RESULTS of my 1st attempt @ Indian Candy

[Gman74]

Well its done.

Followed the Bradley recipe for the Indian smoked  candy as I had approx 6# salmon to cook and thought this weekend would be perfect. 
Cut'er up in to strips then made the cure, mixed 1.5 salt +1.5 brown sugar and covered the fish in a big lasanga dish and let sit in fridge for 15 hours; turned and mixed it up once half way through.

Got up this morning to go fishing @ 3:30am so took out the fish and give it a good wash under cold water.  Then fired it in the smoker in my neighbours shed.  The plan was he was to get up and advise me of temp.  I set it to smoke/cook for 8 hours so put in the required amount of Maple pucks (26) and set the DBS4 oven temp to the lowest setting of 120F and went fishing ;D

Got a text from the neighour shortly after 9am advising the temp was reading 185 :-\  How could that be I set the oven temp for 120 F!? Remember the smoker is in a sheltered shed.  Should I have just used the smoker element for heat?
Anyways told him to turn off the oven and let it sit as I would be returning shortly.

I ran across the street as soon as I got home to check it out & try a piece, it looked great, smelled great - I'm thinking I'm 3/3 now :D




however after big bite and a chew I learned it was salty as all heck :P  Practically needed a beer for each piece :D  It was my preferred "chewyness" so to speak and had no other issues with it but how salty it was.  So, obviously disappointed  I called a few fishing buds all of which smoke but have never made this recipe only to learn I probably used the wrong kind of salt; I used the iodized table salt and not the pickling or coarse salt (are pickling & coarse salt the same?) apparently a big no no and is a rule to be followed in smoking 101? - does this make sense to you guys???
I mixed exactly 1.5 cups of salt to 1.5 cups of brown sugar :-\

I really want get this recipe dialed in as I brought home another 4 salmon today and itching to giver another go and get it right :-\  Should I perhaps try 1 cup salt to 1.5 cups brown sugar or should I be using a different salt?

Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated, thanks.

Cheers,
G.

[pensrock]

I cannot comment on the saltiness but I'm sure others will chime in. But I think 26 pucks of smoke is waaaay too much. I would use 9-12 pucks, most likely start with nine to see how that comes out first and if I wanted more smoke flavor bump it up some the next batch.

[deb415611]

Gman,

Here is a link to the Morton Salt Guide.  It has a chart w/ what to use different types of salt with and also a conversion chart for measuring the different types.  Iodized is not checked for brining

Deb

[HawkeyeSmokes]

Hi Gman,

A cup of iodized table salt weights about double that of canning or kosher salt. That may well be why it came out very salty for you. Most recipes will state to use canning of kosher salt but not sure about this one.

[Gizmo]

Here is the link I think Deb meant to include.
http://www.mortonsalt.com/salt_guide/index.html

In addition to the other great advice already given:
Iodized salt can also impart a metallic taste to food and most find it undesirable.

Rinsing the brine off will help with the saltiness.  You can also fry a little piece and taste test it to see if it is still too salty.

I also noticed you did not air dry the salmon (in the fridge) to form a pellicle before putting it into the smoker.  That will help with the overall look, taste and texture as well.

[tsquared]

I totally agree with what Giz said about the iodized salt and air drying your salmon before smoking. You want to put a fan on the fish and get that nice glossy pellicle happening before you put it in the smoke. In addition, someone already said it but to be clear: You only need 2 or 3 hours of smoke in a Bradley-- 9 pucks would be max. The rest of the time would be heat only, no smoke. What you are doing by pushing heated air past the fish is removing moisture--a very important part of the process to get the dryness and texture you want. Don't give up--you sound like you have the determination to get it right and you will!
Good smoking to you.
T2

[deb415611]

Here is the link I think Deb meant to include.
http://www.mortonsalt.com/salt_guide/index.html

yup, thanks Giz

[Gman74]

Thanks you all for your suggestions, very helpful information indeed.

I thought I was doing the right thing as the Bradley Indian Candy recipe advised to "smoke at about 50°C to 60°C (110°F to 135°F) for 4 to 12 hours depending on your preference", I chose 8 hours therefore used the required amount of pucks :-\  I also didn't read anything about letting it air dry for a few hours to let the pellicle set-up so that's why I didn't do it :-\

Do I always want everything to air dry for a few hours before putting in smoker to allow pellicle to set-up?

What is your take on my the temp was so high?

Thanks again all for the helpful tips & suggestions.

Cheers G.

[tsquared]

G-man--with fish you do. There are a few different food items you smoke where not having moisture on the food surface is important. The other main one is cheese. I've never noticed a taste difference with things like butt or ribs but with fish and cheese you get this ash taste if you don't get the food surface dry prior to smoking. It's even more important when you are cold smoking fish as it seems to be more delicate still. I'm not sure about the temp rise question--maybe someone with a dbs can chime in-I have no experience with it. BTW--did you catch any fish?  :D
T2

[Gizmo]

Sorry GMAN, forgot the temp part.
The smoke gen by itself will heat to 150 plus on a nice day.  Using an aluminum dryer hose and a cardboard box to offset the smoke gen from the oven box as in a cold smoke setup, is the way to go for salmon and other low temp processes.   There is also a cold smoke box that is now sold.

[Smokeville]

Hi Gman;

Sorry to hear about the results.... I've used kosher salt for everything at home for so long that it never occurred to me. But, I did smoke for the full amount of time the fish was in the box. And, I did air-dry the fish first. I forgot about that.... I bought a small fan from Canadian Tire that sits nicely on the counter.

Rich

[Gman74]

Thanks guys.

Well just brined up another batch last night.  This time I used coarse salt and Demerara brown sugar. Used a little less salt and packed the brown sugar for measuring purposes.  Currently got the strips air drying right now near a fan.  In the next hour or so I"ll take'em over and slam'em in the smoker for a 3 hour smoke and total cook time of hours to start.

Keep ya'all updated.

Cheers G.

[Gizmo]

Well I guess you could always add more salt after the product is finished so you can have another beer after each bite again.  Gee, I though that was the key ingredient and reason for food.   :D

[Bavind]

I used the same recipe form the Bradley site and it was also very very salty. Should have come here first for advice

[HawkeyeSmokes]

Welcome to the forum Bavind. A lot of good people here with great ideas. Check out the recipe site.  http://www.susanminor.org/forums/