Sockeye to conclude week one with my Bradley

[TomW]

I ended the first week with my Bradley yesterday, with Sockeye using approximately Kummok's recipe.  Started with the fish (yep not cheap here...:


Here are the fillets:


Into the brine for the night:


Drying.  Here is a trick my LOML's grandmother taught her.  She used it to keep the flies off the apple pie.  Works great for keeping the flies off the salmon.  Just clip a hand towel to the fan!:


Had to go with cold smoke in the beginning, as ambient was about 84 degrees:



Smoked for about 5 hours, with gradual increase in temp (Cold smoke 2 hours with Alder, 3 hours no smoke):



Here's the end:



And the result:



Ate some for supper, and some more for lunch today (mixed with Tabasco Mayonnaise on Ritz Crackers.)
I'm really happy with the result, and so is Grammie!

Comments appreciated,
Tom (aka Gramps)

[Keymaster]

That salmon looks great!!! Nice fan & towel trick ;) I did not see 84°F all summer and Ive had the woodstove going all day the last two days here in Washington state its so cold :) If i was their I'd be complaining its to hot :-X Thanks for sharing your salmon Pictures

[devo]

Very good looking fish. Love the towel trick too  ;D

[Quarlow]

Nice work Tom. Be proud.

[Fisher]

Looks Great Tom...

[mikecorn.1]

Knocked it out of the park. Looks
Great.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kickedback]

Looks great. I did my 1st salmon smoke this last week with some Sockeye. Glad to see some that looked just like mine. I must have got it right. I don't feel so bad seeing I only paid $8 a pound for mine, but well worth the price.

[TomW]

Sorry for the error on the original post.  It was Sockeye Salmon.  I changed it, but the replies will show original title...

Tom

[Kummok]

Great job, Tom! You picked a great species for your inaugural week...sockeye (called 'Reds' locally) are right up there with Kings (aka Springs, Chinook) in my book. And don't give the price too much thought...by the time you add in the boat, fuel, tackle, bait, harbor fees, lost stuff, etc, the "free" salmon up hear can be around $400/lb   ;)

[Tenpoint5]

Looks great Tom. I would however make one suggestion. As your bringing up your temps during the cooking process. Ramp them up a little bit slower and longer. The slower increase in temps inside the smoker will cut down on the white "Boogers" on the top of the fish pieces.

[TomW]

Looks great Tom. I would however make one suggestion. As your bringing up your temps during the cooking process. Ramp them up a little bit slower and longer. The slower increase in temps inside the smoker will cut down on the white "Boogers" on the top of the fish pieces.

Thanks 10.5.  This project suffered from me wanting to fiddle with the temperature.  There is a learning curve for me on the sine wave temperature response, and I found myself messing with the temperature instead of just leaving it alone...

Tom

[Tenpoint5]

Looks great Tom. I would however make one suggestion. As your bringing up your temps during the cooking process. Ramp them up a little bit slower and longer. The slower increase in temps inside the smoker will cut down on the white "Boogers" on the top of the fish pieces.

Thanks 10.5.  This project suffered from me wanting to fiddle with the temperature.  There is a learning curve for me on the sine wave temperature response, and I found myself messing with the temperature instead of just leaving it alone...

Tom

That means you have to do it again. Just to see if you learned your lesson and left it alone!!

[JZ]

I missed this thread earlier and have to agree with Kummok ---- the wife and I make the trek to the ocean once a year with our own boat and have been doing it for about 20 years. I think our cost is down to about $500 / lb and we don't like the taste of salmon unless it is canned. After getting my Bradley I now eat Salmon canned and smoked - I think smoked is better.

You did a great job with your fish and I bet you will do it again (with that inexpensive store bought Salmon).