I smoked a couple of Salmon sides over the weekend using Jim Minion's " Official Cardogs BBQ Salmon" technique. Took them to 150 F with 3oz of Alder for smoke and 225 F cooking temp. I pre-heated to the point that smoke was coming out before I put the fillets in.

I've never done Salmon before. When I took the fish out it tasted good but, the finishing rub was still very soft and no carmelization. Is that the way it should be?

Also, the wood I used was very dry and when I opened the door to put the fish in, it was on fire. I pulled out the wood box and doused it with water and put it back. Anybody had to use a fire extinguisher before do I just have some especially dry wood?

Im guessing the fire was due to opening the door early in the smoke stage and the sudden influx of oxygen. The way the CS is designed, the wood has to smolder due to a lack of oxygen. This observation comes after 10 years as a fireman and knowing what happens to a closed up house once you vent it!

As for the salmon, I followed Andi's receipe for salmon. After the cure & the drying stage, but right before I put it in the CS, I lightly brushed on pure maple syrup. You couldnt really see it, but could see a shiny glaze both before and after smoking. Im also guessing it did not carmelize because it was pulled out at 145* internal.

bob

hook,
did you air dry the fish on both sides before the rub??? reason i ask is the proteins set up and get kind of sticky. takes about an hour or two here in florida with a fan running since we are so humid. i put mine on a cake grid which has really small openings and let it go that long. forgot where i picked up this tip but it has worked well for me. worst part is i gotta keep moose my 85 pound greyhound away from the salmon and since he is alpha male he will give what is left to corvette my little 64 pound grey.
hope this helps and i sure dont know why it works
jack
2 Greyhounds....SMOKIN!!!!

Just a bit of warning. If your gonna feed any Salmon to your dogs make sure it is well done. Else wise you could kill them or at the very least make em as sick as a dog.

rex,
thats a fact!!!!
since i own greyhounds my vet has told me to be careful of that. as an aside he told me that if he had to sedate my 89 pound dog moose he would give it the same amount as if he were a 15 pound dog. weird huh??
jack

Thanks Jack,

I did air dry them for an hour in front of a fan. I'm thinking I may have put the rub on a bit too thick after that. Don't know if it would make any difference. What do you think of trying Maple syrup for a little shine?

What did the vet say was in the salmon that makes the dogs sick?

hook,
the maple sounds great to me and should work well.
greyhounds lack an enzyme most dogs have to metabolize things like medicicne and hi fat content. past that they are great dogs sleep about 20 hours out of 24 and really love people. even a badly mistreated one like my little female big corvette will come around. when we got her the day before thanksgiving last year it took her 2 days to leave our bedroom and now she can at least walk past people on st george st which is our big tourist thing here in st augustine
jack
by the way dont i spel gud???? lol

Jack,

I'm going to try the maple.

I can tell by your feelings for your dogs that you and your wife are very special people.

Hook