Greetings all,
AmeriQue did me proud last night once again. I took two Salmon steaks that were each a bit larger than 12 oz. A light sprinkling of C.S. spicy chicken rub on both sides. A slather of mayo on the top side and I also sprinkled with some brown sugar. I let the prepped Salmon sit in the fridge for several hours. Maybe next time I might sprinkle the brown sugar at the very last minute, as it did melt a little bit from the fridge sit---but really no prob with a little melted brown sugar. Right from the fridge into the cold AmeriQue on my Pam sprayed seafood rack. I used a 2 oz. chunk of Applewood. I probed the steaks to be done when 140º would be reached, and I set the temp for 200º.
I was guessing that the process would take an hour and a half, based on my other fish cooks. At an hour and a half, the probe was reading 134º. I gave the fish maybe 5 extra minutes, and decided to see if it was done even though 140º hadn't been reached. It was done to our taste and deeelishus! Smoky, moist and so rich tasting!
Now for my question: Would the smoke flavor be different, or the texture of the fish be different if I did the following? I thought I could line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper, put the fish on the parchment lined pan, and then stick the pan on a regular C.S. rack for my cook. Not that it is difficult to clean and prep my C.S. for cooks, but I was thinking that this way, there would be absolutely no clean up, other than the woodbox. I "wood" appreciate your comments.
Cheers,
Jeff
Original Post