# Candied Salmon / Indian Candy w/ Q-view



## pintocrazy

Here's my first crack at Candied Salmon / Indian Candy.

-Brined for 20 hours, smoked @ 128F with cherry and pecan wood for 4 hours and cooked w/o smoke for a hour.

2oz. squares of certified ocean wise Steel head Salmon













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__ Jun 28, 2013






filled with brine













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__ Jun 28, 2013






out of the brine the next day













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after drying for a bit













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on to smoke and sprinkled with brown sugar













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__ Jun 28, 2013






after being mopped with a maple syrup/brown sugar mix a few times













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after smoking for 4 hours it looks like this













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off after 5 hours













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after a night in the fridge













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interior shot. turned out nice and moist!













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__ Jun 28, 2013






All in all turned out great! will do again for sure


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## mr t 59874

pintocrazy, Was this an experiment?  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






   Looks great.

Tom


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## dirtsailor2003

Great looking Salmon Candy!!! Yumm!!!


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## smokinhusker

That's some great looking salmon!


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## gerco850

Hello,

What was your brine combo?

You smoke for 4 hours, off smoker for 5 hours?

Also about how much salmon did you start with?

Thanks so much!

I've had what was called squaw candy from a friend in Alaska that was pretty dry, but fabulous!


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## Bearcarver

Oh Yeah!!!!

I could sit & eat half of that during one Football Game!!!----Maybe All of it !!!

Awesome!!

Bear


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## pintocrazy

thanks for the comments everyone!


Mr T 59874 said:


> pintocrazy, Was this an experiment?
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thanks. haha no, just was my first time trying to do this so i didn't know how good it would turn out. turned out great. 


gerco850 said:


> Hello,
> 
> What was your brine combo?
> 
> You smoke for 4 hours, off smoker for 5 hours?
> 
> Also about how much salmon did you start with?
> 
> Thanks so much!
> 
> I've had what was called squaw candy from a friend in Alaska that was pretty dry, but fabulous!


I had 28 2oz pecies , so 3.5 lbs of salmon. The brine would easily be enough for 40 pecies.

this is what I did

- 2L water

- .5C Coarse pickling salt

- 2C Demerara

- 1C Maple Syrup

- 1/3C Honey

- 30ml peppercorn medly

- 4 bay leaves

Smoke @ 128F for 4 hours, cooking w/o smoke for 1 hour for a total of 5 hours. Turned out moist but nice and firm.


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## pintocrazy

Bearcarver said:


> Oh Yeah!!!!
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> I could sit & eat half of that during one Football Game!!!----Maybe All of it !!!
> 
> Awesome!!
> 
> Bear


Haha i know what you mean. After I let it sit in the fridge I tried one... one turned into seven it tasted so good


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## gerco850

Thanks for the info!

After the brine, & also pat dry, but place on a wire rack for couple hours to dry!


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## twamr

Hey Pintocrazy... the last hour of non-smoke heat... what temp are you using? Are you still running it at 128F?


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## hagisan

Alright, all these salmon posts is making really want some.  I guess it's time to scope out some salmon for smoking.

Well done!  Thanks for sharing.


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## pintocrazy

twamr said:


> Hey Pintocrazy... the last hour of non-smoke heat... what temp are you using? Are you still running it at 128F?


Ya 128* F for the last hour,  fluctuated to 135*F a couple times during the last hour but only climbed for a minute before I go it back to 128


Hagisan said:


> Alright, all these salmon posts is making really want some.  I guess it's time to scope out some salmon for smoking.
> 
> Well done!  Thanks for sharing.


Thanks ! Haha looking at my post again I want to do another batch!


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## mds51

Just to make sure i get the brine ingredients correct, that is 2 Liters of water and 5 cups of Salt???


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## pintocrazy

1/2 C coarse salt


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## humdinger

Nice job pinto. That salmon looks really meaty and moist.


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## pintocrazy

Humdinger said:


> Nice job pinto. That salmon looks really meaty and moist.



Thanks! I want to do another batch soon. Starting to crave it . Haha


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## pintocrazy

Been a busy summer , haven't had time to smoke anything lately, but I managed to find time to do another batch of candied salmon

Salmon in the brine













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__ Aug 17, 2013






Decided to add a new character into the mix.. Pure maple sugar. Added 1/2 C to the brine mix.













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__ Aug 17, 2013






Out of the brine and let dry a bit













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__ Aug 17, 2013






Done smoking. brushed a mixture of maple syrup and maple sugar onto it while it smoked.













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__ Aug 17, 2013






Turned out great!













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__ Aug 17, 2013






Wish I had done a bigger batch! oh well... next time :)


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## cmayna

Very nice looking.  You don't trim off the dark meat that normally resides next to the skin?  Also is the 128*  the IT temp or smoker temp?  Can't say that I have ever heard of Steelhead Salmon.


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## jonboat

cmayna said:


> Very nice looking.  You don't trim off the dark meat that normally resides next to the skin?  Also is the 128*  the IT temp or smoker temp?  Can't say that I have ever heard of Steelhead Salmon.



Steelhead are actually large sea-run rainbow trout. Or in my part of the country, large Lake Ontario rainbow trout. When they are in the ocean or Great Lakes, they don't have that rainbow look. they look like shiny stainless steel - likely why they're called steel head.

When they hit rivers and streams to spawn, they develop the characteristic coloring you would expect to see from a rainbow.


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## dirtsailor2003

Jonboat said:


> Steelhead are actually large sea-run rainbow trout. Or in my part of the country, large Lake Ontario rainbow trout. When they are in the ocean or Great Lakes, they don't have that rainbow look. they look like shiny stainless steel - likely why they're called steel head.
> 
> When they hit rivers and streams to spawn, they develop the characteristic coloring you would expect to see from a rainbow.


Another interesting fact about the Steelhead is that they don't die after spawning. They return to the ocean and live for 3-4 years. Still returning to spawn each year.


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## cmayna

Thanks for the reply.  What threw me off was that up in your original post, you mentioned Steel Head Salmon.  I assume you meant just Steelhead.


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## jonboat

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Another interesting fact about the Steelhead is that they don't die after spawning. They return to the ocean and live for 3-4 years. Still returning to spawn each year.



Absolutely correct. That is one of the reasons that there is a lot more catch & release with steelhead than there is with the Pacific salmon (chinook, coho, and rare pink). The Pacific's die after spawning, so they are harvested much more often.


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## fished

Sorry for the question.  I'm confused and I want to do this this weekend.  Was 128 the internal temperature of the fish or the smoker?  Did you smoke for the entire five hours at that temperature?


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## cmayna

Fished,

I had asked a similar question but no answer as of yet, but can say that If 128 was the IT when it was pulled out, then that would be slightly under cooked.  If 128 was the chamber temp only then can I see anyone smoking fish chunks of that size for 5 hours.   When I did my first batch of Indian Candy recently, I did it in 3 hours starting at 125, 140 then 150 until the IT was about 135+


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## pintocrazy

Sorry i haven't replied. It has been super busy at work and have been too dead to come online when I get home. 

Yah I smoked the fish for 4 hours at 128 and cooked for one additional hour without smoke at 128.. which spiked up to 135, for a total smoke/cook time of five hours.


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## pintocrazy

I had done the latest batch the night before my car meet weekend, and had let a few friends that came from Alberta try it, And they all thought it was great! Haha definitely needed a larger batch to share with everyone. 

The maple sugar is for sure an addition to my recipe I will keep.


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## thatcho

I mean literally wow! i am gonna try this. Going up to snag some koke's and with the whole family that is a total of 50 salmon at two pounds a piece.


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## leah elisheva

That's the best Halloween candy one could ask for!! BRAVO!!! Cheers! - Leah


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## thatcho

So 1/2 cup of coarse salt, Not pickling salt?


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## pintocrazy

I suppose either would work.


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## thatcho

Thnks Pinto


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## mike johnson

pickling salt is a much smaller grain of salt. You get a lot more of it in a 1/2 cup measurement than you do of coarse kosher salt. Its best to always go by weight when changing types of salt in a recipe.


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## thatcho

I was curious cause in the thread pickling salt and coarse kosher. I don't have a scale so better stick with pickling salt.


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## pintocrazy

Mike Johnson said:


> pickling salt is a much smaller grain of salt. You get a lot more of it in a 1/2 cup measurement than you do of coarse kosher salt. Its best to always go by weight when changing types of salt in a recipe.


true, haha I'm slowly trying to convert all my recipes by weight as I do them now. anyways , i took a pic of how much my salt weighs - 5oz.













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__ Nov 8, 2013


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## pigsmoke

This recipe looks absolutely amazing. I'm looking to try my hand at it this weekend and have just one question for you Pinto; what is the ratio of maple syrup to brown sugar in your mop?

Thanks in advance


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## pintocrazy

PigSmoke said:


> This recipe looks absolutely amazing. I'm looking to try my hand at it this weekend and have just one question for you Pinto; what is the ratio of maple syrup to brown sugar in your mop?
> 
> Thanks in advance



Ahh nice! Some one else from van!

2 pt syrup - 1 pt sugar

I also tried the maple sugar in mop instead of brown.. Worked great!

If you find the maple sugar (should be at Costco), throw a half cup into my brine mix I posted.


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## pintocrazy

Updated

I had 28 2oz pecies , so 3.5 lbs of salmon. The brine would easily be enough for 40 pecies.
this is what I did. Brined for 20 hours.
- 2 L water
- 5 oz. Coarse pickling salt
- 2.5 oz. Maple sugar
- 14 oz. Demerara
- 250 ml Maple Syrup
- 5 oz. Honey
- 30ml peppercorn medly
- 4 bay leaves

Smoke @ 128F for 4 hours, cooking w/o smoke for 1 hour for a total of 5 hours.

Mop occasionally with a ratio of 2-1 (syrup-maple or brown sugar)


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## pintocrazy

updated with weights, as I have my first batch of the year on the go! :)


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## atomicsmoke

Great stuff pintocrazy...I know this is about Indian candy but I am wondering what would be the outcome without the mop? Will it dry out?


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## pintocrazy

it just wont get that candied/sheen/sticky exterior


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## pintocrazy

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__ Apr 27, 2014






in the brine













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__ Apr 27, 2014






out after 20 hours, drying a bit













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2.5 hours in... using pecan/cherry combo to smoke.













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4 hours through. 













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off after 5 hours













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after 8 hours in the fridge..yum!













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close up













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__ Apr 28, 2014


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## leah elisheva

Such gorgeous photos! Like a postcard even! Great job! Cheers! - Leah


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## Bearcarver

I agree with Leah---Awesome Photos!!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Those pieces look Mighty Tasty!!!
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## pintocrazy

Bearcarver said:


> I agree with Leah---Awesome Photos!!!
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They were super tasty!! Haha , I already want to do another batch.


Leah Elisheva said:


> Such gorgeous photos! Like a postcard even! Great job! Cheers! - Leah


Thanks!


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## knotfree

Can't wait...should be a record run of sockeye on the Fraser river(and Thompson) this year.Already planning on making your candy. maybe even a bit extra in-case any buddies drop by trick or treating.


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## pintocrazy

Knotfree said:


> Can't wait...should be a record run of sockeye on the Fraser river(and Thompson) this year.Already planning on making your candy. maybe even a bit extra in-case any buddies drop by trick or treating.


ahh nice! should make for good fishing! haha , definitely make some extra , it tends to go quick. make sure to post your results afterwards.


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