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Salmon Question re Oil

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Murray

Murray

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Dec 30, 2018
658
368
Grande Cache Alberta
Smoked my first Salmon this weekend. Used 4:1 brown sugar to salt, dry brine for 13 hours in the fridge, Started at 130F and increased smoker temperature by 10F each hour until 170F. Maximum temperature as per TP-08 was 177F. Pulled fish at IT 150F-155F. The fish had oil pooling on top and dribbling down the sides. This Salmon was Atlantic farm raised. Is this a common occurrence with farm raised salmon? Turned out delicious, just a little oily, especially when I pull the skin off.
 
You live in Alberta and you're buying Atlantic bathtub salmon? that is sacrilege when you're in wild Chinook country.
 
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Answer to your question is yes. Blot off w paper towel and you'll be fine.

Additionally, storing the fish in paper lunch bags for a time until you acheive your desired texture will also wick additional oil out of the meat. Just change the lunch bags when they grease through.
 
forktender said:
You live in Alberta and you're buying Atlantic bathtub salmon? that is sacrilege when you're in wild Chinook country.
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We live in a small town on the eastern slopes of the Rockies, the local grocery store doesn’t always have salmon and when they do it’s $33.00/kilogram ($15/lb). I bought this salmon at $22.00/kilogram($10.00/pound). We are not in salmon country, we have Rainbow(stocked), Brookies,(rare) Dolly Varden(protected),Whitefish(worms) and Arctic Grayling. All fun to catch, but with the fishing pressure one has to go deeper into the bush to get to the good fishing. Even packed in ice they take a beating on the ATV and turn to mush by the time one gets home. We keep enough for a shore lunch and the rest is catch and release.
 
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fivetricks said:
Answer to your question is yes. Blot off w paper towel and you'll be fine.

Additionally, storing the fish in paper lunch bags for a time until you acheive your desired texture will also wick additional oil out of the meat. Just change the lunch bags when they grease through.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, that’s what I did once I realized it wasn’t water. I was surprised there was that much oil. No chance of those fish sticking to the grates! Wife loved them so that’s all that really matters.
 
Yeah, it's amazing how much total liquid fish holds.

Try the paper bag thing. The longer you leave it, IMHO the better the texture. Almost like a jerkey after a week or so!
 
fivetricks said:
Yeah, it's amazing how much total liquid fish holds.

Try the paper bag thing. The longer you leave it, IMHO the better the texture. Almost like a jerkey after a week or so!
Click to expand...

When you say jerky are you referring to the texture, we don’t like dried fish that has all the moisture removed. At IT 145F it was a little to soft for our liking, IT of 150-155F is the texture we like. Any drier then that I doubt my wife will like it, I’m not a big salmon fan so I smoke to her liking. Now with Pickeral that’s another story...
 
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Murray said:
Smoked my first Salmon this weekend. Used 4:1 brown sugar to salt, dry brine for 13 hours in the fridge, Started at 130F and increased smoker temperature by 10F each hour until 170F. Maximum temperature as per TP-08 was 177F. Pulled fish at IT 150F-155F. The fish had oil pooling on top and dribbling down the sides. This Salmon was Atlantic farm raised. Is this a common occurrence with farm raised salmon? Turned out delicious, just a little oily, especially when I pull the skin off.
Click to expand...
Farm raised salmon has up to twice the fat of wild caught. I quit buying FR years ago.
 
I'd buy flash frozen Alaskan Pacific King Salmon to smoke, I refuse to eat Atlantic bathtub salmon.
I'm spoiled because catch and stock my own freezer with wild King's every spring through summer close to home.
 
Murray said:
I’m going to have to try wild, see the difference myself, just don’t want to mortgage the house.
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Even the wild caught pinks at walmart for 5$ a pound are better than farm raised. Salmon run here in FL is a little sparse so we have to get it where we can. Will be in AK for a few weeks this summer though..
 
Ever since the late 60's I've considered myself very fortunate that for most parts I've lived where I could catch salmonoids. From 9 years in Anchorage/Fairbanks, 10 years fishing between the Golden Gate to the Puget and even 20 years here on Lake Michigan. I have NEVER had to resort to buying fish. I've tried just about every method of smoking fish, cold/hot, wet/dry, and I've boiled it down to wet brining overnite and hot smoking over maple smoke for my personal liking, but that's just me. I smoke my skinned fish with the skinned side down, cuts down on the oil problem. And the only time I leave the skin on is when I'm doing some 1&1/2" thick salmon steaks that I've cut. Not a big fan of jerky or candied salmon but I will make it from time to time for family members. Hard to beat fresh smoked salmon/ or any fish for that matter, some smoked cheese, a little cream cheese, Ritz crackers and a cold Bud.
Martin
 
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forktender said:
I'd buy flash frozen Alaskan Pacific King Salmon to smoke, I refuse to eat Atlantic bathtub salmon.
I'm spoiled because catch and stock my own freezer with wild King's every spring through summer close to home.
Click to expand...

I am from Seattle and have eaten fresh salmon right off the boat. It's a near-religious experience. Now I live in Ga and can't find fresh salmon. I buy the Kirkland frozen brand from Costco. Is it as amazing as fresh, not a chance, but it's consistently good.
 
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I was up in Alaska at a Salmon cannery for work and the parts not used or wasted were cooked up in a large pressure cooker and then the resulting liquid was ran through a centrifuge to collect the oil. lots of totes full of oil. Most of the roe was salted and sent down a chute to be cleaned, salted, and shipped to Japan.
 
baboy said:
I was up in Alaska at a Salmon cannery for work and the parts not used or wasted were cooked up in a large pressure cooker and then the resulting liquid was ran through a centrifuge to collect the oil. lots of totes full of oil. Most of the roe was salted and sent down a chute to be cleaned, salted, and shipped to Japan.
Click to expand...

I recall reading in Micheners “Alaska” book, the canneries had 5 grades of fish: A,B,C,D, & Mrs Paul’s.
 
To the OP,
I have no experience smoking farm raised fish, so I can't comment on how much oil extracts when it is smoked. Will say that if you smoked it til an IT of 155, I would not be surprised with the amount of oil that came out. I smoke salmon at least once a month since the wife and I fish for ours, all the time. I smoke til the IT reaches 145. No higher and yes, once in awhile some oil surfaces but just a small amount.

Some day, go to the coast during Salmon season and buy a fresh fish off one of the local fishing boats. You won't regret it.

Off to the garage I go to prepare the wife's Salmon rod for tomorrow's fishing excursion out the golden gate.
 
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