Smoked Salmon

[sirsmokesalot]

Before this Saturday, I've tried this twice and both were complete failures. The first time, I tried a friend's brine recipe and it was WAY too salty. The second time, it was overdone (my fault).

This time, I was careful to monitor the internal temp. By the way, what is the desired internal temp for salmon? I've heard everything between 130 and 165. It seems like 165 would be really dry. Anway, I couldn't find a consensus, so I settled on 140.

Here's what I did:

1. Covered with olive oil and seasoned (koshier salt, garlic salt, cayenne, black pepper).
2. Layed on foil, skin down
3. Smoked with pecan (just 1 chunk) to 140

Man, this turned out great. Extremely tender, very juicy, and the flavor was amazing.

If you have a recipe for this, I'd love to hear it. Thanks!

 

[cjs]

A friend in the Yukon, Marlene gave me this method for smoking salmon and I have not drug out all my 'smoking equipment' since!! It's so good.

I've never temped the salmon (but, next time I will just to see), but I agree with you 165 F. would be way dry!! here's Marlene's if you ever want to play -


OVEN SMOKED SALMON

Marlene (da Cook) Cochran from the Yukon's recipe

Salmon, dressed
Brown sugar
Kosher salt
Liquid smoke
(qtys. depend on size/number of salmon pieces)

Split the salmon along the backbone.
Remove the backbone and ribcage. Remove pin bones.
Leave skin on. Slice each side into 2" sections.

Lay the pcs. on a sheet pan; coat with brown sugar.
Sprinkle with kosher salt & liquid smoke.
You will be rinsing this off later, so be generous.
Cover w/plastic wrap & refrigerate for at least 12 hours.

Rinse the salmon pcs, pat dry, and place on cooling racks, which have been sprayed with vegetable spray.
Place in a 150 F. oven, until the salmon flesh takes on a translucent look, leaving the door open a crack to let moisture out.

This should take 6-8 hours, depending the thickness of the pieces.
Refrigerate for short-term use, freeze airtight for longer storage.

Serving Ideas : Oh boy am I in trouble - marinated this for 18 hours (and I must say it looked good enuf to eat at that time!); turned the oven on this a.m. and found to my dismay the **** oven goes no lower that 170 degrees...so went ahead and put the salmon in and then we had to go work .
------

This is such an easy way to have some really good smoked salmon and I'll put it up against anyone's 'technically correct' salmon.

 

[Uncle Bob]

For The Grill....

Brine filet in 2 cups salt to 1 gal water..for 30 minutes. Remove and rinse!
Brine again in 2 cups salt 1 cup brown sugar to 1 gal water for 1 hour.
Optional seasoings in brine...garlic onion, lemon, etc.
Remove from 2nd brine rinse and let it dry.

Heat grill...to 170-180* add alder,apple any fruitwood...Smoke gently for about 8 hours. Maintain temp.!

I like pecan on some (most) things...I believe you will enjoy the fruit woods on salmon much better...

Enjoy

 

[Loprraine]

I've never tried making my own. Time to bit the bullet I'm thinking...some great sounding recipes here.

 

[Katie H]

I make my own smoked salmon for smoked salmon Caesar salad. We have two Cameron's stovetop smokers (large and small) and can easily smoke nearly anything. Love those handy tools.

 

[Candocook]

You MUST rinse the salmon before smoking or it will be too salty. I "cold" smoke at 180* in a side firebox.

 

[Uncle Bob]

You MUST rinse the salmon before smoking or it will be too salty. I "cold" smoke at 180* in a side firebox.

Miss Candocook...

"Cold" smoking is a max. of 90* for fish. Cold smoking is a means of preservation taking upwards of 36 hours. 180* would be "hot" smoking.
And as you said...a good rinse is a must.

 

[jminion]

[FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]Here is a recipe that we got featured in Sunset Magazine and on BBQ American TV program a few years ago. Works real well.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]"Official Cardogs BBQ Salmon"[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]Dry Rub[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup non-iodized table salt
3 TBSP granulated garlic
3 TBSP granulated onion[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]1 TBSP dried dill weed
1 TBSP dried savory
2 tsp dried tarragon

[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Turbinado sugar may be substituted for brown sugar. To substitute garlic salt and onion salt, reduce table salt to 1/2 cup and double garlic salt and onion salt to 6 TBSP.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]Finishing Rub[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 TBSP granulated garlic
1 TBSP granulated onion[/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]1 tsp dried savory

1 tsp dried tarragon
[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]Mix all ingredients thoroughly. Turbinado sugar may be substituted for brown sugar.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial][/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]Buy a fresh[/FONT], 3-pound[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial] salmon fil[/FONT]l[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]et, [/FONT]preferably S[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]ockeye or [/FONT]K[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]ing. [/FONT]Remove the pin bones [FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]using tweezers or needle nose pliers. Do not remove the skin. Place [/FONT]skin-side down [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]in a glass or stainless steel pan[/FONT].[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]P[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]ack [/FONT]the dry rub [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]on the flesh side of the fi[/FONT]l[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]let[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial], [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]ap[/FONT]p[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]rox[/FONT]imately[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial] 1/4" thick. Let the fil[/FONT]l[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]et rest in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours (the longer you leave the rub on[/FONT],[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial] the stronger the salt flavor). Rinse the fil[/FONT]l[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]et in cool[/FONT],[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial] clean water to remove the dry rub[/FONT], then[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial] pat dry. Allow to dry for about 30 minutes, until the flesh becomes tacky[/FONT].[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]Heat a [/FONT]barbecue [FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]grill to medium to medium-high. Sprinkle finishing rub on the [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]fillet[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial] (twice what you would use as if you were heavy salt and peppering). Cook with the lid closed to[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial] an internal temp of[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial] 140[/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]-[/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]155[/FONT]°[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial] (your preference) measured in the center of the thickest part [/FONT]of the [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]fil[/FONT]l[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]et[/FONT].[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]We recommend using [/FONT][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]wood to produce smoke while cooking. On a charcoal grill, just sprinkle a few wood chips on the coals. On a gas grill, place wood chips in a pouch made of aluminum foil. Poke holes in the top of the pouch and place it on the hottest spot under the grill. Alder is our wood of choice, but fruitwoods are a wonderful substitute[/FONT].[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]You can also smoke it [/FONT]at [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]lower temps[/FONT] of[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial] 225[/FONT]-[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial]250[/FONT]°; [/FONT][FONT=Verdana,Helvetica,Arial][FONT=Verdana, Helvetica, Arial]this allows for more smoke on t[/FONT]he fillets.[/FONT]​

Jim​

 

[Candocook]

Miss Candocook...

"Cold" smoking is a max. of 90* for fish. Cold smoking is a means of preservation taking upwards of 36 hours. 180* would be "hot" smoking.
And as you said...a good rinse is a must.

You are undoubtedly correct--and it has been a long time since I did it so I need to retract that temp!! Thanks. I did salmon and trout that way. It was good, but I basically prefer to hot smoke at a lower temp--maybe that was my 180* so that the interior stays barely moist and the exterior is glazed and smoked. But the smoke flavor goes all through the meat. Not dry and flakey.
The other smoked salmon I LOVE is to smoke salmon steaks very low and slow, long enough to get that smoke glaze on the outside, but the interior is still medium rare. Truly delicious.

 

[StirBlue]

I'm confused as to what type of salmon you are using in your recipes.

javascript:allspecies()

 

[Uncle Bob]

Miss Blue...

As a raw Ingredient...I believe most are talking about your garden variety "farmed raised" fish that are commonly sold in U.S. markets...I think

 

[Candocook]

I'm confused as to what type of salmon you are using in your recipes.

SAlmon from the supermarket is what I use. If it is trout, we go to a hatchery in the mountains sometimes, and I'll bring some back from there.

What other kind of salmon would be used that would confuse you? 'o)

 

[Katie H]

The salmon I smoke comes from my local grocery store.

 

[sirsmokesalot]

It has been farm raised salmon from the store. I'd like to try wild salmon to see the difference, but this has been tough to find.

In response to a previous post (Uncle Bob from Mississippi), I used apple wood and was very happy with the results. Thanks for the tip!

Next time, I'll probably give cherry a try. Last weekend, my parents asked me to smoke salmon on my dad's smoker. Before I could say anything, he had already loaded the smoker with hickory. So I gave it a shot and, to my surprise, it actually turned out great.