salmon help?

[d.o.double]

I just picked up a 1.5 lbs. salmon fillet (skin off). I never smoked any fish before. Can someone walk me through the brining process and the time and temps for smoking salmon. I have brined plenty off birds before, are we talking about the same type of brine? Any one have a simple brine recipe for salmon? Thanks, any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Mark R]

Buc, that you?

[d.o.double]

no I'm not buc.

[Mark R]

Were you located?

[d.o.double]

small town outside Cleveland Ohio called Vermilion. My back yard is lake Erie.

[Crewdawg52]

I just picked up a 1.5 lbs. salmon fillet (skin off). I never smoked any fish before. Can someone walk me through the brining process and the time and temps for smoking salmon. I have brined plenty off birds before, are we talking about the same type of brine? Any one have a simple brine recipe for salmon? Thanks, any help would be greatly appreciated.

I like to use a basic brine of 2-1-1

2 gallons of water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup kosher salt
( normally I only do a couple of fillets so I use a 1/2 gallon water, 1/3 cup brown sugar AND kosher salt)

Brine for a minimum of 4 hrs. Once brined, remove, rinse, pat dry, and leave under a small fan (if you have one) to form the "pellicle". Since they are skinless, spray some foil with non-stick spray and place the fish on the foil to smoke.

Temp wise ... depends. Sometimes I cook at 230 - 250* for about 40 min or so until the fat starts to render out of the fish ( you will be able to tell). I've also done salmon at 200* for about 1 hr. Seems to me the fish tends to be a tad more moist at lower temps, But Mrs Dawg and I like it both ways.

Good Luck!

[Mark R]

Cool view! try these;
http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15826
http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15586
http://www.smoked-meat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14565

And keep lookin under fish

Oh, put some foil under the fish or it will dry out. Lots of ways to do it! Good luck! And

[Fishawn]

I'm in Washington (The state) and have smoked a lot of salmon-steelhead, etc...... If you have a 1.5# skinned filet, I am assuming it is probably about 1/2 inch thich?

First thing I would suggest is, since it has been skinned, you want to be gentle on your temps & your brine, as the skin will work as a buffer in the smoker when placed skin side down. Skinless filets will often times dry out pretty quick if the temps are too high....

What type of smoker are you using.... (Little Chief, electric element with no heat control, MES, wood burning smokehouse, etc?)

Do you want to wet brine or dry brine?....

Can you fill me in on what you are "aiming for" & what type of salmon it is that you have? (King-Sockeye-Coho-Chum, etc)

[BBQ Engineer]

Hey D.O.,

I love smoked salmon, and Mrs. Engineer cannot eat salmon when we go out, as she says I have ruined her for eating anything but the stuff I make.

I use a simple brine and then add some other flavor agents along with it.

I start with a 1:1:1 ratio of water / salt / brown sugar...by that, I mean a gallon of water to a cup of sugar to a cup of brown sugar. Usually I smoke some fillets, so I cut that back to a half gallon of water, half cup of salt, half cup of brown sugar. Then I add some garlic powder, some CBP, and a drizzle of molasses. Make sure everything is dissolved.




Then I brine the salmon for 90 minutes, rinse it off, pat it dry, and let it set in the fridge. overnight if possible.









before it goes into the smoker, make sure a pellicle has formed and it is tacky.

I usually smoke it to 150° IT, and use cherry wood. here is what it usually looks like.



That's what I do...good luck.

[d.o.double]

I will smoking on my home built smoker. It is a insulated reverse flow vertical smoker(wood). here is a pic.

0421111525.jpg

I think I would like to try a wet brine. As far as the type of salmon it was store bought from a wholesale club. It just says product of Norway (framraised)

[d.o.double]

Thanks for the info bbq engineer. FYI I have using the hell out of my smoker and I can't say enough about how great it works.

[Mark R]

Cool smoker! BE's recipe is solid! Id keep temps at 200F or a bit below, good to go!

[Fishawn]

I will smoking on my home built smoker. It is a insulated reverse flow vertical smoker(wood). here is a pic.

[ATTACH]7011[/ATTACH]

I think I would like to try a wet brine. As far as the type of salmon it was store bought from a wholesale club. It just says product of Norway (framraised)

So probably Atlantic farm raised I am guessing.....

Some good info here from these guys on the wet brine IMO.....

I would suggest the 150-160 range for smoking personally (JUST ME) and using a mild wood for smoke (Alder-Apple-Cherry, etc)...... Most of the time, they will dry further after you pull them out of the smoker, you can regulate that somewhat by placing them in a zip lock in the fridge overnight.... If you want them moist, when cooled down, just place in the bag and close and put in fridge....If you like them a little more "flaky" and drier, place some paper towels in the bag & take out in the morning..... They will suck a lot of moisture out of the fish...

[d.o.double]

Great info guys I really appreciate it. I read a few recipes that said to really lay the smoke to it. Do you guys use the same amount of smoke as you would say with beef?

[Fishawn]

I will just answer for me.... NO..... NOT LIKE BEEF.... And these are just my opinions .... I would suggest choosing a wood source that produces a mild flavor (Alder or fruit hardwoods)..... and not applying too much smoke, especially if you have no buffer with the skin gone.... They can be over smoked when the filet has no skin by too much smoke or by too high heat... Just my opinions... ....... I would personally suggest staying in the 150* range, which will also allow you to have a better gauge on how quick they do get to the "doneness" that you like....