How We Smoke Alaska Salmon;

[Ard]

There have been several members who requested a thread about smoking salmon. Over the years we have came up with some pretty good smoked fish. This is the recipe we have settled on.

Salmon: Three average fish 8lb live weight each

First cut the fish and try to get most of the bones out. I have smoked whole fillets but found that cutting the fish into thin strips ala jerky style was more handy as a snack food.

Next you must make a brine:

Salt: 1/2 cup
Sugar: 1 1/3 cup
Soy Sauce: 2 quarts
Tabasco Sauce: 1 or 2 teaspoons your taste
White wine: 1 quart
Water: One quart
Onion Powder: 2 teaspoons
Garlic Powder: 2 teaspoons
Black pepper: 4 teaspoons

Combine these to make a batch of liquid that you will soak the fish in. For larger batches or smaller multiply or divide the recipe. The above recipe will brine three average salmon.

Place some brine in a suitable container and begin adding fish I use a roaster pan here;

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Continue adding fish and brine until all are in the container and there are no pieces of fish that are stuck together. You want all exposed to the solution and brine should cover the fish. Soak in brine for at least 8 hours refrigerated.

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After soaking 8 hours, drain the brine;

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Next you need to spread the fish out and dry it a bit. You can see the fan we use to speed up the drying. When the pieces begin to feel a little tacky you are ready to load your smoker racks.

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Place the racks in your smokers. We use electric smokers and I typically burn 5 or six pans of Hickory chips when I do this. Check often to see if it is time for more hickory chips during the first 2 hours. The thinner pieces of fish will be ready in about 8 hours. The thicker pieces will take 12 - 14 hours.

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The finished product known in this household as Red Gold;

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I have tried several different smoked salmon recipes and found it best to stay away from the super salty or spicy ones, they overpower the taste of the salmon.

Enjoy,

Ard

 

[boser]

Ard, Now that looks really great. I can imagine what they taste like...too bad we are so far apart, I could swap you deer jerky for the salmon. You have a pretty nice set up ole friend. It is nice of you to share your recipe as well. I use a Bradley Smoker because I dont have to babysit it. Ha!

Best Regards, Boser

 

[mcnerney]

Ard: Wow, does that look good! Now my mouth is watering, looking at that great looking batch of smoked salmon! I sure do miss living in AK.

Larry

 

[jpbfly]

You're a real CHEF Ardlooking forward next post:how to eat smoked salmon

 

[Ard]

I am doing that as I type this Jean Paul

 

[Jimmie]

Yummmie. Please pass the Salmon. That stuff is so good.

 

[yatahey]

Dang Ard that's some serious good lookin salmon. Yummmmmm

 

[fyshstykr]

Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' about! Thanks Ard.

 

[mojo]

Ard, you posted 2 QUARTS of Soy sauce. Is that correct? Seems like a lot of soy sauce.

 

[Ard]

Mojo,

The batch was only a one half batch. It takes a lot of brine to cover that much fish. Remember this was for 3 salmon, I should have weighed the meat. I would guess the meat weighed between 12 - 14 pounds. The live weight of the whole fish was 24 pounds. They always come out good, you don't pick the soy sauce out when you taste the fish.

Note: You can substitute some Bar B Q sauce for the Tabasco, or you can slip in some mashed Jalapeños and juice to spice it up.

We have done some experimenting and like the Bar B Q style also. You gotta kinda eyeball it because you could end up to sweet.

Ard

 

[flatslandercp]

Ard - how hot is your smoker running when you do the salmon? It looks great.

 

[Ard]

Not very hot I have never taken a temp but it supposed to be around 165*. The air temp when you do it affects the total time the fish must be in them it is the duration that the fish is in that gets it done. We place the thin stuff on the top racks and the thickest on the bottom racks. After about 8 hours you start checking the thin stuff. The smokers are supposed to get the fish to 165* at 145* the meat is Pasteurized.

 

[flatslandercp]

Thanks. My smoker can run about 175 most of time, so I bet I could come close to matching your results. With the obvious difference of not having access to freshly caught salmon and having to get by with the flash frozen and shipped variety. So maybe I can just match your technique, not your result.

 

[Ard]

When I lived down east I found Great Lakes steelhead were pretty tasty.

 

[cattech89]

Hey Ard the salmon sounds awesome. Ive never actually had smoked salmon but your process is very similar to what my father-in-law does with the laker trout we catch in upstate NY. Absolutely divine!!!
Thanks for the instructions.

 

[FrankB2]

Hi Chef Ard
Your salmon looks delicious, but I'm used to seeing smoked salmon looking more like this:

Is it a difference in smoking time, cut of the fillet, perishability of the salmon that appears less smoked (my pic), or all of the above? How long will your smoked salmon last refrigerated? Can I send a SASE, and get a taste? It's funny, but I always wanted to buy a smoker when I was a kid without money. Now that I can afford one, I don't have one. Perhaps if I had salmon swimming past, I'd own a smoker....

 

[Ard]

Hi Frank,

The fillet in the photo looks like cold smoked Lox salmon. I vacuum pack and freeze and have never left any around long enough for it to spoil. It is kinda like moist jerky when done.

 

[Frank Whiton]

Hi FrankB2,

Ard's method is pretty normal in Alaska. He does use a brine cure and some like a dry cure. I always used a dry cure but the methods are pretty similar other than the cure. I think Ard is right about the fish in your picture. No self respecting Alaskan would call that smoked salmon.

Frank

 

[Lambchop]

Doc,
Now there's something that works a lot better up there than it would down here with brookies. Looks good.
the Chop

 

[Ard]

I've been wondering where you have been.....................

D1