Too Cold to Cold Smoke?


 

JimT

TVWBB Pro
I'm thinking of trying to cold smoke some salmon this weekend using a borrowed Little Chief smoker and this set up. I have no idea what the actual temperature at the smoking level (near the top of the box) will be. The weather forecast for my area calls for temperatures only around the mid-twenties (F.)

Everything I have read about cold smoking says to keep the temperature below 90 (or even 80) degrees F., but I have seen nothing about minimum temperatures. Is anything above freezing OK? Is there an optimal temperature?

Thanks for any insight,

JimT
 
As far as I know, anything above freezing is OK. If it's cold, condensation on the meat could be a problem. Try to keep the meat in the fridge before you smoke it, so the temp difference is as small as possible.
 
Thanks Geir.

I'm basically following the instructions found here on the BBQ-Brethren forum. Just put the salmon in the refrigerator, and plan on smoking it on Sunday. I noted in the post he added some heat to bring his temp up to 11 C. (around 50 F.).

I'm not much of a picture taker, but I'll keep you all posted on how it comes out!

JimT
 
The Little Chief is my go-to Salmon smoker. Just use the amount of trays of sawdust suggested for the thickness of your fish cuts.
I've used it in 20* weather and never had a problem, some people have insulated their boxes with rigid foam or reflectix.

The "cold smoke" setup in the link is what I use to smoke cheese, never salmon.

http://s163.photobucket.com/al...?albumview=slideshow
 
Thank you Geir, and thank you Brian (Who also helped out here.)

My wife kind of turned up her nose at the "dill" and "Jack Daniels", so I jumped on Geir's suggestion of doing it without. This is after I did the initial brine, so here's what happened:

Out of the brine:

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Ready for the smoker:

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Done?

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Looks Good:

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Couldn't resist, but tomorrow will tell the real tale!

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Thanks everyone,

JimT
 
What a bummer!!!!!

I took another little taste, and didn't really like it very much. I sliced off another thin piece, and asked my wife to try it. A funny look came over her face, then she ran to the sink and spit it out! "It tastes raw!", she said. I didn't know "raw" was a taste, but I got her message loud and clear. It was the same sensation I got. I guess cold smoked salmon won't be on our menu.

The WSM was busy tonight with a boneless rib roast, but I think tomorrow it might see some salmon.
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JimT
 
Bummer!

How long and how many pans of chips did you use?

Those are beautiful looking filets!
Even if you overcooked them and dried them out it would have made great smoked salmon fettucine!

Don't over think the Little Chief-let it do its thing and keep at it.
 
Strange. And, as you say, a bummer, but the taste should be like the stuff you can buy ready made, but with a more developed smoke taste, and also a bit more "creamy". Your result looks perfect, so it maight be as simple as that you do not like cold smoked salmon..

Here's something you could try if you still have the filets.

Serves 4 to 8, maybe as starters.
Hard boil 8 eggs, let them cool down and chop them up into pieces, uneven pieces are nice. Put the eggs in a small casserole, add some cream,pepper and some chopped leaks. Add approx 6-8 slices of cold smoked salmon and
let it simmer, stir so the egg yolks and cream blends. Adjust salt. (Wait until you have added the salmon and then some.)

Make 8 crepes, and distribute the mix on the crepes, roll. Sprinkle cheese on top, and putt in a hot oven until they are grated, does not take long.

Delicious, and the salmon won't be raw anymore.
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By the way, cold smoked salmon is not a "extreme" recipe. Since you did not enjoy the salmon, you should not try this one, but maybe some other fish-lovers would like to try. This food is enjoyed aroud christmas here in Norway.

Rakfisk, or soaked fish, sort of translated.
The rakfisk is put into a tub and then fluids are formed, it is brined. In the oldest sources, on the other hand, the rakfisk is mentioned as "brine- cured fish". And of course, originally the fish was buried or put in underground cellars. The supposition for this conservation method is an even soil temperature at about 4 degrees Celsius, and that's why the tradition is found around the polar circle at the northern hemisphere. We know of raking of salmon, herring and shark in addition to the gwyniad and trout/char that are the most commonly used today.

You use some trout (mountain trout or char is the best), though farmed trout will also do. They should be about 750 g big.

Scrub the fish so that all the slime is gone, remove gills and guts and rinse well so that all the blood is gone. Scrub the blood stripe with a fish brush. Rinse the fish and put it in vinegar solution for about half an hour. Let the fish rest and the vinegar run of for a while.

Put the fish in a tub with strait sides. Close side by side with the abdomen up. The abdomen is filled with ocean salt, 60g per kg fish. Some sprinkle tiny amounts of sugar to speed up the raking, but not more than a pinch for each layer of fish.

Then the fish is put under pressure with a lid that fit down into the tub and a rock, and placed chilly. A stable temperature at about 4 degrees Celsius is the best, but it should at least be below 8. After a couple of days you should check if the fish is brined. If it is not enough fluids to completely cover the fish, add salt brine containing 40g salt per litre of water. Some place the fish at a higher temperature for some days to make it brine better, but that should one be very careful with.
Leave the rakfisk for two to three months. Rakfisk is well conserved in the brine. When the fish is appropriately rak, you can put it into a new 4 percent salt brine, which will slow down the rake process. An other method for slowing it down is to put the tub in the freezer - or outside if you live in a place in the world where it is stably cold for some time of the year. As long as the fish lay in the brine it will not freeze. Otherwise the rakfisk is not good for freezing.

Enjoy the fish with lefse, small potatoes, akevitt, beer, sour cream, and raw unions

This recipe goes back to the middle ages.

Warning- there is a botulism- risk involved. Do not use fish that has been stored on the ground, and be careful with hygiene.
 
Well, it wasn't a total loss. I took those nasty old fillets, seasoned them a little more with fresh ground peppercorn melange and onion powder, and through them on the WSM at a lid temp of 250 degrees.

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Somewhere around 2.5 hours later, the thinner pieces were done (and yes, that's a little cook's nibble.)

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Another half hour or so, and the thicker pieces were done.

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They're a touch on the salty side for what I normally consider an appetizer style salmon, but pretty tasty, none the less. At least I didn't have to throw away $30 worth of fish!

JimT
 
Any purchased "cold smoked" salmon I buy has the same texture I think you are describing as "raw". For people unaccustomed to it, I guess it might see a bit odd as most fish we eat tends to be dry and "flakey".

Obviously what matters most is whether you like it... but your initial pics sure look good to me!
 

 

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