# Brining - ok to refrigerate after forming the pellicle?



## treimink (Oct 28, 2016)

Two questions.

I just brined some salmon, dried it to form the pellicle.  Rather than start the smoking process now, I would rather wait till tomorrow am for convenience.  Any issues with putting it into the fridge overnight now that it's dry?

Also, question on smoking times.  Some people just put it at 170-ish for 2+ hours, others smoke for 6 hours while gradually increasing from 100 up to 170+ degrees.  Is the latter method just for those that want more smoke on the salmon? Or does it tend to not dry out if you start at lower temps?

Thanks all!  First post here.  Be gentle.


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## daveomak (Oct 30, 2016)

......  First of all, you will want to warm the fish, without smoke, to 70-80 deg. F..... you do not want to add smoke to cold meat...   condensate will form and smoke and condensate form what I call "acid rain" on the surface of the fish....  nasty tasting stuff....    Then add thin blue smoke for an hour or three to your liking... smoker temp can be 120-170 ish....     Cook until an Internal Temp of the salmon is 140....    When you see a white ish substance form on the outside of the fish, it is almost overcooked....  that is the oils coming to the surface...  it dries the fish out....

OH !!!!   did you add cure #1 or pink salt to the brine....  that's important to eliminate the possibility of botulism.....


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## wade (Oct 31, 2016)

Hi Treimink

As Dave says, if you are hot smoking the salmon then you need to raise the temperature gradually. This will allow the soluble proteins to set within the fish rather than bubbling to to surface and forming an unsightly white scum. On white fish this is often not noticeable however on darker fish, like salmon, it can look quite unappetizing.

If you are chilling the salmon after smoking and will be eating it within a few days then there is no need to add cure. If you are likely to be storing it chilled for longer than a couple of weeks then you can either add cure or simply freeze it.


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