Indian Candy and Kummok's brine.

[Smokeville]

Hello all;

I've read the threads here on Indian Candy aka Squaw Candy and even tried it a while ago with some success...

Here's the question: should the salmon be brined first?

My thinking is that Kummok's amazing brine imparts the flavours of the soy sauce and garlic, etc., and those flavours will remain after the salmon is put into the salt/sugar mixture to remove the moisture....

Any thoughts on this?

Regards, Rich

[watchdog56]

All I know is that I used his recipe and everyone that tasted it liked it.

[iceman]

Your right Smokeville the flavors do remain and are wonderful. I think I posted a basic salmon brine in the recipe forum also that is just a bit milder/sweeter than Kummoks. Both are great tasting. The Indian Candy is just cut in thinner strips and smoked / dried longer to the point you can see light through them. Some call it salmon jerky up here. Either brine (Especially the master of the Kings, Kummok) you're in for a treat. Hope you get a chance to post some pics when your done. Brining IMO is a must for smoked fish. Happy smoking.  :)

[Smokeville]

We shall see tomorrow!

I brined the fish, then made two batches. Batch one was just salt and brown sugar. Batch two was salt, brown sugar and maple syrup. After 14 hours they are firming up nicely and should be ready to smoke before noon Thursday. I will use maple wood on the 2nd batch, and maybe Oak on the first (I live in Oakville, after all! (and we are Smokeville in Oakville....))

Rich

[Smokeville]

The candy is cooling on the front porch. A trial taste or three says they are pretty good, with the maple flavoured batch being the winner. The smaller pieces of each batch are a bit salty, but not overpoweringly so.

One added flavour was to brush some dark rum on the maple batch towards the end. We have a rum here in Ontario from India called "Old Monk." Supposedly it is the 3rd most popular rum in the world. Here it is also the cheapest. But the flavour is astounding -- vanilla and molasses that really grab you. It really made the batch special.

Well worth doing again.

BTW, for those who like to know these things: Each batch weighed about 435 grams after they came out of the wet brine. After they came out of the salt & sugar, they had shrunk to about 286 grams. That's a 35% loss. No wonder Indian Candy costs so much. I'm afraid to weigh them now after the smoke (but we ate too much anyway to get a real weight).