Bradley Smoked Wild Alaskan Salmon

[Smokeville]

Well, once again kudos to Kummok for this brine recipe.....

I got an e-mail order for some trout pate and steelhead trout pieces. So the wife who ordered it sent her husband to pick it up on his way home from work. This fellow shows up at our house, and I immediately notice how well dressed he is. Now, we live in a town which is the richest per-capita income in Canada, but this suit was even exceptional by town standards. It was the type of suit that would cost about the same as 4-5 brand new DBS6's. So, the first thing he says is "you have an exceptional product!"

Well, we all know just how good salmon (or trout) from a Bradley is, and how much better it is because of Kummok's brine.

But then I decided to check out who this well-dressed young man was. It turns out he is a very senior VP with a very large company, and this very large company is the largest grocery chain in the country.

In my fantasy world, I'm waiting for his call offering me several hundred thousand bucks to develop this into a chain wide product.

In the meantime, thanks to Kummok for this really really great recipe.

Rich

[Kummok]

Very glad it's working out for you, Rich! It is sooooo cool when a hard working person(s) with a passion for what they do (such as yourselves), gets "discovered" by a "somebody". Hoping this turns into a major deal for you/yours...(and that you bring me down in your Gulfstream 550 for a fishing trip in your 65' Bayweld private troller...I'll bring the local Red Knot ale)!  ;) ;)


BTW...don't care much for suits anymore...what kind of car/truck was he driving?!?!?  ;)

[Smokeville]

I couldn't tell the make because its was too dark, I regret.

About that 65' Bayweld private troller... the only place nearby to fish would be Lake Ontario. And, although there is a lot of sport fishing in the Great Lakes, and even some commercial fishing surviving, that, to me, is a very scarey thought!

And, regarding living in a fantasy world, here is my favourite T-shirt......

[Kummok]

Love the shirt...I've always said that life is a lot easier when you finally give in to insanity!  :o   As far as the trolling, by the time you get the private jet you'll already have a fishing lodge on the BC coastal waterway with the boat docked there....not to worry!  ;)

[Smokeville]

I'll meet you there! (Both in BC and my own little world).

[nodak]

Is there an internal temperature one should be shooting for when smoking salmon?? 

Thanks,
nodak

[Quarlow]

Not really. It sort of is done when its done. You want to get it to about the dryness you desire. I like mine a little dryer but my brother made some awhile ago and didn't make it as dry and I really liked it. You have to go to your personal liking. Some like it closer to loks and some like it drier.

[nodak]

Well pulled my first tiny batch salmon out of the smoker. Like texture of the thinner pieces but seem a little salty.  maybe I'll try rinsing next time after brining.  But overall prettygood I must say.  thanks for the posts.  Kinda nerve racking for first timer when not going for an Internal temp.

Thanks,
Nodak

[pmmpete]

How much you dry your fish while smoking it is a matter of personal preference.  The internal temperature which your fish reaches while smoking it is important for the safety of the fish, and should not be a matter of personal preference.  Food preservation experts recommend that you always heat smoked fish to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F for at least thirty minutes in order to kill the bacteria which can cause botulism and other food poisoning.

University extension services are a good source of information about the proper way to smoke fish.  If you Google "smoking fish extension service" you'll find a lot of useful information about smoking fish.  An example of the information you'll find is Smoking Fish at Home - Safely, by K.S. Hilderbrand, Pacific Northwest Extension Publication #238, which is available at http://cru.cahe.wse.edu/cepublications/pnw238/pnw238.pdf , and Smoking Fish at Home, by Chuck Crapo, University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service FNH-00325, which is available at http://www.uaf.edu/files/ces/publications-db/catalog/hec/FNH-00325.pdf . These PDF documents may take a minute to download; click on the screen if nothing seems to be happening.

Food preservation experts say that producing safe smoked fish requires three things: (a) salting or brining the fish long enough to ensure that adequate salt is present in the smoked fish, (b) heating the fish to a 160 degree internal temperature for at least 30 minutes, and (c) refrigerating and/or freezing the fish after it has been smoked.  Because fish of different thicknesses, different oiliness, and with and without skin will absorb salt at different rates, you can't determine whether a piece of fish has adequate salt content to preserve it without chemical analysis.  As a result, the only way to ensure that your smoked fish is safe is by bringing the fish to an internal temperature which is high enough to kill the bacteria which cause botulism and other food poisoning, and by refrigerating the fish after it is smoked.  Unless the fillets being smoked are quite thin, the air temperature in your smoker will need to be higher than 160 degrees to produce an internal temperature of 160 degrees in the fish in a reasonable amount of time.  If your smoker can't produce high enough air temperatures to produce an internal temperature of 160 degrees in your fish, you should finish the fish off in an oven after smoking it.

I've noticed some postings in this forum in which people say that they feel that a smoker temperature or an internal temperature which is much lower than a 160 degree F internal temperature is sufficient for smoking fish.  Food preservation experts don't agree with those opinions.

Some trial and error is required to learn how to produce fish which has what you regard as the perfect degree of dryness and a nice flaky texture, without developing "curds" from getting the fish too hot before it has dried out sufficiently, but while reaching a 160 degree internal temperature for at least half an hour during the smoking process. This typically involves beginning the smoking process at a moderate smoker temperature such as 120-130 degrees, and then as the fish starts getting as dry as you like, increasing the smoker temperature to a level which will get the fish up to a 160 degree internal temperature for half an hour before the fish gets too dry.  You'll need to try various combinations of time and temperature.  I have a lousy memory, so I keep notes about what I did and how it turned out.  You can quickly figure out a good procedure for a particular kind and size of fish, but may need a quite different procedure for a different kind of fish.  For example, the last fillets I smoked were pretty large and thick lake trout fillets, which aren't particularly oily.  Kokanee salmon fillets, which are little thin oily fillets, require quite different times and temperatures.

[smnfsher]

 :'(HELP!?

I accidently left my Salmon in the cure for the last 2 1/2 days, it is sugar/salt and garlic. Should I trash it? Anyone know how it will turn out?

Many Thanks!

[Habanero Smoker]

It may be overly salty. Cut off a small piece and pan fry it, then taste to see how salty it is. If it is way too salty, you can soak in it water, changing the water every half hour, then do another taste test. Repeat if necessary.

[pmmpete]

I transferred the following exchange from another thread, because it relates to Kummok's brine recipe:

Smokeville said:  Hello all; From what I understand, a typical brine of 1/2 gallon of water and 1 cup of kosher salt will read 60 on the salinity scale.  Kummok's brine recipe calls for 1 gallon of water, 1 cup of salt, and 1 quart of soy sauce, which has a LOT of salt. 
Can anyone calculate what this does to the salinity? Does this bring it back up to 60?  Thanks, Rich

I replied:

Brine recipes which call for a specific volume of salt, such as 1 cup of kosher salt in half a gallon of water, are less accurate and predictable than brine recipes which call for a specific weight of salt, because different kinds and brands of salt have different densities.  If you check the volume-to-weight conversion tables for salt in various books and internet sites, you get a pretty wide range of weights for a cup of regular table salt.  10 oz./cup is about in the middle of the range of weights for table salt.  Warren Anderson's book "Mastering the Craft of Making Sausage" lists weights of 22 grams/tbsp (i.e. 12.4 oz./cup) for regular salt and 12 grams/tbsp (i.e. 6.8 oz/cup) for kosher salt.  amazingribs.com contains the following conversion table for different kinds of salt:

1 tsp Morton's tables salt equals:
1.5 tsp Morton's kosher salt
1.8 tsp Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt
1.8 tsp Morton's pickling salt
3 to 4 or more tsp sea salt

Because of these differences in the density of salt, a brine recipe which specifies the quantity of salt by weight will be more predictable than a brine recipe which specifies the quantity of salt by volume.  There are charts which specify the volume of water and weight of salt required to prepare brines of different salinities.  For example, a brine which is 60 degrees SAL (salometer degrees) will contain 15.837 percent salt by weight.  That is 1.568 pounds (25.088 oz.) of salt per gallon of water, or .784 pounds (12.544 oz.) of salt per half gallon of water. There is a good article on making brines and salinity at http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/sausage-making/curing/making-brine which contains such charts.  See also "Preparation of Salt Brines for the Fishing Industry," Oregon Sea Grant Publication ORESU-H-99-002, which is available at http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/sgpubs/onlinepubs/h99002.pdf .
 
Another way to prepare a brine with a specific salinity is to use a salinometer to measure the concentration of the brine, and to adjust the concentration by adding water or salt.  However, that takes a lot of trial and error.  It's faster to use the weights of salt specified on a salinity chart.

It is difficult to predict the salinity of Kummok's salmon brine because his recipe specifies a volume of salt rather than a weight of salt, and because different brands of soy sauce contain different concentrations of salt.  The only way to determine the salt concentration of Kummock's brine recipe for any specific kind of salt and specific brand of soy sauce is by mixing up the volumes of water, salt, and soy sauce which he recommends, and then measuring the concentration of the mixture with a salinometer, before adding any other ingredients such as sugar.

However, you can estimate the salt concentration produced by the water and salt components of Kummok's brine recipe based on the weight-to-volume conversion ratios described above.  Based on the conversion ratio for regular table salt of 10 oz./cup, a cup of regular table salt in half a gallon of water would produce a brine which is about 50 degrees SAL.  However, kosher salt weighs less per cup than regular salt.  Based on Anderson's conversion ratio for kosher salt of 6.8 oz./cup, a cup of kosher salt in half a gallon of water would produce a brine which is about 35 degrees SAL.  Kummok's brine recipe calls for 1 cup of pickling salt in a gallon of water, so if you look just at the salt and water portion of his brine recipe, based on Anderson's conversion ratio for kosher salt, the recipe would produce a brine which is about 18 degrees SAL.

A brine doesn't need to be 60 degrees SAL in order to salt fish for smoking, but the lower the salt concentration in the brine, the longer the fish needs to stay in the brine to reach a desired degree of saltiness.  Longer brining times increase the chances of bacterial growth and spoilage.

The advantage of being accurate and consistent about the salt concentration of your brines is that you can learn how long fish of a certain species, size, thickness, and with or without skin should be left in the brine to produce the degree of saltiness which you like.  If a batch of smoked fish comes out saltier than you prefer, don't leave the next batch in the brine as long.  When I try out a new brine recipe, I adjust the salinity of the water and salt portion of the brine to 60 degrees SAL, because it doesn't take very long to brine fish in a brine which is that concentrated, and I know how long I like to leave different kinds of fish in a brine of that concentration.

[Quarlow]

Well pulled my first tiny batch salmon out of the smoker. Like texture of the thinner pieces but seem a little salty.  maybe I'll try rinsing next time after brining.  But overall prettygood I must say.  thanks for the posts.  Kinda nerve racking for first timer when not going for an Internal temp.

Thanks,
Nodak

You can solve this by cutting the belly flaps off of the thick body meat. Then brine the flaps for less time. I like to do this and add extra brown sugar to the flaps. They kind of get candied and are great to nibble on.

[San Diego Man]

Am new to this forum and have spent a lot of time reading. Long story short, was in Portland a few weeks ago and my son took me steel head fishing and we had a guide and fished on the Washington side. We did real well but we had to release a lot because the guide said we could not keep the wild ones. Wonder why that is?

I brought back approx. 20 lbs of fish. My son did smoke some while we were there and WOW, that was great. So after spending a lot of time reading on this forum and the help and advise from pmmpete, I did my first batch yesterday. It really turn out better than I hoped. I had a little last night but this morning, I put some on a bagel w/cream cheese and WOW, had to have another one.  ;)
Tasted better after being in the refrig over night.

One question, put some in a zip lock bag in the refrig and noticed it was very oily this morning, is that normal?

Now I am hooked on smoking salmon!

[Quarlow]

Yes steelhead is an oilier salmon. but that is just liquid flavour. Congrats on your successful smoke. Enjoy.