Bradley Smoked Wild Alaskan Salmon

[precookingsmoker]

Having trouble with using Cheyenne pepper in a test brine mix with water. Whether I heat the water or leave it cold, some of the pepper remains in suspension and most will accumulate at the bottom whether stirred vigorously or not.

Does the pepper stick to one of the other ingredients as part of Kummock's brine mix for an even distribution of the pepper in his liquid brine mix?

Sprinkling pepper on the fish after brining will not work well for me.... I am bound to get "hot spots" and the measure will be difficult to control too.

[RAF128]

Thank Kynola,

I was starting to wonder if this was more work than necessary. I will take your advice and enjoy a scotch.  ;)

Mike

Scotch? :D.   I like good scotch and a good cigar to go with it.   I'd better go hunting for another salmon or 2 ;)

[bob_loblaw]

Love this recipe.  Have some whitefish that I am waiting for the pellicle to form.  Gonna smoke em up tomorrow morning.

[RAF128]

I've tried some smoke whitefish and it's pretty good, at least the stuff I had.   I've tried whitefish fried, and baked.    Didn't care for it all.    Too soft a flesh IMO but smoked, it's good.

[bob_loblaw]

Whitefish in smoker.  Hanging steak style as I am still trying to replicate Calumet Fisheries.  I have a pic, but how to get it on here?   ??? ???

I suspect now you need to have the picture on a site already and can link to it, but you cannot upload directly right? 

[dylansdad]

So, rather dumb question:
Is there a certain temperature or range that the Glazing process should take place at?

Can the fish sit in the fridge or is that too....?

Thanks!
Dave

[Kummok]

Room temp has always worked for me.....my room temps are normally in the mid 60s F and I always use a low speed fan....cooler is better for the meat. I know some folks that pellicle in the reefer but I don't...not enough air circulation for my tastes.....also likely to get unwanted flavor transfers....

[dylansdad]

Perfect! Thanks.  I kinda figured that about the fridge since the fish would be sitting there uncovered, kinda like how the ice in a freezer can get the flavor and scent of the other stuff in there.

More questions, is there a "it sat at the glaze phase for too long" time?  Ie. It sat over night and glaze happened rather quickly but I fell asleep and didn't get to it until morning.  Can it sit in the fridge sealed up after it glazes for a bit?

[HCAO]

i didn't think it was safe to leave the fish outside overnight, so i always glaze it in the fridge for 12 hours or more.  sometimes up to 24 hours.

[SmokintheTuk]

In the Smoking time, are you giving the fish smoke through the entire process, or smoke the 1st couple of hours, then just heat?

[SmokintheTuk]

OK, This smoked salmon rocks.  I am a 2 week old owner of the Digital 4 rack and just did my first salmon.  I followed the Kummok brine/glaze/smoke guidelines and couldn't be happier.  Tailgating at the Cardinal game just stepped up a bunch of notches.  My buddies are going to flip over this tomorrow.  Who cares that we don't have a QB, we have smoked salmon, jalapeno poppers and burgers.  Thanks Kummok!

[ShutUpNFish]

Hi there...I'm getting ready to smoke some steelhead and salmon this afternoon and I have a couple Qs...first, is it really neccessary to cut the fish into little strips like this recipe calls for?  I have always smoked my fish in 1/2 full fillets.  At what setting do you generally keep the vent on top when smoking the fish?  Or is this depending on how strong you want the smoke flavor?  Thanks in advance.

[FLBentRider]

Hi there...I'm getting ready to smoke some steelhead and salmon this afternoon and I have a couple Qs...first, is it really neccessary to cut the fish into little strips like this recipe calls for?  I have always smoked my fish in 1/2 full fillets.  At what setting do you generally keep the vent on top when smoking the fish?  Or is this depending on how strong you want the smoke flavor?  Thanks in advance.

The vent is not used for smoke control. You want the vent open to release moisture that can keep your temps down, and cause black rain on your food.

You don't have to cut the salmon that small, although you may need to adjust the cooking times. For even cooking its important that the pieces are of similar size.

[Kummok]

The size of the meat is strictly according to personal tastes and discussed more specifically in other 'Fish' threads. It will however, have an effect on pellicle forming and smoking times....essentially, the bigger the chunk of meat the longer the pellicle and smoking times....(not talking major time differentials). I have "evolved" into 1-1.5" bite-size chunks because I like the smokey outsides (kind like making just muffin TOPs!)....they take a bit longer to process into bite size but hey, I'm retired!!

Venting is more about releasing moisture than smoke flavor....very important to vent when smoking fish....I usually run the vent 1/2 to 3/4 open and close it a bit during the last hour...

I always try to give this "disclaimer"....
Salmon is especially forgiving....you might hit exactly what you're after on your first smoke but most of us have dialed it in for our own tastes after a few more experimental smokes....meanwhile the "mistakes" are delicious!!

[johnk5555]

Was smoke applied the whole time?