babsarooni

Around here, you can find them in Mexican grocery stores in the refridgerated section, usually near the masa.

I built myself a cold smoker after watching Alton Brown's "Scrap Iron Chef". The hot box is a small galvanized garbage can containing a hot plate and a heavy aluminum pie tin (not the disposable kind). There is a small hole cut in the bottom of the garbage for the electric cord of the hot plate. To convey the smoke to the cold box, a hole is cut in the lid. I joined two lengths of aluminum ducting (the slinky-like expandable stuff). One end is attached to the lid of the garbage can, the other is inserted into the cold box. The cold box is a large cardboard box with a couple of wooden dowels inserted horizontally near the top. These support the grills from my hot smoker. A small desktop fan sits on the bottom of the box, in front of the aluminum ducting. To smoke foods, turn on the hotplate, the fan, and put a chunk of smoking wood on the hot plate. Adjust the heat until the wood smolders, but keep the setting low enough to prevent flames. A couple of wood chunks will last a couple of hours. I have also used wood chips, but the wood chunks are easier to control. The temperature in the cold box can be adjusted by expanding or contracting the ductwork slinky. This contraption cost ~ $30 in materials, and has lasted 3 years so far. To make smoked salmon I cure the salmon by packing 2 fillets of salmon in 1 cup salt + 1 cup sugar (usually seasoned with cracked mustard seeds, black pepper, coriander, orange peel, dill etc) and sprinkle with a shot of booze (vodka or gin or tequilla). The salmon gets cured 2-3 days and is flipped around whenever I think about it. After curing, I rinse the salmon well to get as much salt off as possible, blot it off with paper towels and let it dry in front of a fan for an hour or two. The biggest problem I have had with this method is overly salty fish. The salmon gets smoked for 8-12 hours with apple, oak or alder wood. I think it is better if it is allowed to rest in the refridgerator for 24 hours before eating.