Following on from some of the fish smoking threads in the hot smoking section I promised to create a Q-View of last nights smoke. I am not sure if these belong here as they are all actually eaten hot however the smoking part of the preparation is always done cold.
I went to our local fresh fish mongers yesterday lunchtime and saw what he had that looked good. I came away with a large whole side of Cod, 2 sides of Haddock and 2 sides of Salmon.
The first thing to do is pin bone them all and trim them if necessary
Next to mix the dry brine. I have experimented with different concentrations of wet brine over the years and different mixes of dry brine. What I have found works best for me is a dry brine mix of 2 parts of Caster Sugar to 1 part of fine un-iodised fine cooking salt:
For curing I split the fish into two separate batches.
For the Salmon I used the following:
For each of the cures mix the Sugar and salt well and for the salmon mix in the chopped Dill
Make a base layer of 2/3 of the dry brine mix with chopped Dill ready for the Salmon
Lay the Salmon flesh down on the cure mix
Cover Salmon with the remaining 1/3 of the mix. Less mix is needed towards the thinner tail part of the fillet
Repeat the process for the Cod and Haddock but without the herbs
Cover with plastic wrap and leave to cure for up to 3 hours. For thin fillets or skinless fillets you only need to cure for 2 hours however additional time is required if the skin is left on.
The test is to lift up the fillet and gently press the thickest part with your finger. Once sufficient moisture has been removed it should have become firm to the touch.
After the 3 hours you can see how much moisture has been removed from the fish
When you tip the pan you can even pour it.
Thoroughly rinse the salt off the fillets under cold running tap water taking care to also rinse any cracks or crevices free of salt. Also remove any little bits of chopped herbs that are sticking to the side of the fish. These do not affect the flavour but can look unsightly once the fish has been smoked.
The texture of all of the cured fish will now be very different to original fish. The flesh will be much firmer and denser and you will see that the Salmon flesh has gone from pink to a deeper shade of orange.
At this point I sliced the Salmon fillets into individual portions to ensure that the maximum surface area of the fish is exposed to the smoke. This can be done either before or after curing to achieve different end products.
If sliced before curing then the texture of the Salmon once cooked will be dryer and denser as more of the moisture will have been removed. This produces great party finger picking firm chunks.
If sliced after curing slightly less of the moisture is removed and the cooked fillet is softer and more silky. This is best when eating the salmon as component of a meal.
Now to the smoker. In case there is a limit to the size of an individual post I will continue in the next box...
I went to our local fresh fish mongers yesterday lunchtime and saw what he had that looked good. I came away with a large whole side of Cod, 2 sides of Haddock and 2 sides of Salmon.
The first thing to do is pin bone them all and trim them if necessary
Next to mix the dry brine. I have experimented with different concentrations of wet brine over the years and different mixes of dry brine. What I have found works best for me is a dry brine mix of 2 parts of Caster Sugar to 1 part of fine un-iodised fine cooking salt:
For curing I split the fish into two separate batches.
For the Salmon I used the following:
- 1.0 Kg white Caster Sugar
- 0.5 Kg Fine Cooking Salt (non-iodised)
- 1 small bunch of fresh Dill - chopped
- 1.0 Kg white Caster Sugar
- 0.5 Kg Fine Cooking Salt (non-iodised)
For each of the cures mix the Sugar and salt well and for the salmon mix in the chopped Dill
Make a base layer of 2/3 of the dry brine mix with chopped Dill ready for the Salmon
Lay the Salmon flesh down on the cure mix
Cover Salmon with the remaining 1/3 of the mix. Less mix is needed towards the thinner tail part of the fillet
Repeat the process for the Cod and Haddock but without the herbs
Cover with plastic wrap and leave to cure for up to 3 hours. For thin fillets or skinless fillets you only need to cure for 2 hours however additional time is required if the skin is left on.
The test is to lift up the fillet and gently press the thickest part with your finger. Once sufficient moisture has been removed it should have become firm to the touch.
After the 3 hours you can see how much moisture has been removed from the fish
When you tip the pan you can even pour it.
Thoroughly rinse the salt off the fillets under cold running tap water taking care to also rinse any cracks or crevices free of salt. Also remove any little bits of chopped herbs that are sticking to the side of the fish. These do not affect the flavour but can look unsightly once the fish has been smoked.
The texture of all of the cured fish will now be very different to original fish. The flesh will be much firmer and denser and you will see that the Salmon flesh has gone from pink to a deeper shade of orange.
At this point I sliced the Salmon fillets into individual portions to ensure that the maximum surface area of the fish is exposed to the smoke. This can be done either before or after curing to achieve different end products.
If sliced before curing then the texture of the Salmon once cooked will be dryer and denser as more of the moisture will have been removed. This produces great party finger picking firm chunks.
If sliced after curing slightly less of the moisture is removed and the cooked fillet is softer and more silky. This is best when eating the salmon as component of a meal.
Now to the smoker. In case there is a limit to the size of an individual post I will continue in the next box...
