# First time smoking big King salmon



## yjay (Nov 24, 2014)

This was my first season taking my own boat to the Columbia river Hanford Reach area to fish for kings. We did pretty well. Limited out the first time trying, and went several more times, all with similar results. I had a really good mentor. So, I fortunately have a pretty good amount of fillets that I intend to smoke. My mentor as well as my fishing partner both dry brine and smoke their kings, and it's really good, so I want to try my hand at it this weekend. I want to ask the experts the in's and out's of how to do it safely. I have a Masterbuilt elite sportsman electric smoker.

I always do my kokanee in a wet brine, but I want to try something different. I've only done the little silvers which are between 1 and 2 lbs, so these will be a whole new ballgame at 15 to 25lbs. Thanks for any advice in advance.













salmon.jpg



__ yjay
__ Nov 24, 2014


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## oldschoolbbq (Nov 25, 2014)

I will be watching this, even though I don't get whole Salmon . . .
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Show the "Whole" process ..
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Have a great Thanksgiving, and as always . . .


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## cmayna (Nov 25, 2014)

yjay,

I do a fair amount of king during our season.  I typically do a dry brine of 4/1  (dk brown sugar / non iodized salt) ratio + lots of fresh garlic.  If filets, I'll brine for around 7 hours, rinse and room dry for 2-3 hours.   Smoke using Alder / Apple pellets starting at 135* for an hour, bump to 150* for another hour, then 160ish* for another hour until I reach an IT of 140.


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## jirodriguez (Nov 26, 2014)

Mmmmmm.... nothing beats those glow in the dark Hanford Salmon! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 (and there easy to see a night!)

Just kidding! Nice fish, those should be really good!


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## cmayna (Nov 26, 2014)

All I want to know is, who is the masked man holding those fish?   LOL!


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## azbohunter (Nov 26, 2014)

I love fishing Kings on the Big C but have never got up to Hanford. I spend about a month or six weeks around mouth of D.

Nice fish there. I do a liquid brine so can't help you with the dry brine. Hope they turn out great for you. I think I need to get some out for Thanksgiving!


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## yjay (Nov 26, 2014)

cmayna said:


> yjay,
> 
> I do a fair amount of king during our season.  I typically do a dry brine of 4/1  (dk brown sugar / non iodized salt) ratio + lots of fresh garlic.  If filets, I'll brine for around 7 hours, rinse and room dry for 2-3 hours.   Smoke using Alder / Apple pellets starting at 135* for an hour, bump to 150* for another hour, then 160ish* for another hour until I reach an IT of 140.


Thank you sir. Does that brine make it sweet? I'm not wanting it to be very sweet really.


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## yjay (Nov 26, 2014)

JIRodriguez said:


> Mmmmmm.... nothing beats those glow in the dark Hanford Salmon!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I know a lot of people think the Hanford fish are so far upriver that they are soft and pale, but it isn't the case really. Many of the ones late in the season are pale of course, but the September/early October fish are bright pink flesh and look like the ones I've caught in the salt, just not chrome on the outside. I'll take a pic of the fillets. Plus they tend to be on the large side.


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## azbohunter (Nov 26, 2014)

I'm in! I love it when a Chinook jumps on my line. Hanford would be okay!


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## yjay (Nov 26, 2014)

cmayna said:


> All I want to know is, who is the masked man holding those fish?   LOL!


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## yjay (Nov 27, 2014)

Cmayna, how much dry brine do you cover the fish with?  I assume you put some brine in the bottom of the pan, place fillets, cover fillets, and stack subsequent fillets on top? My plan is to cut fillets into snack size pieces with skin on, say 2" wide.


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## cmayna (Nov 27, 2014)

Assuming we are talking filets,  yes 1/4-1/2" on the bottom of the pan, lay 1st row, skin side down and maybe 1/4" gap between each piece.  Cover this first layer  with again 1/4-1/2" with more brine. Lay 2nd layer of filets down onto brine meat side down.  Going with 2" wide pieces is great snack size.  If the filets are really long, you might consider cutting them in half.

Craig


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## yjay (Nov 27, 2014)

Thank you. Will do. Fish is defrosting in the fridge as we speak for smoking tomorrow.


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## yjay (Nov 29, 2014)

A question I just thought of while putting my fish in the dry brine right now, do you put it in the fridge to brine or leave it on the counter?


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## cmayna (Nov 29, 2014)

fridge it.   How long are you brining it?


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## yjay (Nov 29, 2014)

7 hours like you said I suppose.


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## cmayna (Nov 29, 2014)

I was just curious about how long you decided to brine.  No matter how long, fridge it.   Keep in mind,  7 hours for filet's is my own preference.  Others go shorter or longer.  It's all a personal choice.  Be sure to take pics.

BTW, not knowing your location, what time are you planning to smoke and for how long.  Unless you are on the west coast,  Alaska or Hawaii, might you be smoking in the dark?  Have lots of fresh flashlight batteries set aside


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## yjay (Nov 29, 2014)

Eastern Washington. I will be in the dark for sure. Porch light-check, Flashlight-check, Ninkasi Total domination IPA-check.

I know it's how everyone does it, but drying after the brine for so long at room temp seems weird.


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## cmayna (Nov 29, 2014)

I would do at least 2 hours under a fan


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## yjay (Nov 29, 2014)

Could I pull them from the brine, rinse and place in the fridge, and smoke tomorrow morning? Just wondering.


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## azbohunter (Nov 29, 2014)

Waiting for someone else to reply to this and maybe offer more experienced opinion.

I would think you could, I am not sure you would get much pellicle formed in the fridge because of the environment but maybe, with the frost free stuff it would work. I have done mine in the fridge in our rv a time or two but I am able to put a small fan in there to circulate the air and it is not frost free.

Maybe you could keep in fridge over night and them leave them out for a while under a fan to get some pellicle and bring up to room temps before putting into the smoker?

I am sure someone else will chime in!

Good luck...


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## cmayna (Nov 29, 2014)

I have never done it before, but don't see why you couldn't leave it in the fridge overnight.  I would still room dry with a fan before it goes into the smoker?    If you were to go ahead and do it today, what time do you estimate smoking?   5pm?  If it's not raining up there, you could be done 8-9 pm.  Wouldn't be the end of the world unless your flashlight runs out of batteries...LOL


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## yjay (Nov 29, 2014)

I'm going to give it a whirl. I'm going to do like suggested and form the pellicle at room temp tomorrow. The reason is I may have to leave tonight  before it would be done.


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## yjay (Nov 29, 2014)

Rinsed, a little coarse pepper, and off to the fridge for the evening. My crummy phone makes it look kinda pale. Just a small batch to check my technique.













chinook.jpg



__ yjay
__ Nov 29, 2014


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## azbohunter (Nov 29, 2014)

Looks great, you are going to enjoy some great fish tomorrow. Making me want to dig down into my freezer?

Will be waiting for finished products reviews!


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## cmayna (Nov 29, 2014)

yjay said:


> I'm going to give it a whirl. I'm going to do like suggested and form the pellicle at room temp tomorrow. The reason is I may have to leave tonight  before it would be done.


Next time just fly me up (1st class, isle seat of course) and I'll watch it for ya.


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## yjay (Nov 29, 2014)

How bout you fish with me, chip for fuel, I'll put you on fish, and you smoke it all. I only want half.


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## cmayna (Nov 29, 2014)

Funny, that what I do with our fishing buddies.   I'll smoke their Kings and charge 50%.   Even at that,  I'm still taking a bath but I still enjoy the compliments.  

So will you, once you have done it a couple times.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## azbohunter (Nov 29, 2014)

cmayna said:


> Funny, that what I do with our fishing buddies. I'll smoke their Kings and charge 50%. Even at that, I'm still taking a bath but I still enjoy the compliments.
> 
> So will you, once you have done it a couple times.
> 
> ...


Me too...........


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## yjay (Nov 30, 2014)

cmayna said:


> Funny, that what I do with our fishing buddies. I'll smoke their Kings and charge 50%. Even at that, I'm still taking a bath but I still enjoy the compliments.
> 
> So will you, once you have done it a couple times.
> 
> ...


You'd be amazed at how much goes in to catching those stupid fish that you don't really think about. $12 bucks for a flasher (gotta have multiples of each color), $6 for a Superbait (again, multiples of each), Gomakatsu hooks, flurocarbon P-Line, $50 downrigger balls. Inevitably stuff gets lost. Plus fuel, tuna, scents, swivels, beads, nitrile gloves, soap, etc., spares for everything. It gets spendy. Not to mention the boat with downriggers, kicker, (autopilot which isn't necessary but almost is),electronics, etc. Guided trips seem expensive at $250 a day till you do it yourself and see what it takes. But it's the only fish that can put up a real fight and pull drag on 30 pound test around here. It's a 3 hour drive for me but I love it. I'd do it even if I couldn't eat the fish. Just dig the hunt and the fight.

I miss tuna fishing and this scratches the itch.


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## azbohunter (Nov 30, 2014)

yjay said:


> You'd be amazed at how much goes in to catching those stupid fish that you don't really think about. $12 bucks for a flasher (gotta have multiples of each color), $6 for a Superbait (again, multiples of each), Gomakatsu hooks, flurocarbon P-Line, $50 downrigger balls. Inevitably stuff gets lost. Plus fuel, tuna, scents, swivels, beads, nitrile gloves, soap, etc., spares for everything. It gets spendy. Not to mention the boat with downriggers, kicker, (autopilot which isn't necessary but almost is),electronics, etc. Guided trips seem expensive at $250 a day till you do it yourself and see what it takes. But it's the only fish that can put up a real fight and pull drag on 30 pound test around here. It's a 3 hour drive for me but I love it. I'd do it even if I couldn't eat the fish. Just dig the hunt and the fight.
> 
> I miss tuna fishing and this scratches the itch.


I'm not going to let my wife read this yjay. We live in Arizona but we spend summers in Oregon and the last two years I have developed a Salmon habit on the Big C! If she sees your post my good times might come to an end
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Besides I pull a boat from Arizona, a non-resident license, and camping fees on top your cost???? I don't mind a bit and look at it as "cheap" entertainment. Not sure she agrees but she loves that smoked salmon.


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## yjay (Nov 30, 2014)

Took a long time. 6 hours to get to 145. I've read the 40 to 140 degrees in four hours rule, what do you guys think? Is it safe?













chinook4.jpg



__ yjay
__ Nov 30, 2014


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## azbohunter (Nov 30, 2014)

No problem, the brine serves as a preservative. Mine usually takes six hours to get to temp!

Your good to go. Let us know how it is...Great I bet!


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## yjay (Nov 30, 2014)

Cool, thanks. Came out very good.


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## cmayna (Nov 30, 2014)

Nice job.


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