# Smokin first salmon question?



## hockeyhead (Feb 20, 2008)

Hello all,   Here is my plan? brine for bout a hour, k-salt-brown sugar. Then I'm really sure about temp and do you use the water pan? and do you have to flip it? HELP !!!


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## salmonclubber (Feb 20, 2008)

hh

i would brine it for 2 hours and smoke at around 150 until the meat flakes about 4-6 hours it depends on how much fish you have the more fish you have the longer it takes to smoke  is it a fillet how thick is it if it is under 1  inch thick i would brine 1 1/2 hours over an inch thick i would go 2 hours good luck 

huey


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## wullybully (Feb 20, 2008)

The purpose of brining is to draw moisture out of the fish.  If you are using brine you need to allow more time, such as over night.  Alternatively use the salt and sugar mix directly on the fish for a shorter time period.  One hour would be a minimum.  If using salt directly, be sure to rinse well or the fish will be to salty.

I smoke salmon for 3 or 4 hours at about 120-150 F.  Then usually dehydrate further in the oven.  I do not turn it.

Hope this is helpful.


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## hockeyhead (Feb 20, 2008)

Thank you clubber !


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## hockeyhead (Feb 20, 2008)

What about the water pan? No ?


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## wullybully (Feb 20, 2008)

I never use a water pan, but thats just me.


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## pitrow (Feb 21, 2008)

I use a 4:1 mix of brown sugar and canning salt (a little more course than kosher) with some minced garlic thrown in, and I dry brine it over night. I usually do fillets and I smoke them for about 3-6 hours at 150, depending on weather and how thick they are, etc. I've never used water for salmon either, and I never ever flip 'em. Just leave 'em skin side down the whole time.

You can see pix of my last batch here...
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=12006


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## white cloud (Feb 21, 2008)

I have a salmon recipe that I used to use probably 20 years ago, It was great. The only reason I have not done salmon since is 1, The old ECB rusted away and 2, My dad no longer owns his boat which was docked at the tip of the thumb in MI. If I could get my hands on some fresh wild caught salmon I would use this recipe again. I don't have it in hand at the moment but if you want it, I with dig it up and post it or pm it to you. We got the recipe from a dentist out of reese MI.


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## jerkyaddict (Feb 22, 2008)

aggghh fresh salmon...i wish i could find some of that in n.j. i have done some store purchased wich was def from froze , but yeah like the guy's have said 150-175 depending on how your smoker's powered.....i'll soak overnight in a light salt and lemon brine . i use sea salt cause the kosher's
harder to find here but the seasalt is pretty coarse ground .. the day i smoke i pat dry with paper towel's then add whatever seasoning you wish
and alway's some brown sugar with usually some dill , tarragon and parsley or chervil pretty much same thing....and as said "smoke till flaking " this is good stuff no doubt !!


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## richoso1 (Feb 22, 2008)

I eould brine for at least 2-3 hours depending on the thickness of th fillet(s), let it sit for awhile after you rinse. I usually smoke till internal temp hits 150, then let it rest in foil for a little while. The longer the brine, the saltier it will taste, in my experiences. I have never flipped salmon...


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## av8tor (Feb 22, 2008)

What cooking temperature do you cook at Rich?


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## hockeyhead (Feb 23, 2008)

Well here is how it turned out. Some say to brine a couple hours, some say over nite - did mine for 6 hrs, 1 gal. water, 1 cup k-salt and 3 cups brown sugar. Smoked w/hickory. Outside temp. about 10 degrees, any I freaked out cause I thought it was to long and pulled it out without checking the thickest part for being flaky. So the outside portion was AWSOME !! and the middle went to Mingo, my Golden Retriever!


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## pitrow (Feb 23, 2008)

Well chalk it up as a learning experience! As long as there was some good to eat and you learned from it, it's all good!


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## jerkyaddict (Feb 23, 2008)

waiting for mingo's post on how daddy did ? lol bet it was fine grub ! you could alway's set back to the pokey , pokey it in the thickest part of fillet
when it's firm and not squishy...it's about done . temp's are a hard judge on sea-fare , outside temp , cooker temp , altitude's , all in all it's how you want it to be.....i keep it finger poked to just firmish........farther then that you might be makin fish jerky...but both are good depend's on what you want it to be


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## hockeyhead (Feb 24, 2008)

Mingo say 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 , but she won't get any next time!! Cause I'm catch'in on to this business !!


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## jerkyaddict (Feb 25, 2008)

cant cut out the taste testor she know's best............


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## smoke_chef (Feb 27, 2008)

Hey everyone... all this fish talk has me motivated. I'm about smoke salmon for the first time. My Dad goes to Alaska fishing once a year and brings home a whole mess of it. I have a big fillet in freezer just begging to be smoked. 

My question isâ€¦ is when Dad takes a fillet out of the freezer this is how he thaws it out. 

On a cookie sheet, he puts down a pretty thick layer of brown sugar. About a quarter inch I thinkâ€¦ then puts the frozen fillet meat side down on the brown sugar, covers with plastic wrap and allows to thaw completely. During the thaw, the fish basically absorbs 100% of the brown sugar. Then he just bakes in the oven for about 20 minutes. 

I, of course, want to smoke mine. Butâ€¦ Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m curious, is this thaw process like a brine? Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m thinking of doing this AND making the glaze that Dutch posted. Maybe I should choose one or the other? What do you guys think?


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## jerkyaddict (Feb 28, 2008)

smoke...the thawing process with absorbing i had'nt heard of till your post...? brine is a water soak key ingredient being salt , but salty water fish's needing less salt and the spice's you choose as an alter smoke taste...this as i have learned is a trial and error phase . you will have to try it the way you think you might like it , then set a base platform from that..along with wood pref.s salmon is pretty good cedar planked on a grill , but i myself think when smoked with cedar becomes cedar overboard....perhaps mix woods till you find your happy taste ? good luck with your smoke and remember the many folk's here are here to help


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## smoke_chef (Feb 28, 2008)

White Cloud... Yes... please post if you find the recipe. I think I have figured out what I want to do with this fillet but salmon I really want to perfect. Okay... I guess want to perfect everything I put in the smoker but salmon is what I'm focused on right now. I'll take all the recipes and advice I can get. 

Jerkyaddict... I think I'm going to go with the 4:1 brine. That seems pretty popular here. Also, time of the brine seems to vary a lot. I'm going to start with four hours and see how that goes. Hickory is what I'll use for the wood. Like you said... trial and error. 

Hockeyhead... Thanks for getting this thread started. My smoke is on Friday. I'll be sure to post Q view and let everyone know how it turned out. 

I can't wait!!!


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