"light smoke" meaning

[puffin]

I am attempting to carry on my husband's smoked salmon hobby, but realize there was one question I never asked in the 13 years I assisted him.  What did it mean when he said "I am only doing a light smoke tonight"?

He usually gave a pellicle, then brought the temperature up to desired (less than 200 degrees), held it for 2 hours, followed by a cool down, then into the refrigerator.

Could he have shortened the 2 hours?  How short can you go?  Would I use a different amount of wood in the fire box?  (we have a custom hot caddy smoker)

I know the brine was the same, just a "light smoke" if a smaller number of pieces and smaller size pieces i.e. tails.

Thanks for any ideas!

PS  He passed away in August, and people have said my product is good, but I have years of learning to do!

Blessings, Barb

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Barb;

First I would like to express my condolences. I think it is great that you are continuing the smoking tradition in your family. Welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry I can't help answer you question. The way your husband phrased the sentence, it could mean any of what you suggested, less smoke, different smoke, not as much salmon in the being smoked at one time.

[manxman]

Welcome to the forum Barb, I too would like to pass on my condolences and it is lovely that you are attempting to carry on your husbands hobby.

Like HS says, "light smoke" could mean a number of things so it may well be you have to go down the route of trial and error!!

Anyway. good luck in your endevours.

[Wildcat]

Welcome to the forum and my condolences as well.

[iceman]

Welcome Barb. I'm very sorry to hear of your loss but very glad you chose to continue on with tradition.
When we refer to "a light smoke" on our salmon up here we generally mean just a 1 1/2 to 2 hour smoke then the rest of the drying / cooking is done without. Most of the light smokes were done for fish that was going to be canned after wards for storage in the pantry. The canning process really intensifies the smoke flavor so a normal smoke of say 4 hours would be way to strong for the canned fish. We like to light smoke salmon when we make salmon jerky strips. We use the same brine no matter how much smoke was applied. Hope this gives you some idea or direction. Take care.
Pat and Ann

[Gizmo]

Hi puffin,
I to would like to pass on my condolences to the loss of your husband.  Welcome to our forum or as many would call it, our extended family.

Ice and the others have pretty much covered the question you asked.  One thing I wanted to share with you is that most of the folks on this forum use one of the Bradley Smokers or Bradley Smoke Generators on a custom cabinet.  In that, we use a preformed wood puck that smokes for 20 minutes.  Many here will only use 4 hours worth of smoke as more than that in the Bradley tends to be more smoke flavor than we prefer or the meat will not absorb much more and it has no effect other than draining the pocket of wood.  The Bradley's smoke is very intense compared to chunk wood smokers where less smoke is produce over that same time frame do to the higher intensity of the flame or embers in burning the wood.  You are most certainly welcome with any questions or words of wisdom and experiences you may have.  Often the techniques, recipes and general knowledge here will apply to a wide variety of smoke appliances.  Timings and specifics to the brand may be difficult to translate from time to time but we will give it a go.

Can you give me some more details on what your custom hot caddy smoker is?

[puffin]

Wow!  Thanks to everyone- you are very kind in your condolences.  I am proud to be able to continue his work.  He was a man who loved the work and the joy of his consumers - any person within 3 feet was a potential convert!

I am hoping to get through the holiday season (we sold pieces in vacumn sealed packages to friends and family), then do a controled experiment with different lengths of brining, and smoking.  I hadn't thought of using less wood for less smoke but keeping the drying/cooking time long.....another variation to consider.

Thanks again, and if I decide to grow the business, I will definitely consider a Bradley.  I will try to post a photo of the smoker - about 6.5 feet high, 4 shelves, with an electric box on the interior floor of the caddy.  We use 2 inch wide x 1 inch deep chunks of alder in a box that resembles a small amunition box, maybe 6-8 inches long.  Enough for a 4 hour smoke.

Ok, back to vacation - thanks for the ideas and I'll keep reading and sharing.

In the Pacific Northwest, Barb

[levonen]

puffin light smoke refer to the amount of smoke applied, not to the time something is smoked for. You light smoke (as opposite of heavy smoke and smudging) by applying just a fraction of the smoke you'll usually apply.  There's a few ways of achieving light smoke: the good method is to choose not sawdust, shavings, etc. but small pieces of wood (2-25 inches). That method would produce less smoke. Or you simply open all dumpers and the door, if needed, and regulate the amount of the smoke that way. With Bradley, light smoke is somewhat hard to achieve.

[Stickbowcrafter]

Welcome to the forum and sorry for your loss.

-Brian