Cold smoked salmon, coming up (Lox)

[Brett-EDH]

Just completed the 24 hour dry brine on a side of Costco salmon. Rinsed and racked, exposed in the fridge to build pellicle. And tonight I’ll hit this with maple cold smoke for 90 minutes and then fridge it over night. And then slice this up tomorrow for some lox with anything (bagels, sushi rolls, eggs and more).

 

[Joan]

You and Chris both on the same track!!!!

SALMON!!!!!!

LOVE IT!!!!!!!

 

[Brett-EDH]

You and Chris both on the same track!!!!

SALMON!!!!!!

LOVE IT!!!!!!!

i just watched his video. i've done a few hot smoked salmons. my target temps were 170-200F max. and i used a maple syrup glaze across the top of the salmon for enhanced flavor when coupled with maple smoke (the only pellets i own are maple which i bought for cold smoking both fish and cheese).

lox is so simple since i figured out my recipe and method. i make it probably once every 6-8 weeks. it makes for a great sunday brunch with prosecco mimosas and a nice veggie spread of capers, red onions, tomatoes, english cukes, fresh bagels and assorted cream cheeses.

 

[Darryl - swazies]

I only ever brined salmon overnight once.
I never did cold smoke it though. Either you like it salty or like me it's your first run at it.
My brine was 4 parts salt to 1 part brown sugar I believe....it's been a while.
Now I run a 5 to 6 hour brine, it's not time it goes by feel, 2 hours to 3 on the pellicle.
I also used to smoke it way too long....Only cook to eat, not any cold smoke at all......what you are making is usually tasty for sure.

 

[Brett-EDH]

I only ever brined salmon overnight once.
I never did cold smoke it though. Either you like it salty or like me it's your first run at it.
My brine was 4 parts salt to 1 part brown sugar I believe....it's been a while.
Now I run a 5 to 6 hour brine, it's not time it goes by feel, 2 hours to 3 on the pellicle.
I also used to smoke it way too long....Only cook to eat, not any cold smoke at all......what you are making is usually tasty for sure.

this was a 2# salmon or so.

the recipe is:

3/4 cup sugar - i break this up 50/50 between unbleached sugar and dark brown sugar
1/2 cup pickling salt (mortons green box) - not kosher salt (kosher salt, Morton's, this recipe then goes to 3/4 cup morton's kosher salt)
white pepper to desired amount
cracked black pepper to desired amount
1/4 cup dried dill

combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

apply 50% of dry brine mixture to flat side of salmon and gently rub/push into the salmon. then do the same on the front side (non-spine side) of salmon. if you rub too hard, you'll be sandpapering your salmon; don't do it like that. a gentle rub/pat/press into the flesh is the technique.

place in an airtight container (meaning closed container not exposed to circulating air of the fridge) and fridge for 24 hours.

remove from fridge, rinse off all brine and then place salmon on rack and then onto tray and place in fridge for minimum 4 hours to develop pellicle.

then leave fish on rack and place racked fish on grill, or a very confined container and cold smoke it for 90 minutes. cold smoke means don't light any coals, just light your pellets (which I use nd have found best/easiest to use to cold smoke salmon). I use maple pellets only for this lox. I use this CSG (cold smoke generator https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07N3QG4QL/?tag=tvwb-20)

when 90 minutes are done, wrap the smoked salmon in plastic wrap, tightly, and fridge overnight. this helps mellow the smoke flavor and allows the smoke flavor to settle into the flesh better.

then slice to your desired thickness.

the only parts that are more salty to the taste are the belly portion and the tail portion. otherwise the flavor profile is quite balanced and you get a great bite and taste of smoked salmon.

i've worked on this recipe for over a year+ to get it to this stage and I, along with many taste testers agree, this rivals some of the best lox you can get in NYC (think Jewish appetizing like Zabars or Russ and Daughters).

the pics below are post smoking and then sliced into a container for enjoying. the salmon picks up a lot of color post-smoke and rest.

 

[Rich G]

Looks fantastic, Brett! I've only ever done hot smoked (no higher than 180), but feel like this is something to try! Lox in the store is so darned expensive!

R

 

[Brett-EDH]

Looks fantastic, Brett! I've only ever done hot smoked (no higher than 180), but feel like this is something to try! Lox in the store is so darned expensive!

R

if you need pointers or would like to discuss, feel free to reach out. i seriously have many, many, many hours into this recipe, technique and process.

and you'll be buying costco's farm raised atlantic salmon for this recipe. DO NOT use wild salmon for raw/cold smoked lox. we eat costco's farm raised salmon sashimi style, cooked, smoked, and any way we want as its a very clean and quality product.

 

[Brett-EDH]

And the maple smoke session begins.

 

[Anne M.]

Would this also work with other types of fish?
I would be keen to try, but salmon is unaffordable here.
Maybe tilapia or catfish?

 

[Brett-EDH]

Would this also work with other types of fish?
I would be keen to try, but salmon is unaffordable here.
Maybe tilapia or catfish?

i would be hesitant to try this on any other type of fish due to most fish needing to be cooked to kill parasites. or you would have to freeze your fillets for a week in a consumer grade freezer to kill any parasites and then you might be able to cold smoke them, but, freezing fish changes its texture so i am not sure i would want to eat previously frozen fish that's been cold smoked. that's just me though.

here's a link i found on cold smoking:

What Foods Can Be Cold Smoked? | Totally Smokin

There are various ways to cook and prepare many different kinds of meats and other foods. One of these ways is a process called cold smoking. So what sort of

www.totallysmokin.com

there are lots of recipes online you can use to hot smoke the two fish you have access to. smoked fish is always something special. we love smoked whitefish salad and sable. both of those were chidhood favorites around our home. they were real special treats when we had them.

here's a link to a top purveyor of smoked fish. we used to frequent their NYC store: https://www.zabars.com/smoked-fish/#sz=23

and these guys are a staple for smoked fish products which inspired me to seek my own recipe and methods. https://www.acmesmokedfish.com/

 

[Brett-EDH]

here's a key point made on the Acme website:

SMOKING​

At Acme, every fish is naturally smoked using the perfect blend of hardwoods. Fish can either be cold or hot smoked. Only salmon, tuna, and sable are permitted by law to be cold smoked. All other fish, including whitefish, trout, whiting, mackerel, bluefish, sturgeon, marlin, chubs, ciscoes, and wahoo are hot smoked. Salmon and tuna are also hot smoked. Cold smoking is a drying and smoking process where the heat does not exceed 85°F and the whole process takes up to 20 hours. Hot smoking is a cooking and drying process where the fish must reach at least 145°F or above for at least 30 minutes.

 

[Anne M.]

Thanks guys, I have hot smoked tilapia and trout before and it comes out real nice:
As for cold smoking, I believe the story is that only those type of fish are allowed as it wasn't requested for any of the other types. Should be in one of the Marianski books, but unfortunately, that's currently in storage

 

[Anne M.]

correction: that was about curing with nitrites (suddenly remembered I had the meat curing book as a kindle version)

Copied from "home production of quality meats and sausages" by Stanley and Adam Marianski:
The Food and Drug Administration currently allows nitrites to be used in salmon, sablefish, shad, chubs, and
tuna. Why out of millions of species of fish swimming in the ocean, only five species can be cured
with nitrite? What made those fish so special was a question that bothered me for a long time. Finally
I had enough and the letter of inquiry was sent to the Food Safety and Inspection Service. And that
was the answer to my intriguing question:
“The reason nitrite is approved for use in those species is because someone submitted a
petition for its

 

[Brett-EDH]

Final pic update. Sliced the lox this morning and taste and texture was perfect. You can see the even color from the curing and smoking. Tomorrow, some fresh bagels and the fixins.

 

[Scott Hollister]

That looks excellent!

 

[ChuckO]

Cold Smoked Salmon is an art. Yours looks to be a masterpiece

 

[Brett-EDH]

Tha

Cold Smoked Salmon is an art. Yours looks to be a masterpiece

Thank you. My first real go at it in 2019 was more jerky than lox. Learned a lot from many different cures and tries. It’s come together well now.