smoking salmon


 
S

Scott Hoofman

TVWBB Super Fan
I've smoked salmon quite a few times on my old char-broil electric smoker, but not yet on my wsm. My problem is this, when smoking salmon I always got this discoloration - a dark greyish color on the bottom of the fish, that would extend an 1/8 to 1/4 inch up into the fillet. While it didn't distract from the taste, I didn't like to give out samples to friends because of the this problem. Does anybody know a way around this, or has had this problem themselves. Or is this discoloration typical when smoking fish.
 
Are you talking about that discolored strip from the lowest section of the belly? Or are you saying the fillet discolors when you cook it?

What kind of salmon are you cooking? Do you cook it with skin on, and are you cooking it slow or hot?
 
I usually get it from out local grocer (meijers) I believe it is probably farm-raised, the fillets are usually 10" to 14" long and usually about an 1" to 1 1/4" thick. I smoke it with the skin on, usually at 210 to 230 degrees.
 
I know from cooking salmon by other methods that I often get that discoloration... I think it comes from the skin. Try smoking skin off and see what you get.

Keep in mind that this advice is coming from someone who has never smoked salmon...
 
Not to deviate from the thread, but I suggest consideration also be given to grilling salmon fillets. My methods are utterrly simplistic, but me and mine like them. I don't have an opportunity at wild salmon often, so I sometimes get farm raided from WD. Marinate them in WB Italian, rub with OO and then with lemon/pepper and grill at around 400-450. Mighty good. Obviously this is not worthy of going in to the recipe section so I posted here.
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Paul
 
This may seem like a silly question, but is it possible to smoke salmon by removing the skin without having it fall apart? Or, does one have to put it in some kind of basket after skinning it?
 
I smoke salmon all the time without the skin and have never had a problem with the fish falling apart. I brine and then smoke right around 200 degrees. I only smoke wild salmon. I have tried the farm raised salmon and there really is no comparision. When I clean the salmon I cut the belly fat into really long strips and make salmon jerky. Really tasty.
 
How long do you smoke it for? I'll have to check into getting some wild salmon, but I'm gonna guess that the price will probably be prohibitive here in West Michigan. The farm raised usually goes for around 9 or 10 dollars a pound unless you can find it for sale. I'm sure the wild will be even higher.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">How long do you smoke it for </div></BLOCKQUOTE> You can do it for a long time and make it dry, or just long enough until it is cooked or anywhere in between.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> but I'm gonna guess that the price will probably be prohibitive here in West Michigan. </div></BLOCKQUOTE> If the salmon season hasn't started yet I think it will pretty soon.

After it does start, look around, I bet you can find some wild stuff for at least as good of a price. Might have to buy the hole fish and fillet it yourself instead of buying $$/100g from the seafood counter.



I really like sockeye, here is a pic of some I did last summer. This was dry, like 4 hours fairly low temp.
 
I had a big smoke coming with my brother-in-law, but thats been postponed. So, I was going to smoke a butt this thursday (my usual smoking day), but I think I'm going to go get some salmon and play around with that.
 
I smoked my salmon around 2.5-4 hours right around 200 degress. The thicker cuts take around 4 hours. The trick is to let the salmon air dry by a fan for about an hour before you smoke it. A sticky glaze will form on top that the smoke really takes well to. I like my smoked salmon to be pretty firm when it comes off of the smoker.

I am in Illinois and have no problem finding wild salmon. I just picked a 1.5lb fillet of wild caught Kenai salmon from Schnucks today for $13. If you have any Trader's Joe's stores around you they often have very good prices on wild salmon as well.
 
Sorry, no Trader Joe's. I've never heard of using a fan - sounds interesting and I'll give it a go. Thanks for the link, it'll come in handy.
 
Yes the fan works great. Right when you take it out of the brine pat the salmon dry and then let the fan blow on it. It will get REALLY tacky.
 
Although I haven't done it much, my dad smokes salmon every year...assuming we catch enough! One thing I would HIGHLY recommend is using alder as your smoke wood. I think it is the most traditional, and, more importantly, the best tasting wood to use with salmon. Also, we have always brined the salmon before we smoke it. If you want, I can get you the recipe for the brine.

The grey stuff is just natural discoloration and will show up on any cooked salmon. It's totally edible, and the only reason you don't see it on store-bought stuff is that they trim it off to make the fish look pretty (and so they can sell it at some outrageous price).

Bagel+Cream Cheese+Hunks of Smoked Salmon=Heaven
 
Just an FYI. That tackieness from the drying is called the Pellicle, and yes, it is desireable and important for the final product.
 
I just picked up two large fillets (farm raised from Chile)on sale at 4.99 a pound. WSM is set-up, got my fan ready, brine mixture all set to go. Woo hoo! Mad scientist time tomorrow.

Phil, I kinda had the feeling they probably trimmed that discoloration off. I think that I'm going to have to order some alder, there is no way I'm going to find some around here. I think, at least for tomorrow, I'm going to use peach wood chips. By the way, I'd love to have your brine recipe. Thanks
 
Well, I have to get my $0.02 in this discussion. Here in Alaska, we see bumper stickers that say "Friends don't let friends eat farmed fish". The salmon season should open in a couple weeks and you should be able to get some good prices on fresh Alaskan wild salmon. Personally, I prefer red (sockeye)but others like king (chinook) or silvers (coho). I don't know why we use differnt names for the same fish in Alaska than the rest of the country, e.g. Oncorhynchus nerka is a "red" in Alaska but the same fish sold in the lower 48 is a "sockeye". Did you know the pink color of farmed salmon is from a dye put in their feed? At any rate I'll get off the soap box. Given a chance give wild salmon a try -- you'll be able to tell the difference.

Griff
 
My dad (above) just got off his soapbox, so I'll jump on it. While I might be a "tad bit" biased, in that I paid my way through college catching wild salmon, I have to agree. People that go to the grocery store and buy farm fish have never done a comparison of wild and farmed. Anybody here ever tasted wild turkey? It's better than farm turkey. Or pheasant? Same thing. Wild salmon is firmer, has more oil, and...well...it just tastes better. It's worth the money. I've never smoked farm fish, so I don't know how it compares when smoked. But, then again, I never buy salmon. The above poster still mails me all that I can eat every year after he catches them. Thanks, Dad!
 
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