Hi Folks!
I smoked some really succulent and delicious salmon a few days ago, a first time using skinless pieces! I do, however, have a few questions (please see below).
Six 2-inch wide cuts of skinless salmon fillet, 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" thick, about 10.5 oz each (Costco, $ 4.99/lb)
Minion Method, with 15 lit coals.
One layer of Kingsford in the charcoal ring.
Brinkman water pan (dry)
Weather: 70?F, wind SE 6 mph, my usual BBQ rain
Target rack temp.....190?F
Target salmon temp...150?F
..........................................................(% open)
...........Lid.....Rack.....Fish...Lid Vent...Vent 1...Vent 2...Vent 3
6:30....170....174.......----......Assembled cooker, no water, added fish and wood (3 fist/ 8 oz alder chunks, cut in half)
6:45....240....----.................55%........Clsd......Clsd......Clsd
7:00....260....264.......147......Clsd.........Clsd......Clsd......Clsd
7:15....270................147......Clsd.........Clsd......Clsd......Clsd
7:20....270....279.......150......Clsd.........Clsd......Clsd......Clsd....Salmon off, covered, & rested 10 min.
Total cooking time = only 35 minutes.
Conclusions:
(1) I rubbed some pieces and brined the others. Both were juicy, but the brined ones were more so.
(2) As per Alan Dujenski's July post, we really liked the honey glaze. I coated only the tops just before putting them in the WSM, but next time I'll either coat each piece completely or try substituting honey for the sugar in the brine.
(3) I dipped the bottom of each piece in olive oil before smoking and had no sticking and no dryness in the finished product.
(4) Smoke flavor was good, but next time I'll cut back to 6 ounces, about 2 fist-sized chunks, which I'll again chop in half.
Questions:
(1) What's the recommended technique to keep the temperature down? Less coal, add water to pan, crack lid, or ?????
(2) Being somewhat sensitive to bitter flavors, I picked up a barely noticable bitter edge to the salmon (no one else did). Was this because of (a) too much wood, or (b) closing the lid vents?
(3) I'd expected a cooking time of about 1 hour at (hopefully) 190-200?F at the rack. I realize that pieces will cook faster, but good gracious!....all that prep and only 35 minutes to play! And that includes getting all the other parts of dinner put together, too!
(4) Any insights or pithy comments will be welcome!
Thanks, everyone!
Rita
I smoked some really succulent and delicious salmon a few days ago, a first time using skinless pieces! I do, however, have a few questions (please see below).
Six 2-inch wide cuts of skinless salmon fillet, 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" thick, about 10.5 oz each (Costco, $ 4.99/lb)
Minion Method, with 15 lit coals.
One layer of Kingsford in the charcoal ring.
Brinkman water pan (dry)
Weather: 70?F, wind SE 6 mph, my usual BBQ rain
Target rack temp.....190?F
Target salmon temp...150?F
..........................................................(% open)
...........Lid.....Rack.....Fish...Lid Vent...Vent 1...Vent 2...Vent 3
6:30....170....174.......----......Assembled cooker, no water, added fish and wood (3 fist/ 8 oz alder chunks, cut in half)
6:45....240....----.................55%........Clsd......Clsd......Clsd
7:00....260....264.......147......Clsd.........Clsd......Clsd......Clsd
7:15....270................147......Clsd.........Clsd......Clsd......Clsd
7:20....270....279.......150......Clsd.........Clsd......Clsd......Clsd....Salmon off, covered, & rested 10 min.
Total cooking time = only 35 minutes.
Conclusions:
(1) I rubbed some pieces and brined the others. Both were juicy, but the brined ones were more so.
(2) As per Alan Dujenski's July post, we really liked the honey glaze. I coated only the tops just before putting them in the WSM, but next time I'll either coat each piece completely or try substituting honey for the sugar in the brine.
(3) I dipped the bottom of each piece in olive oil before smoking and had no sticking and no dryness in the finished product.
(4) Smoke flavor was good, but next time I'll cut back to 6 ounces, about 2 fist-sized chunks, which I'll again chop in half.
Questions:
(1) What's the recommended technique to keep the temperature down? Less coal, add water to pan, crack lid, or ?????
(2) Being somewhat sensitive to bitter flavors, I picked up a barely noticable bitter edge to the salmon (no one else did). Was this because of (a) too much wood, or (b) closing the lid vents?
(3) I'd expected a cooking time of about 1 hour at (hopefully) 190-200?F at the rack. I realize that pieces will cook faster, but good gracious!....all that prep and only 35 minutes to play! And that includes getting all the other parts of dinner put together, too!
(4) Any insights or pithy comments will be welcome!
Thanks, everyone!
Rita