smoked salmon

[Brian A]

I've seen discussion about the time and temp for cooking salmon, but what about making it "smoked fish"? Wouldnt that take hours and allow the salmon to dry out?

How do I get it done like the smoke houses around here do to the lake michigan salmon chubs etc.
In the fall when the salmon spawn we catch them from shore, but they are best smoked.

Brian

 

[Russ Hazzon]

The type of smoked fish you are thinking of involves curing with salt and/or cold smoking for several days. Cold smoking introduces smoke without heat.

Instructions for Cold Smoking can be found on this website.

 

[Tony Weisse]

Hi Brian,

I've done lake trout in the WSM and gotten the results to be very much like "smoked fish". I'd have to dig for the exact recipe, but basically you cut the fish into steaks, brine it for a couple of days, and then smoke at lower temp until done ( a couple of hours sounds right).

Salmon and lake trout are fatty fish, so they do not really dry out.

 

[Kevin Taylor]

Brian....

There are several ways to accomplish this task. Russ is correct in that most of the smokehouses use the cold smoking process for their fish.

Tony is also correct in that you can do it in a much shorter period of time and get great results.

Here is the process a buddy of mine uses....Tom Collis. He fishes at least 200 days every year on Lake Michigan out of St. Joe, MI. Every year he is kind enough to invite me for an outing and we ALWAYS catch fish.

For the last many years he has been tinkering with a process to turn out smoked fish. He told me last year that he finally had it perfected.

Depending on the type and size of fish, he has many options as far as serving...canning it, serving as an appetizer, making fish spreads, etc.

Here is his perfected process............

TC?S FISH SMOKING PROCESS


TC?s Brine for 5 lbs of Salmon:

 1 gallon water
 ? cups kosher salt (Most recipe?s call for more but I find them to be too salty)
 2 Tbsp. Crushed red pepper (Optional)
 2 Tbsp. Regular grind black pepper (Optional)
 2 Tsp. Tabasco sauce (Optional)


 Mix brine ingredients with hot water add spices
 Cool brine to 40 degrees and add fish pieces
 Brine for 12 hours
 Lightly rinse fish under running water
 Lightly oil the racks (a product like Pam works well for this) to avoid sticking.
 Put the fish on the racks and sprinkle with a heavy coat of Cajun rub and coarse ground black pepper. Let sit for 10 minutes, flip and coat the other side like the first. Be aggressive with your rub as fish can handle a lot of spices. (Thicker fillets should have more rub)
 Dry the fish with a fan for 1 ? - 2 hours. (1 hour followed by flipping the fish and drying for another hour.) Dry the fish until the "pellicle" has formed. This is the shiny, slightly tacky, coating that your fish will get after it has dried. The pellicle helps the smoke to coat evenly and not get blotchy. Most importantly drying it helps keep in the juices and retain the firm texture of the fish as it is smoked.)
 Put racks in the smoker and cook at 180* until done. The fish will be firm to the touch.(Probably 1 ? - 2 hours with thin fillets)
 Let cool at room temperature before putting in the fridge or vacuum sealing. If you put in the fridge when hot a lot of moisture will form making the outside surface of the fish wet. This is not always a bad thing but too much moisture pulled out will cause the inside of the fish to be drier. You will have to experiment a bit.
 Vacuum seal, label with the date and store in fridge or freezer. (Freeze if you don?t plan to eat within a week or so)