Cold Smoked Salmon - 2nd Time Around (Pics)

[NewfieSmoker]

Hey Guys,

As we discussed in a previous post, I am trying to "Master" Cold Smoked Salmon.  We will be featuring Smoked Salmon on the menu at our Inn this summer, if I can get it consistant, and close to perfect.  I did one batch last week with unsatisfactory results, even though it didnt last long.  You can read the lead up to this point here http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=15034.0

Basically, the first lot was made with inferior salmon, and while the texture was good, it had a bitter after taste, and I would like the salmon flavor to be stronger.

I loosened the purse strings today and purchased some fresh Altlantic Salmon.






The fillet and pieces that I bought were quite large, being just over 2" thick at some points.









Ive heard differing opinions that freezing the fish prior to curing will help make the fish firmer.  So I wrapped the large fillet and off to the freezer for a week.  I wish I could get that bad boy in the Bradley in one piece!  It's a Beauty!  Here are the 3 pieces that I will cure this time around.








I mixed up my cure.  3 cups salt, 3 cups brown sugar, 1 cup white sugar.  I laid the pieces of fish on a 1/2 inch of cure.







I gave each piece a light dusting of cayanne, and then layed on some fresh dill, and a few flakes of dehydrated onion.









Finally, I covered it all with a good layer of the cure mixture and packed it in nice and tight and into the fridge with some weight on top to compress it.  I did not use all the cure, just enough to get it buried in nicely.








The last lot I did, I left in the dry cure for about 12 hours.  These pieces are much thicker, so I will leave for 16 - 20 hours and see how much liquid they've released.  I had the pieces very dry before I added the cure.

I will give an update tomorrow.

Newfie

[Slamdunk]

Good pictorial!
The cayenne pepper is an interesting touch. Am looking forward to seeing how that turns out.

Hope it turns out as you imagine it will.

Good for you for bucking up, (for our American cousins, 3.2 K is 7 pounds. $8.00 per pound) .

I am SO glad I live on the West Coast because I'd never want to have to pay that much for Atlantic salmon! Hell, I'd never want to pay that much for Pacific salmon!! I prefer to go out and get my own. These shots are from last summer on Vancouver Island. The next stop over the horizon is Japan. Good cold waters so the fish were in excellent condition.

We ended up with a couple more each of roughly the same size - 24 pounds. Am going back up with my fishing bud this summer for a week.

[NewfieSmoker]

Those are some great looking fish!  Yes, 8 bucks a lb is pricey.  It will get better as the summer season approaches, closer to 4 or 5 dollars per lb.

Here are some pics of the pieces after 10 hours in the dry cure.  The cure pulled a lot more moisture out of the fish then I expected. The last batch I did, with a previously frozen fillet did not release much moisture at all.  So, the cure is working!  The flesh is starting to get firm, and the skin is almost crunchy....Interesting.  Since there is so much going on in that dish, I am going to let dry cure until 5 this evening, a total of 17 hours in the dry cure.





Since it seemed like the bottom side was curing faster, I flipped the pieces and put about 1/2 cup more cure on top.  Hopefully the dill flavor will soak out in some of the juices down undeneath.









Stay Tuned!

[azamuner73]

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out for ya.

Cold-smoked salmon is soooooo good.

I like to have it with a herbed mascarpone cheese, pickled red onions and garlic toast points.

[NewfieSmoker]

So here are the fillet pieces after a 17 hour rest in the dry cure.  Most of the dry cure had been liquified, and the fish had a very hard, almost "candy apple" feel.  They had a very nice deep color.

Now for a 17 hour soak in the wet brine.  Here's what I used.

9.5 cups water
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp black pepper
1/3 cup Dark molasses
2 garlic cloves
A handful of fresh dill
1 tsp Instacure # 1

As you can see, I'm following the recipe from the susan minor site, substituting certain items.  I included a small amount of Instacure #1 to see what it does for the color.  It is a small amount when mixed in water, but it may have some effect on the color of the salmon.  Since this will be cold smoked, it certainly will help make the fish a little safer.


Newfie

[OU812]

Man that is lookin good Newfie, cant wait to see and hear about the finished product.

Here in Nebraska $8/lb is the norm and when its on sale your lucky to see $6

[NewfieSmoker]

The last time I did the cold smoke, the salmon had a slight bitter taste, but not quite smokey enough.  I kept the damper almost closed for 2 hours and 40 mins of smoke. 

I attribute the bitter taste to having the damper closed, and this time I will open it up.  Should I have it completely open, or half, or what?

This time I am going to use only apple pucks and go for 3 hours.

What do you think?

Newfie

[smokeNcanuck]

Great work so far Newfie! Can't wait to see the finished product.
Hope it turns out more to your liking this time.  If not you can send it to me ;)

I always leave my vent at least half open, maybe evan 3/4, never had any problems with smoke flavor.
But I'm no expert.

[NewfieSmoker]

Well, Here are the pieces after a 17 hours soak in the wet brine.  I freshened for 22 minutes under cold running water and sampled.  The texture was excellent.  Quite firm and silky.  The salt level was tolerable. I could have left it, but I decided to freshen for another 5 minutes or so.  I had a visitor, so I ended up leaving it for 11 extra minutes....33 minutes total.  I think it will be perfect.

I dried the salmon well, and onto the bradley rack.  I brushed the center piece down with some real maple syrup to see how that turns out.  Now, into the fridge, uncovered, to let it age for 24 hours and get a nice pellicle.

[NewfieSmoker]

OK, I made a mistake....I tasted it!  :o :o ;D I cant wait the 24 hours I planned for the fridge.  It's been 9 hours and its got a perfect pelicle.  So I let it rest at room temp for 2 hours and now in the smoker over ice. I put in 8 pucks of apple and we will see how it goes! Threw in a block of el cheap o cheddar too.  I dont want any of that smoke floatin around doin nothin!

Three Hours To Go!!!!!

I really need to get my "Winter project" outta the garage so I can get the bradley out permanently and "polished up." Foolish priorities!


Newfie

[Caneyscud]

I dont want any of that smoke floatin around doin nothin!

Now, that is a quote for my archive!...............


Oh, and if it tastes as good as it looks already - you are in for a treat. 

Oh, and don't you just hate the guys that have to post a picture and rub our nose in it that they have salmon in their back yard   ;D ;D ;D ;D  NaWWWwwwwwww - just jealous!!!

[tsquared]

Looks great, Newf! I'm down to my last piece of spring in the freezer--time to go fishing--and your helping me get inspired!
T2

[Slamdunk]

Caney, I could have been really obnoxious and shown some other pics of fish we got, but I didn't ...Like I could have done this...red snapper and ling cod...




And I could have shown pics of fresh prawns - around 60 or so - that we also got EVERY day and sauted with some plum sauce and garlic butter, with a beer chaser or two thrown in...

I tell ya, it was damn hard work  ;D ;D

[Caneyscud]

The red snapper looks interesting, and the prawns almost put it over the top, but if you had shown me some picks of gooeyducks (geoducks - see I know how to spell it), razor clams, butter clams, or some of those great Pacific Oysters then I would have had to do something!

[NewfieSmoker]

Well, Sorry about the delay with the results, but here goes.  This lot of salmon is 100% better then last time!  I cant imagine improving on it!  The texture was excellent, firm enough to slice thin, but melt in your mouth tender.

It was velvety on the palate, and just perfect for flavor and saltiness.  This was a large salmon, with very distint lines of fat.  That was nice, compared to the hot smoked version, because this way the fat is very much intact.  The salmon was very oily, but I consider this a good thing. 

This time there was no bitter aftertaste.  The smoke evened out after 24 hours in the fridge, and was slightly better then straight out of the smoker. 

The only problem I can see is the taste is still not as strong as I would like.  As mentioned, we want to use this salmon as an ingredient or topping on our menu. Straight up, it is dare I say perfect!  Put it on a cracker or bagel with cream cheese, and the flavor disappears.  We all agreed that to be used as an ingredient it needed stronger salt and smoke flavors.


I plan to try one more batch before we settle on a recipe for the summer.  I am going to do the exact same thing, only freshen it for 10 minutes only, and smoke for 4 hours, maybe using Alder.  And I will add the InstaCure to the dry cure where I think it may be more effective.

Newfie