Some more not too good smoked salmon

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Some more not too good smoked salmon

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jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28126
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Sun Dec 12, 04 8:48 pm Post subject: Some more not too good smoked salmon
Have had some salmon cold smoking today. A whole wild pacific Salmon filleted in two brinde for 4 hours in 1lb salt 6 pints water. and smoked for 8 hours. I am afraid it has turned out a bit salty I think I am going to stop playing with variations on the salmon and get back to what really works jema

McLay455

Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 89
Location: West of Scotland

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 04 8:43 am Post subject:

Jema
I brine for 4 hours but with a handful of brown sugar added to the brine.
I stir the salt in with a raw potato chip added. when the chip floats the brine is strong enough
I then remove the fish after the brining, wipe it dry, and add olive oil to the surface.
I keep it in the fridge for about two hours to form a pellicle , then smoke cold (either hanging or skin side down on a wire frame).
This turns out not too salty for me, and will keep for 2-3weeks
in the fridge.
It also freezes quite well,but I slice it first and pack it in clingfilm.

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
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Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Tue Dec 14, 04 7:42 am Post subject:
I think I will follow your methid next time it sounds like the voice of a lot of experience jema

McLay455

Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 89
Location: West of Scotland

Posted: Tue Dec 14, 04 7:58 am Post subject:

I smoke salmon as a hobby, and have done it for myself and friends for over 40 years.
I fillet the salmon using the Canadian method i.e. cut with a thin knife each side of the backbone from the back of the fish,slide the knife around the rib cage ,leaving the rib the guts and the blood channel inside the rib cage.Leave the lug bones on and leave about one inch of spine at the tail. Keep the belly of the fish intact and seperate the head guts, spine etc at the anal orifice.
You now have a fish opened up like a kipper, but with only the pin bones left inside the meat.
Use a skewer (i use wooden ones) to spread the fish open between the lug bones after brining to prpare it for smoking
If the fish is big, I suspend it by a loop of cotton string from the tail bone stump. If it is small I smoke it skin down in a wire mesh tray.

All of this is experience gained from generous people who taught me -- my first two or three salmon made me weep, I made such a mess of them!!!

Don't despair -- it will come right!!

I do recommend the Canadian method for all round fish -- it is the most hygenic way to clean fish and make fillets.

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28126
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Tue Dec 14, 04 8:03 am Post subject:

McLay455 wrote:

Don't despair -- it will come right!!
.

Great advice

and don't worry despite the last two batches not being great, my first and second attempts were very good

But I am a believer in not just doing, but understanding, and to do that, you must actually get it wrong, as well as right. Hence I have been trying different things.

jema

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28126
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Thu May 05, 05 4:12 pm Post subject:
I saw some farmed Salmon going cheap at a supermarket earlier, so have brined several kilos for smoking tomorrow Have gone for 2 hours in 40% brine, to dry out over night before some olive oil and smoking.

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28126
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Fri May 06, 05 7:25 pm Post subject:
Notably in the past this sort of szie portion I have tended to smoke with good results for about 10 hours, with this supermarket farmed stuff I am up to 13 hours and it is still too moist. I wonder if this hints at the standard supermarket trick of injecting water

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28126
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Sat May 07, 05 6:09 am Post subject:
Can't say the tatse buds are in a smoked Salmon mood before 7am But results are now okay. But no more than okay. You can't make a silk purse out of a sows ear comes to mind. Smoking like this is all about enhancing flavour that must be there in the first place. Last edited by jema on Sat May 07, 05 7:24 am; edited 1 time in total

sally_in_wales
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Joined: 06 Mar 2005
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Location: sunny wales

Posted: Sat May 07, 05 6:31 am Post subject:

I've never smoked supermarket salmon, but you can drycure salt it very successfully. We often do this for banquets. The trick is to fillet the salmon with the skin still on the outside, then put a little dill or lemon zest on the inside of the flesh, and pack it all in a nice thick layer of salt for about 4-7 days. Rinse it off, pat it dry, slice thinly and you have what looks like shop smoked salmon, but not smoky. Very very nice as a dinner party offering and so damn easy to do

You might be able to lightly smoke the fillets after salt curing them, once they have been rinsed off, should still have enough salt on the surface to make the smoke work, but all the soggyness has been slurped out by the long salting.

Jonnyboy

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 23956
Location: under some rain.

Posted: Sat May 07, 05 7:02 am Post subject:

jema wrote:

Can't say the tatse buds are in a smoked Salmon mood before 7am

But results are now okay. But no more than okay.
You can make a silk purse out of a sows ear comes to mind. Smoking like this is all about enhancing flavour that must be there in the first place.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there. Farmed salmon just won't have the firmness in it's flesh that you are looking for.

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28126
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Sat May 07, 05 7:38 am Post subject:

I have always loved smoked Salmon and hence have tracked the decline of the product over the years, to the point where I think the cheap product is a total mockery of the real thing.

The cheap product is of course farmed Salmon, then subjected to all the proection trickery that takes something inferior and cons the taste buds into thinking it is better than it is.

Hence I did not hold out too high hopes, for what would happen with simple natural smoking.

But I don't regret doing it, it is still tasty, and it has helped confirm my belief in this area.

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