Cold Smoking Salmon in Hawaii?

[Redicans]

So I want to try cold smoking some salmon here. Temps are mid 80's right now.
I am doing a test today in my offset with a smoke tube. I placed it in the firebox
for a bit and it held 95* for a couple hours. Then I moved it in to the cook chamber
and it rose to 100*, moved it back to firebox after 2 hours and it dropped back to
95*.

So my question is are these temps too high to try this? What would actually happen
to the salmon if I try this at these temps? I have read about placing ice underneath
the salmon as I smoke but here in Hawaii I might be replacing that ice frequently
as it will be melting very quickly.

If I get it ready and put in the smoker straight out of the fridge at 37* in those temps
will it be a doable smoke? Also how long would I have to smoke it for? I have seen
anywhere from 4 hours to 24 and beyond. I'm really excited about trying this but
I don't want to mess it up either and waste all that time and $$$ Any help will be
Greatly appreciated!!

Thanks, Sean

 

[Redicans]

One more thing. It will be farm raised salmon as finding really
good quality wild salmon is not always doable here. I can get frozen
but never like thawed fish. Texture just changes for me. Local store
just revamped their seafood section and are carrying some
really good looking Atlantic salmon. If that helps with a response.
Whole foods does carry fresh but it is never really that great.

Couple of pics of my setup for this.

Plenty of smoke in there.

 

[Astralogics]

One more thing. It will be farm raised salmon as finding really
good quality wild salmon is not always doable here. I can get frozen
but never like thawed fish. Texture just changes for me.

Yeah, really is hard to find a nice quality slab here.

Cold smoking really is difficult to pull off, so I rarely ever do it during the day, but if I do, I use bottles instead of trays of ice. Yesterday, I put a couple frozen water bottles on my diffuser plate above the maze. I also let a bottle "pre-chill" my mini for about 30 mins. You could try using a couple frozen jugs, maybe even using one as a sort of "blocker" in front of the firebox. I don't have an offset, so I'm honestly not the most qualified, but that's a thought.

I could be wrong, but I've done salmon straight out of the fridge, because by logic of our situation, I thought the cooler temp would be a benefit.

 

[Redicans]

Yeah, really is hard to find a nice quality slab here.

Cold smoking really is difficult to pull off, so I rarely ever do it during the day, but if I do, I use bottles instead of trays of ice. Yesterday, I put a couple frozen water bottles on my diffuser plate above the maze. I also let a bottle "pre-chill" my mini for about 30 mins. You could try using a couple frozen jugs, maybe even using one as a sort of "blocker" in front of the firebox. I don't have an offset, so I'm honestly not the most qualified, but that's a thought.

I could be wrong, but I've done salmon straight out of the fridge, because by logic of our situation, I thought the cooler temp would be a benefit.

Thanks Aaron, Good ideas there. Might just buy some aluminum pans and fill full water and freeze them. I could put like 3 under my cooking grate and place one right up against the firebox opening. Plus one on top of the grate where I normally put my water pan. I got plenty of room if Im doing one or two full fillets.

 

[Astralogics]

Thanks Aaron, Good ideas there. Might just buy some aluminum pans and fill full water and freeze them. I could put like 3 under my cooking grate and place one right up against the firebox opening. Plus one on top of the grate where I normally put my water pan. I got plenty of room if Im doing one or two full fillets.

You know what, that sounds like that'd work even better! Def could always get a pack of those cheapo ones from Wally World.

 

[JLinza]

I hve no advice for ya, as I've not done cold smoked salmon before. But curious to here from some other folks that have.

 

[Redicans]

I hve no advice for ya, as I've not done cold smoked salmon before. But curious to here from some other folks that have.

Yeah I'm sure someone will have some good input from this group!

 

[SmokinEdge]

Temps might not change much for you, but night time is best but ice in the chamber helps too.

 

[Redicans]

Temps might not change much for you, but night time is best but ice in the chamber helps too.

Thanks SmokinEdge Yeah that's what I was thinking. It will cool down a little and with ice inside I think I can do it. Any thoughts on time for smoke? I have seen some really different answers on that.

 

[Astralogics]

So sorry Sean, realized I forgot to address the time. I find 8-10 hours is plenty, at least for my taste. I like having basically a kiss of smoke, though still pronounced enough to really know it's there, but still lets you enjoy the sweet, buttery flavor of the salmon. Really is personal preference, but I think 6-8 is a nice place to start.

 

[Redicans]

So sorry Sean, realized I forgot to address the time. I find 8-10 hours is plenty, at least for my taste. I like having basically a kiss of smoke, though still pronounced enough to really know it's there, but still lets you enjoy the sweet, buttery flavor of the salmon. Really is personal preference, but I think 6-8 is a nice place to start.

Thanks Aaron, Yeah I saw a couple things on line that were saying 24 plus hours and that seemed pretty long.

 

[thirdeye]

Unless the fillets are really thick, your total smoke time will be between 2 and 6 hours, unless you are going for a heavier smoke. One thing you could consider is removing the thinner tail section, and slicing the remaining fillet into strips. This gives you more surface area.

On occasion I will add Cure #1 to my dry cure, this would allow you to be in the "danger zone".

All the suggestions on using ice will work. Is block ice available? Or use milk jugs to make your own blocks.

I would agree with moving the fillet(s) directly from the refrigerator to the smoker. And, other than time... I would see no problem with rotating the fillet out of the smoker and into the refrigerator, or even the freezer. I do this when smoking butter and softer cheeses.

And lastly, since you are making a Nova style lox, sample as you go.

 

[Redicans]

Unless the fillets are really thick, your total smoke time will be between 2 and 6 hours, unless you are going for a heavier smoke. One thing you could consider is removing the thinner tail section, and slicing the remaining fillet into strips. This gives you more surface area.

On occasion I will add Cure #1 to my dry cure, this would allow you to be in the "danger zone".

All the suggestions on using ice will work. Is block ice available? Or use milk jugs to make your own blocks.

I would agree with moving the fillet(s) directly from the refrigerator to the smoker. And, other than time... I would see no problem with rotating the fillet out of the smoker and into the refrigerator, or even the freezer. I do this when smoking butter and softer cheeses.

And lastly, since you are making a Nova style lox, sample as you go.

I like the idea of rotating them back to the fridge for a bit. Thanks for the response.

 

[SmokinEdge]

In reality, most cold smoke is done traditionally in about 5 hour intervals with a cold rest every day. Some go for a week or more like that but usually still 5 hours at a time.
On fish I’m good with about 3 hours but I still personally wouldn’t go more than 5 hours per smoke session. Like TE said above, taste along the way, but also remember that the rest time allows the smoke to more permeate the meat and balance, so don’t taste until after the rest.