Originally posted by McClain
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Smoking salmon help?
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This is a pretty good resource for info on curing fish prior to smoking.
Curing does not just preserve the fish, but it also contributes to a firmer texture, shiny skin gloss and a nicer smoked color.
I have used brines and dry cures with fish and have had great luck with both. I tend to leave them in the cure longer than they recommend and I don't see any negative effects. I cure my fish and then cold smoke it. You can do this with a variety of fish including salmon. I cure and smoke redfish frequently to make fish dip and it's really good for that. I usually use a salt, brown sugar and spices cure on skinless redfish fillets and let them sit in the fridge overnight to 24 hours.
Be sure after you pull them out of whatever cure you use that you wash the fillets very well, pat them dry and then put them on wire racks in the fridge for an hour or two until the pellicle forms. Smoke with good clean smoke. If it's bellowing white smoke you will end up with bitter flavors. You want good clear smoke. I prefer to cold smoke my fish.
These are some skin on redfish fillets I cured and smoked.
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Here's a recipe Pistol gave me from her friend. I haven't tried it yet, but Pistol said it is the best she's ever had and could eat it every night.
On the brine it depends on how much salmon you are using. I usually smoke about five or 6 pounds and mix up a quart of water a cup of salt, a cup of white sugar, and then I add a couple of branches of rosemary, 1 T black peppercorns whole, one onion sliced, four bay leaves, and some cloves of garlic. In the past I've also put in half an orange rind...Any aromatics you want to add are fine. That's just what I use. I will leave it in the brine 4-12 hours.
I smoke it for two hours at 125° then at 145 Degrees for two hours and finally at 165 for 2 hours. Of course this is with an electric smoker.
(I'll bet you could do 145 for all 6 hours. my comment)
Baste it often.
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Originally posted by Wampuscat View PostMy wife loves baking salmon in the oven. I thought I would be nice and smoke some on our pellet Grill. Needless to say it came out entirely too dry. I did a dry brine overnight and cooked at about 165° for two hours and finished it off with 10 minutes At 300°. The internal temperature came up to about 155°.
A bunch of YouTube recipes said to get the temperature up to 160° but if I had kept going it would’ve been entirely too dry. She likes hers moist. It tasted fine to me when I ate it on a cracker with cream cheese and jalapeño but it wasn’t meant to be an hors d’oeuvre. Is there a way to smoke the salmon and keep it moist? I am going to Alaska in July and hope to have a lot of salmon when I come back.
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I live on Lake Michigan. Been smoking trout and salmon since I was young. Only have one recipe because it can't be beat. The recipe is 3/4 cup of brown sugar, half cup of salt to two quarts of water. My tweak is I use a heaping 3/4 cup of brown sugar, the salt I don't fill the half cup so about a quarter inch from the top. Soak fillets in the brine for 8-10 hours for medium size fillets. Fillets must be completely submerged so I normally have to make a double batch. Then simply smoke until done. Soak smaller fillets for no more than 8 hours. For fish I would say over 10-15 pounds soak for 10-12 hours. For Fish over 15 pounds soak for 16 hours.
You can add Mrs. Dash or Cajun seasoning on the fillets after brining them if you want a little something different.
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Originally posted by Ryanm View PostI think the way you're currently smoking it is better for snacking with cheese and crackers. This is usually a hit when we have people over.
When we are making it for dinner, the pellet grill gets set at a higher temp and we don't usually brine. Think of it more as an oven. Just my .02
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I have an electric smoker. My wife and daughter really like smoked salmon. I could take it or leave it. I smoked several fillets at 210 degrees for an hour and a half. I thought it was ok, not a big fan, but my wife and daughter said it was really good. It wasn’t dry, had a hint of Smokey flavor. I use a small handful of the Texas blend Traeger wood pellets. Get he smoker up to temp, add the pellets, wait for the smoke to start rollin, put the fish in the smoker and set the time for 1.5 hrs. Dun.
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Originally posted by swamper View PostI live on Lake Michigan. Been smoking trout and salmon since I was young. Only have one recipe because it can't be beat. The recipe is 3/4 cup of brown sugar, half cup of salt to two quarts of water. My tweak is I use a heaping 3/4 cup of brown sugar, the salt I don't fill the half cup so about a quarter inch from the top. Soak fillets in the brine for 8-10 hours for medium size fillets. Fillets must be completely submerged so I normally have to make a double batch. Then simply smoke until done. Soak smaller fillets for no more than 8 hours. For fish I would say over 10-15 pounds soak for 10-12 hours. For Fish over 15 pounds soak for 16 hours.
You can add Mrs. Dash or Cajun seasoning on the fillets after brining them if you want a little something different.
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