# Hot Smoked Salmon (And Worms)...



## stwallace

I brined some salmon for almost 24 hours and dried it on a rack with a fan for 2 1/2 hrs.  Now I put all the fish in the smoker and brought the temp to around 145-150 Degrees.  Little clear worms are starting to come out of the salmon now.  I pulled about 6 out and there are a few more popping back out as well.  I you tubed it and found out they are tape worms or some other parasite but if cooked to 140 degrees it isn't harmful.  any thought???


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## SmokinAl

That's scary!

Were these store bought or wild that you caught?


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## pops6927

Parasitic worms in fish is quite common.  Cod and Scrod are famous for it.  Cooked properly under any means they are harmless.  You have eaten them many many times, just never knew it.


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## SmokinAl

I don't think I would ever eat fish again if I saw worms crawling out.


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## Bearcarver

I saw these parasites on the web a couple years ago, so I did some research & found there are two ways to ensure there are no parasites in fish.

If my memory serves me:

One way is cooking to an IT of 160˚.

The other is freezing to ZERO degrees for at least 30 days (other temps for other lengths of time).

So if I'm going to cold or warm smoke, I do the freezing game, and if I'm going to hot smoke & cook, I'll take it to 160˚.

Bear


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## SmokinAl

WOW Bear that just blows my salmon right out of the water.

I never cook it past 140, I hope the worms are done at that temp.


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## keymaster

I worked at a fish processing plant in Alaska in the eighties and they would slide the cod fish filets over a plate glass table with a brite light shining through to look for these worms, if worms were present they would get rejected. I think I might have a hard time eatin flesh burrowing worms and knowing it.


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## meateater

I like my worms on the hook not in the meat.


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## venture

Don't eat flour.  Insect eggs in there.

LOL

Good luck and good smoking.


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## Bearcarver

Venture said:


> Don't eat flour.  Insect eggs in there.
> 
> LOL
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> Good luck and good smoking.


Good point Merv!!!

I still remember my mother used to get free boxes of cereal from the companies (1950s & 60s), because of finding bugs in unopened boxes of cereal !!!

They had to be born in the unopened boxes!

LOL---I remember the "Puffed Rice" had little dark spots on each piece, but the ones that moved were not supposed to be there!!!

Bear


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## stwallace

So I pulled about ten worms out.  Since I have the MES with the window I was just watching them pop up and squirm around when the temp got to around 145.   I quit opening the door though after a while but I saw more coming up.  I finished cooking it because I was going to eat it seeing that most things I read, said if its cooked to 140 IT its harmless.  I changed my mind after 10 plus worms though but it looked fantastic.  I should have taken pictures of the finished product but I just ended up tossing it away.  What a waste!


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## teeznuts

No fish for me for a while!


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## venture

Just added protein.  Always remember the starving kids in Korea.  Or wherever it was when your mother told you to eat the crust on your bread or toast.

We are very lucky.

Good luck and good smoking.


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## Bearcarver

Venture said:


> Just added protein.  Always remember the starving kids in Korea.  Or wherever it was when your mother told you to eat the crust on your bread or toast.
> 
> We are very lucky.
> 
> Good luck and good smoking.


I never got the starving kids story about crust---I got the story from my Dad----"Eat the crust, it'll put hair on your chest!"

The starving people story was about cleaning your plate.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## sunman76

Wow the things one can learn....


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## Bearcarver

Here's some good info:
[h1]*Parasites in Marine Fishes*[/h1][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]All living organisms, including fish, can have parasites. Parasites are a natural occurrence, not contamination. They are as common in fish as insects are in fruits and vegetables. Parasites do not present a health concern in thoroughly cooked fish.[/font]

Parasites become a concern when consumers eat raw or lightly preserved fish such as sashimi, sushi, ceviche, and gravlax. When preparing these products, use commercially frozen fish. Alternatively, freeze the fish to an internal temperature of -4°F for at least 7 days to kill any parasites that may be present. Home freezers may not be cold enough to kill the parasites.

The health risk from parasites is far less than the risk from "unseen" illness causing bacteria which are present on almost all foods. Here are some commonly asked questions about fish parasites.

[h3]How long should I cook fish to kill parasites?[/h3]Cooking fish to an internal temperature of 140°F will kill all fish nematodes and tapeworms. Normal cooking procedures generally exceed this temperature.

*Much More:*

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/Pubs/parasite.htm[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Bear[/font]


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## flutterbye1

Glad I like my fish fried and breaded lol guess that way I never see em, or dont know they are there


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## rbranstner

I'm with you. Even though it is safe if cooked properly I would have a hard time eating the fish if there were that many worms coming out of it while I was cooking it.


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## africanmeat

Do you mean like that


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## jirodriguez

Heck in some parts of the world you would keep the worms and toss the fish! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





..... but yeah, I would have a hard time eating that particular piece of fish after watching the worms come out and squirm around.... lol.


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## Bearcarver

Yup, Shad Roe is looking much better now?????

No worms in Roe.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Bear


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## alaskanbear

Like none of you ever ate the dam worm in the bottom of a tequila!!  Dam, like is gonna hurt LOLOL

Rich


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## bluebombersfan

One more reason I prefer grazing animals hahahahahah


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## shooter1

Bearcarver said:


> Yup, Shad Roe is looking much better now?????
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Yeah, not so much Bear. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





But seriously we catch a lot of salt water fish in Florida that do commonly have worms. I personally will not eat fish if I know there are worms, but I probably have consumed fish that did, but thank goodness I never knew. I find them mostly in Speckeld Trout, but have found them in Grouper, Amberjack, and even Redfish, and probaly a lot more I can't recall. I usually just cut out that part of the filet unless the whole fish is infested. Sounds kinda gross doesn't it? I know if I was cooking fish and worms started coming out of the fish that sucker is going to Davey Jones Locker, STAT!


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## Bearcarver

Shooter1 said:


> Yeah, not so much Bear.
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> But seriously we catch a lot of salt water fish in Florida that do commonly have worms. I personally will not eat fish if I know there are worms, but I probably have consumed fish that did, but thank goodness I never knew. I find them mostly in Speckeld Trout, but have found them in Grouper, Amberjack, and even Redfish, and probaly a lot more I can't recall. I usually just cut out that part of the filet unless the whole fish is infested. Sounds kinda gross doesn't it? I know if I was cooking fish and worms started coming out of the fish that sucker is going to Davey Jones Locker, STAT!


Can't argue with that.

I shot rabbits that had worms under the skin (before the first frost), and I was told that was OK, but I chucked them!!

Stomach didn't agree with "That was OK".  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## stwallace

Haha.  I like all the comments everyone has shared.  Didn't know this post would go this far....

-Bear, thanks for the info about the worms.  I pretty much found the same information online, it's all good to know and the more I know the better I feel.

-Venture, Amen; there are starving people all over the world.  Its a good thing i'm not trying to win a beauty pageant nor' am I on dual survivor.  If I were in a situation where I had to eat them I'm sure I           would.  Anything tastes good when you're hungry enough.

- African Meat, YES I DO mean that!  Times ten!

- Alaskan Bear, Very true i'm sure we've all eaten them plenty of times in a lot of things.....  

Now I can agree with who ever doesn't like the MES with a window for one reason and one reason only.  But I'm sure I'll be back to eating salmon and other fish again in the near future.  Thanks all!

 Sean


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## venture

For the insects in flour:  Use lots of course black pepper, it makes them disappear!

Bear, we only ate the rabbits we shot in the winter and early spring when it was really cold.  Only cottontails, the jack rabbits went to the hog farmers (illegal now).

Good luck and good smoking.


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## roller

Not me...if I can see them crawling around I ANT eating it...Period .My BIL ate some goat in Afganistain and 2 yrs later the Dr`s took a 18 in. worm out of him as big around as a cigar.


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## bluebombersfan

Roller said:


> Not me...if I can see them crawling around I ANT eating it...Period .My BIL ate some goat in Afganistain and 2 yrs later the Dr`s took a 18 in. worm out of him as big around as a cigar.


NASTY


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## venture

Ahh, the tapeworm.  The dieter's friend.  LOL

Good luck and good smoking.


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## Bearcarver

Venture said:


> For the insects in flour:  Use lots of course black pepper, it makes them disappear!
> 
> Bear, we only ate the rabbits we shot in the winter and early spring when it was really cold.  Only cottontails, the jack rabbits went to the hog farmers (illegal now).
> 
> Good luck and good smoking.


PA's first cottontail season used to open around the 1st of November, and sometimes we would not have had our first frost. I don't know if that is still the season.

Then it would run until after Thanksgiving, open again at Christmas until late January. Early in that first season is when we'd find worms.

Bear


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## smokingohiobutcher

AAAAHHH!!! What ever doesnt kill ya makes ya stronger!!!







SOB


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## tyotrain

this blows my mind... And i love fish hope i can forget about what i just read. lol


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## tyotrain

this blows my mind... And i love fish hope i can forget about what i just read. lol


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## billyj571

Ahh just a lilli more protein


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