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Smoked Salmon

Jamie

Senior Member
6,003
177
Ohio
I've cooked a bunch of salmon, but this is my first try at curing and smoking it. I'm going to hot smoke this batch for use in the traditional ways, but I'm also going to cold smoke some, too. back in the summer when the Sockeye was in season I bought up about 30lbs worth of whole filets and froze them for grilling, planking, roasting and now, finally, smoking. I'll get to some sous vide salmon on short order, too. Today, I put four nice filets, a little over a pound each, about 5lbs worth, in a dry cure. You can brine or dry cure for hot smoking. Brining is better for fresh fish, dry cure is better for previously frozen. by all accounts, freezing salmon before smoking is desirable for two reasons; one, a few weeks or months at -10 F kills parasites, and second, freezing damages the cell walls and allows the cells to give up their moisture more readily, which is the entire purpose of "curing" anything.

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this is a very basic traditional dry cure for smoked salmon. a fat four cups brown sugar, one cup kosher salt. I expect by the time I go to bed tonight this will be a brine, so I'll rearrange the fillets and leave them go until the morning, at least. I'll let the be until they firm up properly, but expect it will take about 24 hours. after that, I'm going to follow Hank Shaws' smoking process. https://honest-food.net/how-to-smoke-salmon-recipe/
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
I’ve never tried the dry method. We always do the wet brine in a 5gallon bucket and lid. Might have to work a trade out and see which is preferred. Always willing to try something new! Good luck
 
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Jamie

Senior Member
6,003
177
Ohio
the reasoning behind dry curing previously frozen fish instead of brining is that once frozen and thawed, the texture of the meat is broken down a bit, soaking it in wet brine can further affect the texture, making it mushy, which is not desirable. you can do fresh fish either way and I would think the end result would be about the same. I'm sure that once the moisture is drawn from the fish with a dry cure, it will become a brine, but with only the amount of liquid drawn from the fish. may not make any difference either way. I won't know until I do it both ways.
 
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giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
Every time we smoke salmon it’s been previously froze.

My wife made candied one before with a dry cure, that was pretty good but it limited use, so we haven’t don’t it again. Gotta stretch this stuff out now...or become a painter I guess. After saying it out loud, I’ll just stretch it out😂
 
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Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,502
205
Portage
Better give that a rinse when done Jamie. Looks heavy on the salt. I've been dialing back to the cure to half to one third because everything I make turns out too salty. I did 3 smoked salmon a couple weekends ago with a turkey. Turkey turned out much better than the salmon. I'll do another turkey in the weeks ahead as my kids are begging for more. Both using apple chips.
 
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Bowkills

Well-Known Member
2,577
85
Nw oh
Yes, I think so. I’ll let it go until it gets firm enough, but at least 24 hours.
I've done white sugar and salt 24hrs then cold smoke with a great result from a guy that go some straight from Northwest. I believe ull have a hard time not eating what you have there and sharing with anyone.....tastes like candy....!
 

Jamie

Senior Member
6,003
177
Ohio
when I got home from hunting I brought salmon back in the house to re-arrange them in the container and they had stiffened up nicely already. I rinsed them off thoroughly and now they will dry overnight in the fridge to form a good pellicle. I've got some Alder to smoke them with. I'll probably start early, so I can take care to keep the cabinet temp low and correct and not hurry the smoking along too much. the instructions I followed said 8-36 hours to cure depending on the thickness the filets. these look and feel just right to me, although I had about 3 times more cure mixture than I needed for this amount of fish. I probably rinsed half of the brown sugar down the drain. live and learn. I'll brine them next time to see if there is any difference.

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Matt

Active Member
932
61
Norton, OH
I bring home between 100 and 150 lbs of sockeye every summer. I hope it turns out well for you. I've tried the dry brine very similar to your method in the past, but find that sockeye prefer much less salt in a wet brine (according to my own tastes of course.) Here's the method I found to be my favorite. Not mine, so I can't take credit for it.

5 pounds salmon, trout or char
Birch or maple syrup for basting
BRINE (ingredients below)
1 quart cool water
1/3 cup Diamond Crystal kosher salt, about 2 ounces of any kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
Instructions
Cure the Fish. Mix together the brine ingredients and place your fish in a non-reactive container (plastic or glass), cover and put in the refrigerator. This curing process eliminates some of the moisture from the inside of the fish while at the same time infusing it with salt, which will help preserve the salmon.
You will need to cure your salmon at least 4 hours, even for thin fillets from trout or pink salmon. In my experience, large trout or char, as well as pink, sockeye and silver salmon need 8 hours. A really thick piece of king salmon might need as much as 36 hours in the brine. Never go more than 48 hours, however, or your fish will be too salty. Double the brine if it's not enough to cover the fish.

Dry the Fish. Take your fish out of the brine and pat it dry. Set the fillets on your cooling rack, skin side down. Ideally you'd do this right under a ceiling fan set on high, or outside in a cool, breezy place. By "cool" I mean 60°F or cooler. Let the fish dry for 2 to 4 hours (or up to overnight in the fridge). You want the surface of the fish to develop a shiny skin called a pellicle. This is one step many beginning smokers fail to do, but drying your cured, brined fish in a cool, breezy place is vital to properly smoking it. The pellicle, which is a thin, lacquer-like layer on top of the fish, seals it and offers a sticky surface for the smoke to adhere to. Don't worry, the salt in the brine will protect your fish from spoilage. Once you have your pellicle, you can refrigerate your fish for a few hours and smoke it later if you'd like.

Smoke your fish. Even though this is hot smoking, you still do not want high temperatures. Start with a small fire and work your way up as you go. It is important to bring the temperature up gradually or you will get that white albumin "bleed" on the meat. I can control my heat with the Bradley smoker, so I start the process at 120°F for 2 hours. Then I step up the heat to 140°F for another hour, then finish at 175°F for a final hour or two. NOTE: What my smoker is set at is not necessarily what the actual temperature is. Smoking is an art, not a science. To keep temperatures mild, always put water in your drip pan to keep the temperature down. If your smoker is very hot, put ice in the tray.

Baste the Fish. After an hour in the smoker, baste the fish with the birch or maple syrup; do this every hour. This is a good way to brush away any albumin that might form. In most cases, you will get a little. You just don't want a ton of it. Even if you can't control your temperature this precisely, you get the general idea. You goal should be an internal temperature of about 130°F to 140°F. (Incidentally, yes, I keep the smoke on the whole time. I don't find this to be too much smoke, but if you want a lighter smoke, finish the salmon without smoke or in a 200°F oven.)
You must be careful about your heat. Other than failing to dry your salmon long enough, the single biggest problem in smoking salmon is too high heat. If you've ever seen salmon "bleed" a white, creamy substance, that's a protein called albumin. If you see lots of it, you've screwed up; a little is normal. Here's what happens: If you cook a piece of salmon at too high a heat, the muscle fibers in the meat contract so violently that they extrude albumin, which immediately congeals on the surface of the fish. It's ugly, and it also means your salmon will be drier than it could have been. You prevent this with a solidly formed pellicle, and by keeping your heat gentle. If you let your heat get away from you and you do get a white mess on your salmon, all is not lost. Just flake it out and make salmon salad with it: The mayonnaise in the salad will mask any dryness.
Cool and Store the Fish. Once your fish is smoked, let it rest on the cooling rack for an hour before you put it in the fridge. Once refrigerated and wrapped in plastic, smoked fish will keep for 10 days. If you vacuum-seal it, the fish will keep for up to 3 weeks. Or freeze your fish for up to a year.
 
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Jamie

Senior Member
6,003
177
Ohio
thanks, Matt. that is Hank Shaws' method, which is exactly what I'm doing aside from dry curing this time instead of brining like he does. I have a link to this recipe in my original post. :)
 

Jamie

Senior Member
6,003
177
Ohio
I suspect that basting with maple syrup may not add much to this smoked salmon, but I'm going to do it anyway. I'll forego basting one of the fillets just to see if there is a measurable difference in the taste or texture of the finished product. I'm fortunate to have some of the lightest, most exquisite first run Ohio maple syrup that I've ever tasted. I had to know somebody to get it, too. likely will never get more, so I use it sparingly. I'll give up a little for this smoke. Smoker running nice for me this morning. time to baste and bump up the cabinet temp 10 degrees or so.

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