Cure Smoked Salmon

[SamuelG]

Dry Cure
125g Kosher Salt
50g Brown Sugar
100g Sugar
6g Cure#2
3g Bay Leaves
3g Black Pepper

Ground pepper and bay leaves mixing in the rest of the ingredients.  Covered the pan with half of the cure paying the salmon on top skin down.  The rest of the cure was used to cover the salmon allowing more for the thicker areas.  Covered with plastic wrap and placed 10lbs of weight on it.

Recipes call for 36 hours of cure.

[SamuelG]

[FLBentRider]

Are you sure that is supposed to be cure #2 not cure #1?

[SamuelG]

FLBentRider,

It said Pink Salt...

I plan to cold smoke it for at least 6 hours per the book.  Since it's nice and cool in Miami this weekend I was trying to get the smoking in by Sunday.  Hope I did not mess this one up... That's one nice wild salmon filet!

Would it make a big difference?  The difference is the slow release of nitrite into nitrate right?  Hope someone reads the post to help out on this one.

Thanks for catching that. 

SamuelG

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Good catch by FLBR!

"Pink salt" = Cure #1 (see page 38 in Charcuterie).  

I am no expert, but  far as your salmon goes I believe you will be fine.  Cure # 2 (also typically dyed pink, but not commonly called "pink salt") contains both sodium nitrIte (6.25 %) and sodium nitrAte (4.00%), hence it contains the same amount of sodium nitrite per unit weight as Cure #1.  You just have a bit of unneeded sodium nitrate added.  If you used it in proportion to the salmon weight indicated in the recipe, you're at the right amount.  For a 36 hour treatment I think that the added sodium nitrate will be relatively insignificant other than it will probably alter the taste a bit.

The real expert around here on this is Habanero Smoker, and hopefully he will pick up on this.  He put together the best overview of curing salts I have seen anywhere, and it is on the recipe site, here.

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Sam;

I'm generally one that sticks to using the right cure for the right purpose. As mentioned above cure #2 (which is occasionally referred to as pink salt #2, but more commonly know as Prague powder #2; InstaCure #2; Modern cure #2; D.Q. powder #2); has sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite. Sodium nitrate should not be used on meats that will be cooked. There is a greater chance for carcinogenic agent to form.

In this case the the small amount used this one occasion, and the low temperatures you generally smoke/cook fish I don't believe I would discard the fish on this occasion, but for future use I would use the right cure for the right product. I can't say to absolutely not use it, because I use to use Morton's Tender Quick; which contains, sodium nitrate for my Canadian bacon. You should be aware of the risks.

[SamuelG]

Thanks you all!

I was up late last night reading in charcuterie and realized my mistake.
There is a reason my status is still newbie..;-)

I will keep this batch and see how it tastes.  But will learn from this mistake.  This is how it looks after 11 hours.




I must be honest and say that I have not even finished one of my projects but this had been so far amazing.

SamuelG

[BuyLowSellHigh]

HabS is correct in that you should use the right cure for the job.  But in your case you should be fine.  Maybe this example will help your perspective a bit and allow you to judge for yourself by a simple comparison how much nitrAte you've added.

If you achieved 150 ppm sodium nitrite in the salmon, you would correspondingly have about 100 ppm of sodium nitrAte in that same salmon.  Now I'm going to assume you have a 1.5 lb piece of salmon in that cure.

Spinach contains, on average, ~ 2,000 ppm nitrAte.  If it were expressed as sodium nitrate it would be ~2700 ppm.  So that 1.5 lbs salmon fillet at 100 ppm sodium nitrate would have the same amount of nitrate as 0.9 ounces of fresh spinach.

[SamuelG]

BuyLowSellHigh,

Great example!  I eat over a pound of spinach a week...so the salmon won't even put a dent on that.  Plus, I'm sure that I won't be "allowed" to eat all of it.

Next time I'll not use cure#2.

Thanks,

SamuelG

[Habanero Smoker]

There are reasons the FDA and USDA will not allow nitrates to be used if cured meats that will be cooked. Being informed is important, so you can make an informed decision on your risk. When curing; starting off with good practices and habits is important.

[SamuelG]

After 38 hours this was the end result:



It is very firm and seems to have taken the cure very well.

Washed under cold water and pat dry:



According to charcuterie, " place on a rack over a tray and refrigerate uncovered, 4-24 hours "

Is more hours better?  I have two options.  To smoke today after 6 hours of rest.. Or tomorrow after 30 hours of rest.  Can some give me some advice on what would be best?



Thanks.  SamuelG
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SamuelG]

After 6 hours the salmon was very tacky and I decided to start 6 hours worth of cold smoke.  I was waiting for a reply but its Sunday and i figured everyone was out smoking. 
;-)  Hope I made the right choice.






Thanks. 
SamuelG

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SamuelG]

Even with the cold smoke attachment  I got to 85F... In goes the ice. 
I need to make a longer run of the aluminum tube so it more more heat before it enters the smoker.



Thanks. 
SamuelG

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BuyLowSellHigh]

I was waiting for a reply but its Sunday and i figured everyone was out smoking. 

Uh .. but I didn't inhale.  Really!    ;D

When I've used the cold smoker attachment in SE TX, at ~ 60 °F ambient, I get about a 10 F rise in the cabinet.

It's looking very good to me.  But I've never done this.  I've been wanting to do exactly this for several months.  Finding decent salmon here on the TX Gulf Coast is rare.  Today as luck would have it, I stumbled into some very nice looking whole frozen wild Sockeye filets, about 1.5 lbs each.  My time is rapidly approaching.   

[SamuelG]

 ;D ;D ;D

Ooooops.... I sure did inhale!!  I just put half a bag of ice. Temp steady @ 70F.

I need some help on the proper way to slice it.

Thanks,

SamuelG