CatyMae n Steve
New member
Well, Steve had to work Saturday, so I stayed out of trouble:
but we're still trying to figure out which end do you light?
but we're still trying to figure out which end do you light?
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Smokin!
- Thread starter CatyMae n Steve
- Start date
Now ya did it, spoiled my breakfast -- there isn't anything in the cupboards, freezer, refrig that can compete with that...thanks a lot!
Those are salmon, right? Do you have a recipe you can share and how long/what temp you smoked at, maybe I can apply it to fish we catch around here..
Those are salmon, right? Do you have a recipe you can share and how long/what temp you smoked at, maybe I can apply it to fish we catch around here..
CatyMae n Steve
New member
c'mon over n have a puff :lol:
I think my recipe is pretty standard...1/2 cup pickling salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 quart water. I added some garlic powder this time as an experiment -- right tastey! I brine for 6-8 hours, rinse it off under cold water, dry until tacky (about an hour) and then brush it with honey and smoke it.
I use a Brinkman electric smoker, so I smoked the salmon just under 3 hours -- I guess with the Lil Chiefs it'd take you at least twice that time. I like the Brinkman because it has a water pan that goes in there that really keeps the fish moist so it doesn't turn into jerky. I used cherry wood this time -- that's why it's so dark -- but we love the flavor :thup
I've also smoked sturgeon...good stuff -- but my alltime favorite is marlin -- my oldest son brought one back from one of his trips and asked me to smoke it for him...WOW -- THAT is good :smilep
I think my recipe is pretty standard...1/2 cup pickling salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 quart water. I added some garlic powder this time as an experiment -- right tastey! I brine for 6-8 hours, rinse it off under cold water, dry until tacky (about an hour) and then brush it with honey and smoke it.
I use a Brinkman electric smoker, so I smoked the salmon just under 3 hours -- I guess with the Lil Chiefs it'd take you at least twice that time. I like the Brinkman because it has a water pan that goes in there that really keeps the fish moist so it doesn't turn into jerky. I used cherry wood this time -- that's why it's so dark -- but we love the flavor :thup
I've also smoked sturgeon...good stuff -- but my alltime favorite is marlin -- my oldest son brought one back from one of his trips and asked me to smoke it for him...WOW -- THAT is good :smilep
Thanks, love every ingredient especially the garlic and honey, I'm a true lover of both. I have the Lil Chief, I use water-soaked hickory chips mostly, we'll have to try the cherry wood sounds great. And I think I'll try to stuff a small pan of water near the burner element if possible. Appreciate the info -- and the pics of course!
Now to the store to get some salmon -- that's the way we 'catch' salmon here in socal...
Now to the store to get some salmon -- that's the way we 'catch' salmon here in socal...
Mr. Fisherman
New member
Wait until you try smoked Tuna...
MmmmMmmmMmmm
I smoked up all my offset smoker would hold and it didn't last the week.
MmmmMmmmMmmm
I smoked up all my offset smoker would hold and it didn't last the week.
Mr. Fisherman
New member
Mine never lasts long enough to worry about shelf life. The last batch must have been over 20 pounds and it was gone in a week.
flapbreaker
New member
Here is a dry brine that is incredibly easy and very good. Just mix the following ingredients together. Then in a plastic container put down a layer of fish. Cover with a layer of brine. Repeat until your out of fish. This is a dry brine but in a couple hours you will have a liquid brine. There isn't much salt in this so you can brine for 24 hours. Remove the fish and don't wipe anything off. Let it dry on the smoker rack an hour or so before smoking. I have done salmon and kokanee and they both turn out great.
2 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup salt
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp celery salt
1 tsp black pepper (can add more for a more "jerky" finish)
1 tbsp white pepper
1 Tbsp dried hot mustard
1 Tbsp dill weed
2 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup salt
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp celery salt
1 tsp black pepper (can add more for a more "jerky" finish)
1 tbsp white pepper
1 Tbsp dried hot mustard
1 Tbsp dill weed
Flapbreaker, looks like a great recipe, although might have to clean out the supermarket to get them all. :wink:
Seeing your main ingredient, brown sugar (which is important), reminds of what an FAA mechanic said once while we were eating breakfast together. We were watching another at the table pour a substantial amount of maple syrup on his pancakes, he said "Ya know, you can even make grass clippings taste good with enough syrup!"
Well, at least I thought it was funny -- had to be there I guess...
Seeing your main ingredient, brown sugar (which is important), reminds of what an FAA mechanic said once while we were eating breakfast together. We were watching another at the table pour a substantial amount of maple syrup on his pancakes, he said "Ya know, you can even make grass clippings taste good with enough syrup!"
Well, at least I thought it was funny -- had to be there I guess...
flapbreaker
New member
Dora~Jean,
I hear ya. the above recipe does make good fish candy. :lol:
I hear ya. the above recipe does make good fish candy. :lol:
Do NOT use plastic or metal to brine your meat! Use glass caseroles instead. The plastic will add flavors to the meat. Also, don't use anything but non iodised salt
Here is how I smoke my fish.
Lay out a layer of fish with the skin side down in the glass caserole. Cover the flesh with a fairly heavy layer of salt. Then cover the salt with a layer of brown sugar. Keep adding layers of fish, salt, brown sugar until just below the top of the dish. Cover and put in the fridge overnight. In the morning drain the fish and rinse it off. Pat it dry and put on the racks. Fire up the smoker and put soaked Green Alder in the firebox and bring the temp up to 150 degrees or so. Refill the alder when needed and after about 4-6 hours check the meat.
Last year I did this with 5 salmon (about 20 lbs!) in one batch and it only lasted a week. I guess they liked it!
Here is how I smoke my fish.
Lay out a layer of fish with the skin side down in the glass caserole. Cover the flesh with a fairly heavy layer of salt. Then cover the salt with a layer of brown sugar. Keep adding layers of fish, salt, brown sugar until just below the top of the dish. Cover and put in the fridge overnight. In the morning drain the fish and rinse it off. Pat it dry and put on the racks. Fire up the smoker and put soaked Green Alder in the firebox and bring the temp up to 150 degrees or so. Refill the alder when needed and after about 4-6 hours check the meat.
Last year I did this with 5 salmon (about 20 lbs!) in one batch and it only lasted a week. I guess they liked it!
Green Alder
Down here (the south) they use mangrove (on mullet) & simply smoke it until it stops dripping (oil).
Thanks for the advice on vacume pack and refrigeration.
Pat Anderson
New member
OK, I have to chime in here, as I have both a Brinkman electric water smoker and a Lil Chief. The Brinkman has a lot higher temp than the Lil Chief, probably 100° F. higher, so it depends what you are going after. The Brinkman really just sort of cooks the fish and of course adds smokey flavor, the Lil Chief has more of a drying action. I use the Brinkman to smoke ribs, pork butts, picnics, etc. - it is really for 'cue in my mind, with hickory or mesquite chunks. I use the the Lil Chief to smoke fish, snack sausage, etc., with sawdust in the pan.
Gary – I have to agree with you. Alder is the best wood to barbeque or smoke with. The only difference is, I use seasoned Alder. I am surprised more people in this neck of the woods have not tried it. Could be because it is too easy to get and doesn’t cost anything.gljjr":24g01b34 said:put soaked Green Alder in the firebox
I smoke on a Canadian built Bradley. www.bradleysmoker.com . Its a relatively expensive tool [ $350] ,But fish that you catch yourself is pretty expensive too. Might as well treat it to one of the best smoking tools available . The quality of the unit and control is awsome .From cold smoking [ ambient temp. ]all the way to hot smoking [ @350 Deg.] and everything in between . They have proprietary wood bisquettes with many kinds available .It has a water bath and the wood never "burns" so there is no ash or bitterness , only smoke flavor .I have mine on a plug in timer and once you learn the machine you can set it and forget it . It has a feeder conveyor for the wood bisquettes and slides one onto the heat every 20 minutes and pushes the spent one into the water bowl . Sounds like a sales pitch , but damn, I love that thing !!!!
Marc
Marc
C-Otter":2xmbb516 said:You can vacuum pack it, will last a long time. DO NOT FREEZE> it degrades quite fast. C-Otter.
I freeze my smoked salmon all the time, so long as it is foodSavered (vac packed). It lasts up to a year. Granted not quite as good as fresh off the smoker, but ...
Also, I use my natural gas grill for this operation - The UpTown Smoker. It has 4 burners. I light only one (on one far side), set it to low and place directly on the burner a steel pan with whatever wood I am using - usually alder or apple, soaked overnight in water. (The FoodSaver vaccum jar is good for impregnating wood with water, BTW). I then place the brined fish on the grill, then on additional grills which I stack, using steel angle iron as spacers. I then seal off most of the back vent on the grill with aluminum foil (using magnets to attach it to the grill), crack the lid an inch, add new wood every 20 minutes or so and presto! 2-3 hours later the fish is done.
Cutty Sark
New member
Wow, three hours is fast!!! I have a big chief and it definitly is at least twice the time. I just finished a very large batch of sockeye last night and I'd say it took about 10 hours. But I also like mine dryer than some I imagine. And the smoker was packed and some of the pieces were pretty thick. I guess I do all the no-no's since I brine my fish in plastic most of the time, some glass when the batch is a big one, and always freeze at least one pack after vacuum sealing it for late winter when the fish are harder to come by. I'll have to pay more attention and see if I can notice the difference. I also am a big fan of the dry brine. I use the standard one off of salmon university, which is 4 cups brown sugar to one cup kosher salt, and 7-15 cloves of garlic through a press. Mix it up and slap it on, layer the fish in your dish and let brine for 6-12 hours depending on thickness of fillets. Rinse off and I put them on a rack in the fridge for about 8 hours to get tacky. then into the smoker they go. Easy and always turns out great. The honey brushed on sounds interesting though. Will have to try that.
Sark
Sark