Topic: Smoke 'em if you got 'em

[faux fiddy]

Ever wonder what to do with that wretched sockeye salmon you somehow collect in the freezer?

I have had some success with doing them up in my old gas grill, and spent several hollidays peddling my small batches of smoked salmon.  I guess this method would be cold smoked, as there is really no fire under them for most the process. I give them 24 hours or even a couple days sometimes, and it is best to do it when it is cold out so if your fire goes out or is unattended they remain refrigerated.

I'm starting a batch now.

I use an old gas grill that has been gutted of it's gas option.

I start with a coffee can. I use a can opener to make vent holes in the bottom of the sides, and in the bottom to have a way to shake out the ash.

I fill it with charcoal to start the fire, and I keep the fire contained in the can. I add smoking wood in chunk form. Hickory was what available, I bought the last sack about an hour ago. Hickory, mesquite, fruitwoods all work well, in Alaska alder is what was readily available. ( heard it is best to peel the bark on alder as it makes things bitter.)I soak the chunks for an hour or more before adding them to the fire.

I am using soy sauce for brine, which I get in gallon cans at the Asian market. I am out of salt, but usually I use a bit.  Cloves are okay to put in the brine, maybe rosemary would be good, but for now this batch is just soy and Sugar.  I  sprinkle the fillets with brown sugar while brining and also sprinkle a bit on while they are smoking. I like to brine  soak it for at least eight hours.

I'll take  more pics of the process  in daylight when the batch is half done.

[seanbarney41]

ummm, yummm, smoked salmon

[flybox1]

Love it!
Hey fiddy...try a melt of pineapple juice and brown sugar (1C. each) and brush it on your fillets once an hour for the first 4 hours of your smoking  

I usually dry brine sockeye,steelhead and coho and smoke in a little chief with alder and apple woods.
dry brine is 3C brown sugar and 1C kosher salt. 
but the key is in the prep of the fillets.  i cube them. 1" x 1" cutting thru the meat, but not the skin, so the chunks stay together and the dry brine can get between the chunks. gets the flavor deep into the meat. minimum of 12 hrs in the dry brine before a quick rinse and a 2 hr air dry.  then, the fillets get placed in the smoker for 8 hrs, with fresh chips and a brushing of the pineapple/brown sugar melt every hour for the first 4 hours.

natures candy! 

[faux fiddy]

Never tried pineapple juice, but that sounds like something I would do.

These were in a friends freezer and had the vaccuum pack punctured and started to frost up, so pretty mediocre as far as prime.  I think one of them goes to the dogs,  and another is now chowder.

I  hated to see them lay in the freezer any longer, but since I was helping myself to a friends freezer I guess I should have selected the better ones. What an ethical delimma.

Anyway here's the setup I use in daylight, had really good results many times with fish that were better handled, usually I tried to get small 3-4 lb cohos at the plant and smoke them whole.