All new to me

[tomo]

Just tried out my new smoker yesterday & experienced some problems.  First try & it wasn't a total disaster.  Salmon turned out very, very smokey.  Some of it was very tough & other pieces were absolutely wonderful.  The flavor was there but my husband wouldn't eat it because of the smokey taste.  I think that part of my problem was not having the damper open enough & I smoked it too long.  The recipe I used said to smoke for 12 hours.  Seems like a lot.  Any suggestion as to where a true novice should start?  Thanks

[Caneyscud]

Only clue you have given is 12 hours smoke.  Fortunately that is probably the only clue we need.  Sorry to say, that is way too long for salmon.  As it is something I haven't smoked in a while, I'll let some of the pros at it chime in.  There's a guy named Kummok, that lives around them big red fleshed fishes that has their preparation down pat.  Hopefully he'll chime in, or search for his posts and his recipe!  Sorry I couldn't help much other than point out the obvious - there will be others along directly that can help you out tremendously.  This is a great site to ask questions and get good help from!  BTW, welcome, this is a great forum for the smoking addiction.  Lots of people around here have been smok'n for a long time and are happy to help out others. 

Shakespeare

[manxman]

The recipe I used said to smoke for 12 hours

12 hours is a long time to smoke using a Bradley Smoker, it is rare to have to go over 4 hours smoking for anything and salmon needs even less.

Have a look at the recipe site (link below) for a whole host of Bradley recipes including salmon, these will give you the required length of smoking time.

Welcome to the forum.  :)

[KyNola]

Tomo,
Sorry for your difficulties.  Take a look at the "fish" portion of this forum.  The first recipe you will see there is the recipe posted by Kummok.  While I personally think it is the best you will ever find, you may want to prepare yours differently.  At least from his recipe you can find the appropriate smoking time on a Bradley.  Sounds like your recipe calling for 12 hours of smoke was for another type of smoker.

KyNola

[Smoking Duck]

12 hours is way too much with a Bradley.  Also, I pretty much keep the vent open all the way on all my smokes.  The smoke generator puts out more than enough smoke so that wide open vent won't matter at all. 

The smoke from the Bradley is a much more concentrated smoke than what you will get with a normal stickburner.  The thing I can compare it to is olive oil.....think of a normal stickburner smoke as being plain old olive oil.  Then think of the Bradley smoke as being extra virgin olive oil.  When making olive oil, the extra virgin is a much smaller amount but a much more potent amount versus the regular olive oil.

Now worries, though.  Even some of the worst smokes will still produce some good food and it's good experience to know what not to do (sometimes knowing what not to do is more important than knowing what to do; this is especially true with my wife, but I digress  ;D). 

I highly agree with checking out Kummok's smoked salmon under the fish section.  Once you've done it the firendly Alaskan's way, you probably won't go back  ;D

SD

[Habanero Smoker]

As others have stated, 12 hours is too much.

When I do salmon, or any food that is cut in sections, I find that some pieces cook faster then others. This can be do to some pieces being smaller and thinner, and those located in the rear of the smoker will cook faster. When that happens I just remove the pieces that are finished and leave the other in the smoker to finish. Also rotating the racks from top to bottom, and front to back will even out the cooking.

[Kummok]

Been there, done that Tomo!  My first experience many years ago had me waking up several times during the night to add chips to the Big Chief smoker so I could smoke the entire 18 hours!!  :o  It was small trout and looooong smoke and the results were REAL smoky trout CHIPs. :o ;) :D

The forum friends have already given you some great advice regarding time a portion size consistency.....most of that is explained in the recipe. The recipe I posted a few years back is just intended to get started and have good results the first time. Looks a bit complicated the first time but, once you do it, it'll be a cakewalk ever after. Don't be afraid to try different times/seasonings/coatings/etc to come up with your favorite flavor/texture experience...most find that the all soy sauce is a mite salty, as do I. I use all terriyaki anymore and lately thinking of experimenting with a Yoshida's Gourmet Sauce/rum/maple/pecan liqueur blend.....

Don't hesitate to use the forum often to get you off and running....many excellent and experienced folks here that LOVE to share and applause your results!!