Another happy customer :)

[MissStress]

Not too bad for my virgin run! Tasty.. A little drier than I would like but I wasn't watching it closely and it got up to 155f. Still not "dry" though as it's oily cod.
Looking forward to getting the salmon in now that I know what to expect.

[beefmann]

congrats... try fish at 145 - 150 f

[MissStress]

Sockeye drying before smoking. Need to work on my fileting skills.. lol.
http://s952.photobucket.com/albums/ae9/YukonChick/?action=view&current=image_zps7cfcd2be.jpg

[Habanero Smoker]

Here is a link to show how to properly display a photo on this forum, using Photobucket. I also sent you a PM.

How to post pictures

And your pictures will be displayed as below:

[tskeeter]

MissStress, to clean the vent on my smoker, I just used an old towel dampened with warm water to wipe the vent from the top of the smoker.  The warm water helps dissolve the accumulated smoker residue.  If you want to clean the vent more completely, the damper assembly is easy to take apart.  A single phillips head screw holds the rotating part of the damper to the smoker.

Or, if you are lazy, like me, you just take the rotating part of the damper off and leave it off.  (OK, the real reason I took the damper apart is I forgot the damper closed during the early part of a sausage smoke and made a mess out of a batch of sausage.  Several forum members smoke with the damper wide open, so I decided to follow their approach and took the damper off the smoker.  Easier to prevent a screw up than explain how you made that same mistake, yet again.)

To clean racks, frog mats, v-tray, and the like, I give then a soak in warm soapy water to soften any cooked on material, give them a quick brush with a small brush we keep at the sink, then throw them in the dishwasher.  (I do take an SOS pad to some of the stubborn stuff that burns on to they v-tray.)  The only smoker part I don't throw in the dishwasher is the aluminum tray under the puck bowl.  Aluminum reacts with the caustic dishwasher detergents, so I avoid putting the bottom tray in the dishwasher.  Note that some members report rust on the no stick jerky racks when they get put in the dishwasher.  I haven't noticed any problem with the chrome plated smoking racks.

The only parts of the smoker cabinet that I clean regularly are the door seal and where the door seal contacts the cabinet and the puck feeder.  The door seal area gets a wipe down with a warm damp cloth.  The puck feeder chute gets a light scrape with a putty knife (mine seems to build up a spot of charred materials just before the puck enters the puck burner plate), some polishing with a green scrubbing pad, and the loose puck crumbs blown and shaken out every three for four smokes.       

[MissStress]

Thanks Habenero! I was going to figure it out when I was at my pc and not on my phone. Thanks for the pm!

I think I'll take the vent dampener off for now, it's kinda a pain to take if off during cleaning and with the frequency I plan on using it, less work is better.

[MissStress]

Oh.. and I guess I didn't let the fish form a thick enough pellicle before smoking it because I started off slow at 100 and slowly went up to 150 and still ended up with albumin on the top. :| I was doing whole sides, I wonder if cutting it in to smaller pieces would solve this and the jerky like pieces (bone shavings..) were great but significant;y thinner.

[Salmonsmoker]

MS,
If there are any separations between the flakes the white proteins will tend to collect a little  there. Smaller pieces will do the same if cracked. You didn't state how long you held at the temperature stops. If you're not allowing enough time at the lower temperature stops(120-140F), this will increase the amount of white deposits on the tops of your fillets.   

[MissStress]

Was 2 hours at 100F, 2 hours at 125 and roughly 1.5hrs at 150.. Until the internal temp reached 145.
That's where it collected, in the two cracks in the top of the fish.

I have to be able to get this right or I will shame my Norweigian fisherman/shipwright heritage.. lol.

[Salmonsmoker]

If that's the only place, that's pretty good. I do mine at 100F for 2 hrs. with smoke, 120F for 2 hrs. with smoke, then 140F for 2 hrs. Then finish with a cabinet temp. @170F. I don't take an IT, I test by touch, but probably in the 145-150F range. Been doing this for many years, so know when it feels "just right". The longer low temps. allow the moisture to migrate out of the fish at temps below protein set. Letting a good pellicle form also assists in getting rid of excess moisture. I think your heritage will be pleased. :)

[MissStress]

I think I can gauge by touch also, I've eaten enough smoked fish to know the texture. Just did up some halibut.. It's not dry! Yay!

[MissStress]

Posted some pics of the halibut here. Turned out pretty good but even though I didn't use much kikkoman I would omit it next time.

http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=32588.0

[Slacker]

NICE!!!