A recent smoked salmon filet wound up with a few gobs of white glop on top. Sort of like soft-boiled egg white. Didn't taste bad, but was sort of ugly, so I wiped it off best I could with a paper towel. Is there a better way to handle this stuff, or better yet, to avoid getting it to start with?

P.S. My vote's 100% in favor of Smokin'. This, along with Primo Grill and GrillDome, is a great forum! I honestly don't understand the whole controversy over refiling posts.

It's a natural substance, don't know that you can get rid of it, except to scrape it off.

Here's a post with some info about it:

White Mayon on Top (Pellicle) -- from the CS Seafood Archives

Oops, forgot to look in the archives. It seems not to be fat, but rather a coagulated protein gel. The same stuff as comes out of bratwurst when they're poached before grilling.

That said, it's worth trying stronger/longer brining as Andi suggests to see if it draws off some of the loose proteins.

You can also let it rest and dry longer after
the brine (maybe use a fan).
Jim

Jims" the man" on this one .He has helped me a lot on having the patience to develop that pellicle.

Watch out for over brining to solve problems.

You may even see that protein on pork butts.