famous thank you).

[Kummok]

.....Also since salmon doesn't grow in Texas.....

Try planting them 6 inches deep and at least a foot apart, gdolly.....should produce a fine crop!  ;) ;D



The wild salmon was slightly dry with the farm salmon perfect. ......

Are you sure you didn't get them mixed up??? That is the first time I've seen "farm salmon" and "perfect" in the same sentence!?!?!?  ;) (I should warn ya that I'm one of the anti farmed salmon folks....gotta be since I live amongst the commercial fisherman here. That stuff is like soylent green to us. But don't let it out that if that was all the salmon I could get, I'd use it too! ;) :o

[HCT]

You folks have my nose opened for this salmon. I have a couple of pounds in the fridge defrosting and the market has it on sale so a few more are being bought for this recipe and some lox.
And to add, nope, I don't buy the farm raised seafood of any kind. It's like eating air.

[gdoily]

Interesting point you make Kummok - I have always turned my nose up at the farm raised stuff.  Shrimp is another example - down here we get both fresh gulf shrimp and the farm raised stuff.  No comparison in my view. 

The farm raised salmon was from Scotland and was very good indeed.  In fact, my son who is a chef trained in NY and with Pacific Rim experience stopped by for dinner.  He was really amazed at how good the farm stuff was as he is a big proponent of the organic/wild caught/free range type food sources.  Anyhoo, it was interesting and I think the wild would have been more fabulous had I cooked it for 1/2 an hour less.

Thanks for sharing your recipe.

[Carter]

Thanks for the words Kummok.  I'm glad to see my work meets your approval.

Oh and by the way, the tip on removing extra bones with Needle Nose pliers was very valuable.  I never would have thought of it.  Salmon bones are always so large and there usually aren't that many that I've always worked around them.  I've basically warned people not to gobble their food and be careful.  Should have been a no brainer but it just wasn't obvious to me

Other than eat the salmon plain with a fork and our fingers, which we did (actually my wife and I had to keep slapping each other's hands to keep them away from the fish), we made a really good Smoked Salmon Penne A La Vodka recipe.  Since most, if not all people on this site enjoy pulled pork, I'm guessing most people wouldn't mind cooking with a little heavy cream.

Here goes:

Smoked Salmon, Vodka & Dill Fettucine Recipie ( I replaced the Fettucine with Penne for no reason other than that's what was in the house)
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
2 ounces imported Russian vodka (I really don't think it matters if its imported or not.  You may want to go with something a little nicer than the Russian Prince, but I wouldn't break the bank on it.)
8 ounces smoked salmon, cubed
2 T. dill, freshly chopped
3/4 lb. Fettucini noodles, cooked and drained
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

1) Melt butter in a large saute pan.
2) Add cream. Bring to a boil.
3) Add vodka and parmesan, reduce heat cook 4-5 minutes until thickened slightly.
4) Add smoked salmon, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat.
5) Add cooked and drained noodles to sauce, toss gently over low heat.
6) Adjust seasoning, plate and sprinkle with parmesan.
Recipe by:  Charles Holley Petersburg, VA

This probably isn't the healthiest thing you'll ever eat, but man is it good.

Carter

[nickld]

Well, I decided I just to try some of Kummok's Salmon.  I decided to use farm raised because the grocer was out of Sockeye. (Supposed to be more in today though.)  I took a picture of the salmon just out of the brine but I can't seem to figure out how to insert or attach it yet. I'll work on that.  Cheers.

[iceman]

Nice recipe Carter. I'll be for trying that one soon. Damn the cholesterol torpedoes and full speed ahead I say!!! ;D ;)

[Kummok]

Dang, Carter....just when I thought it was safe to stay on SB diet, you come up with a GREAT reason to backslide!!  Definitely gonna try that one!

Here's one we use with blackened salmon.....I suspect that it would be as good with smoked chunks, but never tried it that way cause I haven't tired of the blackened yet. If anyone's inclined to try it with smoked, would love to hear results....

Backbay Blackened Salmon Pasta  An original concoction from The Captain's Cabin  ( www.captainscabinalaska.com )
1. Lightly saute' EVOO/pressed garlic/your favorite redfish saute' spices
2. Add a mix of your favorite veggies (we use multi-colored bell peppers) to the saute' and warm no more than a minute
3. Pour the mix over a bed of pasta (Prepare first)
4. Add the blackened "cubed fish", King Salmon highly recommended! (See "Blackening Salmon/Halibut Cubes" below) (This blackening process needs to be timed to finish at the same time the saute' does)
5. Add a hefty garnish of fresh cubed Roma tomatoes
6. Serve with your favorite bread/wine!


Blackened Salmon or Halibut Cubes
An original concoction of www.CaptainsCabinAlaska.net

><>Equipment:                     
Very Important!! Do this OUTSIDE!!
Gas fired burner with high output. Our's sounds like a small rocket engine and was purchased as part of a deep fat turkey fryer package. We call it "The Binford 5000 Flamethrower"
Cast iron frying pan. We really lucked out on this when we bought a 14" pan at a garage sale for $8!! The cast iron can really take the high heat and cleans up very easily.
><>Spice:
Make it easy on yourself and amaze your guests with flavor....use Chef Paul's Blackened Redfish Magic.     http://www.chefpaul.com/
><>Meat:
Salmon or halibut The key to perfect blackening, (as well as grilling!!), is to cook UNIFORM thickness cuts. For this recipe, we use 1/2" to 3/4" cubes.
><>Process:
1. Heat oiled frying pan so hot that the oil burns off and the bottom turns uniformly, "dullish grey" and is ssssmoookin! Have dinner guests at the table so that dish can be served HOT!!
2. Rapidly put meat in pan
3. Heavily sprinkle blackening spice over meat while "stirring" it with a metal spatula.
4. Continue stirring/turning process until meat is done....approximately 2-3 minutes MAX!
5. Quickly spatula onto dish and run into kitchen to mix with pasta/veggies.

[cheapguy69]

Bump - My local Wholefoods is selling Fresh Wild, Sockeye for $4.99 a pound on the weekends. Since I had to cancel my fishing trip to Ketchikan in two weeks, a quick 45lbs of whole Sockeye later, I say I'm still ahead of the game even if I caught it myself for "free". I even brought my daughter and told her we were going "super market fishing". Filled the cart full of fish. It's all vac packed and ready to be loxed/smoked/candied/and BBQ for the next several months.