Tough Salmon

[tskeeter]

Trying my hand at smoking fish.  I'm experiencing some difficulty with the surface of the salmon getting tough.  Also showing a fair amount of curd on the surface of the fish.  Once you get below the surface, the meat is tender and tastes really good.  But, the fish is too tough on to flake the way I remember from when I was a kid.  Any suggestions about what is creating the tough surface, or how to prevent it?

Here's what I've been doing.

Salt and sugar dry cure for 24 hours.
Dunk fish in fresh water a couple of times to remove excess cure.
Blot off excess moisture, then wrap in paper towels and newspaper over night.
Unwrap fish and let dry in fridge until tacky to touch, about an hour.
Dry in smoker at 100 degrees for one hour.
Apply smoke at 125 degrees for two hours.
Increase temp to 150 degrees for two hours.
Increase temp to 175 degree until IT reaches 140 degrees.

I had some problems getting the smoker temp up to 175 because the wind came up, so it took about three or four hours for the IT to come up to 140.

I know the curd is formed because the temp of the fish changed to quickly.  Can anyone tell me the temp range at which curd forms, so I can ease up to that temp rather than just jump from one temp to another?

[aces-n-eights]

I've smoked a bunch of salmon and may have a few suggestions, altho my method is quite a bit different from yours... 

I think you may be drying the fish too much. It seems to me that many of your steps will pull a lot of moisture out of the fish.  I use the Kummok's method and that entails a wet brine, air dry to form the pellicle (tackiness) for 6-8 hours or more, and then ramp the temps up in the smoker as you have done.

Specifically i would recommend eliminating the "wrap in paper towels overnight" step.  So maybe try this...  dry cure, rinse, place on racks and air dry until it's tacky, then smoke and heat at 120°, ramping up to 170°.  I use about 3 hours of smoke; more or less for your personal taste.

I'm not sure at what temp the curd is formed, but my experience shows if i have let the fish form a good pellicle, the curd will not pop out.

Good luck and let us know how future salmon smokes go!

[tskeeter]

Thanks, Aces.  My thought, too, that I was getting the surface of the fish too dry.  I'll try skipping the paper towels part of the process next time.  Next question, is it possible to let the pellicle form for too long?  What I'm thinking is rather than wrap the fish in paper towels, how about just blot it off after the dunk, then let it sit uncovered in the refrigerator over night and form pellicle?

Thanks for the tip on the curd.  I like how it goes hand in glove with the suggestion above.

[Wazzulu]

I only do the dry brine and that always seems to have a bit stiffer sweeter outer.  I usually brine for 24-36 hours depending on fish thickness.  Then then dry for about 8 hours till pellicle has formed and then smoke away. 

[manxman]

What I'm thinking is rather than wrap the fish in paper towels, how about just blot it off after the dunk, then let it sit uncovered in the refrigerator over night and form pellicle?

Aces has put you on the right track, good rinse off but don't soak then let sit as you suggest. This has always worked for me.  :)

With a dry cure you always get a slight "crust" as Wazzulu mentions but I always find this adds to the finished product, however drawing yet more moisture out will account for the tough exterior.

For some reason I find with some farmed salmon it seems to be impossible to avoid curd, I have very limited experience of wild salmon but have not had the same problem...... or perhaps that is just me treasuring what little wild salmon I have ever got hold of!  ;)