Did a smoked salmon Sunday. And thanks to the forum, too. I got a box of alder from a far off place; somewhere in Washington (State, that is), a straight-line distance as great as you can find in the US of A.

So, I found a bourbon-soak recipe for that salmon.

But first I checked with our long lost friend in Alaska. She threatened to come to my house and tell me what-for if I didn't buy a wild-caught salmon. So, I found one. Dark orange flesh, like an October tangerine.

The bourbon soak was followed by a brown sugar rub, with salt, garlic, thyme in there.

Then, on to the smoker with the alder just a cooking. Less than an hour to the flaking stage.

It was mighty good, but there's a cultural thing there. All those goodies (bourbon mash, sugar, salt, alder smoke) tend to "cover up" the fish. I'm in the habit of super fresh fish, out of the water, into the frying pan. This smoking business is a way to mask that dude.

Hmmmmmmm. I'll have to think about that.

The alder is great. Calls up the sound of loons at sunset, and the Auroa Borealis on a moonless night...

Where did you order the wood from? I would be interested in that.

Thanks

I2BBQ -- You have a point about masking the flavor.... Many folks that I know around these parts will cook up the fresh fish without too much fuss and alder smoke the ones that don't look to be quite as, well, good tasting (due to size, marbleing, color, etc.).

In fact, I see this much with White Sturgeon (caught locally here in a couple of rivers). The smaller they are, the better the fish. As they grow larger, the flavor is just not quite as good--as a result, they tend to smoke the larger ones (and it is yummy too). They also tend to smoke the Green Sturgeon (saltwater version if memory serves me), as it has a more "fishy" flavor than most White sturgeon.

Getting back to the salmon, I have the recipe for the BEST smoked salmon that you will ever taste (my grandpa's recipe). The recipe is as follows:

A little of this, a little of that.

Doggone it......he never did offer any more information than that other than that!! Oh well, when I duplicate it I'll let you know!

I live on the California coast and get the salmon right off the boat. I find most people over season it and dry it out too much for my taste. I have developed my own recipe. Here it is:
1. I rub in a abundant mixture of brown sugar, salt, and black pepper to your taste.
2. let it sit overnight in the fridge
3. wash it off good and put it in the smoker(cold)
4. I add some oak chips and turn on Frosty
5. Bring the temp up to about 100 degrees
and every hour add about 15 degrees until you reach 170. Total cook time between 5-6 hour
6. add a second handful of wood as soon as the first one finishes


Your salmon will be sealed on the outside and under that crust it will be oily and melt in your mouth. This has become quite popular, and I am now smoking salmon and duck breasts for a upscale French restaurant in Sonoma Ca. This is how I make my play money. Here is a picture link to Frosty. I built him for only $300.00 and he has an internal cooking area of 60" tall, 27" deep, and 25" wide. Walter

go to the picture links to see Frosty


http://www.fenderforum.com/guestbook.html?user_name=Walter%2520Tore

Walter,

Is that a whole salmon, steak or fillet? How much does it weigh?

Thanks

I agree with Walter 100%!!

I also think that people dry it too much, and much prefer the taste when it is moist!

BTW -- Frosty looks like it is very spacious!! Sure could have fun with that!

I second that; it's easy to overwhelm a decent chunk of salmon, especially with sugar and garlic. Smoking seems to work pretty well with cheap farm-raised salmon (about the only thing it's good for, in my opinion), since it tends to be kind of mushy to begin with and drying it out a little helps.

Try grilling a good wild-caught king salmon filet on top of a thin (1/4 in) piece of untreated cedar; the cedar smokes just enough to flavor the fish. And don't go more than 135 degrees internal. Man, that's good stuff.

Cheers;
gk

Anybody who's ever enjoyed a Mississippi River smoked carp knows that smoking does a lot for really bad fish, both in terms of changing the flavor and dripping out some of the fat and gelatiny glop.

[URL=Click here: JUST SMOKED SALMON BRINE & ALDER WOOD SMOKER RECIPES FOR FISH, MEATS, & SEAFOOD ]Tennessee Style Bourbon Smoked Salmon[/URL]


Friends, at this site you can see the bourbon marinade recipe I used. The alcohol seemed to make the fish firmer. The rub was delicious. I ate it by the spoonfull.

Pleasant outcome, but as I say, the fish became a vehicle for the other goodies.

And, there's still a pint of Wild Turkey to take care of.

i2,

You got a bad link there.


Is this the place?

Just Smoked Salmon recipes


Smokin'

My fish experience is limited to a whole 8kg peacock bass that I did with a pesto sauce. Really tasty but a little bony, and Lau Lau filets, this is a kind of catfish from the Orinoco that can go to 200kgs, I did a marinade with soy and cane sugar (papelon), real simple, real nice. Has any one done shark? Here the catfish is cold smoked and is considered a delicacy.

quote:

Is this the place?

Yep, thanks. The Tennessee Bourbon recipe was the one.

...and what's a pellicle? To smoke salmon right, you need to have a pellicle, and then move on.

Or so I'm told. I live in Florida. No pellicles here.

Aren't pellicles those big beaked birds that dive bomb the water for no apparent reason and make the top of yer fishin hat white?
You've seen www.3men.com i2? Haven't tried what they have in the saltchuck dept. but looks good!

A pellicle is a thin skin of coagulated protein. The skin that forms on old-time hot chocolate? That's a pellicle.

If you dry salmon in cool moving air you'll get a pellicle on the surface of the meat. It helps keep the fish from drying out too much, and absorbs smoke.

I make drugs for a living (the real, legal kind) and pellicle formation is a problem sometimes with gelatin capsules that don't dissolve right.

Hope this helps;
gk

I guess I was mistaken with the bird thing, but got it with the white fishin hat?