Bradley Smoked Wild Alaskan Salmon

devo · December 03, 2012, 04:14:06 PM

You really have watch where your from. Here in Canada pickling salt is coarse salt. I also bought some Kosher salt the other day and it clearly says its sea salt.

Windsor Kosher salt just says its coarse crystal salt.

No name Kosher brand says sea salt

rooster85 · December 03, 2012, 05:05:17 PM

Quote from: pmmpete on December 03, 2012, 03:57:20 PM
By "set up," do you mean form in a shiny dry outside layer, called a "pellicle?" If so, you have two options:

(a) If the air is cool and/or humid, or you are keeping the fish cool in a refrigerator, it can take longer to form a pellicle. In an effort to speed up the drying, you can set up a fan to blow air across the fillets, and/or set the fish out in a room-temperature area.

(b) put the fish in your smoker at 80-100 degrees for an hour, without any smoke, in an effort to dry off the fish.

The reason you want to form a pellicle before you start smoking the fish is because fish or sausage which is wet doesn't absorb smoke well. However, you don't want to leave the fish for too long at temperatures above 40 degrees while forming a pellicle, because bacteria can grow in the fish at warmer temperatures, and you may spoil the fish.

Right, I want it to form that pellicle. It may be to cold here so I put them in the smoker as low as I could get it and cracked the door. They are getting "tacky" but no crust as of yet.

KyNola · December 03, 2012, 07:39:39 PM

"Tacky" should work just fine.

rooster85 · December 03, 2012, 07:57:31 PM

Thanks kynola, I'm about to fire it up now and give it a shot before it gets to late and the fish spoils.

SmokyJones · December 08, 2012, 07:34:47 PM

I prepared Kummok's Brine Recipe earlier today and have 11 lbs of Salmon cut into 1.25" strips sitting in an iced 5 gallon bucket of brine in the garage. The plan is to go to bed shortly and wake up in 3 hours to pull them out and dry them off. I will rack them in the fridge and leave them there until I get home from work tomorrow. By that time I am hoping that a nice pellicle has formed. I haven't yet decided what flavor smoke will be rolling tomorrow evening but I am leaning towards hickory for about 2.5 hours. Has anyone had good luck with this? I just replaced my OBS with a digital 4-rack and I'm excited to get this thing going!!! ;D

Tenpoint5 · December 08, 2012, 08:11:05 PM

Nothing wrong with hickory at all

SmokyJones · December 09, 2012, 03:39:37 AM

Pulled the Salmon out of the brine and have them racked up to form pellicle. It sure does smell good, I can only imagine what they are going to taste like. I can't wait to get these babies into the smoker tonight!! It is going to be a long day at work today!

iceman · December 10, 2012, 01:44:53 PM

Quote from: Tenpoint5 on December 08, 2012, 08:11:05 PM
Nothing wrong with hickory at all

Works for me ;)
Apple is kind of nice too.

SmokyJones · December 10, 2012, 03:54:43 PM

Finished my salmon up pretty late last night and other than the few nibbles I tried while going through the vac-seal process, I didn't get to enjoy it. I raced home after work tonight to have it for dinner and the only thing i have to say is, Hickory combined with Kummok's brine recipe is PRETTY SPECIAL!!! I'm glad I now have a freezer full of this stuff. My next area of exploration is Pastrami - I think I'll try that before the holiday.

jjmoney · January 08, 2013, 06:14:44 PM

Quote from: devo on December 03, 2012, 04:14:06 PM
You really have watch where your from. Here in Canada pickling salt is coarse salt. I also bought some Kosher salt the other day and it clearly says its sea salt.

Windsor Kosher salt just says its coarse crystal salt. No Name sea salt...

"Sea Salt" is usually no different from pickling salt or kosher salt - it's mostly sodium chloride. A real unrefined sea salt will be grey and contain some insoluble scum. All the salts you mentioned are generally interchangeable.

Calling salt "sea salt" whether or not it is actually from an actual ocean is basically a marketing ploy. If it's unrefined salt, the color (pink, grey, whatever) will give it away. I wouldn't necessarily use those salts for food preservation. Kosher salt is your best bet. Just avoid anything that lists any other ingredient than salt.

Snoopy · July 12, 2013, 09:40:53 PM

Doing this bad boy right now, though I must have done something wrong, following the temp/time guidelines and at the low end at 1.5 hours had boogers. Got about an hour left just bumped to 175*. Wipe boogers off during or after?

Kummok · July 15, 2013, 10:18:47 PM

Some salmon are just, well, snotty...especially farmed salmon. I'd wait until smoking is done and then wipe their noses...the boogers are all about appearance anyway. Make certain that you are venting well while smoking and getting a good pellicle formed before putting in the smoker.

Snoopy · July 17, 2013, 09:35:37 AM

did a second batch and lot less boogers, left at the lower heat longer, almost lost a whole tray as i dropped it, luckily i didn't spray the racks because they all stuck to it but one little piece.

rveal23 · July 28, 2013, 03:59:13 PM

I gave this a shot yesterday, and it came out amazing.. I vac sealed and froze the left overs. Would you guys recommend to put the bags in boiling water when reheating this so they don't dry out in the Microwave or oven?

tskeeter · July 28, 2013, 09:02:14 PM

Quote from: rveal23 on July 28, 2013, 03:59:13 PM
I gave this a shot yesterday, and it came out amazing.. I vac sealed and froze the left overs. Would you guys recommend to put the bags in boiling water when reheating this so they don't dry out in the Microwave or oven?

Rveal23, I simply defrost my frozen smoked salmon in the refrigerator for a couple of days. To serve, I plate it and let it come up to room temperature.

If the salmon is going to be sitting out for a few hours, I will put the serving platter in the fridge or freezer to get it well chilled before I plate the salmon. My logic is that a chilled platter will help keep the fish a bit chilled for a while.