Cold Smoked Some Lox - But I have a Question

earlyman55 · February 23, 2009, 09:26:17 AM

Hi Gang -

This weekend I cold smoked some lox, following Spyguy's recipe. I followed it to a "T", then cold smoked with alder for 2 hours. The finished product didn't have a smoky flavor; rather it tasted/ smelled like burned wood. All the pucks advanced properly, so I doubt any of them were heated beyond their correct time. And the smoker temp never got past 70 degrees. This is the first fish I've cold smoked; the only other thing I've cold smoked was cheese, which tasted great after I sealed it up and put it in the fridge for 2 weeks.

My question is, does the lox need to be sealed and refrigerated for a while like the cheese was? Spyguy's recipe didn't mention this, but I must say that the finished product right out of the smoker was somewhat underwhelming. It had great color and was very tender, but I couldn't get past the burned wood taste/smell. Help! ???

-E

Caneyscud · February 23, 2009, 09:42:31 AM

em55

I did my first batch (4 fillets) about 3 weeks ago now. I think I did 3 hours of Alder. Came out great (really great), but would have wanted a little more smoke - I'll put another hour on it next time. Not too sure if I let it dry enough before smoking. Temp never got above 60 on my remote thermometer. Took us a couple of days to devour the first fillet so have no data on aging in the fridge. Froze the other 3. Am going to unfreeze one tonight. I've never heard anybody say that "aging" was necessary. But then a funny thing about my cheese 2 weeks before that. I could not discern much difference in taste from just out of the smoker to after 2 weeks of aging or even 5 weeks from the chunk I ate for breakfast this morning - it was all delicious!

Shakespeare
The Bard of Hot Aire
Threadkiller Extraordinaire'

KyNola · February 23, 2009, 10:36:16 AM

EM55,
I have not smoked any gravlax yet although it is high on my to do list. That burnt wood smell/taste you speak of makes me believe that aging may be the cure for that. As discussed before, cold smoked cheese certainly requires aging and Kummok's hot smoked salmon recipe while wonderful straight out of the smoker is even better if allowed to age for a while. Alder is a pretty mild smoke. I would think the gravlax could stand up to 3 hours of alder. Depends on your taste.

If you try aging your fish, let us know the flavor results afterward. I would be most interested.

KyNola

Habanero Smoker · February 23, 2009, 02:16:59 PM

I've made SpyGuy's lox several times and use the full 3 hours of smoke he recommends. You do need to let it age a few days for the best flavor.

pensrock · February 23, 2009, 02:20:14 PM

Did you have your vent open during the smoking process? The reason I'm asking is if the vent was closed you may have creosote built up on the product.

Mr Walleye · February 23, 2009, 02:24:22 PM

I haven't made Lox before but I know the last step before smoking it is to allow it to dry and form a pelicle. If it was still moist the smoke may have only stuck to the surface. Again, I have never done Lox before but this process is the same as hot smoking salmon such as Kummok's salmon.

Just my 2 bits... ;)

Mike

tsquared · February 23, 2009, 07:29:08 PM

QuoteI haven't made Lox before but I know the last step before smoking it is to allow it to dry and form a pelicle. If it was still moist the smoke may have only stuck to the surface. Again, I have never done Lox before but this process is the same as hot smoking salmon such as Kummok's salmon.

Earlyman--Walleye's response has nailed it. The ash taste is a result of smoke hitting fish that does not have a pellicle, that is too moist. I have made many batches of lox, a couple of them using spyguys recipe. The most important thing when doing lox is all the steps before you put the fish in the smoker.It has to be cured, then dried to the right point or things don't work out and you get that ashy taste and your fish is too soft or salty. Don't be discouraged, though. The first and easiest thing to work on is getting the pellicle formed on the fish (a fan and a couple of hours will do it). Don't give up!
T2

La Quinta · February 23, 2009, 08:15:22 PM

I've made this several times....you do need a pelicle...it has to be sticky when it goes in...I usually go two hours with a stronger wood...but the wood is a matter of taste...I did a batch with apple and was not thrilled...again, it's a taste thing...I like a strong smoke flavor...I also don't even touch it until the next day...wrap it up and wait...

Just my humble opinion... :)

earlyman55 · February 24, 2009, 03:58:03 AM

Hi Gang -
Thanks for all the replies. Spyguy said to dry the salmon for an hour with the racks inverted to allow air to hit both sides (which I did). Maybe it needs to dry for a longer period; OTOH, I saw a lox recipe on the internet where the person basted the salmon with a mixture of maple syrup and something else during the drying period to encourage formation of a pellicle before smoking.

It seems that there's a million different ways to do these things...... anyway, I'll keep trying and keep y'all posted!

-E

Habanero Smoker · February 24, 2009, 02:02:21 PM

Let me know if that works better. There is a theory that when cold smoking a moist (not wet) surface is better for the deposit of smoke vapors.

tsquared · February 25, 2009, 09:36:46 PM

As I mentioned before, I have used spyguys recipe before a couple of times--it gives a nice silky feel to the lox slices but I finally decided I liked my dry salt and then sugar cure better as it gave me a drier texture that I found easier to slice. This internal dryness is different than the surface pellicle that affects the ashy taste. You don't want your fish to be mushy--that's proof you haven't let the salt (either in the wet brine or in my preferred method of dry salting) penetrate the fillet enough to suck the moisture out or if you feel it has enough salt then give it extra time drying. Spyguy's recipe done properly will give you the right texture--it just comes down to a matter of personal preference. If you press your thumb into the fillet and it gives a little but is fairly firm--that's what you want. If the indentation from your finger stays in the fillet without coming back out and the fish feels soft, you need more time in the brine or salt/sugar cure. Earlyman--experience will help you decide if your fish needs more time drying or curing. Extra time drying in cool environment will not hurt the fish as it is salted at this point and will not go off.
T2

BTW--all this talk of lox has given me the hunger for a piled up high lox on a bagel with cream cheese breakfast and I don't have any salmon left in the freezer to smoke up. That's it--time to go fishing!

Habanero Smoker · February 26, 2009, 01:51:15 AM

This thread is also reminding me I need to make some more. I haven't made any in about three months, time to restock. I can't catch my own, just a trip to Sam's Club, a shopping chart and I'm good. :)

Caneyscud · February 26, 2009, 05:18:44 AM

Last night pulled a fillet from the freezer and had some for breakfast this morning. Had never frozen lox before and it works well. Even seems to firm it up a bit. May have lost a little bit of the smoke. Just another excuse for a longer smoke. DELICIOUS. I could live on lox alone! I noticed yesterday, that the Kroger near the office had wild caught sockeye in stock. Gotta go clear out some space in the freezer for some wild caught sockeye!

Shakespeare
The Bard of Hot Aire
Threadkiller Extraordinaire'