Bradley Smoked Wild Alaskan Salmon

[Jaunty]

Hi guys. I used the brine at the start of this post as a rough guide and brined a salmon  side and 3 whole trout for 12 hours. (I also dry cured the other salmon side and 2 trout fillets which I cold smoked after letting the pellicel form. 70% sea salt, 30% brown sugar, cured 12 hours, rinse, dry, smoked for 4 hours - came out good!).I cut my salmon was in bigger pieces than Kummock's portions.

Dried on racks in the fridge for 36 hours (only this long as I did the cold smoke first then was out and about). I hot smoked with oak as follows

120F 1 hour 20m
140F 1 Hour 20m
170F 1 hour 40m

This was enough to get the salmon just cooked through but very very moist still, which is how I prefer it. Also managed to fit in 4 chicken breasts down one side which also cooked/smoked nicely.

I have done hot  salmon on a cedar plank a few times on my Weber S450, which is great for an occasion, but this gives excellent results, and you can set it and forget about it as well.  :)

[Dancindon]

Hey Kum et al:

I'm wondering if the water pan to extinguish used chip cakes is really necessary? Seems odd to have a pan of water in a smoker designed to dry the product. My first batch came out way too moist, and I'm wondering if the pan of H20 is a contributing factor?? Some of the cakes in the pan look barely burned, and retained their original shape, what gives there? Is there an adjustment I can make to keep the chip cakes from being ejected before they are fully burned?

I also had the top vent open only around 1/8 inch, and suspect it should have been opened farther to aid drying.

I'm a newbie here, live in Fairbanks for 35yrs, and just came back from Chitina with my limit of 15 reds, don't want to screw up my next batch, may try cold smoking with an outboard box next time.

I used ~ 4 hrs @ 100, 4hrs @ 120, 4hrs@ 140, and finally 5hrs @ 100. I foolishly eliminated the pellicle stage, and got LOTS of white sludge on top of the fillets (before I found this excellent site) -- oh well, it's still edible, just not what I hoped for.

thanks for your help, Don

[aces-n-eights]

Hey another Alaskan - welcome!  A couple of comments...  first off i would recommend you keep the water dish in the smoker to extinguish the pucks after they burn.  This keeps them from smoldering.  You can remove the water dish after the smoke phase - a good idea, IMO. 

Also, i would open the top vent at least half.  You really want that moisture to escape.

A total of 17 hours seems long to me.  The times i've done salmon, it's in the 5 hour neighborhood.  Still ramp it up like you do, maybe try shortening the times a bit.

I have not totally solved the problem of "boogers" - the sludge on top - let me know if you find a good solution for that!

Again, welcome and don't hesitate to ask - you'll get lots of responses  ;D

[Kummok]

Camai Don!
The fish was too moist because they weren't pellicled first....this is critical to getting the right texture (and avoiding boogers!). Try again w/ a good overnight drying session and see if you aren't more satisfied with the outcome. Also, I'm down to about 3.5 - 4 hours total time in smoker nowadays and get great results....but that's because they get more pellicle forming time w/ fan on.

[Dancindon]

Thanks for your good advice guys. Nevermore will I skip the pellicle phase!!!

Kumm--what is the shorter heating schedule you're using now? I've ordered a programmable temp regulator, so should be able to duplicate it exactly. Have you tried cold smoking with an outboard box for the smoke generator yet? My first screwed up batch is actually fairly tasty, just ugly-looking and very moist. The only thing I've ever actually murdered in a smoker was an entire moose brisket cut into strips and marinated for jerky. My fire got out of control in the outboard wood-fired smoke generator and converted everything to charcoal inside the old refrigerator smoker -- live and learn!

[Kummok]

You can stick w/ the standard recipe times and still get great results...I've just changed over the years to put more time into pellicle stage and then use the lower smoking times in the recipe (they total 4 hours)...but that's just the way I do it and might not be what others like. Not to downplay the use of the "extras" (like the prog temp regltrs and such) because they certainly have a use for making the job of smoking different things easier and more "duplicatable", but I don't use anything but the Bradley stock features and haven't had any fish that are inedible in the many years I've been doing this....doggone salmon is almost impossible to ruin in a smoker!  ;)  Just saying that for readers that might be concerned that they finally saved up enough to get their BS and think that they now have to add more $tuff........not!  Kinda like getting your first boat, gun, ATV, bike, welder, computer, etc.....ALWAYS something new and fun to add but you can do a LOT with the OEM package!

[Sandma]

Hi
I went to a cooking class on smoking today and loved it. I don't even have a smoker (yet) but want to thank you for all your great ideas.

[Mr Walleye]

Hi Sandma and welcome to the forum.

Great group of folks around here and more than willing to share information. If you haven't been to the recipe site yet just click on the smoker in the bottom of my post. Tons of great stuff there from all the fine folks here on the forum.

Mike

[Buckeye]

Hello All:

Been lurking a while.  Just bought the OBS, Maverick E-73, and the small mesh non-stick racks.  Never smoked anything before, but love smoked fish.

Not much salmon in Ohio, but caught 25 Lake Erie Steelhead and decided to try Kummok's method for some of them.

Did one load today and will do another tomorrow.  Today's load will become smoked trout spread - tomorrow's will be vacuum sealed.

Took photos w/ my phone but left the download cable at work.  Will try to post them Monday.

Steelies came out great.  Stayed towards the lower end on the cooking times and applied smoke for 3 out of 5 hours.

Got a very small amount of the white stuff you all talk about but not bad (only about a third of the pieces) - maybe I'll try less time at the 170F level for 2nd batch?

One question for you - My Maverick was reading 15 to 20 degrees highter than the door mounted thermometer.  Is this normal and, if it is, which temp should I believe?   This time I leaned towards the Maverick.

Thanks for everyone's input on this thread - made my first smoke pretty easy!

By the way, I only fish for Steelies a few times a year - but get hundreds of walleyes throughout the summer and fall.  Anyone have a good recipe for smoked walleye?

Jeff in Ohio

[HawkeyeSmokes]

Hello Buckeye and welcome to the forum. Trust your ET on the temp. I've got the 6 rack digital smoker and the sensor for that is on the back wall. A remote with the probe near the rack with food on it will be more accurate. Glad to hear your smoked fish turned out for you. Never tried smoked walleye but I would think they might be a bit dry but with the numbers you catch, might be worth trying a batch. Good luck, ask lot's of questions and keep that vent open.  ;D

[shaka]

I'm wondering if any one could tell me if you can use the same brine for a second batch or if i should make a new brine for each smoker load ? By the way MMMMMMMGOOD

[Tenpoint5]

Shaka,
In my unedumacated opinion I would recommend starting over with a new batch. To avoid cross contamination and figuring that the salts that are preserving the salmon won't have the same strength as in the first batch. IMHO 

[Mr Walleye]

I'm wondering if any one could tell me if you can use the same brine for a second batch or if i should make a new brine for each smoker load ? By the way MMMMMMMGOOD

Hi Shaka and welcome to the forum.

Hopefully Kummok will along and comment on your question but in my opinion you should never reuse a brine once it's been used. Having said that I will yield to Kummok's expertise because he is the salmon king hands down.  ;)

It is fantastic isn't it!  8)

Mike

[manxman]

the same brine for a second batch

Welcome to the forum shaka.

I would always make up fresh brine from a food safety point of view for the reasons outlined by 10.5.

[Kummok]

I agree with all comments on this question, Shaka. Re-using the brine is just plain nasty and not recommended....  Wish I could do that with the large batches I make up...seems wasteful but I'd rather dump the brine than waste the salmon.....