# Beautiful



## HHYak (Aug 25, 2019)

I got this beaut yesterday. I was thinking about cooking some up today and freezing the rest, but I wanted to ask what would SMF do with this bad boy?


----------



## chilerelleno (Aug 25, 2019)

Smoke it of course!
Or grill it, or smoke/grill it, or...  or...


----------



## chopsaw (Aug 25, 2019)

Nice catch bud .


----------



## SecondHandSmoker (Aug 25, 2019)

Any which way you want except for Sushi.


----------



## chilerelleno (Aug 25, 2019)

SecondHandSmoker said:


> Any which way you want except for Sushi.


I'll take Sashimi too, yes'sir.


----------



## Odysseus (Aug 25, 2019)

Great catch!  King Salmon?


----------



## chilerelleno (Aug 25, 2019)

Odysseus said:


> Great catch!  King Salmon?


King or Silver


----------



## normanaj (Aug 25, 2019)

Nice fish!

You've got enough to do a few different things.Grilled or smoked you can't go wrong either way.I really love smoked though.

Down our way the bluefish are already staging up and feeding heavy for the later fall run.Water's really warm for the "stripahs" to be staging yet,another few weeks hopefully.Hoping to have a busy smoker this Fall.


----------



## HHYak (Aug 25, 2019)

Odysseus said:


> Great catch!  King Salmon?





chilerelleno said:


> King or Silver



It was indeed a king, my first ever. After it was gilled/cleaned came out at 13.8lbs :D



chilerelleno said:


> I'll take Sashimi too, yes'sir.



I would love to do sushi/sashimi with it, for some reason I thought it had to be flash frozen right after it was caught to be safe for sushi/sashimi consumption



normanaj said:


> Nice fish!
> 
> You've got enough to do a few different things.Grilled or smoked you can't go wrong either way.I really love smoked though.
> 
> Down our way the bluefish are already staging up and feeding heavy for the later fall run.Water's really warm for the "stripahs" to be staging yet,another few weeks hopefully.Hoping to have a busy smoker this Fall.



Good luck on the bluefish! Any recipe favorites you guys have? I have only tried a dry brine with kosher salt and BS with a small piece of salmon in the past.


----------



## chilerelleno (Aug 25, 2019)

HHYak said:


> It was indeed a king, my first ever. After it was gilled/cleaned came out at 13.8lbs :D
> 
> 
> 
> I would love to do sushi/sashimi with it, for some reason I thought it had to be flash frozen right after it was caught to be safe for sushi/sashimi consumption


Well there is the raw reality, Japanese tradition and FDA recommendations.

The risk of pathogens is small, but very real.
Regardless, many go ahead and eat it fresh on/off the boat with just some Wasabi and Gari as condiments.

Japanese foodies are going to want fresh and want it dispatched properly via ike jime.
But then again, the majority of their fish is frozen just as ours is.

And the FDA is going to recommend freezing at either -4 degrees F for a minimum of seven days, or for 15 hours at a temperature of -31 degrees F.


----------



## drdon (Aug 25, 2019)

Smoke half savory and candied the other half.
Don


----------



## HHYak (Aug 26, 2019)

I brined one fillet last night and pulled it out of the fridge this morning. When i put the pieces on the drying tray I noticed black spots and a couple worm looking black streaks in a few spots. Is this safe or did it somehow get contaminated?


----------



## Hawging It (Aug 26, 2019)

Smoke that monster and share with your friends!!


----------



## HHYak (Aug 26, 2019)

Smoked it up. Best fish I’ve ever tasted.


----------



## clifish (Aug 26, 2019)

HHYak said:


> I got this beaut yesterday. I was thinking about cooking some up today and freezing the rest, but I wanted to ask what would SMF do with this bad boy?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Where did you catch it?  I caught a bunch of King's last week in northern NY on Lake Ontario...still in freezer.  This one was 23lbs.


----------



## HHYak (Aug 26, 2019)

Wow nice fish! Mine was on the Columbia River, just outside of Longview Wa on the WA/OR line.


----------



## clifish (Aug 26, 2019)

HHYak said:


> Wow nice fish! Mine was on the Columbia River, just outside of Longview Wa on the WA/OR line.


yours too!   We had 6 guys and boated over 30 Salmon up to 28lb in 2 days on the lake.
What was the brine and smoke method you used...looks great.


----------



## HHYak (Aug 28, 2019)

clifish said:


> yours too!   We had 6 guys and boated over 30 Salmon up to 28lb in 2 days on the lake.
> What was the brine and smoke method you used...looks great.



Wow, I am jealous!! We were running 4 rods for two full days, and only came away with 4 total between us all. The biggest was 13.8lb. 

Thanks! I started off by sprinkling granulated garlic, powdered onion and Tony's directly on the fillets. Then I used a 1:1 mixture of light BS and kosher salt. Coated the pieces entirely and let them sit overnight, about 12 hours, flipping every 3-4 hours. I had to cut it shorter then I wanted to get it done the next day before I left town. Had to be done. 

I pulled them at 0600 and rinsed off the brine, patted them dry, and placed them on a drying rack in front of the fan for about 2 hours. 

I fired up my pit boss on the smoke setting, and bumped the P setting to 5 for a little more smoke. After she warmed up I put the fish on for an hour on the smoke setting running between 140-160'. I then bumped the temp to 200' and pulled it off the grill at 140' IT. Cook time was 1.5 hours total. I went off IT not time since the fillets were thicker then any fish I had ever cooked. 

It turned out great. The guys I was on the boat with convinced me to start canning, so we will see how that turns out...


----------



## clifish (Aug 28, 2019)

Thanks - What is the BS in you line below?
"Then I used a 1:1 mixture of light BS and kosher salt."

Did you cook them with the skin on?  My fillets are skin on right now.


----------



## HHYak (Aug 28, 2019)

Sorry ligh brown sugar, and yes I left the skin on. It comes right off after smoking, not sure if it changes things or not, this was my first time


----------



## gmc2003 (Aug 28, 2019)

Looks like an excellent catch and an even better smoke. 

Point for sure
Chris


----------



## HHYak (Aug 28, 2019)

gmc2003 said:


> Looks like an excellent catch and an even better smoke.
> 
> Point for sure
> Chris



Thank you very much!! I'm just happy when the wife and kids enjoy it


----------

