Hello, new friends! I am the proud winner of the dessert catagory this year and just received my Smokette 2. I love her! I have done the break-in and am brining salmon as we speak. Here's the gig: I sell my smoked salmon and can it in pint jars. I have been smoking salmon forever...but always a cold smoke in a homemade smokehouse. The Smokette produces a hot smoke. To can smoked salmon, you don't want it cooked all the way thru. Will I need to rotate the racks? I am doing a taste/method test today. Just could use any advice you can give. Thanks! Andi in Moose Pass.

Congrats on the win!

Welcome to the forum.

While we're waiting for some people to come in with some specific info, look at a post just below yours "Smoking Cheese". There is some good "cold smoke" info in there.

Welcome again

Thanks and you ain't ever getting rid of me! LOL! Moose season coming up and there will be pastrami in Smokey (my name for her). This family smokes everything and I might add, after reading some posts, I have the required 12-pack. Who can smoke without beer? I think I'll just do the ole finger test on the salmon...feel for give and firmness. Will opening and closing her to check product mess up the smoke?

So, Andi, you can the salmon?

You mean you eat what you can and what you can't you can?

When you get over that fabulous joke, I want to talk about a swap for smoked mullet. Don't listen to Texaskingfish. This mullet is righteous fare. Good trade for wild caught, Alaska smoked salmon. Ask anybody. Ask Bobby Que. What do you think? Maybe 2 mullet for 1 king salmon? 3 mullet? ACARRIII

You made me spit beer thru my nose! Talk about alcohol abuse! LOL! I do trades all the time and you bet we can dicker. Frankly, I don't even know what a mullet looks like, much less what it tastes like, but I will eat purt near anything! King season is over, but I am doing Reds now, and will do Silvers when they come in. I can in pint jars. The first 16 cases are spoken for, but I put up close to a hundred. Also, Fireweed Honey if you are interested. My smoked salmon has a wee bit in it. I plan on doing a fresh-pack Humpy with garlic sauce, too. Great for crackers, soup base, omelettes, whatever! People scoff at Pinks, but we love them canned. Remind me to tell you about the Pepper-Pak sometime!

I'm smoking a salmon as we speak, because I could not find a mullet.

In my mind, this would make the ratio of mullet to salmon much higher!

all kidding aside, andi, how do you smoke salmon on your smokey?

I don't know yet...haven't done any. Just received Smokey a few days ago. My plan is now to brine and dry brine tonight and let her sit overnight, then rinse and dry to form the pellicle tomorrow, and then smoke. I plan to turn her into a sort-of cold smoker by getting the smoke going at the lowest temp, then shutting her down and plugging the vent. I may have to do this once, twice, who knows? These fillets I am doing now are a test of taste/method. I will let you know how it goes. Whaddaya think?

quote:

acarriii wrote:
I want to talk about a swap for smoked mullet. This mullet is righteous fare. Good trade for wild caught, Alaska smoked salmon. Ask anybody. Ask Bobby Que. What do you think? Maybe 2 mullet for 1 king salmon? 3 mullet?

Andi, don't listen to these sharks! He's just baiting you! 3 mullet for 1 king salmon??? He'd never follow through with a trade like that. That would be nuts!

Maybe even-up or 3 salmon to 2 mullet. That's fair.

Heck, I'll even pay half of the air freight on an even-up exchange. Fair is fair, Andi.



-Ron

Andi says:

quote:

I don't even know what a mullet looks like,

Andi, my friend, I've been thinking about this problem. What does a mullet look like? Hmmmmmmmmmm.
Listen. Try this. When your wife walks by, jump up and give her a kiss on the cheek (or whereever). Now HOLD that. Keep that pucker. That's it. Hold them lips just like that and go look in the mirror.
There's your basic mullet mug shot.
Get the picture? The fish is an algae eater. Cute little lips for sucking algae. It's true. Just ask Bobby Que.
2 mullet = 3 salmon? You might have something there, Redneck Almost Trained.
Now,Andi, about that moose you got in mind for this fall, do I have a deal for you!
(All kidding aside, sounds like God's country up yonder.)
ACARRIII

Well, well, well! How many guys do you know named Andy? Do they spell it with an "I"? Get the picture? So, I guess to picture a mullet I could ask the ole man to drop `em and bend over? LOL! You guys having fun teasing the naive Alaskan? Keep your old mullet...I'm having fresh King Crab tonight!

Still haven't got the fish in the smoker. It's raining hard and it's taking a long time to dry out the fish. Have a big fan on it now...

Andi: Very sorry! I should have noticed. Too much BBQ smoke has pickled my brain. But, I would like some salmon. I'll get in touch. Good luck with that new machine. ACARRIII

No sweat! No offense taken...kinda cracked me up, in fact. The Red Salmon are showing up in huge numbers. Spouse works at a processing plant, so I get all I want. They had 400,000 lbs. yesterday.

It's so dang wet today, I'm thinking of firing up the woodstove and hanging the fish in the garage. But it gets major hot in there and I'm afraid it'll cook it, not dry it. Dilemma!

Andi: Wet fish? What kind of wet? Would a hair drier get the job done? Long shot, but I'm far away. Good luck. acarriii

Now that might be an idea...keep the dryer on cool. The most crucial part of smoking any fish is to dry it to form the pellicle or skin over the flesh. Depending on the weather, it could take an hour or 24 hours. Though, I have other stuff to do than stand over fish with a hair dryer, I will if that's what it takes. Damn good idea!

quote:

Originally posted by Andi:
[qb]The most crucial part of smoking any fish is to dry it to form the pellicle or skin over the flesh[/qb]

Andi - I have a question for you. Why is the pellicle so crucial? When I smoke salmon, I apply a rub and then throw it into the smoker. I seem to get positive comments about it and have not taken the time to allow the salmon to for the pellicle. If it makes a significant difference, I may have to change my cooking method.