Andi - how best to control the salt?

Brine for a shorter time. I sometimes only go for 30-45 minutes. You don't have to wait for the brine to "melt".

Rinse the fish always before you dry. Scrub gently (I just use my hand) until all the salt is off. Dry with paper towels before racking to form the pellicle.

Don't change the sugar/salt ratio...just brine for a shorter time. If you do this and rinse well, you don't need to soak the fish out for so long. Salmon are salt-water fish and fresh water is it's worst enemy. It will make the fish mushy...just as it makes them gnarly when they come to fresh water to spawn...and die.

Conversely, you can use those very same spices in a wet brine. Dissolve the salt and sugar with the spices over low heat in a couple of quarts of water, then add ice cold water in a bucket to say, 3 gallons, more or less won't matter. Brine the fish for 45 minutes, then rinse, dry, and rack to dry further.

How's that? Glad you like my spice combo!

I appreciate the advice! I'll give the shorter brine time a try. (I did rinse off the excess salt as you described, and dried via paper towels too.)

I guess I am still a bit curious though - I've seen recipes with brine times as long as 48 hours. Is it something about different salmon that makes such a long brine time palatable, or do some folks just like their salmon verrrry salty?

If it has something to do with the salmon variety (fat content, etc.) then are there general guidelines for adapting the brining? I'm just curious how you decide what to do with any given batch

One last question if I haven't worn out my welcome... other than cost, is there any other consideration to using wet vs. dry brine?

Thanks!

Stevefalco:

I am a 'new guy' at the forum. My smoke box is a gas smoker that has a similar mechanical design to a CS. For any fish, veggies or cheese I do, I do not use the gas burner, but have an $9 hot plate that I put my wood on. I can maintain a 100F-150F range by 10 degree increments with the hotplate rheostat, depending on my ambient temps. I live in Tucson so 100F days are usual now. Guess I don't need a smoker, huh?

Many people have told me this is a killer recipe for salmon. I would like to know what you think. Tastes and perceptions with food are so personal, so experiment.

I have been using a dry brine recipe from some guys in WA at salmon university, com. I have changed it for my tastes.

I use 5:1 brown sugar, ground black pepper, garlic powder, some cayenne, etc. Ideally, you want all the fish cuts to be the same dimension to get even brining. I coat the pieces according to their thickness--more brine for thicker pieces. Put them in a non-reactive covered container and refrigerate for 2-6 hours according to thickness. When the brined fish release their excess fluids, you will see a dark viscous liquid start to rise in the container. The salt and flavorings are working into the flesh.

I have lowered the salt to sugar ratio for my particular application and do not rinse the pieces before drying overnight in the frig.

I cold smoke at 120F for 4 hours to get thorough smoke penetration and finish for 2 hours at 140F. I am looking for a 132-138 internal temp. [This insures that the protein is sufficiently converted by low heat without cooking the "butter" out. This is the curd that exudes from cooked salmon and comes from excessive denaturation] The resulting salmon-for me-is firm, well smoked, deep orange-brown surface, sweet glaze with some peppercorn bite.

Cheers