What is the procedure for making smoked salmon ?!
What is the procedure for making smoked salmon ?
Answers:
Smoking wild salmon or halibut is very simple if you follow some very basic processing rules. Smoked salmon comes in two distinct varieties: Hot smoked, or kippered, and cold smoked, or Nova lox. The main difference is the brining process and the temperature during the smoking process. Hot smoked salmon is fully cooked to 145 degrees where as cold smoked salmon is smoked at 80 degrees and is actually cured but still raw and so should be frozen for parasite control.
I want to stress that the utmost importance is to adhere to strict sanitary procedures. First, you should always start with clean and sanitized utensils. Use a .5 % bleach solution as a sanitizer. Keep your fish refrigerated during the whole process to prevent bacterial growth. During the smoking process, the smoke will prevent most bacteria growth, so refrigeration isn’t a concern until you remove your product from the smoker. Then you should package the product and refrigerate it as soon as possible.
I like to use alder wood for smoking, but any hard wood will work just fine. I have tried apple wood with good results, and maple, and hickory work well. Half the fun of smoking fish is developing new smoked salmon recipes. I encourage people to try your favorite spices maybe a little wine and you may just come up with your very own special smoked salmon recipe. If you stick to my basic cooking schedule and experiment with the brine and what you add after brining your product will be almost as good as ours. Just kidding! Please let me know how your smoked salmon recipe turns out.
There are four steps to smoking fish:
Brining or salting.
Curing
Drying to form a pellicle
Smoking
Cold smoking is very hard to do at home because you need to have a smoker capable of keeping the temperature to 80 F or less. One way to do this is to have your heat source (smoke generator) far enough away that the smoke cools before it reaches your smoker.
Begin with either fresh or frozen salmon. Frozen is actually easier because some of the moisture is lost during freezing and thawing and that is what you are going to accomplish during the smoking process anyway.
If the fish is not already filleted, do it now and cut into even sized pieces. I like 2x4 inches. For larger species like King salmon or whole fillets, puncture the skin in several places to allow the salt to penetrate. You can also buy a hypodermic needle for horses at a feed store and inject brine into the thicker pieces. How to fillet salmon.
Now, you must make a brine of salt and brown sugar and, if you like a specific spice, go ahead and add it to the brine. I like to mix the brine 2:1 salt to brown sugar, but if you like a sweeter finished product, adjust it to your taste by adding more brown sugar. You must mix enough brine to immerse your fish in the solution completely. One way to tell if you have enough salt is to float an egg. For 5 gallons of water you will need 14 cups of salt and 7 cups of brown sugar. If it floats, you have enough salt. It is about 80%. I like to use a salometer!
A white five-gallon bucket works well for brining fish. Place your fish into the brine and place the bucket into refrigeration. Leave it there for 12 hours for thinner fillets and 24 hours for thicker fillets. Before removing from the brine, slice one of the pieces of fish to see if the brine has completely saturated the flesh. If not, leave it in the brine longer. Previously frozen fish takes less time than freshly caught product.
Remove fish from the brine and rinse under the cold running water for 1 hour for thinner fillets and 2 hours for thicker fillets. If you do not mind eating raw fish, try a slice to see how salty it is.
Remove from the rinse, rack, and place it under refrigeration to cure for at least 12 more hours. This allows the salt to even out. If you like dill on top now is the time to add it. I have tried rum with good results at this point.
Place in a smoker and set the temperature to 70 F. Smoke until the fish has a glazed look to it. It should take about 12-16 hours if you have good air circulation.
Take the fish out of the smoker and cool it down before vacuum sealing.
After packaging. If the fish was not previously frozen, be sure to freeze it for a couple of days for parasite control.
That is about all there is to smoking fish. It is a lot of trial and error and record keeping. Being in the smoking business, I have tried everyone’s smoking recipes and not two have been alike. So be inventive and try to make your own favorite smoked salmon recipe.
How to Smoke Salmon Recipe
Recipe Ingredients:
10-20 lbs. Ed's Wild Salmon, fillets
14 cups Salt
7 cups Brown Sugar
5 gallons Water
5 gallon Bucket
Alder wood chips
Recipe Preparation:
Begin with either fresh for frozen wild salmon. Frozen is actually easier because some of the moisture is lost during the freezing and thawing process. If the fish is not already in fillets (visit our page on How to Fillet Fish) do it now and then cut fillets into even sized pieces (2 x 4 inch is ideal). Now you need to create your brine mixture of salt and brown sugar. If you like specific spices - go ahead and add them to the mixture at this stage. I suggest mixing the brine 2:1 salt to brown sugar but if you like a sweeter finished product adjust the the sugar content to your taste. For a full mixture of 5 gallons of water you will need to mix 14 cups of salt and 7 cups of brown sugar. This is enough brine for 20 lbs. of wild salmon or halibut. You must mix enough brine to completely immerse your fish in the solution. I suggest using a white, 5 gallon bucket for brining. Place the bucket into refrigeration and leave for two hours. Now you need to remove your fish from the brine and rinse it quickly under cold running water. Place brined portions onto your greased (we suggest a vegetable oil spray) smoking rack. Be sure to keep adequate space around each piece to allow the smoke to filter around the fish from all sides. Next place racked fish into refrigeration for a minimum of 12 hours, this allows the fish to cure. After you have cured the fish you are ready to smoke it. Start out as cool as you can and gradually increase your temperature to an internal temperature of 150 degrees (F) for 30 minutes. Remove rack from smoker and allow your finished product to cool. Your fish is now ready to be vacuum sealed or consumed. Remember that if you choose to vacuum seal your products that you MUST keep it frozen or refrigerated until you are ready to use it. Be sure to sanitize your smoking equipment after use.
Test your brine: One way to tell if you have used enough salt is to float an egg in the mixture. If it floats then you have enough salt (about 80%).
First you have to roll it up reeeeal tight... :)
Check out this site it tells you,
http://www.justsmokedsalmon.com/recipes....
Well, a place i worked at before we used to basically make the salt brine...put the salmon on the sheet pan, pat dry, apply the salt all over on top, let it sit for a day in the dry cooler... remove the salt, place it on a rack with, place it in a smoke box... and smoke it slowly til done... he is a recipe below i found online...
Linda's Smoked Salmon
2 large salmon fillets
Zest and juice of 2 to 3 limes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves*
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon coarse or coarse sea salt**
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (depending on size of fillets)
1 lime for finish
Coarse or Sea salt
* I use whatever fresh herbs that I have at the moment. I've also used lavender and it was great!
** The coarse salt or sea salt is fabulous on the salmon.
BRINE: 2 1/2 tablespoons plain salt (without iodine) to 1 cup water.
Rinse the salmon steaks in cold water. Prepare a salt-water brine of 2 1/2 tablespoons plain salt to 1 cup of water, using approximately 1 quart of water; heat to just lukewarm. Add salt and stir until dissolved. Add warm salt water to approximately 4 quarts cold water (I use my sink as a bowl for this step). Place salmon, skin side down, in brine at for 20 minutes (make sure the fish is entirely covered by the brine).
After 20 minutes, gently remove salmon from brine and lightly rinse both sides with cold water to remove all traces of salt; gently pat dry with paper towels. Let salmon air dry on wire racks for at least 2 hours (this causes a "pellicle" - a tacky glaze on the fish to form. This indicates that it is ready for the smoking process).
Prepare your smoker according to manufacturer's directions.
I have an electric smoker and I like to use either alder or cherry wood. Smoking temperature of your smoker should be between 200 to 225 degrees F. (no higher). The easiest way to help keep the temperature low, is to almost close down the vents. Do not raise the lid of the smoker any more than you absolutely need to (it reduces the temperature inside every time you do). Monitor your temperature of your smoker during the smoke time.
Smoking the Salmon:
Place salmon fillets (skin side down) on sheets of aluminum foil and cut the foil around the fillets approximately 1/4-inch bigger (this keeps the fillets from sticking to the racks in the smoker). I also spray the racks with vegetable oil (makes for easier cleaning).
Grate the zest from the limes then squeeze the juice. In a small bowl, combine lime zest, lime juice, thyme (or other herbs), pepper, salt and olive oil; stir to mix. Rub the seasoning mix on the salmon fillets; coating them well.
Place salmon fillets (with the aluminum foil) on the oiled smoker rack. Smoke until a meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 140 degrees F. in thickest part of salmon (salmon will be slightly opaque in thickest part). Remember the salmon continues to cook after it is removed - you don't want an overcooked and dried out salmon. I prefer a moist salmon and not dried out.) Remove salmon fillets from smoker.
Cut extra lime in half and squeeze over cooked salmon fillets. Sprinkle lightly with more coarse salt. Serve salmon either warm, cool, or chilled (refrigerate until ready to serve). If making ahead, cover airtight and refrigerate up to 3 days.
I call this Poor Mans Smoked Salmon
get your salmon (however the amount you wish)
put it on aluminum foil
add some icecubes
pour on some liquid smoke
seasalt
roll up foil to make a pouch
cook until the salmon is tinder and fully cooked