Help!!! Over Brined!!!

[Brianpcooney]

While smoking fish this past weekend i waaay over brined it. I was following a guideline from a home food preservation website. It recommended 1.5 lbs of salt per gallon (i'd found this recommendation on a couple different websites, not just this one). I brined and cured per the instructions for about an hour and smoked and it's NOT EDIBLE. Way too salty, it irritates your mouth from the salt. Problem is that i did 15 pounds of fish for a game dinner this weekend.... for someone else.  I'm trying to not have ruined 15 pounds of someone else's trout.   This ISN"T my first time smoking fish, the last time it came out awesome but the guy who caught it, cured it and wasn't really sure how to cure fish- he just sprinkled some salt into water with some brown sugar.  I wanted to do it correctly, thinking it would come out better and i inadvertently ruined it. 
my question is, is there something i can do???   my mother said i should just soak it in water and re-smoke it.  I didn't think that sounded good.   Any suggestions?????

[NePaSmoKer]

Listen to your Mother   ;D

[devo]

The only thing thats going to help is soak it in water....lots of water. That might not even help with that much salt.

[Brianpcooney]

Ok, i put half the batch into a large roaster pan with water and will soak over night. will check it tomorrow and throw it back into the smoker and take it back up to cooking temp. It wasnt' all that smokey anyways, so i suppose another hour of smoke wouldn't hurt it.  I could always just baste it with something sweet!  if that works out i'll do the other half too.  I'm also thinking up good stories to use in case it doesn't work.  Perhaps a dingo ate your trout?

[viper125]

You need to change water at least ever  3 hours to get salt out better. Also better not to do 10 lbs or more before trying it on a small batch first.

[La Quinta]

Ok...so the worst thing is your Mom is right...secondly what Viper said...I would cold smoke a piece for a bit...than pan fry it...very fast...let it rest than try a filet...meanwhile keep rinsing the others...unless you like the first one seared or grilled...then...you have your answer...
sear it skin side down first...baste with butter...

[Habanero Smoker]

I don't think I am fully understanding your post. Did you already smoke and fully cook the fish, and now you want to soak it and smoke it again? I've never thought of that or have tried it. I don't think it could hurt, and it may or not work.

That was about a 60° brine, and 1.5 hours should not have made them that salty. Did you rinse after removing from the brine? Where the fillets really thin? If it is in a raw state, soaking will helps some. If it is not soaking in running water it would be better to change the water every 30 minutes. You can then cut a piece off, pan fry it to test saltiness.

[Brianpcooney]

habenero: yeah i had brined it and smoked it already. I had brined, rinsed, air dried to what i thought was a pellicle and gave it 2 hours of alder and brought it to 150 or so, internal temp

update: i threw half the batch into a large roaster pan and submerged with water and refrigerated. 24 hours later there was NO salt in the fish whatsoever. barely even smokey tasting. Put it on racks to dry and it actually formed a nice pellicle
I soaked the other half of the fish in the same pan with fresh water and some brown sugar and some bourbon (I'd actually put bourbon in the original brine).  I let that dry as well, although for not as long as the other half.
They're in the smoker right now with about an hour and 20 minutes worth of Alder (it's all i had left). just planning on bringing it up to 150 on the thickest piece to be safe and we'll see what it looks like!!!   I have my fingers crossed because at every step of the way, it hasn't been as bad as i thought it would be.......

[KyNola]

Just to make sure we are all following you, you brined this fish, smoked it and cooked it to an IT of 150 and after finding it to be too salty you put it into a water bath for 24 hours, let it dry and then back into the smoker again to re-smoke it and cook it again to an IT of 150? 

Will be interested to see how the finished product turns out.

[Habanero Smoker]

Glad that it worked. I'm still no sure why they turned out so salty in the first place. I am curious about the final texture.

[KyNola]

I am curious about the final texture.

Me too Habs.  Never heard of anyone having brined, smoked, soaked and smoked again, especially something that can be as delicate as fish.

Looking forward to hearing about the final outcome.

[Quarlow]

I guess when faced with the loss of someone elses fish "ya gotta do what ya gotta do". I can think of a few times my dad got carried away with the salt and ruined a batch of 50 or so lbs. If we could have salvaged those like this it would have been great. Even if it wasn't the same as a successful batch, if you can still eat it it is worth the trouble. Hope it works out for you.

[Brianpcooney]

SUCCESS!!!!

I pulled it out of the smoker last night and tried a piece. It had a nice texture and a surprisingly great flavor, albeit not salty at all.  I actually like it a lot more than the batch i made a year ago (that batch came out with a good flavor but a baked fish consistency). 
THIS batch actually had that nice smoked fish consistency. It didn't fall apart (to my surprise!!!)
I only got curds on the couple thickest pieces. I can deal with that.
So all in all, the fish was saved.  Lesson learned! I'm gonna start taking notes on this stuff. And i'm gonna get an Auber PID this week.
Thanks To everyone for their helpful input!!! It's nice to have a support system from those with similar addictions :-D

[Habanero Smoker]

Well that is some knowledge a lot of members can use. I'm getting ready to smoke some farm raised trout. I may take a few fillets and do what you did. If it falls apart of the texture changes to a point I don't like, it still should make so good fish cakes.

For curds, if you blot with a paper towel while it is still warm, you can remove it.

[KyNola]

I agree with Habs.  Good info to know going forward.  Thank you for sharing the information.