# HOMEMADE LOX WITH RECIPE & STEPS, PLENTY OF Q-VIEW



## SmokinAl

I have made lox following bbally's instructions several times over the last year or so. I grew up on lox & cream cheese with a slice of onion on a good bagel. This was a weekly event at our house. Over the years I have tried lox many times & I can honestly say I have never had lox as good as what I can make at home following this recipe!

Here is the recipe that I followed:

Salmon Lox (revised recipe 12-10-16)

Start with 2 Salmon filets, skinned & dry. We get ours at Sam’s Club.
Trim the belly & tail off so you have two pieces with uniform thickness shaped like a rectangle & weighing about 5 lbs. total. Also cut the brown fat out that runs the length of the salmon on the skin side
To 1 gallon of water add 2 cu. of pickling salt. Put salmon in a food safe plastic container and add salt water & enough ice to cool the salmon down to under 40 degrees for 30 minutes.
Mix up 1 tsp. cure #1, 1 ½ cu. kosher salt, 1 ½ cu. raw sugar, 2 tbsp. white pepper. If you don’t have 5 lbs of filets then adjust the cure amount to what you have.
Zest 1 orange & 1 lemon. Mix zest with the cure mixture.
Remove salmon from salt water & dry off.  Dry out the container. Put the filets in the container & coat both sides with the cure mixture. Use all the cure mixture, making sure both sides are coated well.
Place a board, ( I use a bamboo cutting board that is the same size as the container ), on top of the filets. Then take a 1 gallon zip lock bag & fill it with ice cubes & put that on top of the board to weigh it down. Put a cover on the container & place it in the fridge for 48 hours.
After 48 hours, remove the salmon and rinse them off. Then soak them in ice water for 90 minutes. Remove from ice water & dry off. Then put them on a cooling rack in the container, put the lid on the container and put it in the fridge. Let them dry in the fridge for 18 to 24 hours.
Remove from fridge & cold smoke with light smoke for 4 hours, making sure the salmon never gets above 90 degrees IT. You may need to put a pan full of ice in the smoker to keep the temp down. I like apple pellets the best for salmon. Now I fill the Amazen 12” tube & put it in the firebox of my Lang. This time, however I used dust in my Weber kettle. Remember too much smoke is worse than too little.
  After smoking put them back in the fridge on a cooling rack in a covered container for 24 hours.
  After the 24 hours they are ready to be sliced. Slice them very thin at a 45 degree angle to make wider slices.
As an extra precaution I vacuum pack the slices in ½ lb. batches & put them in a freezer set at -4 degrees for 7 days. This will kill any parasites that may be present. This is probably overkill, but why take a chance.
*I started with 2 skinless salmon fillets from Sam's.*








*Out of the package.*







*Next I trimmed them, I cut the belly & thin section of the tail off. I wanted 2 nice uniform pieces for the lox. I also remove the thin layer of brown fat running down the center of the skin side.*







*The tail & the belly will be going on the grill tonight for dinner. EVOO & Cajun seasoning for blackened salmon, but I will get to that later. Here's the 2 pieces for the lox.*







*Next step is a salt water bath for 30 minutes. Take 1 gallon of water & dissolve all the salt the water will take. Then ice it down & soak the salmon.*







*Take the salmon out of the water, dry it off and then we put on a dry cure rub. Consisting of: 

1 1/2 cup Kosher salt

1 1/2 cup white or brown sugar

2 tsp white pepper ( I used black, didn't have any white )

1 tsp cure #1*







*Mix together well.

Zest 1 lemon & 1 orange & add it to the rub.

Dredge the fillets through the rub & coat both sides very well with the rub mixture. Next place them in the container &  sprinkle the remaining rub mixture on top. Then place a board on top of the fillets, I used a bamboo cutting board and a zip lock bag filled with ice for weight on top of the board. Put a top on the container & put in the fridge for 48 hours.*







*After 48 hours take the salmon out & rinse it off. Then back in an ice bath for 90 minutes to desalinate the fillets. After desalination they go on wire racks & back in the fridge for 18-24 hours in a covered container to dry. 
This photo is of my old method, I know dry them in a covered container. I put some paper towels under the racks in the fridge.*







*After drying it's time to cold smoke the salmon, now were getting close to making lox. I'm going to cold smoke them with my AMNS with hickory dust in my Weber kettle for 4 hours. I filled the AMNS up & lit both ends. Since the temp here is in the 80's & I don't want the salmon IT to get above 90 degrees. I'm going to put a big pan of ice under the salmon & put the AMNS next to the ice pan. My new method is putting a full 12" AMAZEN tube in the firebox of my Lang. Then put the salmon on the top rack by the stack. The tube will burn for about 4 hours.*







*You can just see the TBS rolling.*







*It's been 4 hours & you can see the salmon IT never got above 76 degrees.*







*It's ready to come off. It's starting to look like lox!*







*Take a look at the AMNS. Is that a perfect burn or what? In another hour the 2 would have hit each other dead center in the middle row. I couldn't have done this without my AMNS, well I guess I could have, but it sure wouldn't have been this easy.*







*Next the salmon goes back in the fridge for 24 hours. Fast forward 24 hours later. Here it is homemade lox ready to slice.*







*Here's the first few slices. I'm just using a long slicing knife. I don't think a meat slicer would work for this. Start slicing from the tail end skin side down.*







*Here's a pile of lox ready for the foodsaver.*







*Bagged up & heading for the freezer. Kept one nice bag out for the next couple of days snacking. Each bag is about 1/2 lb.*







*This is what I've been waiting for. A bagel, cream cheese, slice of onion & a mess of lox!*







That's all folks. Thanks for looking.

Al


----------



## Bearcarver

Al,

Looks Awesome from here!!!!

Bears love lox!

Ever hear of "Goldie Lox & the 3 Bears"?

So I can't spell,

Bear


----------



## SmokinAl

Thanks Bear. I know bears like fish of any kind, or fish eggs!


----------



## boykjo

Nice job on the lox Al...I never had it but it sure looks tasty..... Will want to try it some time... thanks for the link.....


----------



## gros cochon

Wow, nice job. I love lox, but it's so expensive. You just gave me another reason to order a AMNS to go with the WSM. Thanks for an excellent post.


----------



## shooter1

Nice job Al, the money shot looks delicious!


----------



## cowgirl

Looks excellent Al!!  Love the bagel shot! 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bob's recipes are always on the money...... the guy knows what he's talkin' about.


----------



## SmokinAl

boykjo said:


> Nice job on the lox Al...I never had it but it sure looks tasty..... Will want to try it some time... thanks for the link.....


You should give it a try. It may be an acquired taste, but I think you will really like this recipe.
 




Gros Cochon said:


> Wow, nice job. I love lox, but it's so expensive. You just gave me another reason to order a AMNS to go with the WSM. Thanks for an excellent post.


It is expensive & the reason is, it's so time consuming to make it right. This way I have enough for about 4 more bagels in the fridge & 4 lbs. in the freezer. 
 




Shooter1 said:


> Nice job Al, the money shot looks delicious!


Thanks Shooter




cowgirl said:


> Looks excellent Al!!  Love the bagel shot!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Bob's recipes are always on the money...... the guy knows what he's talkin' about.


Thanks Cowgirl, Bob has helped me on other issues before & he is such a great asset to this forum.


----------



## venture

Excellent post!  I have made lox, but never cold smoked them.  This will be on my to do list for this week! Thanks to you and to bbally both!

Good luck and good smoking.


----------



## SmokinAl

Venture said:


> Excellent post!  I have made lox, but never cold smoked them.  This will be on my to do list for this week! Thanks to you and to bbally both!
> 
> Good luck and good smoking.




Thanks Merv, It's definitely worth the effort.


----------



## chef willie

Well, I was waiting to see what your 'project' was....nice load of lox there, buddy. Glad it turned out so well for you. Whats next....gefilte fish?....now that's an acquired taste


----------



## fife




----------



## SmokinAl

Chef Willie said:


> Well, I was waiting to see what your 'project' was....nice load of lox there, buddy. Glad it turned out so well for you. Whats next....gefilte fish?....now that's an acquired taste




Hey Willie, Thanks. I just can't even get gefilte fish close to my mouth, much less eat it.


----------



## Bearcarver

Wow---I finally had a chance to take a closer look.

I have to add to my other post that you really did a great tutorial on this.

You & Bob are gonna have a lot of people following the two threads!

Thanks,

Bear


----------



## saugeyejoe

Al,  That looks delicious, Off to the store I go for some salmon.......


----------



## SmokinAl

Bearcarver said:


> Wow---I finally had a chance to take a closer look.
> 
> I have to add to my other post that you really did a great tutorial on this.
> 
> You & Bob are gonna have a lot of people following the two threads!
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Bear


Thanks Bear, It's well worth the effort to go through for the result you get.




SaugeyeJoe said:


> Al,  That looks delicious, Off to the store I go for some salmon.......


Thanks Joe, Your gonna love this stuff.


----------



## fpnmf

Awesome!!

AMAZENs rock!!

  Craig


----------



## SmokinAl

fpnmf said:


> Awesome!!
> 
> AMAZENs rock!!
> 
> Craig




Thanks Craig! The AMNS sure made it easy!


----------



## venture

I think a high jack is totally in order on this one.  Thanks Todd.  The AMNS has opened up new worlds of smoking pleasure for many people.

Good luck and good smoking!


----------



## wildflower

NICE


----------



## SmokinAl

Venture said:


> I think a high jack is totally in order on this one.  Thanks Todd.  The AMNS has opened up new worlds of smoking pleasure for many people.
> 
> Good luck and good smoking!




Merv, If your gonna hijack my thread, the least you could do it tell me the lox looks good!


----------



## Bearcarver

Al,

Merv did that on post #9.

Bear


----------



## africanmeat

You are killing me it is 1:00 pm i am hungry   i am in my office far away from my smoker.

great looking lox  you did Al   and the bagel looks  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Ahron


----------



## SmokinAl

Thanks Ahron, It's 7:30 AM here, and I'm just about to have a bagel & lox for a snack.


----------



## tyotrain




----------



## SmokinAl

tyotrain said:


>




Thanks Dave


----------



## tjohnson

Next on my list is LOX and Indian Candy

Thanks Al!

Todd


----------



## SmokinAl

Go for it Todd, with your little guy it sure makes it easy!


----------



## roareats

Hey Al!

I followed this recipe seeing the great results you got - I got some nice results too but I have one complaint ( on my results though ) is that the outer layer is a bit tough.

May be you can't see it from the pictures you posted but the outer layer for my salmon seem tougher than the interior. I think it was already like this after the drying process.

Do you see this on yours too or is it nice and oily from the outside all the way in.

Thanks!


----------



## beer-b-q

Looks Delicious, Nice Job...


----------



## SmokinAl

roareats said:


> Hey Al!
> 
> I followed this recipe seeing the great results you got - I got some nice results too but I have one complaint ( on my results though ) is that the outer layer is a bit tough.
> 
> May be you can't see it from the pictures you posted but the outer layer for my salmon seem tougher than the interior. I think it was already like this after the drying process.
> 
> Do you see this on yours too or is it nice and oily from the outside all the way in.
> 
> Thanks!




There is a "skin" on the outside layer. I wouldn't call it tough though. If you slice the lox very thin at an angle it's hardly noticeable.


----------



## pittman

Damn... I am going to try and duplicate that Al! Looks wonderful!!!


----------



## meateater

Looks great Al, this one slipped by me.


----------



## SmokinAl

Thanks Guys!


----------



## alaskanbear

AL,

Absolutely marvelous job with that salmon.  Lox cut to paper thin slices and with the ingredients you applied are top notch.. Wish I could shoot you a few fresh salmon fillets to work with from here--noticeable difference.  Keep it up, and thanks for t=your post--I did enjoy it.

Rich


----------



## Bearcarver

AlaskanBear said:


> AL,
> 
> Absolutely marvelous job with that salmon.  Lox cut to paper thin slices and with the ingredients you applied are top notch.. Wish I could shoot you a few fresh salmon fillets to work with from here--noticeable difference.  Keep it up, and thanks for t=your post--I did enjoy it.
> 
> Rich


There you go Al !

I told Rich about those Florida Largemouth Bass eating all of the Salmon that used to be in Florida, but I wasn't talking about the Salmon Alaskan Bear catches.

You gotta take a run up there & get some---Better take a truck, in case you catch more than 3 of them!

Bear


----------



## SmokinAl

AlaskanBear said:


> AL,
> 
> Absolutely marvelous job with that salmon.  Lox cut to paper thin slices and with the ingredients you applied are top notch.. Wish I could shoot you a few fresh salmon fillets to work with from here--noticeable difference.  Keep it up, and thanks for t=your post--I did enjoy it.
> 
> Rich


Thanks Rich,

I have seen the photo's of the fresh salmon & they are impressive. 

Wish I could get my hands on a couple of fillets too.


----------



## roller

It does look really good and I do like lox and cream cheese on a Bagel...Hard to get good Bagels in Louisiana...


----------



## SmokinAl

Roller said:


> It does look really good and I do like lox and cream cheese on a Bagel...Hard to get good Bagels in Louisiana...




Hard to get good bagels here too.


----------



## Bearcarver

SmokinAl said:


> Hard to get good bagels here too.


Darn Florida Bass eat them too ???   
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


----------



## SmokinAl

Bearcarver said:


> Darn Florida Bass eat them too ???
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Bear


Well the bass won't eat em, but the carp love em.


----------



## daddydon




----------



## SmokinAl

Thanks Don!


----------



## blackbird

Al:

Thanks for this and bbally's threads -- they are exellent.  I'm in the middle of this process on a test filet and have a small question about the process.  After you pull the filet from the smoker, I see that you refrigerate the filet for another 24 hours to firm up prior to slicing.  Do you cover the filet at that point?  Wrap in saran? Air dry on a rack as before?

Thanks in advance!

--Blackie


----------



## SmokinAl

Air dry on a rack. I hope you took photo's so we can all see your lox!


----------



## blackbird

Thanks!

I'll post some pics when I get it done ;-)


----------



## blackbird

As promised, here are some pix of the final product.  I followed the process above exactly (except that I used whte pepper in the rub/cure)  Just turned out perfect!

Slicing away...







I just love the color and texture.







Bear view with homemade lox, real Philadeplhia cream cheese, ugly heirloom tomato, videlia onion, capers and fresh cracked clack pepper on an everything bagel.  Seriously, it just doesn't get much better than that.







Happy smoking!

--Blackie


----------



## rad5

Al,

Do you smoke any LOX in the summer? I'm up here in Orlando, and you know how hot FL is in the summer. I'm going to try your recipe while it's cooler but I'm trying to think of a way to cold smoke in the summer without covering the meat with ice. 

Thanks,


----------



## SmokinAl

Yes I make lox in the summer, you just need to put a pan of ice in the smoker. The lox I made in this thread was in the summer. Just do it early in the morning when it's a little cooler out.


----------



## johnn9

looks good Al.

  There is also a great web site http://www.sausagemania.com/loxmania.html. that has a great tutorial on making lox. BTW smoked salmon is not traditional "lox" lox is cured but not cooked in the true meaning of lox. the web site about also calls for a light smoking of the fish NEVER over 80 degrees or it will runi the flavor. Check it out I will be trying out his way of making it in about two weeks waiting on a second frig so as not to eat up sapce in the familys cold box. I'll try and post pic's when i get it done im not the best with this computer stuff.

Thanks for the great info you and others provide to us newbies..

Jonn9


----------



## rbranstner

I still need to give Lox a try. I picked up two fillets of salmon on sale a few weeks back and I am hoping to use them for some lox.


----------



## johnn9

check out this site as stated above it has a great tutorial. One thing is they don't use and ins-ta cure in their recipe which can be dangerous so i intend to add some in the proper ration when I try their method. Good luck NOTHING is better than a fresh NY Bagel with cream cheese lox and a slice of raw onion (red or white) your choice. http://www.sausagemania.com/loxmania.html


----------



## flareside92

Very interesting. I know I don't get out much but I never knew what Lox was until now.

I may have to add that to my 'to do' list.


----------



## grabber

Up here at Sam's, they've been carrying Steelhead.  Much cheaper and just as good.


----------



## cmayna

Dang, I need to do some lox.  Yum!


----------



## smokingmymeat

Just put mine in the smoker. Almost forgot to. 

Thanks again to Bally and SmokinAl


Happy smoking,
   Big AL. :grilling_smilie:


----------



## smoke83340

Mazel tov!  This is beautiful, I can't wait to try ...

Adam


----------



## mark66

I have to resurrect this post because I have a question. My question is what is the difference between Lox and Smoked salmon? The only thing i see is that smoked salmon is hot smoked. Is that correct?

Thanks


----------



## cmayna

Lox is "typically" Salmon, cured via salts and sugar in the refrigerator for a couple days, whereas Smoked Salmon "typically" is Salmon brined for 6+ hours, rinsed and dried for 3+ hours then smoked for 3-4 hours starting from 125* thru 150* until an IT of 140* is met.  No similarity at all between the two,  except to say that when I do lox, I then cold smoke it  for 2-3 hours using apple.


----------



## mdboatbum

Glad this one was resurrected. I've been meaning to do some more smoked lox. The last batch I started we had to go out of town and it got left in the fridge for too long between curing and smoking and I had to toss $26 worth of salmon. That hurt.


----------



## lemain

Thank you, that is very helpful though I am chemically allergic to onion - it makes me ill.  I don't think it'd be a problem leaving it out though?  It's the nitrite in the cure they are using to kill any parasites, I suppose so I want to avoid any of the commercial curing powders if I possibly can.  It's not that I have a fear of 'additives' as such other than those ones that make me ill!


----------



## jakester

I have a few questions about this recipe:

1. about how much salt is needed in the 1 gallon to cool the salmon in? 

2. does the zest from the orange and lemon give it a citrusy flavor? What would I lose if i don't do this or is this necessary?

*  *


----------



## SmokinAl

jakester said:


> I have a few questions about this recipe:
> 
> 1. about how much salt is needed in the 1 gallon to cool the salmon in? I use 2 cups of pickling salt.
> 
> 2. does the zest from the orange and lemon give it a citrusy flavor? Not that I can tell. What would I lose if i don't do this or is this necessary? I have done it without the zest & couldn't tell the difference in the final taste.
> 
> Hope this helps
> 
> Al
> 
> *  *


----------



## jakester

Thanks Al!

Another question - how important is it to use cure#1? Is it avoidable?


----------



## SmokinAl

jakester said:


> Thanks Al!
> 
> Another question - how important is it to use cure#1? Is it avoidable?


To me it's very important.

I would never make this recipe without it.

You never have to worry about getting yourself or anyone else who eats the lox sick.

I will PM you a printed recipe that will be easier to follow.

Al


----------



## jakester

Just came upon this article, sounds like cold smoking is more dangerous than what most people think. 

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/cold_smoking.html


----------



## SmokinAl

jakester said:


> Just came upon this article, sounds like cold smoking is more dangerous than what most people think.
> 
> http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/cold_smoking.html


This is why I said I would not make lox without using cure #1.

Al


----------



## jakester

Yes i total agree on the cure #1. I used to always think that 2-3 days cured in salt killed everything in the fish but i was totally wrong. I am very curious how sushi is made with totally raw fish, actually surprised it's even legal in the USA.


----------



## jakester

One of our local supermarkets has a special this week for Alaskan Wild Sockeye Salmon fresh, never frozen for $9.99 a pound. I thought about buying some and cold smoke it but I am thinking previously frozen Salmon is probably a lot safer for cold smoking, right?


----------



## swampsmoker

I love LOX!! I'm going to have to try this out some day.

When my relatives visit from NY, they always bring bagels and LOX!

Danny


----------



## windycitygator

I just tried your lox. Smoked it on my Smoke Hollow 44" vertical smoker with Apple & Maple wood.  It turned out AWESOME. Everyone loved it!!!  Thanks for sharing.


----------



## SmokinAl

WindyCityGator said:


> I just tried your lox. Smoked it on my Smoke Hollow 44" vertical smoker with Apple & Maple wood. It turned out AWESOME. Everyone loved it!!! Thanks for sharing.


Your very welcome!

I'm so glad it turned out well for you.

BTW, I had a bagel & lox this AM for breakfast. It freezes real well & I took out a package & had a great breakfast!

Al


----------



## Braz

Thanks for the writeup Al. Haven't made lox before but I'm following your recipe and have 1.5lb of coho salmon curing in the fridge as we speak. Skinned and trimmed it yesterday and put in the cure.

We cooked the belly and tail piece for dinner last night and are still talking about how good it was today. Just did a simple made up recipe. Left the skin on, rubbed the flesh side with some Old Bay and lemon pepper and put it in a hot skillet with olive oil, skin side up for a couple minutes. Then turned it over and put a light coating of mayo on top and cooked it till it seemed done enough. It came out creamy wonderful and flaked off the skin cleanly and easily.

I'm looking forward to cream cheese lox & bagels this weekend.

Braz


----------



## SmokinAl

Braz said:


> Thanks for the writeup Al. Haven't made lox before but I'm following your recipe and have 1.5lb of coho salmon curing in the fridge as we speak. Skinned and trimmed it yesterday and put in the cure.
> 
> We cooked the belly and tail piece for dinner last night and are still talking about how good it was today. Just did a simple made up recipe. Left the skin on, rubbed the flesh side with some Old Bay and lemon pepper and put it in a hot skillet with olive oil, skin side up for a couple minutes. Then turned it over and put a light coating of mayo on top and cooked it till it seemed done enough. It came out creamy wonderful and flaked off the skin cleanly and easily.
> 
> I'm looking forward to cream cheese lox & bagels this weekend.
> 
> Braz


Your salmon sounds delicious!

Looking forward to seeing your lox!

Al


----------



## Braz

Smoked it Thursday, along with some mozzarella because why not? I kept the smoker temp between 80 and 85F.Then after overnight it was time to slice it up. A good slicing knife is necessary to get paper-thin slices.













_DSC0661.JPG



__ Braz
__ Sep 2, 2017






Then vac-packed in ~6oz. portions.













_DSC0664.JPG



__ Braz
__ Sep 2, 2017






And saved some out for dinner of course, along with cream cheese, a little red onion and tomato from the garden. Very good.













_DSC0666.JPG



__ Braz
__ Sep 2, 2017






Couple of questions. We could have it a little less salty, could we skip the initial pickling salt bath? And wife would like it a little less "firm." Would shortening the time in the cure help this but still be safe? Or, would shortening the drying time after the cure help?

Thanks

Braz


----------



## SmokinAl

Braz said:


> Smoked it Thursday, along with some mozzarella because why not? I kept the smoker temp between 80 and 85F.Then after overnight it was time to slice it up. A good slicing knife is necessary to get paper-thin slices.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _DSC0661.JPG
> 
> 
> 
> __ Braz
> __ Sep 2, 2017
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Then vac-packed in ~6oz. portions.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _DSC0664.JPG
> 
> 
> 
> __ Braz
> __ Sep 2, 2017
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And saved some out for dinner of course, along with cream cheese, a little red onion and tomato from the garden. Very good.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> _DSC0666.JPG
> 
> 
> 
> __ Braz
> __ Sep 2, 2017
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Couple of questions. We could have it a little less salty, could we skip the initial pickling salt bath? And wife would like it a little less "firm." Would shortening the time in the cure help this but still be safe? Or, would shortening the drying time after the cure help?
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Braz


How long did you smoke it for? In your slicing photo, it does look to be a little dry. You can skip the initial salt bath, but I think you would be better off soaking it longer after the cure. This will remove more of the saltiness. Also only dry it for 24 hours after the cure. This may help you keep it a little more moist. I think you could try to shorten the time in the cure, but this is the way I was taught to do it & I have always kept the cure time the same. Some guys do this without even using cure #1, they just use salt & sugar. I don't recommend doing it that way & I don't recommend shortening the cure time. UNLESS you are using sushi grade salmon.

Al


----------



## Braz

Thanks Al. next time I'll adjust the technique based on your suggestions. I did smoke longer than you recommended, about 4 hours, but it didn't taste overly smoky to our taste anyway. Overall I do like your recipe and think with the few small tweaks I'll get it right.

Braz


----------



## SmokinAl

Braz said:


> Thanks Al. next time I'll adjust the technique based on your suggestions. I did smoke longer than you recommended, about 4 hours, but it didn't taste overly smoky to our taste anyway. Overall I do like your recipe and think with the few small tweaks I'll get it right.
> 
> Braz


I think the longer smoke time may have dried it out a bit.

I'm sure it will be perfect next time!

Al


----------



## tropics

Al Great write up! Glad to see you did the step by step BBailies doesn't show the steps any more. POINTS
Richie


----------



## SmokinAl

tropics said:


> Al Great write up! Glad to see you did the step by step BBailies doesn't show the steps any more. POINTS
> Richie



Thanks Richie,
I changed BBallys recipe some, mostly the time frames for the drying periods, & keeping the lox covered during the drying times. It seemed to make a much more tender end product.
Al


----------



## 73saint

I have always followed this recipe with 5lbs of salmon, but today I picked up half of that (2.5) in wild sockeye salmon.  I know Als recipe says cut the cure in half for less fish, but what about the pickling salt bath and the regular salt that goes into the dry cure mix?  Should I cut those as well?  Or just plan to soak longer?


----------



## 73saint

73saint said:


> I have always followed this recipe with 5lbs of salmon, but today I picked up half of that (2.5) in wild sockeye salmon.  I know Als recipe says cut the cure in half for less fish, but what about the pickling salt bath and the regular salt that goes into the dry cure mix?  Should I cut those as well?  Or just plan to soak longer?


I just went back to the store and got enough to make a 5lb batch.  All good, sorry to drag up an old thread for nada...


----------



## SmokinAl

73saint said:


> I have always followed this recipe with 5lbs of salmon, but today I picked up half of that (2.5) in wild sockeye salmon.  I know Als recipe says cut the cure in half for less fish, but what about the pickling salt bath and the regular salt that goes into the dry cure mix?  Should I cut those as well?  Or just plan to soak longer?



You would cut all the ingredients in half if you would have only used 2 1/2 pounds of salmon. But no need to do that now!
Al


----------



## Mario Trettenero

SmokinAl said:


> You would cut all the ingredients in half if you would have only used 2 1/2 pounds of salmon. But no need to do that now!
> Al


Hey Al,

Quick  question for you - have you ever vacuum sealed frozen unsliced Lox then slice it after freezing for an extended period of time?

I have 30 lbs of King salmon I'm about to create Lox with and I’m going to use your recipe - thanks

I cold smoke a lot of kings every year and I’ll cut and trim the fillets into half pound pieces, vacuum seal them then freeze them. I’ll pull, thaw and slice them as required  - could I use this for the Lox?


----------



## cmayna

Not speaking for Al,  but that is the way I do my smoked lox.   Cold smoke & freeze.  When ready to eat, thaw and then slice.


----------



## Mario Trettenero

cmayna said:


> Not speaking for Al,  but that is the way I do my smoked lox.   Cold smoke & freeze.  When ready to eat, thaw and then slice.


Thank you, makes sense I think it would store a lot fresher leaving each piece intact then slicing when desired. I know it works well for my cold smoke process but everybody does it a bit different and at the end of the day that’s ok.


----------



## SmokinAl

Mario Trettenero said:


> Hey Al,
> 
> Quick  question for you - have you ever vacuum sealed frozen unsliced Lox then slice it after freezing for an extended period of time?
> 
> I have 30 lbs of King salmon I'm about to create Lox with and I’m going to use your recipe - thanks
> 
> I cold smoke a lot of kings every year and I’ll cut and trim the fillets into half pound pieces, vacuum seal them then freeze them. I’ll pull, thaw and slice them as required  - could I use this for the Lox?





cmayna said:


> Not speaking for Al,  but that is the way I do my smoked lox.   Cold smoke & freeze.  When ready to eat, thaw and then slice.





Mario Trettenero said:


> Thank you, makes sense I think it would store a lot fresher leaving each piece intact then slicing when desired. I know it works well for my cold smoke process but everybody does it a bit different and at the end of the day that’s ok.


 Well if Craig says it works, then I would say it works. Personally for me I just slice it all at once, bag it in 6 oz. portions & freeze it. After it's frozen I vacuum the bags. This way the fish won't get crushed. Also when  you thaw it out just prick a few holes in the plastic or when it thaws it will vacuum up tight around the lox. I think if I was making that much lox I would freeze it in pieces & then thaw & slice when ready to eat. It's hard enough to slice 5 lbs., can't imagine standing there and slicing 30#.
Al


----------



## Mario Trettenero

SmokinAl said:


> Well if Craig says it works, then I would say it works. Personally for me I just slice it all at once, bag it in 6 oz. portions & freeze it. After it's frozen I vacuum the bags. This way the fish won't get crushed. Also when  you thaw it out just prick a few holes in the plastic or when it thaws it will vacuum up tight around the lox. I think if I was making that much lox I would freeze it in pieces & then thaw & slice when ready to eat. It's hard enough to slice 5 lbs., can't imagine standing there and slicing 30#.
> Al


Thanks Al - very much appreciated 

Mario


----------



## SmokinAl

Mario Trettenero said:


> Thanks Al - very much appreciated
> 
> Mario


No problem. Let me know how your lox turns out & if you think there Is a difference in the flavor between slicing first & then freezing, versus cutting into chunks & Freezing, then thawing & slicing. I’m thinking that since the fish is intact it would retain. More of the moisture. So if you slice it then after thawing it out it would taste fresher than if it was sliced frozen &and thawed. Gonna have to look into this. Keep me posted!
Al


----------



## Mario Trettenero

SmokinAl said:


> No problem. Let me know how your lox turns out & if you think there Is a difference in the flavor between slicing first & then freezing, versus cutting into chunks & Freezing, then thawing & slicing. I’m thinking that since the fish is intact it would retain. More of the moisture. So if you slice it then after thawing it out it would taste fresher than if it was sliced frozen &and thawed. Gonna have to look into this. Keep me posted!
> Al


Will do - thanks


----------



## Smoking Allowed

Saving for later since I'm not sure how to bookmark this.


----------



## cmayna

Smoking Allowed said:


> Saving for later since I'm not sure how to bookmark this.



Now that you have joined this thread, you will be notified via email when another person chimes in.  Also go to your icon upper right and left of the mail envelope.  You will see a list of threads you are participating in.


----------



## cmayna

To SmokinAl and all,  I've recently been cold smoking a bunch of Albacore and first sliced it before I froze it.  I then tried smoking and freezing it.  Then thaw out and slice.  Much more oilier and tastier this way.


----------

