# Help with salmon



## lemans (Jul 1, 2014)

Please help. I have read a million post and seen every you tube.  I want to use my new a mazin pellet smoker and cold smoke some salmon for a cold lunch without giving my family bocolism.. Somebody helllpppp!!


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## lemans (Jul 1, 2014)

I don't believe that someone may know how!!


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## daveomak (Jul 2, 2014)

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/87043/making-lox-a-picture-guide

Lemans, evening......   This is the only recipe I know of where cold smoked salmon can be eaten....    I have used the recipe and the lox is delicious...  Follow it to the letter and you will be very happy.....    

Dave


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## cmayna (Jul 2, 2014)

I don't see how you could safely cold smoke Salmon or any meat and then just eat it.  Lemans, we're you going to brine it first?  If so, how and how long?   The only time I've cold smoked Salmon is when I'm smoking some lox.


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## lemans (Jul 2, 2014)

Yes brining but after reading more I think I will stick to cheese


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## smokewood (Nov 7, 2014)

Hiya Lemans, Don't just stick to cheese, this is my recipe that I have adapted from a few other recipe's and the flavours are fantastic.

1.  First you need to brine the salmon for 24 hrs.   I use a mixture of ordinary salt & sugar, this gives a sweet & salty taste. fully cover the salmon in the mix, wrap with cling film and put in the fridge for 24 hrs.

2. After 24 hrs carefully rinse all the salt/sugar off the salmon, pat dry with kitchen roll and leave in the fridge to dry out, for about an hour.

3.  Cold smoke for 12 hours.  I use a 50/50 mix of oak & apple.

4. Once your salmon has smoked for 12 hours, remove from your smoker and enjoy













cold smoked salmon.jpg



__ smokewood
__ Nov 7, 2014


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## daveomak (Nov 7, 2014)

smokewood said:


> Hiya Lemans, Don't just stick to cheese, this is my recipe that I have adapted from a few other recipe's and the flavours are fantastic.
> 
> 1.  First you need to brine the salmon for 24 hrs.   I use a mixture of ordinary salt & sugar, this gives a sweet & salty taste. fully cover the salmon in the mix, wrap with cling film and put in the fridge for 24 hrs.
> 2. After 24 hrs carefully rinse all the salt/sugar off the salmon, pat dry with kitchen roll and leave in the fridge to dry out, for about an hour.
> ...




Smokewood, evening.....    For your recipe to be safe to consume, you need to add some cure #1 to prevent botulism...  Try it, you will be doing yourself, and your family, a favor....

Dave


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## smokewood (Nov 8, 2014)

Hiya Dave, Thanks for the input, I was led to believe that a high content of salt prevents botulism, however I have just found an extract from a document, which is quite interesting:

"Salmon flesh is either dry salted or brined before being cold smoked, the time of salting varying with the size of salmon being cured. The presence of salt in the product has a great effect on the growth of _Clostridium botulinum_, but the concentration of salt in smoked salmon is not usually high enough to prevent growth altogether; commercial smoked salmon usually contains 1 to 4 percent of salt.  The concentration required to prevent growth at room temperature can vary from as low as 3
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






  per cent to 5 per cent or more, so that the amount of salt present in smoked salmon is on its own no guarantee against the danger of botulism."

What cure do you use, and any other advice you can give would be greatly appreciated

Regards

Smokewood


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## daveomak (Nov 8, 2014)

Salmon....   recommendations by the USDA for nitrite additions....   up to 200 Ppm max....   

For salmon I smoke, I use 2% salt and 2% sugar and 120 Ppm nitrite in a dry rub, the same as recommended for bacon... and sprinkle on spices...

If I use a brine with seasonings for added flavor,  2% salt and 2% sugar and 200 Ppm nitrite, same as for bacon....

Weigh the fish and weigh the water....  use as little water as possible to cover the fish.... say you have 10 #'s of fish... and 1 quart or 2# of water....   now you have 12 #'s of fish and water...   
12 x 454 = 5448 total grams.... x 0.02 (%) = 109 grams of salt and 109 grams sugar... and 5448 x 0.000120 Ppm = 0.65 grams of nitrite, using cure #1 @ 6.25% nitrite....  0.65 grams / 0.0625 = 10.5 grams of cure #1..

Garlic Plus made by McCormick Canada....  no salt stuff... "One Step Seasonings" for garlic bread or something like that......   If you can find their "Perfect Pinch" salt free stuff, give them a try....   
http://www.mccormick.com/Spices-and-Flavors/Herbs-and-Spices/Blends

......Found it......
mccormick003 Club House One Step Seasonings Garlic Plus (200g) 
http://www.canadianfavourites.com/M...ep_Seasonings_p/mccormick001.htm?1=1&CartID=0


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## smokewood (Nov 8, 2014)

Thanks for all the info, does the nitrite have a brand name? so i know what I am looking for.


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## daveomak (Nov 8, 2014)

smokewood said:


> Thanks for all the info, does the nitrite have a brand name? so i know what I am looking for.





smokewood said:


> Hiya Dave, Thanks for the input, I was led to believe that a high content of salt prevents botulism, however I have just found an extract from a document, which is quite interesting:
> 
> "Salmon flesh is either dry salted or brined before being cold smoked, the time of salting varying with the size of salmon being cured. The presence of salt in the product has a great effect on the growth of _Clostridium botulinum_, but the concentration of salt in smoked salmon is not usually high enough to prevent growth altogether; commercial smoked salmon usually contains 1 to 4 percent of salt.  The concentration required to prevent growth at room temperature can vary from as low as 3
> 
> ...



That 3 1/2% to 5% is a bad number.....   One has to be careful when reading stuff on the internet....   As you can see below, the USDA/FDA recommend 10% salt to kill botulism...   the meat is inedible at that point....

There are many different names out there....  these are a few...   be sure to read the %nitrite on the package... it should read 6.25% nitrite...

...click on pic to enlarge.....












Cure #1.jpg



__ daveomak
__ Nov 8, 2014






InstaCure, Modern Cure, Prague Powder #1.  These cure mixtures combine sodium nitrite with salt.  Use 1 oz. for every 25 lbs. of meat (that’s 1 teaspoon for every 5 lbs, of meat).  These products are recommended for meats that require relatively short cures (several days or less) and will be cooked.

+++++++++++++++
This was taken from Susan Minor's site.......

Critical Preservation Points (FDA/USDA). The FDA and USDA have published the following data which may be useful when determining how to preserve, cure, and smoke cook meat:

Salt concentrations needed to kill:
Salmonella: 3%C. 
botulinum: 10%
Listeria: 12%
Staphylococcus: 20% (this is a very common disease-causing bacteria, but not on food)

Temperature and times needed to kill Trichinella in pork:
Heat to 147F for 1 min, 136F for 3 min, or 132F for 15 min
Freeze at 5F for 40 days, -10F for 20 days, or -20F for 12 days

Note:  wild game must be heated to 170F to kill Trichinella and other harmful microbes.

Temperature and times needed to kill parasites in fish:
Freeze at -10F for 7 days.

Temperature and times needed to kill E. coli in sausage:
145F for 4 minutes.

http://www.susanminor.org/smokers/curing/curingandbrining.htm


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## shaver (Nov 13, 2014)

I've
been using this recipe

All it takes is timing and here is how you do it. Take a 2-3 Lb Atlantic Salmon fillet (no smaller), and rinse with very cold water carefully and pat dry with a paper towel. Use a pan long enough to hold the fillet without doubling over the tail. You can cut the fillet in half if you don't have a large enough pan. Now comes the easy part to believe. Smoothly cover the bottom of the pan with a 1/4 inch of kosher sea salt. Place the fillet skin side down on top of the salt. Next pour enough salt over the fillet to completely cover it with a 1/4 of salt. Trust me. The entire process and density of the salmon automatically adjusts the salinity of the fillet perfectly. It's time in salt with the proper quantity of salt.  Too little salt and your salmon will not have the right texture or flavor. Cover the pan with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for 13 hours. So do this on Friday night at 6 PM and your salmon will be ready at 7 AM the next morning. Don't worry so much about perfect timing, it is not rocket science. Remove the fillet from the pan and wash the salt off the fillet with cold running water. Washout the pan of salt and fill the pan 3/4 of the way with fresh, cold water. Place the fillet in the water and place back in the refrigerator for one hour. This time period can be lengthened or shorten for saltiness of the finished fillet, it controls the salinity of the product and it also desalts the outer surface while driving the salt through the fish to the center. This is a variable for your particular taste. Mine is one hour; start with that. Remove the fillet and dry out the pan. Do not pat dry our wipe the salmon leave wet. Your fillet should be some what stiff. Put a cake rack in the pan and place the fillet skin side down. Do not cover. Put the pan back into the refrigerator overnight. The fridge will dry the salmon perfectly The next day you should have a dry and shiny fillet. At this point if you don't have a smoker; you can slice the fillet and use as lox.
To smoke the fillet, you need a grill with a cover and a small iron box that the hardware stores sell to use a smoke box. Use (hard woods) maple, hickory, apple just don't use pine, fir or cedar (soft woods). You can find a bag at the hardware store but you can usually find maple in your yard (sticks, bark, saw dust). Wet the wood for an hour and light one charcoal briquette with a propane torch until it glows. This is probably the hardest part of the whole recipe is getting one charcoal lit. I use a small can with a can opener hole in the side. I fill it with the wood (as broken up in little pieces as possible) and place the burning charcoal on top. I actually get sawdust from a wood working shop and fluff it with water. Put the can in the grill as far away from the fillet as possible and put the fillet on the grill close the cover. If you have a cheap, clean soldring iron preferably brand new; you could easily us it. If you have one of those nifty electric thermometers don't let the salmon get over 70 degrees. Put a oven thermometer inside the grill. The salmon *must not ever get over 80 degrees* or it will partially cook, turn color and fall apart; you should not eat it if it looks like it is partially cooked. If it is turn up the heat in the oven to 275 degrees and turn it in to hot smoked salmon. If the day is cold and it should be, you should not have trouble. The wood has to smoke not burn and you have to use only one briquette.
Do not try this in the summer, you need a 55 degree day high and not in the sun. Keep an eye on the smoke so it does not go out, hit it with the torch if it does. One to two hours is enough. wrap in plastic tightly and place in the fridge over night to mellow out the smoke. Slice at an angle as thin as possible starting at the head end at about 45 degrees. There you have it. Just like in Scotland. I once sold a couple dozen fillets to a club for a party for the Prince of Wales, Prince Charles.


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## shaver (Nov 13, 2014)

Should give credit, that's from the Maine Lobster website.


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