smoked salmon and kingfish Q-view

Looks delicious!  And man oh man, that's one clean Weber Kettle!

Do you have any close up pics of the salmon?  How long did you smoke the fish?

Looks like the salmon was overcooked and the fat leaked out... That will happen easier without the proper pellicle.... next batch, place the salmon in front of a fan for a few hours until is has skinned over with the "protein" skin... that should help... final internal temp of 135 ish is about all the higher temp you want on salmon...

135? I don't disagree with the number but that's not what USDA says (145).

atomicsmoke said:

135? I don't disagree with the number but that's not what USDA says (145).

Click to expand...

145 and all the fat will ooze out... making for a lousy, dry, sawdust type product.... fisherman93 was looking for a tasty product....

Sorry about the columns not lining up.... Count over to get the correct time/temps.....

Sometimes one has to tweak the rules.... also, below is a pasteurization table for fish that should be used when NOT following the USDA guidelines... Although, the table is approved by the USDA / FDA.....

Example... the BOLD LARGE print below.... holding the internal temp of salmon (oily fish), 25 mm thick (1 inch) at 131 deg. F for 5 hours, it is pasteurized and safe to eat...
1".... 134.5 Deg F..... 2 3/4 hours .... safe to eat.... Longer holding times are recommended for safety reasons and the food will not dry out...

There is more than one way to skin a cat... and make food moist and delicious.....

+++++++++++++++

Most fin and shellfish are best cooked medium (140°F/60°C) to medium-rare (120°F/49°C). The exceptions being arctic char and salmon which are best cooked medium-rare (120°F/49°C) to rare (110°F/43°C) and tuna which is best cooked rare (110°F/43.5°C) to very rare (100°F/38°C).

Fish intended for immune compromised individuals or for cold holding (i.e., cook-chill) should be pasteurized for at least the times in Table 3.1 (to achieve 6D reduction of Listeria monocytogenes). While such a pasteurization will reduce all non-spore forming pathogens and parasites to a safe level, it will not reduce the risk of HAV or norovirus infection from shellfish. Since a 4D reduction of HAV in molluscan shellfish requires holding at an internal temperature of 194°F (90°C) for 1.5 minutes, the risk of viral contamination is best controlled through proper sanitation and hygiene (National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Food, 2008). Since the spores of non-proteolytic C. botulinum are not inactivated by pasteurization, the fish should be stored at below 38°F (3.3°C) for no more than three to four weeks.

Pasteurization Time for Lean Fish
(starting at 41°F / 5°C and put in a 131–140°F / 55–60°C water bath)

55°C 56°C 57°C 58°C 59°C 60°C
Thickness 131°F 133°F 134.5°F 136.5°F 138°F 140°F

5 mm 2½ hr 1¾ hr 1¼ hr 50 min 35 min 30 min
10 mm 2¾ hr 2 hr 1½ hr 60 min 45 min 35 min
15 mm 2¾ hr 2 hr 1½ hr 1¼ hr 55 min 50 min
20 mm 3 hr 2¼ hr 1¾ hr 1½ hr 1¼ hr 60 min
25 mm 3¼ hr 2½ hr 2 hr 1¾ hr 1½ hr 1¼ hr
30 mm 3¾ hr 3 hr 2½ hr 2 hr 1¾ hr 1¾ hr
35 mm 4 hr 3¼ hr 2¾ hr 2½ hr 2¼ hr 2 hr
40 mm 4½ hr 3¾ hr 3 hr 2¾ hr 2½ hr 2¼ hr
45 mm 4¾ hr 4 hr 3½ hr 3¼ hr 2¾ hr 2½ hr
50 mm 5¼ hr 4½ hr 4 hr 3½ hr 3¼ hr 3 hr
55 mm 5¾ hr 5 hr 4½ hr 4 hr 3¾ hr 3½ hr
60 mm 6¼ hr 5½ hr 5 hr 4½ hr 4 hr 3¾ hr
65 mm 7 hr 6 hr 5½ hr 5 hr 4½ hr 4¼ hr
70 mm 7½ hr 6¾ hr 6 hr 5½ hr 5 hr 4¾ hr

Pasteurization Time for Fatty Fish
(starting at 41°F / 5°C and put in a 131–140°F / 55–60°C water bath)

55°C 56°C 57°C 58°C 59°C 60°C
Thickness 131°F 133°F 134.5°F 136.5°F 138°F 140°F

5 mm 4¼ hr 3 hr 2 hr 1½ hr 60 min 40 min
10 mm 4¼ hr 3 hr 2 hr 1½ hr 1¼ hr 50 min
15 mm 4½ hr 3¼ hr 2¼ hr 1¾ hr 1¼ hr 60 min
20 mm 4¾ hr 3½ hr 2½ hr 2 hr 1½ hr 1¼ hr
25 mm 5 hr 3¾ hr 2¾ hr 2¼ hr 1¾ hr 1½ hr
30 mm 5¼ hr 4 hr 3¼ hr 2½ hr 2¼ hr 2 hr
35 mm 5½ hr 4¼ hr 3½ hr 3 hr 2½ hr 2¼ hr
40 mm 6 hr 4¾ hr 4 hr 3¼ hr 3 hr 2½ hr
45 mm 6½ hr 5¼ hr 4¼ hr 3¾ hr 3¼ hr 3 hr
50 mm 7 hr 5¾ hr 4¾ hr 4¼ hr 3¾ hr 3¼ hr
55 mm 7½ hr 6¼ hr 5¼ hr 4¾ hr 4¼ hr 3¾ hr
60 mm 8 hr 6¾ hr 5¾ hr 5¼ hr 4¾ hr 4¼ hr
65 mm 8½ hr 7¼ hr 6¼ hr 5¾ hr 5¼ hr 4¾ hr
70 mm 9¼ hr 8 hr 7 hr 6¼ hr 5¾ hr 5¼ hr

Table 3.1: Pasteurization times for a one million to one reduction of Listeria in fin-fish. I used D605.59 = 2.88 minutes for lean fish (such as cod) and D605.68 = 5.13 minutes for fatty fish (such as salmon) from Embarek and Huss (1993). For my calculations I used a thermal diffusivity of 0.995×10-7 m2/s, a surface heat transfer coefficient of 95 W/m2-K, and took β = 0.28 (to simulate the heating speed of a 2:3:5 box).

atomicsmoke said:

135? I don't disagree with the number but that's not what USDA says (145).

Click to expand...

Remember, fish will continue to cook a little after you pull it.   I always pull mine at 140 max.  Low and slow will also help the fat from oozing out.  Too high and "here comes the fat",  but as Dave suggested, forming a good pellicle will help keep the fat in.