Home Cured Home Smoked Salmon

[tim]

I've accidentally gone too long before, and the result was too salty.

←

Hi,

This seems to confirm that salt leeches moisture from the fish and creates a salty brine that is absorbed back into the fish. Too much time may allow too much salt to reabsorb into the fish.

That's why I suggested two successive and short dry brining periods.

Tim

[joesan]

In the interests of science I will try one side with the double salting method and one with a continuous salting. What the hell I may as well try the wet brining method as well at the same time.

For the edification of us all I'll report back on the results.

I am going to try 3 hour smoke and taste it the next day. If not smoky enough I'll put it back in again.

Tim - so I am going to funnel the cold smoke into a sealed box and trap it there for an hour before hitting it with an other smoke - is this correct? Presumably I don't need to let the old smoke escape...

[ElsieD]

Make sure to report back - I'm very interested in how this turns out.

Elsie

Edited December 4, 2008 by ElsieD (log)

[tim]

Tim - so I am going to funnel the cold smoke into a sealed box and trap it there for an hour before hitting it with an other smoke - is this correct? Presumably I don't need to let the old smoke escape...

←

Joe,

The old smoke precipitates on the sides of your container. My old garbage can smells better than the salmon that I have smoked.

Tim

[dougal]

... so I am going to funnel the cold smoke into a sealed box and trap it there for an hour before hitting it with an other smoke - is this correct? Presumably I don't need to let the old smoke escape...

←

No.

If your box is "sealed" there won't be any through draught.

You need airflow to carry the smoke from generator to food. (Separating them by a yard or two of expanded, flexible metal ducting gives the chance for the smoke to lose some of its heat.) You can use the standard Bradley vent adjustment to control the flow rate.

A thermometer in the inlet stream will let you monitor how cold the smoke actually is.

You should be able to run the Bradley for at least a puck or two without getting too hot. But you can just turn it off anytime and just walk away while things cool or the smoke soaks in.

If you can find/make some metal blank 'pucks' then you probably needn't even switch it off.

There's no problem using the (presumably nicely seasoned) Bradley cabinet - just don't turn on the heater!

There's no magic about a box versus the Bradley cabinet. Actually, in cold weather, the metal cabinet should likely run cooler. The idea of demounting the smoke generator is ONLY to permit cooling before putting the smoke into the food container.

Unless the 'food container' is enormous (like a garden shed, 8x4 and 6 ft high), cold smoking with a Bradley requires pre-cooling of some sort. And a metal, flexible duct is a cheap and effective means of cooling - once you've figured out a means of connecting both ends!

Edited December 5, 2008 by dougal (log)

[joesan]

Dougal - there seems to be a discrepancy between what you are saying and Tim's method. Should I vent the box for a while to get the smoke in there and then seal it up to trap it? It seems less wasteful to filll the box with smoke and trap it there than to have it continually pumping the smoke through it.

Incidentally I only have the Bradley smoke generator unit not the cabinet as I bought the generator itself from a lady in the states sans cabinet. I will probably use a cardboard box for the chamber. I will insert a temperature probe to determine the smoke temperature.

[dougal]

You need some flow while generating smoke.

"Smoking" is a (more or less) continuous process.

Generally, smokers/smokehouses have adjustable vents to control the flow.

It is not a matter of just fill your box with smoke, stop the smoke supply and then leave it a while for that single "fill" of smoke to work its magic.

By all means, give it a 'campaign' of even a single Bradley puck, followed by a rest before the next one. And close the vents during the 'rest' period. But you will need several such campaigns.

A single 'fill' would only give a very light (and fleeting) 'smoke'.

But it is done, I believe, in some restaurants with some cheeses - being served under the cover of a wineglass, freshly filled with smoke. Its more about presentation than anything else.

And that ain't going to work for salmon. You definitely need more than an hour of smoke supply. For 'heavily smoked', you'll need several hours.

I'd recommend Erlandson's little book. Its cheap and wise. It'd give you a good overview (and plenty specifics) of the basic territory of smoking.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Smoking-Curin.../dp/0091927609/

I also like the way Ruhlman & Polcyn's Charcuterie is organised, so that you can see how (Gravadlax) plain curing equates to the curing-before-smoking.

Final point on this: Hooking the Bradley generator direct onto a cardboard box sounds to me like a means of getting the cardboard to give off smoke...

[joesan]

Thanks Dougal - nice full answer as usual. I know I can normally rely on you.

There does seem to be some discrepancy, though, between what Tim suggests and what you advocate. Tim mentions up thread that it is possible with a method he has seen to fill the chamber, wait an hour, and re-smoke briefly, for a couple of cycles. Prior to this I had always assumed that continuous smoke production was necessary. I am going to try this method as it is much more economical with the wood requirements. Do you think this won't work?

I will be using the Bradley with an aluminium cowl over the smoke producing unit over a lenght of ventilation pipe and then into the box. By that time the smoke should be cool enough.

I love the Ruhlman charcuterie book, that's what stimulated my desire to do all this in the first place, but I find the salmon recipe has too many different ingredients - I'm looking to do something very simple and relatively un-adulterated.

[scubadoo97]

Here are some photos of my most recent attempt at cured smoked salmon

I used a small center cut fillet of around 1.5 lbs. It was brined in a saturated solution of salt with a handful of brown sugar thrown in.

Fillet after 3 hrs in brine solution. The fish was firm but not hard

On the grill with homemade smoke generator for cold smoking for 1 1/2 hours over apple and cherry wood

Some sliced for breakfast this morning. The fish had a soft, delicate but not mushy texture with a noticeable buy not heavy smoke taste.

[dougal]

Dougal - there seems to be a discrepancy between what you are saying and Tim's method. Should I vent the box for a while to get the smoke in there and then seal it up to trap it? It seems less wasteful to filll the box with smoke and trap it there than to have it continually pumping the smoke through it. ...

←

... Pepin's method for smoking is to introduce fairly heavy smoke (I use white oak or alder) to the chamber for about 10 minutes and then leaving the chamber closed for an hour.  This is repeated twice for a total of 3 hours of smoking.

Pepin uses wood chips in a flower pot with an electric bbq starter to create the smoke.  This is piped into an empty refrigerator.  (I use a heating duct running into a garbage can.)  The technique allows for smoking at ambient temperature.

←

Personally, I think that 3x 10 minutes of exposure to fresh smoke sounds a remarkably 'light' smoke.

Barely smoked at all.

... I want a dry, almost chewy result with a deep smoke. ...

←

For a "deep smoke" (in my understanding of that term) you'll need hours rather than minutes of smoke exposure.

Tim's kit was illustrated on another thread.

Its not clear how long Tim's wood smoulders after he turns off the active heating.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=105881

And its really good to see that Scoobadoo97's inspiration has borne fruit!

For DIY experimentation, its no bad thing to do several small, cheap tail fillets in the same batch - with variations, so that you can explore different times and strengths of salting/brining. Or smoke exposures. (Thicker fillets will need longer.)

You might be interested to note the curing and smoking times and conditions used in this video of a commercial smoking operation. (And, BTW, I think that's a cheat's way of getting a sticky pellicle! )

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh_BCI1yrfs

And doesn't the fish look lightly smoked?

Edited December 5, 2008 by dougal (log)

[joesan]

Dougal - that's a pretty interesting video. I want one of those fish skinners and a vertical slicing machine especially for salmon slicing! Bear in mind though that I'll be using a container many hundreds of times smaller than that room - perhaps that would be a factor in the timing?

Logically I would tend to agree with you that 3 x 10 minutes active smoke (plus 3 hours non-active) wouldn't produce much smokey taste but Tim seems to think it works out okay. No harm in trying it anyway. If it's not smoky enough I'll just do it again for a longer period the next day.

My Proust's madeleine moment on this one is when I tried some wild salmon on the Scottish borders that the angler had produced himself in a shed out the back of his house. Boy was that good - salty, smoky and chewy - world's away from the flabby insipid stuff that you buy in the shops...

[tim]

Joe,

It is not necessary to vent your smoking box if the box is mounted above your smoke generator. The warm smoke will rise into the smoke chamber and stay there.

Yes, a vent will draw the smoke, and related heat, through the box. That heat is not desireable in this situation.

Go check out Pepin's recipe. Here is a picture of my rig, and yes the lid is placed on and sealed with tape while the smoke is flowing.

Tim

[joesan]

Thanks Tim - that looks pretty much like what I have in mind. Do you find it smoky enough at those short times? Dougal's got me thinking...

[dougal]

My take is that smoke density does matter. But chamber size on its own, is only going to affect the rapidity of changes.

Generally, cold smoking is a long process. Using a 'thinner' smoke than is typical for hot smoking or US 'BBQ'.

I suspect that when you say 'chewy' (twice!), you are after a relatively dried result - again long smoking (and airflow) sounds to be indicated. Dry salt curing (as seen in the video) is likely to give some moisture loss. Brining isn't. Which is why its so popular for chicken and (particularly at this time of the year) turkey.

Anyway, give it a go and have fun!

[joesan]

Dougal - thanks for the words of encouragement, and all your help. I'm going to try a variety of methods since I'll have a number of fish. I'll let you know the results. And yup - I want it chewy not flabby! But I will try a wet brine for comparison purposes on one fillet.

[tim]

Thanks Tim - that looks pretty much like what I have in mind. Do you find it smoky enough at those short times? Dougal's got me thinking...

←

Joe,

There is a significant difference between a London style smoke and a heavy dry smoked salmon.

I aim for salmon that has enough moisture to be thinly sliced along the filet in large sheets. A really heavy smoke takes too much moisture for this texture.

I would guess that you might like more smoke than I usually use. Ten minutes every 45 minutes with 4 repititions may suit you.

You might want to open your chamber between smoking periods and test a small piece of the edge. (Do not attempt if you have been standing nearby; you won't be able to taste the smoke) Recognize that smoke flavor continues infusing through the fish for at least the following day or two.

Experiment and have some fun.

Tim

[joesan]

The raw material for the experiment, two 6 kilo of Scotland's finest...

I've filleted them and brined them.

I'm trying -

Tim's method 1 - 3 hour dry brine, wash, new brine for a further 3 hours and

His method 2 - 6 hour dry brine and

Jackl's 1 hour wet brine

I'll let them dry tonight to develop the pellicle and smoke them tomorrow. Can't wait to see the results...

[jackal10]

SO how was it?

[ElsieD]

How did the salmon turn out?

[jackal10]

I'm smoking!

3 sides of supermarket salmon

Brined for 3 hours: 4 pints water, 2 cups salt, 1 cup sugar

Hang in smoker

Together with a ham and some trout

General view - the smoker is an old oil drum

In the hole is a small charcoal fire, and a tray of damp sawdust (oak and cherry from a local furniture maker in exchange for bacon) goes on top for the smoke

Smoking happily. Put the lids on and go away. The fire will need checking and maybe more fuel in a couple of hours or so

[joesan]

Hi folks just remembered that I hadn't reported back on the smoked salmon that I Home cured for the first time before Christmas.

In a phrase for those wondering whether this is worth doing or not - it is! Highly recommended.

It wasn't perfect but it was very nice for a first try.

Here are my observations of my side by side trial.

- 1-6 hours of brining is nowhere near enough time. The fish that I came out with were very tasty but too "wet" for my taste. If I'd salted them for more like 24 hours the flesh would lose more moisture and be more chewy (i.e drier) than with less times. This is what I intend to do next time.

- There was no discernable difference between the 6 hour continuous brine and the 3 hour brine followed by another 3 hour brine with a fresh application of cure. In consequence I'd recommend just applying the cure once as it makes the process less complicated.

- The liquid brine produced my least favourite result. The fish was much more akin in texture to fresh fish which is not what I look for in a smoked salmon. This is probably a matter of taste but to me the dry brine provided a much preferable result and was more like traditional smoked salmon.

- I rigged my Bradley to produce cold smoke. It was ridiculously easy to smoke the fish. I cannot recommend the Bradley highly enough. I cold smoked the salmon continuously for 3 hours and got a nice deep smoky flavour by smoking with Oak into a close fitting cardboard box. I didn't want to take the chance of ruining the fish by skimping on the bisquettes and smoking only intermittently (a la Pepin) but I will try it next time for the purposes of experimentation.

Overall I'd rate this project a must do and super easy. As a nice side product I also have some smoked salt and a little smoked homemade Pancetta (this is not traditional with Pancetta but it does give a nice result).

Give it a try!