First time smoking salmon and need help

[bubba96]

My plan this weekend is to smoke salmon for my first time. I have a brinkmann electric smoker just incase if anybody is wondering ahead of time. Ive been watching some videos on youtube and everybody says do it for 30mins, 1hour, 9hours. But i dont know what time is right or wrong! i found these two videos on youtube by malcom reed and larry hall.

malcom reed: 

larry hall: 

In my opinion larry halls brine sounds more delicious, its just i dont know how long i should smoke the salmon!

If anybody has any answers that would be great!

 

[daveomak]

There are several methods to smoke salmon..... Depending on what finished product you are looking for.... Grav Lox... Kippered...... Cold Smoked/Dried like jerky...... Warm Smoked for a texture like BBQ'd.... and probably 10 more..... All have different preparations....

 

[cmayna]

Do what for 30 minutes, 1 hr, 9 hr?   Brine?  Smoke?

Brining and smoking times will be governed by wet vs dry brine and then how thick the fish is.  As DaveOmak said, there are tons of recipes out there.  Do a search here and you will find lots of methods which the members use.

For my Salmon filets, I typically do a dry brine for 7+ hours, dry for 2-3 hours, smoke for 3-5 hours.  Just depends on how thick the pieces are.

 

[bubba96]

Thanks for the answers i really appreciate it. What i meant to say guess i forgot to mention it, Some people said to smoke for 30mins, 1hour, 9hours. And im going to do warm smoking no cold smoking or anything just warm smoke.

 

[bluewhisper]

I've had better luck with salmon than anything else. Cooked more, cooked less, smoked more, smoked less, seasoned more, seasoned less, it always comes out good and everybody likes it. And the price of smoked salmon in the store is crazy expensive.

I'd just say that the more intense the cooking/smoke/seasoning, the more it becomes something to snack in small amounts like using it in a smoked-salmon spread. OTOH you can just barely cook/smoke/season it and eat a full serving like any other cooked fish.

My advice: Take the plunge!

 

[cmayna]

OK so for smoke time, my avg is 3 hours until I reach an IT of 145

 

[daveomak]

Thanks for the answers i really appreciate it. What i meant to say guess i forgot to mention it, Some people said to smoke for 30mins, 1hour, 9hours. And im going to do warm smoking no cold smoking or anything just warm smoke.

My recipe for warm smoked fish....
Weigh all the fish... mix up 2% salt and cure #1 at a rate of 1.2 grams per pound (165 Ppm nitrite).... add onion and garlic to taste and black pepper...
filet the fish and add the cure/salt seasonings.... place in a bag or sealed container and refrigerate for 48 hours.... turn/mix several times...
Remove from container and rinse and dry fish well.... place on wire rack with fan blowing on fish to form a pellicle.... smoke with alder (first choice0 or fruit wood at 110 for several hours.... then up the temp to 140 for several more... raise temp to 160 ish to finish the cooking cycle.... Do Not cook the fish to an internal temp above 145..... If you see any white "proteins/fats" start to surface on the fish, take it off the heat.... it is approaching and starting to surpass being overcooked..... the smoking/cooking process takes about 6-8 hours depending.... rotate fish to insure a uniform cook....


http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/141708/trout-on-the-old-totem-smoker-finished-first-batch-5-26-13

Dave

 

[superdave]

Smoke temp will govern the time as well.  I smoke my thick slabs of ocean salmon (warm) around 200 degree for a little over an hour.  I like my salmon to still flake and not be dry or jerky like. 

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• superdave
• May 1, 2014