Is there a "Dry Brine" for salmon?

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I would never mention another website here , but they have some good recipes, including what you are asking for, at the virtualweberbullet.com site. Go to "cooking" tab at top of page, and there is actually a good list of recipes for a variety of foods. If I wasn't a computer dummy, I would paste/link/copy or whatever you smart guys do to put links in...

Jim Minion (Car Dog) has a recipe over a VWB that I use a lot. Try it.

Thanks KCAL & Smokin! I may give that a shot. The Mrs changed plans and now the salmon is for supper which give me a tad more time.

On entering links in your messages, it's very easy! When you are replying to a post you will notice that there is a toolbar across the little box you are typing in. Click on that box and you will see two empty lines. In the top line you enter your URL (link to the website). I the bottom line type what you want to appear in the sentence you are typing. So, in your reply to me, click on the URL tab and enter www.virtualweberbullet.com and in the second line type virtual bullet website and your link will appear like this in your post virtual bullet website. It really is easy!

Ok, another question: While searching the seafood archives I see some drying (to develop the pellicle)as short as an hour and some as long as 6-8 hrs. I am planning on about 1 1/2 - 2 hrs. Will that suffice?

Gracias!

Might work. I'd do it in the frig. One nice thing to help develope the pellicle a bit more rapidly is the use of moving air.. as in a fan.

I do mine overnight by letting the fish sit on a cookie cooling rack in the frig. A fan in the frig? Think of a cheap battery operated fan or, better yet, a surplus computer fan. It's not bad to leave this fan on full time, even when not using for fish as it helps prevent cold layering in the box.. and they use almost no electricity.

Brined for five hours. Took it out and patted it dry. It's been sitting out for about 1 1/2 hrs and I see no sign of pellicle forming. Certainly don't want a case of the nasties. Tossed the fillets in the fridg until time to smoke.

Hmmm.. when I brine salmon I rinse the fish before drying to form the pellicle. I believe if you leave the brine solution on the fish it will continue to draw out moisture. Patting dry will still leave the surface salty enough to continue to draw moisture.

Be sure to put the fish on a rack in the frig so air can circulate all around it.

Gud luk

Thanks Bill. Shoulda mentioned in the previous post that I DID rinse the fillets in cold water.

Salmon

1. Used a 50/50 blend of Kosher salt and brown sugar. No other spices added.
2. Brined in Tupperware oblong dish with cover for 5 hours in fridge.
3. Removed from fridge and rinsed once with cold tap-water.
4. Let sit on countertop for one hour and could see no pellicle forming so put the fillets back in the fridge.
5. Total time out of the brine was about two hours.
6. Decided to grill instead of smoke using our Mecco grill with lid down.
7. Did not measure temp but a good guess is 300˚ - 325˚.
8. Cooked for 4 minutes each side on the setting furthest away from the coals.

Results:

"¢ Much better than last grilling without brine. Flesh firmed up very nicely! Both the Mrs. and I agree that it was too salty and too sweet.

"¢ Next time we will cut the brining time to 2 hours and probably use the additional spices suggested at the Virtulal Weber Bullet website .

Thanks to KCAL & Smokin' for their input and to Jim Minion for his recipe at VWB website.

Any other thoughts would be appreciated!

Hope this info assists anther newbie to brining salmon!

Hi Wheelz

I use half brown sugar, half lemon pepper, and about 1/4 as much salt, do layers, fish, then cover with brine, then another layer of fish, and so forth. I leave them in brine over night in fridge, works great, have never tried grilling them, have always smoked them using hickory. After remove from brine, rinse, pat dry with paper towels and leave out for hour before putting in smoker. I smoke between 100 and 150 degrees. Length of time varies on type of salmon, chinook takes longer than less fatty salmon. I like kind of a dry outer edge of flesh with not overly dry inner flesh. Hope this helps, good luck

Wheelz- I think you should try a dry brine next time. It seems to be what you and wife are looking for. AB from Food network has a good one. You do not need to do it very long with fish. You can do your wet brine but only do for an hour. Jamey

I've come to prefer a dry brine. The texture is more firm and the taste is slightly sweet and a little smokier. Plus, it's easier and isn't as messy in the kitchen. The downside is it's more expensive.

Use a fatty salmon as the outcome is not as moist as a wet cure. I'd try for Kings or Silvers, Atlantics were OK. Chums would probably be a little dry.

For 2.5 pounds of salmon:

2 cups brown sugar
1 cup sea salt
1 tbsp TQ
½ tbsp garlic powder

Wrap in plastic wrap, then foil, leaving the ends open for water runoff. Place a brick on it and refrigerate for about 3 hours. Wash off salt then dry for pellicle. Smoke is about 3 hours.

This is a great one:

Smoked Salmon rub


1 C brown sugar
1 C salt
2 T Dill Weed
3 T Garlic Powder
1 T Onion Powder
1 T Summer Savory
1 t Tarragon


Put on salmon heavy (1/4” deep) and let the filet sit for at least 2 hours (4 hours is best). Wash the filet off and pat dry. Let it sit for about ½ hour until the flesh is tacky. Smoke the way you like with alder or fruit wood. Take the salmon off at 155 degrees which is just done.

Remember to use more if using fresh herbs.

good quality salmon is overcooked iwht internal temps over 140*. Give it a try at 130* or even less; the texture is much nicer and not as dry as when overcook to hard flaking. If you find that the lower temp is not to your liking it is easy to add more heat.