I've cured and smoked some of the catch from a recent fishing trip.
Starting material: These are the 'tails' (fillet posterior to the vent) from four freshwater Chinook/King/Spring salmon. Caught weight was 23, 21, 16 and 11 lbs. The tails on the lower right have a different colour due to that individual's diet.
Fillets were dry-cured with a coarse salt, brown sugar, black pepper, touch of mustard powder and fresh tarragon.
Fillets were then bagged and weighted and allowed to cure for four days. Turned every day. They were then rinsed, dried and allowed to form a pellicle overnight. The cure resulted in a 14% weight loss. Ready for the smoker.
Smoked at 200 F. to an internal temperature of 140 F. with some pecan chips. Since I was using the smoker I also smoked these Jalapenos from the garden.
Final product:
Turned out very nicely. They're headed north with me (except for the piece I tasted in the lower right corner). Jalapenos got skinned, seeded and will be frozen for winter use.
